Unit 5: Life of Moses OT5.10 Moses and the Golden Calfstorage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user...God called Moses, "Come up to the top of this mountain." There God gave to him the ten

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OT5.10 Moses and the Golden Calf ©Beverly Wilson 2017

Unit 5: Life of Moses OT5.10 Moses and the Golden Calf

Scripture: Exodus 32

Lesson Goal: With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson the Israelites convince Aaron to disobey God's Word and build the golden calf. We will see that when we are tempted to do wrong, it is important to stop and remember what God has said about how to love and obey Him.

Introduction: This is the tenth lesson in Unit 5: Life of Moses. With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson the Israelites convince Aaron to disobey God's Word and build the golden calf. We will see that when we are tempted to do wrong, it is important to stop and remember what God has said about how to love and obey Him. The lesson is found in the second book of the Bible called Exodus. Exodus is in the Old Testament. Exodus is a word that means exit because it tells how Israel left Egypt. Exodus follows the Book of Genesis and is one of the books of Law. The books of the Law are the first five books in the Old Testament. Let's say the books of Law together: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Attention Getter: “Making Choices” (Bring to class a group of different kinds of cereal or different kinds of candy bars. Ask the children to choose their favorite and then tell why they chose it.)

What if I took you to the kitchen and I gave you some sugar, some flour, baking powder, eggs, and Which of these kinds of candy bars look good to you? Which one would you prefer to eat? Why? Is it because your friends like that kind of candy?

Which of these cereals do you like to eat for breakfast? Why do you like it? Is it because you have seen that brand of cereal on television?

When you choose things like candy bars or cereal or computer games, how do you decide which one to choose? Is it ads, commercials, friends, parents or just your own experience? Which of these ways helps you make a good choice?

In this lesson we are going to talk about why it's often important to stop and think about some of our choices and why we make them. We are going to see that it is important to remember what God's Word the Bible says about our choices.

Today we are going to talk about how one time the Israelites convinced Aaron to disobey God's Word and build a gold calf. This story is found in the book of Exodus.

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for choosing us as your special people and giving us Your loving laws to keep us safe. Help us to love you and honor you by keeping your commandments. Please forgive us of our sins. Help us to believe in you as our Savior and help us to obey you. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for our sin. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left."

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/mKvPpmXVnj4 Thousands of years ago God chose the Israelites to be His special people. They had been slaves in Egypt and cried out to God for help. God heard their prayers and sent them a leader named Moses to

https://youtu.be/mKvPpmXVnj4

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rescue them. God promised Moses that He would bring the children of Israel from Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land. God had to send ten plagues to Egypt before the Pharaoh finally allowed Israel to leave Egypt. As the children of Israel were leaving Egypt they came upon the Red Sea. Moses prayed to God and He parted the sea by forming two walls of water. The Israelites escaped by walking through on dry ground. After escaping through the Red Sea, the children of Israel kept traveling through the wilderness over the desert sand, heading to a new country, the land that God had promised to Abraham. During the day God set a big cloud to move across the sky in front of them. At night God sent a pillar of fire to guide them. The fire lighted the camp of the Israelites so even at night they could see their way! God wanted the people to know that He was with them on their journey to the Promised Land. God provided everything that the children of Israel needed in the wilderness. He turned bitter water into fresh water at Marah so they could be refreshed. He provided manna or bread from heaven every morning so they would have something to eat. On the sixth day of the week there was enough bread for the people to rest and worship God on the seventh day. Three months after crossing the Red Sea the Israelites camped in the desert at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was here that God was going to give them some important instructions about how they should live and how to worship Him. Moses climbed up the mountain where God spoke to him. God said, "You have seen how I brought you out of Egypt. Tell the Israelites, if you obey me, out of all the nations I will make you my treasured people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Moses climbed back down the mountain to tell the leaders of the people or elders what God had promised. He told them how God had chosen them to be His special people. They would be spiritual leaders to show everyone else how to live according to God's way. When Moses told the people that God wanted to give them the Ten Commandments, together the people said, "We will do everything the Lord has said." Then God told Moses, "I am going to come to you in a thick cloud so the people will hear me speaking to you." "Tell the people to get ready to hear what I have to say." God commanded, "Have them wash their clothes and take baths." Washing their clothes would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. God also told Moses to build a fence around the mountain to keep the people and animals from touching the mountain. If they did, they would die! This fence was to show the people that the laws God was going to give them would keep them safe. On the third day, just as He promised the Lord descended to Mount Sinai in a fire. Smoke billowed up like a furnace and the whole mountain shook. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. God called Moses, "Come up to the top of this mountain." There God gave to him the ten laws or commandments for living to please Him. When Moses came back down the mountain he read the Ten Commandments to the people. Once again they said, "We will do everything the Lord has said.” The next morning Moses built an altar to God. He sacrificed young bull and sprinkled the blood on them. Moses then said, "This is the blood of the agreement or covenant God has made with us." The people solemnly promised to obey God. But... Let's see though how long they remembered their promise. God then asked Moses to come to the top of the mountain. God said, "Stay here on the mountain until I give you tablets of stone on which I have written My Laws."

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Before Moses went up on Mount Sinai to meet God, he told everyone that his brother Aaron and a man named Hur were in charge of things until he returned. "If there are any problems while I am gone," Moses instructed, "talk to them." Then Moses and his helper Joshua started up the mountain. When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. God then took two tablets of stone and began to write with his finger the Ten Commandments on the both sides of the stones front and back. The Ten Commandments were God's laws for living to please Him. These laws were not just for Israel but are for us today as well. The first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me." God is the only true God and we are to worship only Him. The second commandment is "You shall not make for yourself an idol." We are not to have any idols of gold, silver, wood or stone. Nothing is to replace our loyalty to God. The third commandment is "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." This means we are to treat God's name as holy and not ever swear--even when we are angry. The fourth commandment is "Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy." This means that you are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart to worship God. The fifth commandment is "Honor your father and mother" Children are to show respect and obey their parents. God promises that you will be blessed by living a long time if you do. The sixth commandment is "You shall not murder." Killing someone in anger is wrong. The seventh commandment is "You shall not commit adultery." Marriage is to be honored. Husbands and wives are to love each other. The eighth commandment is "You shall not steal." Taking what does not belong to you is wrong. The ninth commandment is "You shall not tell lies." We need to be careful and always tell the truth. The tenth commandment is "You shall not covet." This means we are not to envy after or want anything belonging to someone else." God then went on to give many more rules for worshipping Him. He told Moses how to build a place of worship that was to be called the tabernacle. He also gave rules for people to live by that would bring peace and joy. God wanted His people to know how to live a life that was pleasing to Him. Moses had been on the mountain for forty days. Meanwhile the children of Israel were still camped down at the bottom of the mountain. The people below began to wonder if Moses would ever come back! They came to Aaron and demanded, "We don't know what has happened to Moses. Let us make gods to lead us." Aaron told them to take off the gold earrings the women and children were wearing and give them to him so they could be melted down to make an idol. The gold was melted down and Aaron then shaped it into a golden calf using a tool. The people responded by declaring, "These are our gods who brought us up out of Egypt." The people had totally forgotten that God had guided them with the pillars of cloud and fire. They forgot

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how he had given them manna and quail to eat. How could they forget how much God loved them? But they did! When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the golden calf and said, "Tomorrow there will be a festival. Bring your offerings!" Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings, ate, drank, and started a wild, noisy party worshipping the golden calf. They danced and sang before the golden calf! Meanwhile Moses was still high on Mt. Sinai being instructed by God. Moses did not know what was happening in the Israelite camp but of course the Lord knew. He said to Moses, "Go down immediately. The people I brought out of Egypt have become rotten and stubborn." They have made an idol cast in the shape of a calf and are bowing down and offering sacrifices. They are saying, "These are our gods who brought us out of Egypt." God was so upset by their disobedience he told Moses He wanted to destroy them. Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the people He had rescued from Egypt. He reminded God of his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make the Israelites into a great nation. God then agreed not to break His promise by bringing disaster on the people. Then Moses took hold of the two stones on which God had engraved His commandments and started walking down the mountain. These were the very laws that the people had promised to obey! Halfway down the mountain Moses met Joshua who had been waiting for him. "It sounds like there is a war in the camp," said Joshua. "It is not the sound of victory or defeat," replied Moses. "It is the sound of singing." As Moses and Joshua came closer they saw the golden calf shining in the sunlight. People were everywhere dancing wildly and bowing and singing to the idol. Moses was so angry that he threw the two stone tablets to the ground at the foot of the mountain. Crack! They broke into pieces. Moses took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire. Then he ground it to powder scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it! Moses turned on Aaron. "What did these people do to you, that you lead them into such great disobedience? Of course Aaron didn't want to take the blame, so he thought up an excuse. He said, "When they saw you were gone a long time they wanted gods to lead them. I put gold in the fire and out came this calf." Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control. Moses knew that the people needed to ask God to forgive them for their terrible sin. So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." Those in the tribe called the Levites rallied to him. But many of the people would not confess their sin and they still refused to obey God. That meant that they had to face the consequences of their sin. Moses told Levites to get their swords and carry out God's punishment on those who had disobeyed Him. The Levites carried out the order. The Levites killed about three thousand of the Israelites. Moses then told them, "As you have shown your loyalty to God He has chosen you to serve Him." Moses called the rest of the people together. "You have committed a great sin, but I will go up and talk with God."

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Moses climbed back up the mountain to ask God to forgive His people for their disobedience. God told Moses that those who had worshipped the golden calf would be punished with a plague but the rest would be led on to the land God had promised to give them. God showed that He did forgive the people by telling Moses to carved out two new stone tablets like the first ones. Then God wrote on them the words that were on the first tablets which Moses had broken. These were the Ten Commandments that God had given for everyone to obey. Probably none of us are going to be tempted to disobey God by making an idol out of our jewelry. But each day there are times when we have to choose between doing right or wrong. Sometimes we do what is wrong just because we want to. We might choose to ignore our parents instead of obeying them. We might lie or steal to cover up what we have done that was wrong. This girl is wrong for being so angry and disrespectful. Sometimes we do something wrong because those around us are doing wrong. If people are arguing or being mean to others, it is easy to join in or be part of the crowd. But we can choose to do what is right! Almost always we make wrong choices because we don't take the time to remember what God wants us to do. When we stop and think and choose to obey God, we show how much we love Him. What choice did God say was best in Deuteronomy 5:32? Let's read it together. Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left." God says we need to be careful to do what is right because He knows it isn't easy. We can ask God to help us make choices to obey and love God in our actions and attitudes. Remember Obey God's Rules--the Ten Commandments!

Review Questions: “Heads or Tails” Preparation: You will need to draw a large grid on poster paper or on a white board using markers. Make the grid 5 squares across and five squares down. Label the lower left corner “Start” and the upper right corner “Finish.” See diagram. You will also need a coin to flip. Procedure: Divide the class into two teams. Assign a different colored marker for each team. Each team must correctly answer one of the following review questions to proceed. Have each member of the team take turns flipping the coin. If the coin is heads the team marks the square one space horizontally. If the coin is tails the team marks the square one space vertically. Teams are to try to reach the “Finish” Square. First team to get to the Finish square is the winner. Say: “This game has only two choices—moving horizontally or vertically. When we are faced with temptation we only have two choices—to obey God or not. Winners always obey God.” 1. Why did God choose the children of Israel to be “His Chosen People”? (He wanted them to be an

example to the rest of mankind. He wanted them to be spiritual leaders and show everyone else God’s way.

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2. Why did God tell Moses to have the people wash their clothes before He could speak to them? (Washing their clothes would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. They were stop their daily routine in order to hear what God had to say.)

3. Why did God speak to the people with a majestic display of power? (He wanted to show the people just how awesome and important the Ten Commandments are. He wanted them to know that He was the Sovereign God.)

4. What are God’s rules for life called? (God’s rules are called the Ten Commandments.) 5. Why do you think, "You shall have no other gods before me" is the first commandment? (God

wants us to put Him above all things. Before our toys, TV, even before our friends.)What does it mean to honor your father and your mother? (To prize highly, show respect, treat as precious or valuable.

6. What is an idol? (Anything that keeps you from spending time with God.) 7. Why should we not have any graven images or idols? (God does not wanting us to worship

objects or His creation instead of Him.) 8. What does "You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” mean? (The Lord is holy. Using his

name in an unholy manner brings judgment to that person.) 9. Why should we “Keep the Sabbath day holy?” (God wants us to follow His example by resting on

the seventh day and taking time to worship Him.) 10. What is the only commandment with a promise? (Honor your father and mothers and you will live

a long life.) 11. Name the Ten Commandments. (1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (2) “Don't make

anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (6) “You shall not murder." (7) "You shall not commit adultery. (8) "You shall not steal." (9) "You shall not tell lies." (10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else."

12. When Moses told the people God wanted to give them His rules for living, what did the people promise to do? (Obey all of God’s laws.)

13. How many days was Moses up on the mountain? (Moses on Mt. Sinai for forty days. 14. What did the people do while Moses was gone? (They made a golden calf.) 15. What did Aaron tell the people to bring to make the golden calf? (He told them to bring all their

golden earrings.) 16. Which commandments did they break by making the golden calf? (They broke the first two

commandments.) 17. What did God want to do to the people because of His anger? (He wanted to wipe them out and

start over with Moses’ descendents.) 18. What did Moses remind God of when He said He wanted to wipe out all the people? (His

promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) 19. What did Moses do when he got back down the mountain and saw the people the people

worshipping an idol? (He threw the 10 commandments down and broke the tablets of stone.) 20. What did he do with the golden idol? (Moses burned the golden calf and ground it into dust. Then

he put the gold dust into the water and made the people drink it.) 21. What did Moses say to the people of Israel? (Moses said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.") 22. Which family in Israel came to stand with Moses? (The family of Levites came to stand with

Moses and ask for repentance.) 23. What did Moses ask this family to do? (He asked them to take swords and kill all those who

worshipped the golden calf.) 24. Why did Moses ask them to kill their brothers? (This act would show that they were truly sorry for

their sin and would rid the camp of those who would not obey God.) 25. When Moses went back on the mountain, what did God ask Him to do? (God ask Moses to carve

out two more tablets.) 26. What did God do with the tablets? (He rewrote the Ten Commandments just as He had before

Moses broke them in anger.) 27. What did God say would happen to any person in the camp who had worshipped the calf and

were not repentant? (They would die of a plague.)

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28. Why is it important for us to show honor and respect for God? (He is holy and deserves our reverence.)

29. What does it show other people when we show our respect towards God? (That we have a special relationship with Him.)

30. How can you show honor and respect towards God? (By being careful how we speak His name. Never use His name lightly or as a swear word.)

31. What is the memory verse? (Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.").

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Concentration” Our memory verse is Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left." Have students look verse up in scripture and repeat together several times. Say “God says we need to be careful to do what is right because He knows it isn't easy. We can ask God to help us make choices to obey and love God in our actions and attitudes. Let's say our verse again, Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left." Preparation: You will need Bibles, index cards and a marker. Print Deuteronomy 5:32 on index cards, two or three words on each card. Make two identical sets. Procedure: Play a game of Concentration. Mix up both sets of cards. Place cards face down in rows. Students take turns turning over two cards at a time to see if they can match. If they match students keep the cards. If they do not match, students turn cards facedown again. Play until all cards have been collected. Students work together to put both sets of cards in verse order, referring to their Bibles for help. Say: “In this lesson we talked about right and wrong choices. God was not happy with the children of Israel when they make a wrong choice of making a golden idol and worshipping it. God loves us and wants our complete devotion to Him. We will live happy and blessed lives when we choose to obey His commandments.” Repeat the memory verse together.

Group Learning Activity: “Confetti” Object Lesson (Grades K-5) Purpose: To help students understand the effects of lying. Preparation: Bring to class confetti or little hole punches from paper and an electric fan. Procedure: Open the confetti or throw the little paper hole punches in the air. If possible throw the confetti over a fan that is blowing. (Just make sure the wind carries the confetti up into the air and it scatters all over the floor. Say: “Will you help me gather up ALL the paper? (Obviously the children will not be able to collect all the confetti without some difficulty!) Say “This confetti is like Aaron who tried to lie to Moses about the making of the golden calf. He said that he just melted the golden jewelry and the calf came out! Why was this statement a lie?” (The golden calf did NOT just come out by itself. He had to mold it and shape it. He was to blame just as much as the other Israelites who worshipped it. He could not shift the blame.) “When a lie is told it is very difficult to stop the effect it has just like it was very difficult to gather back up all these little pieces of confetti. It is much better to tell the truth and pay the consequences than tell a lie and suffer the guilt? What did Moses say to God when God told him He wanted to destroy the people? (He pleaded with God to forgive them.) What does God do when we turn our backs on Him? (He loves us but is very grieved at our sin.) What should we do when we have broken the Ten Commandments and

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sinned against God? (We should ask forgiveness and come back to God.) What does God promise when we ask for forgiveness? (I John 1:9 He promises to love us and forgive us our sins and to restore us to a right relationship with Him.)

Group Learning Activity: “An Old Shoe” Object Lesson (Grades K-5) Purpose: Students will learn the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to protect us from harm. Preparation: Bring an old shoe to class, a rock and a piece of broken glass. Procedure: Show the old shoe. Talk about how the shoe is made and the purpose of sole is to protect our feet. Point out any scuff marks and speculate what the shoe might have kept from harming the person’s foot. Show the stone and the glass and discuss how harmful these might be to someone who stepped on them. Ask, “Why do you think it is important to wear shoes?” Say: “In this lesson God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to give to the people of Israel. God wanted His people to be an example of the blessings that come when we obey God. He wanted them to be the witnesses of His great love to all people of the world. Let’s think about each of the commandments and how they would protect Israel and us from harm.” (Go through each commandment and discuss the good that can come from obeying it.)

(1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (This commandment protects us by helping us stay focused on God. We show our love to Him.)

(2) “Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (This commandment protects us by reminding us not to let other things like money, games, power, or things take away time from God.”

(3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (This commandment protects us by helping us to show respect for God and to show others that we truly love him.)

(4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (This commandment protects us by setting aside a time to worship God and giving us a day to rest from all other work.)

(5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (This commandment protects us by learning to listen to the advice of our parents and gives us the blessing of living a long life.)

(6) “You shall not murder." (This commandment protects us by not suffering the consequences of hurting other people or not being the one that others hate or wish to do us harm. We will not have feelings of guilt and shame.)

(7) "You shall not commit adultery. (This commandment protects us by not hurting others or other people in our family. We will not have feelings of guilt and shame.)

(8) "You shall not steal." (This commandment protects us by not suffering the consequences of being caught. We will not be hated by others. We will love others and respect their property.)

(9) "You shall not tell lies." (This commandment protects us by not losing our respect and trust by others. We will not be rejected or hated and not have feelings of guilt and shame.)

(10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else." (This commandment protects us by teaching us how to live with others and learning to be content and happy.)

Conclude by saying, “Let’s be glad that God has given us the shoes of the Ten Commandments to protect us from all the stones and glass of sin.”

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Group Learning Activity: “Scripture Search on Temptation” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To have children understand what God says about temptation and how to handle it. Preparation: Bibles, chart paper, markers Procedure: Write the following scriptures on the chart paper with a marker. Have students look the verses up in scripture and read them aloud together. Discuss the following points about temptation. Write the main discussion points beside each scripture.

Luke 4:1-12 Say: What did Jesus do when He was tempted to disobey? Satan tempted Jesus by appealing to his appetite but Jesus quoted scripture as a way to remind Satan that man does not live by bread alone. Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him but Jesus said that we should only worship the Lord our God. Satan appealed to a false pride by asking Jesus to jump off the temple. Jesus said not to tempt God. We can learn all the wisdom we need to overcome Satan’s temptation by learning and obeying what God had said in His Word.

1 Corinthians 10:13 The temptation to do wrong happens to everyone. Others have resisted temptation and we can also. God has helped others resist and He will help us also. We should recognize people and situations that are wrong. We should run from anything that we know is wrong. We should pray for God’s help and seek help from others who love God and can offer help. Running from temptation is our first step toward victory.

1 Timothy 6:9-11 We might think that money brings happiness but rich people can easily get caught in a cycle of wanting even more and that will lead to ruin and destruction. We should realize that one day all riches on earth will be gone. We should be content with what we have. We should carefully consider what we will do to get more money. We should love people more than money and freely share what we have with others.

Group Learning Activity: “Covered Table Art” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: To learn how to obey God and His commandments Preparation: Tape butcher paper or a roll of white drawing paper to a tabletop, covering the table. In the center of the paper print a variety of ways or actions that students can do to obey God’ command. These ways include: pray, talk to Bible teacher, choose godly friends, read your Bible, tell others about Jesus, sing songs of praise, etc. Scramble the letters in each of the words. Example would be daer oruy Bblie (read your Bible); ngsi sngos fo aispe (sing songs of praise) etc. Procedure: Have students gather around the covered table with the paper of scrambled words. Have students unscramble the words and write them on the table cover next to the scrambled letters. Have students choose one word or phrase from the scrambled letters and create a design with pictures or symbols illustrating the words or phrases. Attempt to cover the table top with designs and words. Say: “What do each of the scrambled phrases say? (Have students read the phrases aloud.) When would you want to do these things? How could these things help you obey God when you are tempted to do wrong? What does our memory verse Deuteronomy 5:32 say we should do? What are some other ways we can be careful to obey God?” After discussion carefully remove the cover from the table top and display the group art work on the wall. You can title the display “Obeying God.”

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Group Learning Activity: “Missing Letters” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To teach students what the Bible says about how we obey God Preparation: Print these references on a large sheet of paper or on the write on the white board, drawing lines for all but two to four letters in each book name: Exodus 19:5, Leviticus 18:4; Deuteronomy 30:16; Joshua 1:8; 1 Samuel 15:22; 1 Kings 8:61; 2 Chronicles 34:31; Psalm 118:34. See example in illustration. Procedure: Display the large sheet of paper or white board. Ask students to try to identify the Bible book name, guessing the letters as needed. Say: “These Bible books are found in the first three section of the Old Testament. What are these sections called? (The books of Law, the books of History, and the Books of Poetry) In this Bible lesson where was the story of Moses and the Golden Calf found? (The Book of Exodus) The verses in this lest tell us how we show love for God by obeying Him. Each student is to choose a verse reference to locate and read aloud. Look and listen for the way we are to obey God.

Exodus 19:5—keep the covenant or commandments

Leviticus 18:4—obey God’s laws

Deuteronomy 30:16—love God, walk in His ways, keep the commandments

Joshua 1:8—meditate on God’s Word day and night and do not let it depart from your mouth so that you will obey the commands

1 Samuel 15:22—to obey is better than sacrifice

1 Kings 8:61—hearts must be fully committed to obey God’s command

2 Chronicles 34:31—promise God that you will follow Him and obey His commands

Psalm 118:34—ask God for understanding so we can keep His commandments

Group Learning Activity: “The Golden Bowl” Purpose: To help students learn the importance of praying for others. Preparation: Collect some wooden salad bowls or some glass bowls. Spray paint the bowls gold. Give a bowl to each child in your class. Procedure: Have students write the names of classmates, local church leaders, and children in other nations or others who need prayer on small pieces of paper. Place the papers in a golden bowl. Say: “While Moses was still in God’s presence, God knew what the people were doing down below. God told Moses that the people had already forgotten about Him, and He would destroy them because of their sin. Moses knew that he had an important job to do, to speak to God on behalf of the Israelites. Moses ask God to spare His people. Instead of destroying all the people, God listened to Moses and decided to save them. Does anyone know what a mediator is? (Someone who is in the middle-that speaks on behalf of someone else.) Moses was a mediator for the Israelites. He stood in God’s presence and spoke to Him for them. He would also listen to God and tell the people what He had said. God listened to Moses, not because Moses was perfect or without sin, but because God had chosen him to be the mediator. Moses loved and cared about his people, but even he couldn’t take away their sin. He could only talk to God and ask God to have mercy on them. Did you know that we have a mediator today? We don’t need Moses as a mediator because we have Jesus! He is the man in the middle, with God on one side and us on the other. Jesus is the perfect mediator because He is completely sinless, and He is the only One Who can take our sin away. God’s grace is so much bigger than our sin. Even when we do really bad things, we can never sin so

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much that Jesus’ sacrifice can’t cover us. The Israelites did a really bad thing in worshipping the golden calf, but God still forgave them and loved them as His chosen people. Just like Moses we should learn to pray for others. Revelation 5:8 says our prayers are like sweet smelling incense in the golden bowls at God’s throne.” In this bowl are the names of everyone in our class. There are also the names of missionaries, missionary children, our church leaders, and others who need prayer. We are going to each take a slip of paper from the golden bowl and pray for that person silently. I will close in prayer.” Pray aloud: “Lord God, we lift up to Your throne the name of each child here. We trust You to watch over us and meet our needs. We ask you to help the names of the ones we say aloud as well as the ones whose names are hidden in our hearts. First, we lift up to You ___, ___, ___. (Read names in Golden Bowl.)

Craft Learning Activity: “Broken Commandments Puzzle” (Grades K-5) Purpose: Students will “break” the Ten Commandments into pieces to remind them of how Moses broke the commandments into pieces when he saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf. Preparation: You will need 67# white cardstock, the broken commandments pattern below, scissors, crayons, markers, or colored pencils, and plastic bags or paper clips. Make copies of the broken “Ten Commandments Pattern” below for each student on the cardstock. Procedure: Give each student the cardstock copy of the Ten Commandments. Have students color the stone tablets with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Instruct the students to cut their stone tablets into pieces by cutting on the thin solid black lines. Once students have cut their stone tablets into pieces have them race to put them back together. Put all pieces of the stone tablets into a plastic bag or clip together with a paper clip when finished. Say: “What commandments did the children of Israel break when they worshipped the golden calf? (They broke the first two commandments.) What are those two commandments? (You shall have no other gods before me" and "You shall not make for yourself an idol.") What did Moses do when he saw that the people were worshipping an idol? (He became so angry that he threw the tablets down and broke them.) How do you think God feels when we break His commandments? (He feels that we have betrayed Him and we break His heart. He has great sorrow. )

Craft Learning Activity: “Gold Jewelry” (Grades K-3) Purpose: To help students remember the lesson Moses and the Golden Calf and not to make any object a thing of worship Preparation: You will need silver notebook rings, gold spray paint, and gold beads. Procedure: Take silver rings which are commonly used to hold papers together and spray paint them gold. Open them up and let students put three gold beans on each one. The rings should be large enough that the earrings just slip over the top of the earlobe and rest there. This is a very cute craft for young children. A similar project is to make necklaces from juice can lids or old CDs. Spray paint the lids or CDs gold and punch a hole in the top of the juice lid with an ice pick. CDs already have a hole. Loop a gold string through the hole. Children can decorate their jewelry by adding “jewels” which are actually sticky back jewels from the craft store. Purchase jewels which are flat on one side. If needed hot glue them on the lid. (Only adults can use hot glue gun.)

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Say: “In this lesson Aaron and the people of Israel used their jewelry to make a golden idol. God was not pleased with their choice. He told Moses that the people had forgotten to obey Him and deserved to be punished. Moses interceded for the people and God forgave them but worshipping idols is disobeying the second commandment.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Play Dough Animal” (Grades K-2) Purpose: To help students learn that idols do not have any power and worshipping God is a good choice Preparation: You will need yellow play dough. Procedure: Have students use the yellow play dough to fashion an animal of their choice. Have students check out each other’s creation. Say: “These animals that we made may look awesome but do you think that they have any special powers? Can they hear us or talk to us? No! Can they walk or run? No! Do they have any special power to help us? No! These animals are just something that we have made with our own hands and they certainly do not have any special power. In our lesson this is what Aaron and the people made by melting down their gold jewelry and molding it into an animal. They began to believe that this golden calf had special powers. When we start worshipping something that we have made or even a creation made by God we are worshipping an idol. God has commanded us not to make any idols or graven images. He wants us to obey and worship Him. Many times people do not realize that the time they spend with other activities like sports, games, TV, etc… can become an idol that they worship if it takes away the time they should be spending with God. You must always put God first. He must have priority, or first place, in your daily activities. If He doesn’t, then you may just have an idol in your house.

Life Application Challenge: “Wise Watching” Ask the children to tell what programs or movies they watch on TV or NetFlix. Ask: “Why were the programs you watched good or bad?” Say: “Do the things you watch help build your family? If there are programs or movies that your family enjoys watching together, what could you do after the show that would help build up your family? (You could talk about favorite things about the movie and why the people in the movie or show made a good choice or did not make a good choice. You could talk about the effects of doing wrong verses the effect of doing what is right.) Say: “Some families like to take one night a week and plan a family activity instead of watching TV. What are some family activities that you could do? You could play a board game. You could have a fire pit outside in the evening and talk around the fire or watch the stars in the sky. You could go for a flashlight walk. You could read a book out loud. You could make ice cream sundaes.) Encourage children to take time to talk to their families.

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Moses and the Golden Calf

Deuteronomy 5:32 "Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;

do not turn aside to the right or to the left."

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The Golden Calf

Connect the dots to see what the Israelites made from gold.

When Moses went to the top of the mountain where God gave him the Ten

Commandants he was gone a long time. The people thought he was never coming back so they took their jewelry and made golden calf to worship.

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The Tablets of Law Exodus 32

Find the shape on the outside of the puzzle that matches the shape in the tablet. Write the word from that shape on the matching shape.

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Documents

Unit 5: Life of Moses OT5.10 Moses and the Golden Calfstorage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user...God called Moses, "Come up to the top of this mountain." There God gave to him the ten