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Israel Rebels in the Wilderness

od gave Moses a detaileddescription of the Tabernacle

that the Israelites were to build.Afterward, Moses went to theIsraelites and asked them to givewood, precious metals and stones,fine fabrics, animal skins, costlyoil and fragrant spices. Herequested that allgifted carpenters,weavers, jewel-ers, woodcarversand metalworkerscome help buildthe Tabernacle.

Building of theTabernacle

Soon the Israelitesbegan bringingarmfuls of materi-als to Moses! Hewas pleased to see

how willingly and cheerfully theIsraelites had responded to God’sinstruction. The workers came toMoses, and said, “The people arebringing more materials than wecan use in building theTabernacle.” So Moses had to com-mand the Israelites to stop giving!

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1 CHILDREN’S BIBLE LESSONIllustrations by Paula Rondeau

Israel Rebelsin the Wilderness

After about six months, theTabernacle was finished. Mosesthanked the workers for the extracare that they took in building it,and asked God to bless them.

Moses took oil and anointed theTabernacle and all that was in it.He also anointed Aaron and hissons as priests. The cloud onMount Sinai moved down andrested on the Tabernacle.

Deaths of Aaron’s Sons

Aaron and his sons began theirpriestly duties. One of theirresponsibilities was to sacrifice ahealthy lamb or calf twice eachday. This pictured the future com-ing of Jesus Christ, when Hewould offer His own life for thesins of every person who has everlived.

One morning, Nadab and Abihu,Aaron’s sons, made a terrible mis-take. Instead of using hot coalsfrom the altar by the Tabernacle,they carelessly used hot coals froma fire that was close by for theircensers. When they walked intothe Tabernacle, fire came from theinner room and consumed them.

Aaron was deeply saddened tosee his two dead sons when hearrived later that day. Moses didnot want the people to think thatGod had been unfair, so he toldAaron not to show his grief infront of them.

Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’sother sons, took the place ofNadab and Abihu.

Clean and Unclean Animals

God told Moses and Aaron whichanimals are good for food andwhich are not. You can learnabout these animals in Leviticus11 and Deuteronomy 14. He gaveus these rules because of His lovefor us.

Since He is our Creator, Heknows what our bodies need tostay healthy. He wants us to feelstrong and energized so that wecan do everything we need to do.Remember, our bodies are madeof what we put into them by eat-ing, so it is important that wechoose healthy foods.

“Clean” animals are those wecan eat; “unclean” animals arethose we cannot. Think back to

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the Lesson about Noah and theFlood. Remember that Noah andhis family took seven pairs ofclean animals into the ark, butonly one pair of unclean animals.This is because clean animals areused for food, and unclean ani-mals are not.

God created animals for differ-ent purposes. Some animals, suchas pigs, were made to keep ourenvironment clean. Others weremade to look beautiful, such asthe fox. And some animals werecreated for work, such as thehorse.

Land Animals

When trying to figure out if ananimal is clean or unclean, askyourself two questions. First, doesthe animal have a parted (or divid-ed) hoof? Second, does the animalchew its cud? If the answer is yesto both questions, the animal isclean. Some animals do not chewtheir food for a long time. Instead,they swallow it quickly and laterbring back small pieces of thisswallowed food and chew itagain. In this way, the bad parts

are taken out and the good partsare used for meat and milk.

Cows, sheep, deer and buffaloare examples of clean land ani-mals. Monkeys, squirrels, rabbitsand zebras are examples ofunclean animals. On a separatesheet of paper, write down moreexamples of clean and uncleananimals.

Sea Animals

When trying to figureout if a fish is clean orunclean, ask yourselftwo questions: First,does the fish havefins? Second, does thefish have overlappingscales? If the answer is yes to bothquestions, the animal is clean.

Tuna, salmon, cod and trout areexamples of clean fish.Octopuses, turtles, sharks and cat-fish are examples of unclean ani-mals. Can you think of other cleanand unclean sea animals?

You may be surprised to learnthat some animals popular inseafood restaurants, such as crabs,lobsters, shrimp and clams are

unclean. They keep the seas andoceans clean by eating dead ani-mals and germs!

Birds

A clean bird doesnot kill and eatother birds, anddoes not eat itsfood while flying.

It does have a long middle fronttoe and back toe. It also has acraw (a bird’s first stomach) anddouble-lined gizzard. Chickens,turkeys, ducks and all songbirdsare clean. Can you think of threeother clean birds mentioned in theBible?

Unclean birds do not have anyof the unique features ofclean birds. Examples ofunclean birds includeeagles, owls, crows andpenguins. Can you thinkof others?

The Israelites AreCounted

Shortly after theTabernacle was complet-

ed, God instructed Moses to countthe number of the Israelites. Morethan 600,000 men were counted.If the number of women and chil-dren is added to this total, theremay have been two to three mil-lion Israelites camped in thewilderness!

The Israelites paid close atten-tion to the pillar of a cloud thatwas over the Tabernacle. When itrose and began to move, theIsraelites packed their belongingsand prepared for their journey inan organized way. Read ICorinthians 14, verses 33 and 40.Do you try to do things decentlyand in order, without confusion,and in peace?

God Sends Quail

Before long, theIsraelites became tired ofeating only manna. Theydid not appreciate themany miracles that Godhad done.

“Give us meat to eat!”the people cried. “InEgypt we ate fish, veg-etables and fruit, but now



all we eat is mannaand more manna!”

Moses becamediscouraged. “Whyhave you laid theresponsibility of allthese people onme?” he asked God.“Am I to be theirfather and carrythem as a youngchild into thePromised Land?They are demand-ing meat from me.Where am I to getmeat for all thesepeople?”

“Bring Me 70elders of Israel,”God said to Moses.“I will take some ofthe Spirit that is upon you andgive it to them. Then you will nothave to care for all the peoplealone.”

God continued, “Tell the peoplethat I will give them meat. Theywill have meat not for one or twodays, but for a whole month, untilthey are sick of it and cannotstand the thought of it. I will do

this because they have rejectedme and wished they had stayed inEgypt.”

God caused a wind to bringquail from the sea. Soon the campwas surrounded and the groundwas covered with quail. TheIsraelites gathered quail for twodays. They became so busy withthe birds that they forgot God. As

a punishment, God sent a plaguethat killed many of the people.

Miriam and Aaron SpeakAgainst Moses

One day, Miriamand Aaron, Moses’sister and brother,said wrong thingsabout Moses.They thought thatthey should be incharge.

God becamevery angry. Hewanted to speakwith them at theTabernacle. Whenthey arrived, Godappeared before them in a pil-lar of a cloud.

“Now listen to Me!” Godsaid. “I chose Moses to be theleader, and I speak to him.Why were you not afraid to speakagainst My servant Moses?”

After God finished speaking,and the pillar of a cloud rose upfrom the Tabernacle, Miriam’sskin became white as snow.Miriam now had leprosy!

Aaron and Miriam were sorryfor their foolishness, and askedMoses for help. So Moses criedto God and asked Him to healher.

Miriam was healed after spend-ing seven days outside the camp.We, too, can learn from Miriam’sand Aaron’s mistake. Rebellionagainst God’s servants is the sameas rebellion against God.

Scouts Sent to Canaan

After Miriam returnedto the camp, theIsraelites journeyedcloser to the land ofCanaan.

God told Moses tosend 12 men to spy outthe land of Canaan.When the men arrived,they were pleased tofind lots of different

food growing there, but they weresurprised to find men who weredouble their size!

After scouting for 40 days, themen returned to the camp. Theybrought home different fruits,including a cluster of grapes that



hung from a pole. It required twomen to carry!

Joshua and Caleb, the leadersof the group, told Moses that Godhad in fact blessed the PromisedLand. The other scouts, however,also reported that there weregiants living there.

“The people there are stronger.We will be killed if we go there!”they said.

Caleb quieted the people, andsaid, “Let us leave at once andtake the land. We can do it withGod’s help!”

“We are not able to go upagainst the people. They arestronger!” the other scouts said.

The Israelites began to com-plain again. “If only we had diedin Egypt,” they wept. “Let us

choose a leader and return toEgypt.”

Moses and Aaron fell on theirfaces and prayed to God. Joshuaand Caleb told the people to trustin God. But the Israelites wouldnot listen. Some people wanted tothrow stones at Moses and Aaron.This made God very angry.

All of a sudden, a bright lightappeared in the Tabernacle. “Howlong will these people reject me?And how long will they notbelieve Me after all the miraclesthat I have shown them?” Godasked Moses.

God told Moses that He woulddestroy the Israelites and make agreat nation from him instead. ButMoses asked God to be mercifuland forgive the people.

God heard Moses’ prayer.Instead of destroying theIsraelites, God did not allow themto enter the Promised Land. Theywandered in the wilderness formany more years. The Israeliteswould not enter the PromisedLand until 40 years had passedsince leaving Egypt.

Some of the Israelites tried toenter the Promised Land anyway.


They were attacked by theAmalekites.

Korah’s Rebellion

One day, while the Israelites wan-dered in the wilderness, Korahand other leaders of Israel gath-ered in front of Moses’ tent. Theydid not want Moses and Aaron tobe the leaders.

“We are just as good as you,”Korah said to Moses. “Why doyou put yourselves above the peo-ple as leaders?”

This made Moses sad. He toldKorah that, in the morning, Godwould show him whom He hadchosen as leader.

The next morning, Moses toldthe people to stay away from thetents of Korah, Dathan andAbiram. Suddenly, the groundopened up, and the three men andtheir families fell into the hole.Then fire struck and devoured thepeople who followed Korah.

Water From a Rock

As the years passed duringIsrael’s time of wandering, the

people returned to an area nearthe land of Canaan. Earlier, therehad been an abundance of water,but now it was gone.

The Israelites complained toMoses, saying, “Why have youbrought us out of Egypt to bringus to this horrible place?”

Moses and Aaron went to theTabernacle to ask God for help.

“Take your rod,” God said,“and gather the people together.Speak to the rock in front of them,and then water will flow out.”

Moses and Aaron were angrywith the people. So instead ofspeaking to the rock, Mosesstruck it twice with his rod. Godcaused water to come out, butMoses and Aaron knew they haddisobeyed God.

“Because you did not honorMe in the eyes of the children ofIsrael,” Godsaid, “youwill not enterthe PromisedLand.”

Of course,this sad-dened Mosesand Aaron,

but they knew it was a fair pun-ishment for their sin.

Aaron died a few months later.Before he died, God madeEleazar, Aaron’s son, the newHigh Priest.

Snakes in the Camp

Almost 40 years had passed sinceleaving Egypt, and the Israelitescontinued to complain. “Why

have you brought us out of Egyptto die in the wilderness?” theysaid again. “There is no food orwater, and we hate this manna!”

This made God angry, and Hesent poisonous snakes into thecamp. Many of the people diedafter being bitten.

The Israelites realized they hadbeen wrong in speaking againstGod and Moses. They askedMoses to pray to God. “Ask God to

take away these snakesfrom us!” they said.

Moses prayed to God.God instructed Moses tomake a bronze snakeand put it on a pole.Anyone who looked atthe bronze snake wouldbe healed of the snakebites.

A New Leader

Since Moses would notbe entering the PromisedLand, God had to choosea new leader. Joshua,one of the two scoutswho had given a goodreport of the land, was



chosen. Joshua had been faithfulto God and Moses for many years.

Before his death, Moses gavethe Israelites God’s instructionsabout what they were to do uponentering the Promised Land. Hereminded them to stay close to Godand obey His commandments.

God instructedMoses to climb ahigh mountain. Atthe top, Mosescould see thePromised Land.

“This is the land that the descen-dants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacobwill inherit. I have let you see it,but you will not enter it,” God said.

Moses died soon after at the ageof 120, and Joshua became thenew leader of the nation of Israel.

BIBLE MEMORY: Exodus 15:26

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2006

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WORD SEARCH

HEDGEHOG LION

OSPREY PIG

SKUNK KOALA

KANGAROO MOUSE

CHEETAH PONY

MONKEY APE

DONKEY WHALE

OPOSSUM OWL

RHINOCEROS FOX

SEAL DOG

OCTOPUS RAT

BADGER COOT

PORCUPINE CATFISH

CLAM CAT

KIWI ZEBRA

Here is a word search puzzle containing names of animals that are unclean toeat. We know many of the animals we can eat, but if we were very hungrywould we know what not to eat? Words can be diagonal, forward and back-ward, up and down. There are 30 animals. Find as many as you can.If there are animals you do not know, look them up in an encyclopedia.

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