IMPORTANT STUFF

LESSON 3

MOSES

A man and woman of the tribe of Levi had a baby son. Because Pharaoh was killing all the boy babies at that time, his mother feared for his life. When he was just three months old, she put him in a basket, and set the basket in the reeds by the river bank. The baby's mother told his sister Miriam to watch and see what happened to him.

That day when Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe she heard a noise at the river bank. She sent her maid over to see what it was. They saw the basket and opened it up and saw the tiny, crying baby. She knew it was an Israelite baby and remembered that her father was having all the Israelite baby boys killed. She felt sorry for the baby but didn't know what to do with it.

Miriam came to her and asked if she should take the baby to an Israelite woman to feed. Pharaoh's daughter told her that she should. She gave the baby back to Miriam so that her mother would care for him until he was older. Pharaoh's daughter paid her for caring for the baby she found but, of course, it was the woman's own baby!

When Pharaoh's daughter got the baby back she called him her own son and named him Moses.

Pharaoh had made slaves out of all the Israelites. He was having them build two large cities for him. One day, after Moses had grown up to be a man, he was out walking. He saw an Egyptian beating an Hebrew man. He was beating him so hard that it looked like he would kill him. Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand (Exodus 2:12).

The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who was hitting his Israelite brother why he did that. The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid because he knew that someone had seen him and thought they would tell Pharaoh. Pharaoh did hear about it and he sent his men after Moses, but he fled to the country of Midian.

He was sitting by a well when the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to get water for their father's sheep. Some shepherds also came to get water and drove the girls away. Moses saw this and came over and helped them. When the girls got home they told their father what had happened to them. He told them that they should have invited the man back to their home. They went back for Moses and their father invited him to stay with them. Moses agreed to live with them for a time.

Moses fell in love with one of the girls named Zipporah, and they had two sons. Moses lived there for forty years (Acts 7:30).

The Israelites were still in Egypt in slavery. They had cried out to Yahweh for help and Yahweh heard them and remembered the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 2:23).

Moses was out in the field tending to his father-in-law's flock when he saw an unusual sight. The Angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a burning bush. Moses saw that even though the bush looked like it was burning, it never burned up. Moses went over to see why the bush didn't burn up, when he heard the Angel call to him, "Moses! Moses!"

Moses said, "Here I am."

Yahweh told Moses, "Do not come any closer. Take off your shoes because the place where you are standing is sacred ground." The Yahweh said, "I am the Elohim of your father, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim of Jacob."

Moses then hid his face because he was afraid to look at Yahweh. Yahweh told Moses he had seen the suffering of His people in Egypt. He told Moses he was sending him back to Egypt, and Moses was going to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. He was to tell them that he would bring them to a good land filled with milk and honey, the land of Canaan.

Moses told Yahweh he wasn't good enough to bring the people out of Egypt. He said, "I cannot speak well enough to talk to the Pharaoh."

Yahweh was getting upset with Moses, because he was trying to find ways to get out of doing what Yahweh wanted. He told Moses that He would be with him and He would also send Aaron, his older brother, to help him.

Yahweh told Moses to take the elders of Israel and to go to Pharaoh and tell him that your Elohim has sent you and you must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to Yahweh (Exodus 3:18.).

Moses said, "What if they won't believe me? What if they don't listen to me? Then what?"

"Your brother Aaron can speak well, and he will go with you," Yahweh said, "I will help you both to speak and will teach you what you have to do."

Yahweh told Moses to go because all the men in Egypt that wanted to kill him were dead now. Yahweh said, "Put your staff in your hand and carry it with you for you can perform miraculous signs with it."

Moses finally decided to do what Yahweh had told him to do. He went back and got his wife and two sons and started back to Egypt. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when Moses went back to Egypt.

Moses went to Pharaoh and asked him to let the people go. Pharaoh said, "Who are you that I should listen to you?"

Moses said, "The Elohim of the Hebrews has sent us."

Pharaoh said, "How do I know this is true?" Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and it turned into a snake.

Pharaoh said, "That's no big thing; my wise men can do the same thing," and they did; but Aaron's snake swallowed up all the wise men's snakes.

Pharaoh's heart became hardened and he would not listen to them. Pharaoh didn't like what Moses was telling him. He told his work masters to be even harder on the Israelite slaves. The Egyptians were no longer to supply the straw for making of the bricks, the Israelites had to get it themselves. Pharaoh got even harder on them; he told them to make bricks without straw and make as many bricks as they had done before.

The Israelite leaders were unhappy because Moses and Aaron were making things even harder for them.

Moses went to Yahweh and asked him why He brought more trouble on the people. "Is this why you sent me?" Moses said, "Ever since I went to Pharaoh to tell him to let the people go, they have had it even harder."

Yahweh told Moses, "Go to the Israelites and tell them I am Elohim and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

It took some time, but the Israelites did begin to believe Moses and Aaron and they looked forward to going to their new home in Canaan.

Let's do some activities and take a Quiz to see what you learned before going to the next lesson!

PICTURES TO COLOR & A WORD PUZZLE

pharaoh_color

Can you tell a story about this picture, perhaps?

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A Message for PHARAOH!

Called by Yahweh to lead the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, Moses and Aaron went before the Pharaoh with an important message from Yahweh. Can you discover what that message was by solving the rebus puzzle below?

puzzle

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QUIZ - What have you learned?

This is a "thinking" quiz. Some of the questions could have different answers and that is why it is very important to think about the question before answering it and then have your Mom or Dad review it with you.

What tribe of Israel did Moses belong to?

Who took care of Moses when he was a tiny baby?

Who raised Moses until he was an adult?

Why did Moses leave Egypt?

Where did Moses go?

What was strange about the burning bush Moses saw?

Whom did Yahweh give Moses to help him?

What happened to Aaron's staff?

Was Pharaoh impressed?

What were the Israelites making for Pharaoh?

What is going on here?

Memory verses: Exodus 8:1b

Thus says Yahweh, "Let my
people go that they
may serve me."

Now, click here to go to Lesson 4.

HalleluYAH!