to live holy lives in an unholy world. This sustained their relationship with God until the perfect plan was revealed through Jesus Christ.

Transcription

1 Big Picture Question: What does the tabernacle show about God? God wants to dwell with His people and be worshiped by them. Bible Passage: Exodus 35:4-40:38 Christ Connection: God instructed His covenant people how to live holy lives in an unholy world. This sustained their relationship with God until the perfect plan was revealed through Jesus Christ. The Tabernacle Was Built 1st-2nd February 19 TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Thirteen of the last sixteen chapters of the Book of Exodus consist of instructions for building the tabernacle. The word tabernacle means dwelling place. The tabernacle was a portable tent where God met with His people. God had a great purpose for the tabernacle. (See Ex. 29:45-46.) Moses had been on the mountain talking with God for 40 days. During that time, God wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on tablets. Moses called all of the Israelite community together and gave them the instructions God had given him. (Ex. 24:3-4) God s directions for building the tabernacle were very detailed. God was not trying to burden the people; He was trying to show them His holiness and absolute authority. God appointed Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the building of the tabernacle, giving them wisdom, understanding, and craftsmanship. Every skilled person whose heart moved him eagerly worked on the tabernacle of the Lord. (See Ex. 35:30-35; 36:1-6.) God gave the Israelites the tabernacle as a visual picture of His dwelling with them. The tabernacle was a temporary place for God s glory to dwell until the coming of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6) Every part of the tabernacle was designed to illustrate God s relationship with His people. Christ is the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament tabernacle. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. Jesus made His dwelling with men. He tabernacled with them. (Rev. 21:3) As you teach kids about the building of the tabernacle, show them God s desire to be with His people. Emphasize that Jesus was God s plan to bring people back to Himself.

2 THE BIBLE STORY The Tabernacle Was Built Exodus 35:4 40:38 When Moses was on the mountain talking to God, God said, Tell the Israelites to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them. God gave Moses very specific instructions for building the tabernacle and everything that went inside it. Make it exactly like I show you, God said. So when Moses went down the mountain, he gathered the entire Israelite community together. He told them everything God had said. He asked them to bring materials: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; animals skins; wood; oil; spices; and gemstones. Moses called for anyone who was a skilled craftsman to make everything the Lord had commanded. This included the tabernacle and all its pieces, the ark of the covenant, the table for the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and many other parts. Every Israelite who felt moved in his heart brought an offering for the tabernacle. People came with gold jewelry; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; animal skins; wood; oil; spices; and gemstones. God gave two men, Bezalel (BEHZ uh lehl) and Oholiab (oh HOH lih ab), special skills for building and creating things. Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled people came together to build the tabernacle for God. At the same time, people kept bringing offerings of what they had. Pretty soon, the craftsmen came to Moses and said, The people are bringing more than enough. We don t need all of this to build the tabernacle as God instructed. So Moses told the Israelites to stop bringing their offerings. Everyone who came together to build the tabernacle built it just as God had instructed Moses. There were 10 curtains made out of linen that were 42 feet long. Eleven curtains made out of goat hair formed a tent over the tabernacle. The planks of acacia wood were 15 feet long and 27 inches wide. Everything was done exactly as God had said. Inside the tabernacle, the people made a veil. They made an ark, a table, a lampstand, and many other parts. Every part had its special purpose and was made just as God had said. When the time had come, God told Moses how to erect the tabernacle. God told him how to anoint the tabernacle so that it would be holy. God told Moses to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tabernacle. Aaron put on the holy garments and Moses anointed him to be priest. Aaron s sons were also anointed so that they would serve God as priests too. Moses did exactly what God commanded, and the tabernacle was finished. The cloud where God was covered the tabernacle, and God s glory filled the tabernacle. God made a sign for the people: If the cloud covered the tabernacle, the people would stay where they were. When the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the Israelites would move and take the tabernacle with them. The cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle during the day, and fire was inside the cloud at night. Every one of the Israelites could see it as they traveled. Christ Connection: God instructed the Israelites to build a tabernacle so that He could dwell with them. God desires to be with His people. As part of His plan of salvation, God sent Jesus to tabernacle, or dwell with people on earth.

3 WELCOME TIME As the kids arrive, ask them questions that might help you get to know them better. This is the time that makes or breaks how welcome a child feels and whether they will come back or not! Be friendly! :) KEY PASSAGE/ BIBLE MEMORY TIME [9:45-10:10] It is our desire for the kids to begin to hide God s Word in their hearts, so the morning s activities will begin with Memorization Activities over the Key Passage for the Unit, other verses in the Bible and the Books of the Bible. Tickets will be rewarded for memorization, as well as bringing Bibles to church. Tickets will be used in a drawing at the end of each Unit. Chosse any of the following activities to start the fun! (Award tickets as you see fit!) Choose one of the Unit s Key Passage Activities provided. Activities will be in a Large Ziplock bag with instructions available. (please do not throw away as they can be reused the entire unit) Have kids look through the Key Passage Notebook to review and state for memory past key passages. Have kids look up Key Passages and highlight them in their Bibles. Play Bible Drill Games. Call out a book of the Bible and the first to locate it wins! Allow kids to put the books of the Bible in order. (Game materials provided) Challenge kids to memorize new verses and retell them to you from memory! Be creative and get the kids into God s Word! TRANSITION TO LARGE GROUP [10:10] LARGE GROUP BIBLE STORY & WORSHIP [10:10-10:40] Note: Please be sure to stay with your class to help children stay focused and listen to the lesson. Be sure to actively participate with your class. They are looking to you as the example to follow! LARGE GROUP BIBLE STORY & WORSHIP [10:10-10:40] Big Picture Question: What does the tabernacle show about God? God wants to dwell with His people and be worshiped by them.

4 BIBLE STORY REVIEW [10:45-11:00] Encourage the kids to find Exodus 35 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Ask: What does exodus mean? (going out or exiting) In which chapter in Exodus do we find all the Ten Commandments? (20) Which division of the Bible is Exodus in? (Law) What three major events have we seen in Exodus? (Israelites freed from Egypt, the Ten Commandments, the building of the tabernacle) Say: Exodus tells us how God used Moses to rescue His people from Egypt, what God expected from His people, and how God would dwell or stay with His people. Use the timeline to show kids today s Bible story. Review the Bible story provided or summarize the story in your own words. Assign kids parts of the tabernacle before reviewing the story. Start by making four kids the tabernacle. Instruct them to come to the front when you first say tabernacle. When they come forward, use them as corners to form a large square. Make sure each kid is a part of the tabernacle. If you just have a few kids, give only the key pieces. Kids can be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the curtains, or the veil. If you have several kids, assign them the parts of what the people brought. Encourage each kid to come stand inside the human tabernacle when you say the part assigned to him. Say: How many of you are glad we don t need a building to come to God? We meet at church because the Bible tells us Christians should worship and serve together, but when you know and love Jesus, you don t need a building to be with God. Hebrews 9:11 says Jesus came into the perfect tabernacle for us so we can dwell with God through His Spirit. Show the Big Picture Question poster. Say: What a perfect reminder of our Big Picture Question and answer! What does the tabernacle show about God? God wants to dwell with His people and be worshiped by them. PRAYER STATION [11:00-11:15] We really desire for kids to learn to pray, so we have created activities to go along with different aspects of prayer. Choose a Prayer Station box and walk through the activity with the kids. Each will have a set of instructions or Teacher Card for you to talk with the kids about as you do the prayer activity and pray with your group of kids. If you find it helpful, you can always split your group up between both volunteers to provide a smaller group for a more meaningful prayer time. Remember, kids are learning to pray by your example. The importance and energy you put into prayer will be directly reflected in your class!

5 SINK IN ACTIVITY [11:15-11:30] (Choose one or both!) Activity #1: Offering Envelopes Provide an envelope for each child. Explain to the kids that they will make an offering envelope. Describe how their parents may give money to the church and how that money allows the church to have ministers, electricity, heat and air, and even classrooms like the one they are in. Provide markers or crayons to decorate. Use stickers or other decorations that you have available. Encourage the kids to bring the envelope back next week with their own offering in it. You can also show them where to put their offering in the box in the hall. Say: God s people gave offerings to build a special place for God. We will find out about that place in today s Bible story. Activity #2: Creative Tabernacle Building Allow the kids to use the picture of the tabernacle to create a 3D model using the things in the classroom. You can allow them to use anything to recreate the tabernacle. (bibles, chairs, masking tape, etc) Spend a few minutes talking about the different parts of the tabernacle. Explain that the tabernacle and the church have very little in common. Make sure they understand that the church is not God s dwelling place, but the place they come to worship with others. **THE HANDOFF** As children are picked up, briefly state one of the things that were talked about in class today. You can do this by asking the child a question in front of their parent, or remind them of something they learned. Supplies Needed: creative building materials, envelopes, stickers, masking tape, coloring page