VERSES: Numbers 21:21-35
MEMORY VERSE: Numbers 21:34 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review the first eight books of the New Testament. It never hurts to review!
PRAYER: Let us always stand up when we are in the right. Thank God for giving us a voice and a mind to do right.
SPECIAL SONG: This Little Light Of Mine (see March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog)
VISUAL AID: Large Activity (see Activity below)
LESSON POINTS:
- As the children of Israel wandered through the wilderness, sometimes they had trouble with the people who lived in the land as they passed by. The Israelites were not a small group that could slip by unnoticed; there were thousands of people who traveled together. Remember the cloud and the pillar of fire that led them out of Egypt? The cloud still led the people in the daytime and the pillar of fire still gave them light at night, so it was pretty hard to miss this huge group of people.
- The nations in Canaan had heard about the Israelites, how God was with them, and how they left Egypt, walking through the Red Sea. Most of the nations were afraid of the Israelites from these things that they had heard. Remember how they had tried to pass through Edom, but Edom would not let them pass through their land, so the children of Israel had to go another way? Now, as they were traveling again, they came to another group of people who were living in the land called the Amorites. Moses sent messengers again to the King of the Amorites asking if they could pass through their land if they did not drink their water or eat anything from their fields or vineyards, but still the king would not let them go through his land. In fact, the king made the mistake of fighting the Israelites and the Israelites won! God's people took the Amorites' land and lived in their land. Moses had tried to do the polite thing by asking permission, but then the Amorites wanted to fight! They should have let the Israelites walk through their land and everything would have been better. Another king named Og of Bashan tried to fight the Israelites, too, but God was with His people and the people won his land, too. God takes care of His own.
- Standing up for God, knowing that we are doing right, and that we are doing what He wants us to do, gives us the peace of mind that God is on our side. It doesn't matter who the enemy is, God will help us. But--we need to make sure that we are on the side of right. How do we know that? By reading God's Word. Our faith will grow if we read. (Romans 10:17)
Materials needed: Four different bright colors cut in 6" x 9" rectangles, tape, crayons.
- Optional: In advance, mark a 1" dot at the bottom of each rectangle on each side. Cut on the imaginary line from the point at the top of the rectangle down to the dot. Cut on opposite side of rectangle, too.
- Line four papers edge-to-edge.
- Tape between colors.
- Fold 'book' like an accordion. Unfold.
- On backside of first color, write "Fighting In The Wilderness" and "Numbers 21."
- On frontside of first color, write "Brothers" at top, "EDOM," "Numbers 20:18" and "NO! You cannot cross."
- On the second color next to EDOM color, write "Sihon" at the top, "Amorites", "Numbers 21:23" and "NO! They attacked."
- On the third color next to the AMORITES color, write "Og" at the top, "Bashan", "Numbers 21:33" and "NO! They went out against them."
- On the fourth color next to the BASHAN color, write "The LORD GOD" at the top, "Numbers 21:34" and "Fear Not."
- Fold the book up.