Children’s Bible Program – Level 3: Lesson 18 “Forty Years in the Wilderness”

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Read Together: Israel did not bring a good report during their wandering in the wilderness. During this time, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On stirred up the people in rebellion, saying Moses and Aaron should no longer be the leaders of Israel. God had something to say about that! He caused the earth to open up and swallow these rebellious men, their families, and all their possessions. After the rebellion was put down, the Israelites complained that Moses had killed the people of God. They gathered against Moses and Aaron, but again God saved them and sent a plague that killed 14,700 more people. After a victory over the king of Arad, the people started complaining again, calling the manna worthless. This time God sent fiery serpents through the camp which killed many of the people. After Israel wandered for forty years, the time finally came for them to inherit the Promised Land. God lead Israel to defeat and take the lands of Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og King of Bashan. The Moabites heard of Israel’s conquests and were afraid. Balak, king of Moab, sent for Balaam to curse Israel, but God would not allow it, but allowed Balaam to bless them instead. However, the Israelites started worshipping idols and marrying foreign women. The Lord became angry and sent a plague that killed 24,000 people. Time and again Israel tested God. Israel failed to keep the covenant they had made with God, but their deeds were recorded for our benefit so that we can learn from their mistakes.

Read Together:  Numbers 16:1–32, 41–50; 21:1–6, 21–26, 31–35; 22:1–35; 24:10–13; 25:1–9

Discuss:

  • Remind your child that God promised Israel the land of the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and the Hivites (Exodus 3:7–8). Their conquests were in partial fulfillment of God’s promise.
  • Ask your child what lessons they think we can learn from Korah’s rebellion. Use this as an opportunity to talk about God’s government and how we are to respect those God has put in leadership positions.
  • Read 1 Corinthians 10:6–11 with your child. Discuss how we can get caught up in the same sins that Israel committed. Help them come up with some examples.

Review Memorization.

Deuteronomy 30:15–16  “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.”

Printable PDF – L3.18

Children’s Bible Program – Level 2: Lesson 18 “God’s Promises to Abraham”

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Read Together: God promised to make Abram a great nation, saying that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. God showed Abram all the land of Canaan and promised it to his descendants. Abram had traveled throughout the land of Canaan for 24 years, and now he was 99 years old. God had promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore, but he still did not have a son. It was at this time that God appeared to Abram and expanded the promises. He told Abram that he was going to make him a father of many nations and that some of his descendants would be kings. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and his wife’s name, Sarai, to Sarah, to reflect the promise that many nations would come from them. God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son the next year, and they were to call him Isaac, which means laughter. Perhaps Isaac was given that name because both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they first heard they would have a son. The next year Isaac was born, just as God had said. Isaac was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham.

Read Together:  Genesis 13:14–18; 15:1–6, 18–21; 17:1–24; 18:1–15; 21:1–6

Discuss:

  • Discuss with your child how Abraham remained faithful to God year after year, believing that God’s promises would be fulfilled through his descendants. Include Hebrews 11:1 in the discussion. Remind your son or daughter that if God says something, it is as good as done!
  • Ask your child if they can remember some of the promises God gave to Abraham. Discuss with them how these promises have been fulfilled (e.g. through Jesus Christ, European kingdoms, Great Britain, and the United States).
  • Remind your child that the promises were also made to Sarah. She was an important part of the covenant God made with Abraham. God loves both men and women.  All human beings are created in His image (Genesis 1:27).
  • God names things what they are. From the Bible, we learn that in the Kingdom we will all to be given a new name. Ask your child what name he or she would choose for themselves to reflect their character and personality.

Review Memorization:  Hebrews 11:17–18  “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”

Printable PDF – L2.18

Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: Lesson 18 “Nimrod”

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Read Together: After the flood, people began to raise families, and gradually moved further and further away from where the ark had come to rest. The Bible tells us about the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and how they began to populate the earth. We read about one man who became famous as a great hunter. This man’s name was Nimrod, and he was the grandson of Ham, one of Noah’s three sons. As his fame grew, he was idolized by many. In fact, some people began to look to Nimrod instead of God for protection and leadership. They called him “the mighty hunter before [“instead of” or “in place of”] the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). Remember, God had commanded the sons of Noah to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). But proud Nimrod rebelled against God, building cities and a kingdom. One of the cities he built was the famous Babel, where the people began to build a giant tower, reaching into the sky.

Read Together:  Genesis 10:6, 8-12

Discuss:

  • Help your child to understand that the people were looking to Nimrod as their provider and protector and not looking to God.  Remind your child that God is our ultimate provider and protector.
  • Nimrod was setting up a kingdom for himself to make himself the ruler over the people. You may want to take this opportunity to explain that in God’s government, men do not choose to be in charge themselves. God selects the leaders.
  • Explain to your child that moving people into cities as Nimrod did was not what God intended. Imagine and discuss what cities may be like in the wonderful world tomorrow and how they will be much different than the cities of Nimrod or of today
  • Help your child to understand that Nimrod was leading the people away from God.

 

Review Memorization:

Genesis 11:6  “And the LORD said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.’”

Printable PDF – L1.18

Children’s Bible Program – Level 3: Lesson 17 “Israel Rebels in the Wilderness”

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  Sweet Publishing | FreeBibleImages.org

By Janth English

Read Together:  As God delivered Israel from Egypt, they witnessed miracle after miracle! The children of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land with walls of water on both sides. They watched the Egyptian army get swallowed up by the Red Sea as God allowed the water to crash down on them. But they still complained to God!  When they had no water, they complained. When they had no food, they complained again. It’s understandable that they were hungry and thirsty, but instead of asking God for help, they accused Him of bringing them out into the wilderness to die. Again and again, they said “Let’s go back to Egypt”. When Moses went up to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God, the Israelites made a golden calf to worship. They bowed down to it and called it their god, even though they had just promised to obey the real God who had brought them out of slavery! When Moses sent the spies to scout the land of Canaan, they came back with a bad report even though the land was full of delicious fruit. All the spies, except Joshua and Caleb, said they should not enter the promised land because they saw the giants who lived there. They had no faith that God would deliver them, so the people refused to go in and inherit the land God had promised.  For this, and for all their constant complaining and faithlessness, God sentenced them to wander in the wilderness for forty years. This was one year for each day the spies were in Canaan, until everyone of that generation had died.

Read Together:  Ex. 15:19-24, 16:2-4; Num. 11:1-10; Ex. 32:1-8; Num. 13:17-33, 14:1-4, 26-35

Discuss:

  • Point out to your child that three days after Israel came through the Red Sea they were complaining about water.  Israel had forgotten God’s power very quickly.  Discuss why this would happen.
  • Have a discussion with your child about faith. The Israelites knew God was real, but they lacked faith.  Israel proved that witnessing miracles does not guarantee faith. Include James 2:18 in the discussion.
  • Talk with your son or daughter about the Israelites’ tendency to complain.  Do we have the same characteristic?  How does God feel about complaining?  What is the antidote for complaining?

Review Memorization:

Deut. 30:15-16  “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.”

Printable PDF – L3.17

Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: Lesson 17 “Families Grew into Nations”

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by Janth English

Read Together:  God destroyed every human being on the face of the earth with the exception of 8 people – Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives.  A pair of every unclean animal and seven pairs of all clean animals survived with Noah and his family on the ark. After the flood, God commanded Noah, his sons, and the animals to multiply on the earth, and that is exactly what they did.  People lived longer so they were able to have many children. Soon families grew so big that they formed nations, and the nations were all separated into their own lands.

Read Together: Genesis 8:15-17; 9:1-2; 10:1-7, 19-22, 30-32

Discuss:

  • Help your child to identify the eight people that survived the flood.
  • Discuss with your child why God told Noah to take seven of every clean animal on the ark.
  • Help your child visualize what the earth might have been like after a few years with so few people and so many animals which were multiplying very quickly.
  • Explain to your student that though their numbers were increasing, the people were still united by language and culture.
  • Help your child recognize that after the flood there were only eight people, and today, about 5 thousand years later, there are almost eight billion people all of whom are descended from Noah.

Review Memorization:

Genesis 11:6  “And the Lord said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.’”

Printable PDF – L1.17

Children’s Bible Program – Level 2: Lesson 17 “Abram Leaves for Canaan”

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By Janth English

Read Together:  Abram was born 292 years after the flood. His family lived in a city called “Ur”, which was in the area of modern-day Iraq.  He was the youngest son of his father Terah whose ancestor was Shem. Abram married his half-sister Sarai, but they did not have any children. Terah left Ur for Canaan and took Abram, Sarai, and Lot, his grandson, with him.  The family stopped for a while in Haran where Terah died. Abram had become very wealthy in Haran. By the time he was 75 years old, he owned livestock, and had silver, gold, and many servants. This would surely have made it hard to leave Haran. But God commanded Abram to leave his home and go to a distant land that He would show him. In return for his obedience, God promised to make Abram’s descendants a great nation. Amazingly, Abram immediately obeyed God. He simply took his wife, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions and left his home for good.

Read Together: Gen. 11:24-32; 12:1-10; 13:2-4

Discuss:

  • Explain to your child that it was not uncommon for people to marry close relatives in Abraham’s days.  Remind him/her that everyone was closely related after the flood because only one family survived. God later commanded the Israelites not to marry close relatives (Lev. 18:6-17).
  • Discuss with your son or daughter how difficult it must have been for Abram and Sarai to pack up and move to a place that they did not know.  There were no trucks or vans to move them and no hotels along the way. Ask your student what might have been some of the hardships Abram and Sarai could anticipate on their journey.
  • Abram must have known how hard his journey would be. Still, he did not argue with God. He just obeyed what God told him to do. Talk with your child about Abram’s character. Highlight the good example that Abram showed when he obeyed God immediately.
  • God promised Abram that he would become a great nation, but that promise was not fulfilled right away.  Explain to your student that obedience to God must come first before we receive any rewards.

 Review Memorization:

Heb 11:8 NKJV “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Printable PDF – L2.17

Children’s Bible Program – Level 3: Lesson 16 “God Explains the Statues”

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By Janth English

Read Together: Israel was so afraid when they heard God speak the Ten Commandments that they asked for Moses to relay God’s words to them. God agreed. In addition to the Ten Commandments, God gave Moses “statutes.” Statutes are laws that apply to more specific situations. They help us understand how to apply the Ten Commandments in everyday life. God’s laws and statutes were designed to provide Israel a fair and just legal system that would protect people and property. When Jesus came to earth, He supported the laws of God, including the statutes, and taught His disciples about how to keep them in our heart and mind.

Read Together: Deuteronomy 4:1–10; Exodus 22:5, 14, 28; Exodus 23:1–17; Leviticus 23:1–3; Deuteronomy 4:1–10; 22:8.

 

Discuss:

  • Explain to your student that the statutes are finer points to God’s Ten Commandments. For example, the Ten Commandments command us to keep the Sabbath, but the statutes explain there are “annual” Sabbaths as well (Leviticus 23:1–3).
  • Read, with your child, Exodus 22:28. Ask your child if he or she ever hears people “cursing” or making fun of leaders today. How would this statute guide a child to behave toward his or her parent or teacher?
  • Ask your child what the following statute means: “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). Can he or she think of a time when they’ve had to resist following others to do something they knew was wrong?
  • With your child, read the statute in Exodus 23:4. Ask him or her, “Why would God want a person to bring back the animal of their enemy? Would that kind act possibly help them to be friends again?”
  • Ask your child what the statute in Deuteronomy 22:5 means. Ask if they can see how that could apply in our world today (when some are confused about gender).
  • Ask your child why God would make the statute in Deuteronomy 22:8. Would it not protect people from accidents?

 

Review Memorization.

Exodus 20:1–17 – The Ten Commandments (long form)

Printable PDF – L3.16

Printable PDF – L3.13-L3.16

Children’s Bible Program – Level 2: Lesson 16 “Nimrod’s Legacy”

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By Janth English

Read Together: The Bible portrays Nimrod as an evil man, and we still see the effect of his evil influence today. Nimrod is the first recorded leader to organize people into city-states so that he could rule over them. He was a proud tyrant who was openly rebellious toward God. Nimrod built the city of Babel, and led the effort to undermine God’s plan for people to spread throughout the earth, building a tower that reached to the sky. Many historians trace the pagan traditions that are part of all of the world’s religions today back to this very city. People who are really following God avoid these traditions, even if they are mixed with a worship of Christ. Instead, God’s people keep His Sabbath, Holy Days and other commands.

Read Together: Genesis 10:8–12; 11:5–9; Revelation 17:5; 18:1–2.

Discuss:

  • Ask your child what are some wrong traditions that people in the world’s churches observe?
  • Explain that many modern church traditions of the world started a long time ago. (You may wish to refer to the booklet, “Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity,” pp. 8–10, https://www.tomorrowsworld.org/booklets/satans-counterfeit-christianity).
  • Ask your child, who is really behind the false traditions and religious deception of the world? (Reference Revelation 12:9)
  • Explain to your child that the Bible shows that end-time religious deception (“Babylon”) is just a modern version of traditions started long ago (the city of “Babel”). (Reference Genesis 11:9 and Revelation 17:5; 18:1–2)
  • Explain to your child that we can only understand God’s truth because He opens our mind and helps us not be deceived (John 6:44, Matthew 13:11).
  • Ask your child what about God’s way of life are they most thankful for?

Review Memorization.

Genesis 11:9 “Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

Printable PDF – L2.16

Printable PDF – L2.13-L2.16

Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: Lesson 16 “The Rainbow Covenant”

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Sweet Publishing | FreeBibleImages.org

By Janth English

Read Together: After the Flood was over, the ark came to rest on top of the mountains of Ararat. These mountains are in the country called Turkey today. Noah, his family, and the animals remained aboard the ark for more than a year. Wow! It took a long time before the earth was dry enough for them to live on it. After they left the ark, God told Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth that He wanted them to have big families and fill the earth with more people. God also made a new covenant with all living creatures that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. The sign God gave of this new covenant was the rainbow.

Read Together: Genesis 8:1–22; 9:1, 11–19.

Discuss:

  • Ask your child, by way of review, what was the Flood? Why did God bring the Flood on humanity?
  • Ask your child, what was the promise God made after the Flood was over? What was the sign of that promise?
  • Ask your child if he or she has ever seen a rainbow. What does it look like? How would he or she describe it?
  • Discuss God’s command to Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply.” Why did God ask them to have lots of children? Were there any people other than Noah and his family alive after the Flood?
  • Explain that every living human being today is descended from Noah and his sons.

Review Memorization:

2 Peter 2:5 “And (God) did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.”

 

More to Do!

These activities are optional, but some children may find them enjoyable.

  • Your child might be interested in comparing the size of the ark with modern structures. This  website had some interesting comparisons.
  • There are several Noah’s ark crafts available on Pinterest that your child might enjoy.
  • There are several videos on YouTube of the Noah’s ark replica in Kentucky. This Noah’s Ark Encounter video is short but it does mention the dimensions.

Printable PDF – L1.16

Printable PDF – L1.13-L1.16

Children’s Bible Program – Level 3: Lesson 15 “God Speaks the Ten Commandments”

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Sweet Publishing | FreeBibleImages.org

By Janth English

Read Together: The children of Israel had been busy preparing to come before God for three days. As God approached the mountain, there were thunder and lightning strikes; the mountain quaked and the ground where they stood shook. There was an awesome display of God’s power as He descended to the mountain! Even Moses, who had been in God’s presence before, was so afraid that he too trembled! The top of the mountain looked to be on fire as God thundered the Ten Commandments from its midst. The display was to show the Israelites how mighty and powerful God is, so that they would remember and obey Him. Sadly, the Israelites were so overwhelmed by the power of God that they pleaded with Moses to ask Him not to speak to them directly anymore, because they feared they would die. God asked the Israelites to keep the Ten Commandments so He could bless them, and they agreed.

Read Together: Exodus 19:12–25; 20:1–26

Discuss:

  • Explain that the Ten Commandments are still in effect today (Matthew 5:17–18).
  • Why is the Sabbath Commandment important?
  • Explain that the Ten Commandments were given by God for our good; they are not a burden (1 John 5:3).
  • Discuss the beneficial effects of the Ten Commandments. What would the world be like if no one told lies, or if no one took what didn’t belong to him or her? How would the world be transformed if everyone put God first and loved Him?
  • Discuss the relationship between obedience to the Ten Commandments and the peace humanity desires. Help your child understand that it is breaking God’s laws that leads to the unhappiness mankind experiences. Use an example like stealing or lying to demonstrate this.

Review Memorization.

Exodus 20:1–17 – The Ten Commandments (long form)

Printable PDF – L3.15