Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh Pre-Session Warm Up (Exodus 4:17-7:13) Have you ever tried to tell an unbeliever about Jesus? Did they listen to you and want to get to know Him better? [Teacher, let the children respond.] Don t expect people to welcome or accept your message of God. Those who don t believe in God will deny Him and try to get you to deny God as well. Why do you think this is so? [Teacher, talk about people s resistance to the Gospel.] One secret of effective witnessing is to always be on the look out for ways to tell people of God s goodness. We don t have to be fearful or defensive about our faith because the Holy Spirit will be present to give us the right words to say. We need to speak up for God every chance we have. This morning our lesson is about what Moses went through when he tried to convince Pharaoh that God was real and that he needed to listen and obey the Lord... Opening Prayer Father we want to learn to have patience and courage as we try to share with people about You. Help us to remember that you are always with us and that you will give us the words we need that will be just right. Help us not to be ashamed of being Your child; help us to be bold in our witness to others. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Memory Verse Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. (Exodus 4:12) Lesson We have been learning about how Moses was chosen by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Let s review 1. Why were the children of Israel in Egypt? Why didn t they live in Israel? (A great famine in the Land brought Jacob s (or Israel s) family to Egypt because there was plenty of food there.) 2. What were the Israelites doing in Egypt at this point in their history, 400 years later? (They were working as slaves making bricks which were used as the building materials for Pharaoh s building projects.) 3. How did they make the bricks? (They mixed straw with mud to make the bricks stronger and more durable.) Moses was overwhelmed by the huge task that God had given him to do. He knew it wouldn t be easy to convince the children of Israel that he was God s chosen one and he knew it wouldn t be easy to convince Pharaoh to let the people go. Pharaoh didn t want to loose all his free laborers. He had a lot at stake in keeping the children of Israel in his land as slaves. Last week we learned that after trying and trying to wiggle out of it, Moses finally realized that God would provide the wisdom, peace, strength, and courage he needed to carry out the job of setting the children of Israel free from their bondage in Egypt. Even though he would no longer be a shepherd, God told him to take his rod. Exodus 4:17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs. Moses Lesson #5 Page 19
Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh Exodus 4-7 So Moses said, good bye to Jethro and left the land of the Midianites and headed for Egypt. Exodus 4:20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. The first thing Moses did was meet with his brother, Aaron, to tell him what God had said they must do, what they were to say to the people, and about the miracles they must do before Pharaoh. So Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of the children of Israel to a meeting. They were happy to hear that God had seen their misery and was going to set them free. Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. But Pharaoh wasn t happy about letting his slaves go. Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. Pharaoh would not listen to Moses and Aaron because he did not know or respect God. People who do not know God may not listen to His word or His messengers. Like Moses and Aaron, we need to persist. When others reject you or your faith, don t be surprised or discouraged. Continue to tell them about God. Exodus 5:6-7 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. So Pharaoh laid more work on the people. The Egyptians no longer brought them any straw to make the bricks. They had to go and find it for themselves. But they still had to make just as many bricks as they did before. The taskmasters were brutal. They whipped the Israeli workers to get them to work faster. This made the Hebrew people angry. They went to Pharaoh to ask him to be merciful to the people. But Pharaoh wouldn t back down. So the people came back in anger against Moses and Aaron... Exodus 5:21 And they said to them, Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us. The people were saying to Moses and Aaron, You have only made things worse. Now the Egyptians are trying to kill us. Moses and Aaron were so discouraged they went back to talk with God. When we get discouraged that s exactly what we need to do, too talk to God, tell Him what you feel and ask Him for wisdom. Exodus 5:22-23 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have you delivered Your people at all. Moses is saying, Why did You ever send me if You were going to do this to them? Ever since I gave Pharaoh Your message, he has only been more and more brutal to them, and You have not delivered them at all! Moses expected faster results and fewer problems. When God is at work, setbacks and hardships may still occur. Remember, problems develop our patience and character by teaching us to trust God to do Page 20 Moses Lesson #5
Exodus 4-7 Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh what is best for us. We need to look for ways to honor God in our present situation, and remember that He will not abandon us. God encourages Moses by reminding him of His promise... Exodus 6:6-8 Therefore say to the children of Israel. I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord. Once again, God tells Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and tell him he must let the people go. Exodus 7:2-3 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. Notice that God said that He would harden Pharaoh s heart God is saying that He will cause Pharaoh to stubbornly refuse to obey God s command. Why would God do that? Let s go on... God then explains His plan to Moses to bring great judgment on the Egyptians. Exodus 7:4-5 But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the Land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. If Pharaoh let the people go right away, it would have been so easy that Moses could have taken the credit for it or the people could have thought that they were special. That would have been prideful! God wanted to prove His mighty power to both the Egyptians and the Israelites so they would be without a doubt that He is the only true God, the master of the universe! Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron that the Pharaoh will demand that they show him a miracle to prove that God has sent them... Exodus 7:8-9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, Show a miracle for yourselves, then you shall say to Aaron, Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent. God wanted Moses and Aaron to show His power to the Egyptians so they will believe that He is God. Exodus 7:10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Pharaoh was not easily impressed. He called for his magicians... Exodus 7:11-12 But Pharaoh also called the wisemen and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron s rod swallowed up their rods. How were these magicians able to copy Moses miracles? Do not underestimate Satan s power. The Egyptians practiced sorcery in their religion. Although miracles can help us believe, it is dangerous to rely on them since Satan can imitate some parts of God s work and lead people astray. We need to let the Word of God be the basis of our faith, not signs and wonders. Moses Lesson #5 Page 21
Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh Exodus 4-7 Pharaoh still would not listen to Moses and Aaron even when he saw the miracle of the rod turning into a snake. Exodus 7:13 And Pharaoh s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. Moses was finding out that doing God s will wasn t all that easy. Pharaoh was a real stumbling block to leading the people out of Egypt, wasn t he? It was tough trying to convince Pharaoh that he needed to believe in God and to do what He commanded. Sometimes it s hard to convince people that God is the only true God and that we should follow His way. God sometimes uses hard circumstances to get people s attention. Pharaoh would not listen to Moses because he did not know and respect God. We meet people like that, too. We need to pray that God will help them see who He really is. God wants us to keep on telling people about Him. Be persistent! Don t get discouraged, no matter what others say or think. Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. (Exodus 4:12) Closing Prayer Lord, thousands of people are rejecting You every day and it grieves our hearts to think that they will spend all of eternity in hell separated from You. Give us the courage and the persistence to keep on telling people about You even when they reject us and our message. Help us not to get discouraged. We want You to use us to help people see who You really are so that Your name will be high and lifted up throughout the world. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Learning Activities Craft Corner Game Center Let the children work on the Moses and the Burning Bush word search or send it home as a take home paper. Use the following review questions in a game of Dodge Ball. Have the children stand in a circle. The child who gets hit by a nerf ball has to answer a question. Then that child gets to throw the ball at another child. 1. When you re telling people about the love of God, are they more likely to want to get to know Him better or to try to get you to deny God? (They are more likely to get you to deny Him.) 2. Why were the children of Israel in Egypt? Why didn t they live in Israel? (A great famine in the Land brought Jacob s (or Israel s) family to Egypt because there was plenty of food there.) 3. What were the Israelites doing in Egypt at this point in their history, 400 years later? (They were working as slaves making bricks which were used as the building materials for Pharaoh s building projects.) 4. How did they make the bricks? (They mixed straw with mud to make the bricks stronger and more durable.) 5. Why was Moses trying to wiggle out of the task God had assigned him to? (He knew it wouldn t be easy to convince the children of Israel that he was God s chosen one AND he knew it wouldn t be easy to convince Pharaoh to let the people leave.) 6. Why did Pharaoh want to keep the people and not let them go? (He didn t want to loose all his free laborers.) Page 22 Moses Lesson #5
Exodus 4-7 Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh 7. What miracles did God do to finally convince Moses that He would provide the wisdom, peace, strength and courage he needed to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land? (The rod turned into a snake and back to a stick, and the hand turned leprous and back to normal.) 8. What was Pharaoh s reaction to Moses and Aaron when they told him that God wanted them to go into the wilderness to hold a feast? (Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? ) 9. Why didn t Pharaoh listen and obey God s command? (He did not know or respect God; he didn t believe in God.) 10. What did Pharaoh do to the people of Israel after they asked to leave? (He laid more work on them. They had to make bricks without straw yet produce the same number of bricks.) 11. How did the people feel towards Moses and Aaron when Pharaoh laid more work on them? (They were angry against Moses and Aaron and blamed them for the extra work.) 16. Why was it God s plan to harden Pharaoh s heart against the Israelites? (If Pharaoh let the people go right away, it would have been so easy that Moses could have taken the credit for it. God wanted to prove His mighty power to both the Egyptians and to the children of Israel so that they would have no doubt that He is the only true God, master of the universe!) 17. What did Moses and Aaron do when Pharaoh asked for a miracle to prove that God had sent them? (Aaron took Moses rod and cast it before Pharaoh and it became a serpent.) 18. When Moses rod turned into a serpent, what did Pharaoh do? (He sent for his magicians and they threw down their rods and they became snakes, too.) 19. What did Moses serpent do to the other snakes? (Ate them.) 20. How were these magicians able to copy Moses miracle? (By the power of Satan. Not all signs and wonders come from the hand of God.) 12. How did Moses and Aaron feel towards God when the people turned against them? (They were angry and discouraged. Moses expected faster results and fewer problems.) 13. What have we learned about setbacks and problems in our own lives? Are they good for us or bad for us? (They help develop our patience and character by teaching us to trust God to do what is best for us.) 14. How did God encourage Moses? (By reminding him of His promise to bring the people into the land and out of bondage.) 15. When we are discouraged what s the best way to get a good attitude again? (By remembering God s promises like Moses did!) Moses Lesson #5 Page 23
Moses and Aaron Visit King Pharaoh Exodus 4-7 Page 24 Moses Lesson #5