1. PARENTS: We’re going to start the year off with reading one of the Gospels. We’ll do this every year. This year we’ll read Matthew and then we’ll go back to the beginning and start reading in Genesis.
2. Read Matthew 2:1-12. (audio)
3. How do the wise men know that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem?  (answer: Micah 5:2God spoke about it hundreds of years before.)
4. How did they know not to go and tell Herod about Jesus?  (answer: God warned them in a dream.)

1. PARENTS: We’re going to start the year off with reading one of the Gospels. We’ll do this every year. This year we’ll read Matthew and then we’ll go back to the beginning and start reading in Genesis.
2. Read Matthew 3. (audio)
3. John tells the Pharisees that those who produce bad fruit will go to hell (“thrown into the fire”). What does He say about the kind of “fruit” they should produce? (hint: verse 8)  (answer: They need to show that they have repented and turned away from doing sin.)
4. John the Baptist didn’t think he should be baptizing Jesus, but Jesus told him it was the right thing to do. Jesus gave us the example, and we are to follow in His footsteps and be baptized as well. It’s not something to be afraid of. It marks the beginning of our life of following Jesus.

1. Read Matthew 4:1-11. (audio)
2. Tell a parent or older sibling how Satan tried to tempt Jesus and how Jesus responded to him.
3. Copy or memorize this part of Matthew 4:4: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

1.  Read Matthew 5:1-12. (audio)
2. Who is blessed? You can insert the word “happy” instead of blessed.
3. What do they receive?
4. How can being persecuted and being lied about make you happy?  (answer: It can make you happy because you will receive a reward in heaven, and you can know you are experiencing the same as Jesus and the other prophets.)

1. Read Matthew 6:1-15. (audio)
2. Copy Matthew 6:9-13. Hang it up where you will see it and work on memorizing it this week.

1. Read Matthew 7:7-14 and 7:24-29 (audio). Keep scrolling down to read both.
2. How can you be wise like the man whose house didn’t fall?  (hint: verse 24)  (answer: obey God’s word)

1. Read Matthew 8:1-13. (audio)
2. Let’s compare and contrast these stories. That means to find what they have in common and what’s different about them.
3. What are some things that they have in common?  (answer: Jesus healed someone, someone came to Jesus asking for healing, they both believed that Jesus could heal)  Did you find some that I didn’t?
4. What are some things that are different about the stories?  (answer:  Jesus touched the one man to heal him and the other he healed just by speaking that he was healed, one man was a Jew and the other was a Gentile (not a Jew), one expected Jesus to heal the other wasn’t sure if Jesus was willing to heal him)  Did you find some that I didn’t?

1. Read Matthew 9:18-37. (audio)
2. What is one reason Jesus healed everyone who came to Him?  (hint: verse 36)
3. *Print out this sheet (compassion) and write on each line someone you should have compassion on. “S” could be soldiers, “p” could be people without homes, or they could just be names. (These Bible worksheets are in the Ancient History Theme Printables workbook if you have bought that. They can also be printed all at once as a packet. Go to the course page and look for “Worksheets” towards the top.)

1. Read Matthew 10:1-8. (audio)
2. How many of the 12 apostles can you name? If you can’t name them all, go back and find who you are missing.
3. The last sentence in this section is, “You have received freely, so give freely.” What does that mean?
4. What have you been given that you should be giving?

1. Read Matthew 11:2-10. (audio)
2. Jesus quotes a prophecy from the Old Testament book of Malachi. He says the prophecy is about John the Baptist. What does it say John was going to do?  (answer: He would prepare the way for Jesus to come. He did that by teaching people to repent and turn away from their sins.)
3. In your reading today, you read that John has his disciples ask Jesus if He is the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t say yes or no. He answers that he has healed the blind, the lame, the deaf and the leper and that He is preaching the gospel (good news) to the poor. Why did he say those things? Jesus was telling John that other Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled. The Old Testament prophets said that a Messiah or Savior would come and heal and preach the gospel to the poor. Read Isaiah 35:5-6. Read Isaiah 61:1. Do those verses sound like what Jesus told John? Do you think John understood Jesus’ message?

1. Read Matthew 12:1-13. (audio)
2. What were the Pharisees accusing Jesus and his disciples of doing?  (answer: breaking the Sabbath, the command to not work one day a week)
3. Jesus shows the Pharisees that they are hypocrites because they would help a sheep on the Sabbath but not a person. This is one way you can tell if something is from God or not. God cares about people. the Pharisees didn’t care about the man who needed healing. They cared about their rules. They were proud of their sacrifice to not work on the Sabbath. But Jesus told them that they were not doing what God wanted, that God wanted them to love others. That’s what Jesus meant he said, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”
4. Copy the sentence, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”
5. Tell someone the story you read today and explain what it means that God wants mercy and not sacrifice.

1. Read Matthew 12.
2. Who is a relative of Jesus (according to verse 50)?  (answer: whoever is doing what God wants him to do)
3. The Pharisees thought they were doing what God wanted them to do by their sacrifice in not working on the Sabbath. What did God really want from them? (answer: mercy, or love for others)
4. There is another prophecy fulfilled in this chapter. Read the note on verse 21 (hover on the little text bubble) to see what Old Testament scripture is fulfilled.
5. What question do you have from this chapter? Do your best to answer it or ask someone.

1. Read Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 (audio). Scroll down to read the second part.
2. Draw a picture of the parable and then explain to someone what the picture means.

1. Read Matthew 14:13-21. (audio)
2. Tell a parent or older sibling what happened in this story.
3. God can take whatever you have to offer and turn it into a big blessing. But first you have to offer what you have. What do you have that you could give? It could be money or food or toys, or it could be things like time and love. You could stop by the home of an elderly neighbor and say good morning. What else could you give that God could turn into a big blessing for you and others?

1. Read Matthew 14.
2. Let me tell you my favorite thing from this chapter. Peter walks on water in faith. He gets scared and sinks. He calls out to Jesus, who grabs him. This is it: Peter walks on water again. He has to stand on the water and walk back to the boat with Jesus. When we falter in our faith, Jesus doesn’t give up on us. He aids us. He lifts us up so we can continue our walk of faith. So when things are going really wrong, don’t allow yourself to sink; call on Jesus and He will be there to take you by the hand.
3. The story of the feeding of the five thousand men, plus all the women and children, is a great example of God’s economy. The world tells us that if we give, we have less. But God teaches us that when we give, we have more. How is that shown in this story?

1. Read Matthew 15:1-18. (audio)
2. In some other parts of the world, being clean is THE most important thing. For example, Muslims won’t pray unless they wash themselves first. In Muslim countries being called “dirty” is one of the worst insults. What does Jesus say makes you “unclean?” Explain to a parent or ask if you don’t understand what Jesus is saying.

1. Read Matthew 16:5-12. (audio)
2. Jesus is using  figurative language. That means that he is not speaking plainly. He’s making word pictures. In this section he warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Yeast is what you put in bread to make it rise. You put a little bit into the flour, and it gets through the whole dough to make it rise. Jesus doesn’t mean “make sure you don’t get their yeast on you.” What is Jesus really warning the disciples about? (answer: Jesus was warning about what the religious leaders taught.)

1. Read Matthew 16.
2. Verse 24 defines what it is to follow Jesus–to say no to yourself. To “pick up your cross and follow Jesus” means to die to yourself. You only pick up a cross if you are going to be killed on it. We have to die to ourselves. What does that mean? It means saying no to yourself. Saying no to greed, selfishness, etc., and saying yes to others, loving others instead of ourselves. This is letting Jesus live in and through us. Only by the Holy Spirit’s help can we die to self and live for Him and others.
3. Choose a verse from today’s reading. Copy it and explain what it means and what lesson it teaches you to live by.
4. What’s one question you have about today’s reading?

1. Read Matthew 17:24-27. (audio)
2. This is a fun story. Remember that earlier, when Jesus was a teenager, he had called the temple “his father’s house.” Here Jesus is saying that He doesn’t have to pay the tax because it is His father’s house, and fathers don’t collect tax from their sons.
3. What does Jesus do to pay the tax?
4. Can God always provide the money you need?
5. There are many, many stories of Christians getting the money they needed at just the right moment, from finding five dollars stuck to your shoe while walking down the street, to having an angel hand you the money. God has plenty of ways of providing. Trust Him to do it!

1. Read Matthew 18:21-35. (audio)
2. Tell a parent or older sibling what happened in the story.
3. What is the lesson of this story?  (answer: Christians must forgive each other and those who seek forgiveness from them.)

1. Read Matthew 19:16-30. (audio)
2. How do we know the rich man wasn’t really loving his neighbor as himself?  (answer: He was still rich. He was keeping his money for himself.)

1. Read Matthew 20:25-28. (audio)
2. Why did Jesus come?  (answer: He came to serve others.)
3. Verse 28 commands, “Be like Jesus.” How can you live your life to serve others? What are some things you can do every day? What is something you can aspire to do (dream about doing or work towards doing) for others when you are older?

1. Read Matthew 21:1-17. (audio)
2. In this section we see several more prophecies from the Old Testament fulfilled. God knew exactly what was going to happen. The donkeys were prepared and waiting for him even though the owner didn’t know it! You don’t have to try and do big things for God. All you have to do is be willing and ready to obey Him.
3. Do you know why Jesus was so angry in the temple? What did he call it? (answer: a den of robbers)
4. People who were not Jews were not allowed inside the temple. They were only allowed in an outer court area of the temple. That’s the place that was given to them to pray. But Jews had set up tables for selling the animals that people use for sacrifice and sold money to people who didn’t have the special coins used in the temple. They were making money off of people coming to worship God. Plus, they were making it so that people who weren’t Jews had no place to pray.

1. Read Matthew 22:1-14. (audio)
2. Can you tell the story? What happened? (answer: The king invites guests to his son’s wedding dinner. They don’t want to come. So, the king has his servants invite others. They come, but one is kicked out because he’s not wearing wedding clothes.)
3. This is a parable, a story that has another meaning. Jesus wasn’t really telling them about a king. Who is the real king and the king’s son? What do you think? (answer: The king is God and his son is Jesus.)
4. The people who ignore the king’s request to come to the dinner or who kill the king’s servants are the Jews. The servants are God’s prophets. As a whole group, the Jews didn’t listen to the prophets and even killed some of them.
5. Then the king invites everyone else, meaning those who aren’t Jews. Many show up. One is thrown out because he’s not wearing wedding clothes. What do you think that really means? (answer: The Bible talks about how we are cleaned by the blood of Jesus and how He will dress us in white, make us pure from all sin. This man didn’t believe in Jesus. He hadn’t had his sin forgiven. He wasn’t welcome in heaven and is thrown into hell.)

1. Read Matthew 22.
2. What’s one question you have about this chapter?
3. What commandments sum up the Law and the Prophets?  (answer: love God, love your neighbors)
4. *Fill in this Venn Diagram with the 10 Commandments.  Write the commandment on the top if it is summed up by “love God” and on the bottom if it is summed up by “love your neighbor.” (You don’t have to write out the whole commandment. Example: no idols)

1. Read Matthew 23:1-15. (audio)
2. What are the Pharisees like?  (answer: hypocrites, proud)
3. I wonder what pastors and priests who are called “Father” or “Reverend” think when they read verses 8-10.
4. The most important thing to learn from this is that God cares what’s in your heart. If your heart is good (you love God and love others), then you will do good. If you are only acting good on the outside, eventually your evil heart will show. You can’t pretend forever.

1. Read Matthew 23.
2. What do verses 25-28 mean?  (answer: They are hypocrites. Their hearts are evil, but they act like they are righteous.)
3. What’s a question you have about this chapter?
4. What’s a lesson you can take away from this chapter? (Choose a Scripture to go with it.)

1. Read Matthew 24:1-14. (audio)
2. The disciples want to know when the end will come, when Jesus will come back and rule. We are still wondering, wanting to know!
3. Jesus doesn’t tell them. He tells them that people will try and fool them, saying that He has already come back. What other command does He give them? “Don’t…”?  (answer:  Don’t be alarmed.)
4. He says there will be wars, famine, earthquakes, and Christians will be put in prison and killed. But we aren’t to be afraid! It’s all part of God’s plan and He is only allowing it to happen to get His Church holy, ready to be with Him.
5. It says many will turn away from their faith because they will be afraid. We will obey whomever we fear. We need to fear God alone. He’s the only leader who wants to do what’s best for us instead of for himself.
6. Pray and ask God to help you not be afraid.

1. Read Matthew 25:31-46. (audio)
2. When you help people or ignore people, do you ever think about Jesus? When have you acted like a sheep? When have you acted like a goat?
3. What are things you can do to be a sheep?

1. Read Matthew 26:47-56. (audio)
2. Jesus says he could have asked for help and His Father would have send an army of angels. Why doesn’t Jesus want an army of angels to rescue Him?  (answer: His choice was to be obedient. This is what God had chosen from the beginning.)

1. Read Matthew 26.
2. Why doesn’t Jesus call for an army of angels?  (answer: He is choosing to die, to be obedient to God’s will, His perfect plan.)
3. What is Jesus’ warning to Peter when Peter cuts off the servant’s ear?  (answer: Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.)
4. Peter weeps at the end of this chapter. He is sorrowful over his sin of denying Jesus. That’s how you need to feel about your sin. It should break your heart. You shouldn’t be able to sin against God and not have it break your heart. Ask God to let the things that break His heart, break your heart too.
5. What lesson from this chapter is significant to you? Explain the Scripture, the lesson and how it affects you.

1.  Read Matthew 27:11-26. (audio)
2. What does the crowd yell?  (answer: Crucify him!)
3. What did the crowd yell one week earlier?  (answer: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!)

1. Read Matthew 27.
2. What’s ironic about verse 6? Irony is when something is the opposite of what you’d expect.  (answer: They are concerned about following the law when they just had had an innocent man killed.)
3. List as many ways as you can that this chapter shows the deity of Christ. (examples if you need them: says He is the king of the Jews, fulfilled the Scriptures, earthquake, … )
4. List as many ways as you can that this chapter shows Jesus bore the “afflictions of the righteous.” The Bible says that those who live righteously will have troubles. Jesus went before us though, and suffered from obedience just as believers do today. We are told to find joy in this type of suffering. (examples if you need them: lied about, mocked, arrested…)

1. Read Matthew 28. (audio)
2. I met a Jewish woman once who told me Jesus’ disciples took His body away while the guards were sleeping. It made me smile because her thinking that just proved the Bible true. Why? (hint: verse 15)
3. What’s wrong with the guards’ story? (answer: If there were asleep, they couldn’t know who rolled away the stone and took the body. And, guards would never sleep on the job because they would be killed if they did and allowed something to happen.)

1. Read Matthew 28.
2. What do verses 18-20 mean to you?
3. Memorize them. When you know it, say it for each family member.
4. Say the Lord’s prayer (from Lesson 6) and Matthew 11:28 (from Lesson 11).

1. We finished reading the Gospel of Matthew. Gospel means “good news.” What is the good news that Matthew tell us?

1. We have finished the Gospel of Matthew. Gospel means good news. What’s the good news? Write your own much shortened version of the gospel.

1. Read Genesis 1. (audio)
2. *Print out this page (Creation circles). Draw or write what God created each of the first four days of creation.

1. Read Genesis 1.
2. What commands does God give to Adam?  (answers: have children, rule over the creatures of the earth, subdue the earth)
3. What do you think it means to subdue the earth?  (help: subdue means overcome or bring under control)

1. Read Genesis 2. (audio)
2. *Fill in circles for Day 5 (birds and fish), Day 6 (other animals and people), Day 7 (holy), and you can make a cover with your other circle.
3. Staple them together.

1. Read Genesis 3. (audio)
2. Tell the story or act it out.
3. Who does Eve blame?  (answer: the serpent)
4. Who does Adam blame?  (answer: Eve)
5. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us” (1 John 1:9).  We need to confess (tell) our sins to God to have them forgiven. Don’t be like Adam and Eve. Admit that you did something wrong and ask forgiveness.

1. Read Genesis 4:1-16. (audio)
2. What does God say in verses 6 and 7?
3. He tells Cain he is only sad and angry because he did wrong. If he had done what is right (offered God the first and best things he had grown), then he wouldn’t be sad and angry. Sin made him sad and angry. He’s not sad that he sinned against God. He’s pouting. What does God say sin wants to do to Cain?  (answer: grab him)
4. Cain had to make a choice right there. Would he conquer sin or let sin conquer him? Who won?  (answer: sin)
5. What are ways you can conquer sin? (some answers: avoid temptation-get away from it, pray and praise, ask for help, decide with all your heart and mind that you always want to obey God’s word, fear God)

1. Read Genesis 6:5-22. (audio)
2. Why did God choose to send the flood?  (answer: verses 6, 13)
3. Why did God choose Noah to be safe?  (answer: verses 9, 22)

1. Read Genesis 7. (audio)
2. Noah built that boat for a long time. It just sat there on dry ground. He trusted God and obeyed God even though it seemed like nothing was happening. How long before the flood did Noah know when it was coming?  (answer: 7 days)
3. Who was saved? Who was in the ark?  (answer: Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives, 2 of every kind of unclean animal, 7 of every clean animal, 7 of every kind of bird)
4. How long did the flood last?  (answer: 150 days)
5. What questions do you have about this story? I wonder what they ate on the ark. What do you wonder?

1. Read Genesis 8:1-4, 13-21 (audio), Genesis 9:3-4, 11-15 (audio). Keep scrolling down to read more.
2. Find Mount Ararat. Mt. Ararat is marked with a symbol on the right.
3. What were the “clean” animals for? (answer: to sacrifice as an offering)
4. After the flood, what could they now eat? (answer: meat)
5. Do you think God told them to be vegetarians before the flood so that Noah’s family wouldn’t kill and eat the animals God was trying to preserve? (Just wondering.)
6. What is God’s covenant (promise)? What is the sign to remember His promise? (answer: The rainbow is the reminder of God’s promise to never again destroy the world by a flood.)

1. Read Genesis 8 and Genesis 9
2. *Fill in a Venn Diagram. Make observations from these two chapters. On the top, write things about man, not just Noah but people in general. On the bottom, write things about God. Then in the middle, write what observations you can make from these two chapters about the relationship between God and man.

1. Read the beginning and end of Genesis 11 (audio). Scroll down to read the second part.
2. Read Genesis 12:1-8 (audio).
3. Why did God confuse their language?  (hint: Genesis 11:6)
4. How is Abram (later he is named Abraham) related to Lot? Can you figure it out?  (answer: Abram is Lot’s uncle)
5. What did God command Abram?  (answer: to leave his home and go to the land where God would show him)
6. What did God promise Abram? (answer: that from him would come a great nation and that all the nations of the world would be blessed because of him)

1. Say all of your memory verses so far this year. Matthew 28:18-20, the Lord’s prayer from Lesson 6 and Matthew 11:28 from Lesson 11.
2. Just scan chapter 10 (audio) to see what it is and read the last verse.
3. Read the beginning and end of chapter 11 (audio). Scroll down to read the end part.
4. How are Lot and Abram related?  (answer: Abram is Lot’s uncle)
5. Read Genesis 12:1-8. (audio)
6. What was God’s command to Abram?  (hint: verse 1)
7. What was God’s promise to Abram?   (hint: verse 2)

1. Read Genesis 13:8-18. (audio)
2. What city did Lot choose to live near?  (answer: Sodom)
3. What was wrong in the city where he chose to live?  (answer: The men were evil and sinning against God.)

1. Read Genesis 13:8-18.
2. What does God promise Abram?  (answer: all of the land that he can see)
3. What does Abram do after God speaks the promise?  (answer: He honors the Lord. He gives honor to God instead of becoming proud, thinking look how great I will be when all of this land is mine.)
4. Read Genesis 14:8-22. (audio)
5. What was the name of the priest of the God Most High?  (answer: Melchizedek)
6. What did Abram give him?  (answer: a tithe, ten percent)

1. Read Genesis 15:1-7, 13-16. (audio)
2. What does God promise Abram?  (answer: That he will have as many children as the stars in the sky. Children here means descendants, meaning his children’s children and his children’s children’s children’s children, etc.)
3. What was Abram’s right reaction?  (answer: He believed.)
4. What does God say is going to happen to Abram’s descendants for 400 years?  (answer: They are going to be slaves in a foreign country.)

1. Read Genesis 15.
2. What promise does God make to Abraham about his descendants?  (answer: that they will come from his own body and number as the stars in the sky)
3. What is Abram’s right reaction to this promise? (answer: He believed.)
4. Verse 6 is the first time we see that we can be saved by faith. Abram believes and God calls it righteousness (doing what is right).
5. Do you know when the prophecy in verses 13 and 14 comes true?
6. What is the covenant that God makes with Abram at the end of the chapter?  (answer: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates — the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”)
7. Find the Promised Land on the map. People aren’t exactly sure where all those places were, but there is a pretty good idea. Look at the maps in order.

• Map 1
• Map 2  (all of the red area; not sure about one city’s location)
• Map 3  (This is modern Israel. Notice the Dead Sea. Go back and click on map 2 and find the sea in the middle.)
• Map 4  (Here is one more map to help you figure out where this is. You can find the Euphrates on this map.)

1. Israel is often in the news. There are always disputes over the land of Israel. Who are the Jews fighting with over the land? The Philistines! You will read a lot in the Bible about the Israelites and the Philistines fighting over the land. They still do. Today in English they are called Palestinians. In some other languages, though, they are called Philistines.
2. God made this covenant, a sacred promise, with Abram before there even was such a thing as “Israelites.” We know that in the end the whole land will belong to Israel because God can’t break His promise.

1.  Read Genesis 17:1-17. (audio)
2. What new names did they receive?  (answer: Abraham and Sarah)
3. What’s the answer going to be to the questions in verse 17?  (answer: Yes! Abraham will have a child when he is 100 and Sarah when she is 90.)

1. Read Genesis 16 and Genesis 17.
2. What are the new names given them? What are his two sons’ names (one born, one not yet born)?  (answers: Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Isaac)
3. What is the promise and prophecy about Ishmael? (answer: numerous descendants, against everyone and everyone against them)
4. Traditionally Ishmael is considered to be the “father” of the Arabs. Later we’ll read about Jacob’s twelve sons becoming the twelve tribes of Israel. Ishmael has twelve sons, who became twelve tribes in Assyria and Egypt. When we read about Joseph, we’ll read about him being sold to Ishmaelites.
5. How old is Ishmael when he is circumcised?  (answer: 13)
6. Jewish baby boys are traditionally circumcised on the 8th day, but it is traditional for Muslim boys to be circumcised when they turn 13 because of this account. While some of course do this, I have lived with Muslims for ten years and I have never known anyone who waited until 13 in the places I’ve lived. I’ve known them to have it done to 1-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 10-year-olds…

1. Read Genesis 18:17-33. (audio)
2. What is happening in this chapter? What does God plan on doing? What is Abraham doing?  (answers: God is planning on destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is asking him not to if there are righteous people in the city.)
3. Will God destroy the righteous with the wicked?  (answer: no)
4. Read Genesis 19:15-26 (audio). This is the next morning. The angels are sent to destroy the city and to get Lot and his family out first.
5. What happens to Lot’s wife when she doesn’t obey the angel’s directions?  (answer: She turns into a salt statue.)
6. What lessons can you learn from these chapters?  (answers: It’s important to obey the word of the Lord. God listens to prayer and it can make a big difference.)

1. Read Genesis 18 and Genesis 19:15-29. (audio)
2. Here are two stories with angels. What roles did the angels play in these stories? (answer: messenger, protector, destroyer)
3. How does God show favor to Abraham?  (answer: He encourages him that he will have a son; the promise didn’t need to be repeated and he tells him specifically that it is coming soon. He listens to Abraham’s “prayer” for Sodom and Gomorrah. He brings Lot and his family out of Sodom.)
4. Lot’s family becomes the Moabites and the Ammonites.
5. Here’s a map.

1. Read Genesis 21:1-7. (audio)
2. Sarah says that everyone who hears about this will laugh. Did you laugh? Sometimes we don’t stop to think about Bible stories being real stories that happened to real people. Can you image a woman who is A LOT older than your grandmother being pregnant and having a baby after never having a baby her whole life and without doctors and special treatments, etc.? It is pretty crazy! Even with doctors and technology, no one has come even close to having a baby as old as Sarah did.
3. Read Genesis 22:1-18. (audio)
4. This is a really important story. Here are some things to remember.

• God does test us. When we are faced with something really hard, it shows what is really in our hearts. If God just gave us perfect lives, we would love Him for selfish reasons. We need to love God for who He really is. He is love; He is kind; He is just; He is powerful; He knows everything; He is in control; He is patient; He is faithful; He is trustworthy…What else do you know about who God is?
• God never asks us to do something He wasn’t willing to do Himself. This is one big example. God did give up His only Son to be killed for us. God never wanted Issac to be killed. He only wanted to see obedience in the heart of Abraham.

1. Abraham will be blessed. His children will be blessed. The whole world will be blessed because…?  (hint: verse 18)  (answer: Abraham obeyed.)

1. Read Genesis 24. (audio)
2. Did you notice that God answered the servant’s prayer before he even prayed?
3. Do you find it weird that Isaac and Rebekah get married without knowing each other first? In many parts of the world, a marriage arranged by parents is normal. The two are often given the choice, yes or no, but they may have only been just introduced to the person. I have never known anyone to say no (even when the other person is not attractive at all) because they respect the choice of their families.

1. Read Genesis 24.
2. When did God answer the servant’s prayer?  (answer: Before he prayed…God knew what his prayer would be and sent Rebekah out at the exact right time so she would arrive just as he was finishing his prayer.)
3. In America we consider it wrong to marry a relative, and God gives some laws later about not marrying family members; but in some parts of the world it is normal to marry a cousin, even preferable.
4. In America we think marriage is all about falling in love, but all Christians should think of marriage as being arranged by their Father in Heaven. All Christians should seek their heavenly Father’s choice in whom they should marry.

1. Read Genesis 25:19-34. (audio)
2. What are the names of Isaac’s and Rebekah’s sons?  (answer: Esau and Jacob)
3. Who was their grandfather?  (answer: Abraham)
4. What bad thing did Esau do?  (answer: He gave up his rights as the first born son.)
5. Birth rights are something that were important historically. In many places throughout history the oldest son received all of the father’s land and property. It was of great value to have the rights of the first born. Esau didn’t value it and gave it away for food.
6. I want you to notice one more thing. God had it planned from the beginning that Jacob would be the “father of Israel,” not Esau. It didn’t matter that Esau had been born first. Lots and lots of times in the Bible you will see God choose not the first and the “best” (according to the way people see it), but He will more often choose the last and least important to do His work, and then they become very important.

1. Read Genesis 28:10-22. (audio)
2. What did Jacob dream?  (answer: He saw a stairway to heaven and angels going up and down them and the Lord at the top of the stairs.)
3. What did God promise him?  (answer: The promise He gave Abraham that he would have many descendants and they would be given the land he was on and that the world will be blessed through them.)
4. What did Jacob promise God?  (answer: If God took care of Him on his journey, then he would take Him as his God and give him a tithe, a tenth of everything that he had.)

1. Read Genesis 29:10-35 (audio). Jacob has gone to his uncle’s place to find a wife.
2. At the end of this chapter, how many sons does Leah have?  (answer: 4)
3. Jesus is born from the family line of the last of Leah’s sons. Who was Jesus’ great, great, great, great, great,…..grandfather?  (answer: Judah)
4. Rachel eventually has two sons, including Joseph, who you probably know about. Leah has two more sons. Rachel and Leah also give their maids to be like wives to Jacob. They end up having four sons between the two of them. So, how many sons does Jacob have?  (answer: 12)
5. When the Bible talks about the tribes of Israel, they are the family groups started by each of these sons.

1. Read Genesis 31:1-21. (audio)
2. What does Jacob do?   (answer: runs away with his family and belongings)
3. What does Rachel do?  (answer: steals the household gods)
4. Why would they believe a god is powerful if it can be picked up and stolen?

1. Read Genesis 31:3, 14-32. (audio)
2. What’s happening in the story? What did Jacob do? What did Rachel do? What did Laban do?  (answer: Jacob ran away with his family and property; Rachel stole the household gods from her father; Laban went after them; you didn’t read this part but Laban obeys and doesn’t do anything to stop Jacob and lets him go in peace; he doesn’t find the gods.)
3. What does Jacob say of anyone who stole the household gods?  (answer: “he shall not live”)
4. Read Genesis 32:22-30. (audio)
5. What is Jacob’s new name? (answer: Israel)
6. This is another one of those weird parts of the Bible. God would have given that name to Jacob. Why make him wrestle for it? We talk about wrestling all night in prayer until we get what we’ve asked for. It’s from this portion of the Bible. Here’s another question. Why not tell Isaac to name him Israel in the first place? Why the name change? I don’t know. I’m just wondering. It’s okay to wonder.

1.  Read Genesis 37:1-11 and 19-36. (audio)
2. What were Joseph’s dreams?   (answer: that grain and stars bowed down to him, meaning his brothers would bow down to him)
3. Why were his brothers mad?  (answer: They were jealous because Joseph was their father’s favorite.)
4. Who wanted to save Joseph?  (answer:  Reuben)
5. Who ended up being Joseph’s owner?  (answer: Potiphar, Pharaoh’s official)

1. Read Genesis 35:16-19. (audio)
2. Did Rachel die because she took the household gods? I guess we can’t know, but we do know that words are not meaningless.
3. In these chapters, Jacob reunites with Esau, and then they go their separate ways in peace. Esau’s family becomes the Edomites, or the family of Edom.
4. Read chapter 37 (audio). Now we are going to start the story of Joseph.
5.  Do you feel bad for Joseph’s brothers?
6. What do Joseph’s dreams mean?  (answer: that his brothers will bow down to him and even his parents will bow down to him)
7. Why was the dream really upsetting to many of the brothers?  (answer: because they already felt Joseph thought he was better than everyone else)
8. I guess we don’t know for sure if Joseph was proud, but we know he could have kept his dreams to himself. He didn’t have to tell his brothers. He knew they wouldn’t like to hear they were bowing down to him. I’m sure being sold really knocked any pride out of him.
9. Who was he sold to?  (answer: the Ishmaelites)   Remember Ishmael?

1. Read Genesis 39. (audio)
2. What did God do for Joseph?  (answer: He blessed everything Joseph did.)
3. What was his job?  (answer: He was in charge of everything in Potiphar’s home. )
4. Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to act like a husband toward her. Joseph refuses, but he makes the mistake of being alone with her. What happens to Joseph because of her lie?  (answer: He is thrown in jail.)

1. Read Genesis 40. (audio)
2. Who was sent to jail? (answer: the royal cupbearer and the baker)
3. They both had dreams. What did Joseph do?  (answer: Joseph told them what their dreams meant, and he was right.)

1. Read Genesis 40.
2. What happened in this chapter?  (answer: Two prisoners had dreams that Joseph was able to interpret.)
3. The cupbearer forgot about Joseph, but who didn’t ever forget about him?  (answer: God)

1. Read Genesis 41:1-16, 25-27. (audio)
2. What was Pharaoh’s dream and what did it mean?  (answer: Seven fat cows and seven heads of grain mean there will be seven years of lots of food and wealth. Seven skinny cows and seven bad heads of grain that eat the good ones mean that seven years when there won’t be enough will come and “eat up” anything extra from the years when there was plenty.)

1. Read Genesis 41:1-16, 25-32. (audio)
2. How long was Joseph in jail?  (answer: I don’t know. In the last chapter it said, “some time after,” and in this chapter it says, “a full two years later.” We know it was at least more than two years.)
3. What was Joseph’s response when asked if he could interpret the dream? (answer: No, I can’t, but God can. That’s a very humble statement.)

Levels 1-4

1. Read Genesis 41:41-57. (audio)
2. What did Joseph do to prepare for the famine?  (answer: He stored up grain.)
3. What did he do once the Egyptians felt the famine and asked Pharaoh for food?  (answer: He sold them grain.)

1. Read Genesis 41:41-57. (audio)
2. What were the names of Joseph’s sons?  (answer: Manasseh, Ephraim)
3. They will be part of the twelve tribes of Israel.
4. The last verse sets up the climax of the story. See how God was in control of this whole thing. He sent the famine. He sent it for many reasons. He had Joseph in place for it. He sent the plentiful years first. He gave Joseph the wisdom with what to do with them. He was sold as a slave for a reason. Your life isn’t a series of accidents. God is in control and has a purpose, a purpose for your good. Romans 8:28  Jeremiah 29:11  These are two verses that you should have memorized.

1. Read chapter 42:1-26. (audio)
2. Who came to Egypt? (answer: all of Joseph’s brothers except Benjamin)
3. What does Joseph accuse them of?  (answer: spying)
4. What happened to make Joseph remember his dream?  (answer: They bowed down to them.)

1. Read chapter 42.
2. How does Joseph’s dream come true?  (answer: His brothers bow down to him.)
3. What has the brothers scared? (answer: They are accused of being spies and Joseph has returned their silver, meaning they haven’t paid for all the food they took.)
4. Why is he making his brothers get Benjamin? Why hasn’t he told them who he is? What do you think Joseph is doing?

1. Read Genesis 43:11-32 (audio). Israel has finally agreed to let them go back to Egypt to buy more grain after they had already eaten all the grain they had brought. He took so long to agree because he was worried about Benjamin, who had to travel with them this time.
2. Now instead of favoring Joseph because he was Rachel’s son, he favors Benjamin because he was Rachel’s son. Israel/Jacob even left Simeon in prison all this time while they used up all of the grain instead of sending the brothers back right away to get him out of prison. All because he valued Benjamin more than Simeon. But the brothers act differently toward Benjamin. They are no longer jealous. They understand and are treating him as more important, saying they will place his life above theirs.

1.  Read Genesis 43.
2. Remember to see them as real people. They are real people. Can’t you hear him being frustrated saying verse 10?
3. Why is Israel “bereaved?”  (answer: The wife he loved so much had two children: Joseph and Benjamin. He lost his wife, then the first and now is losing the second; he only hopes it is not permanently.)
4. What has the brothers astonished and how does Joseph show love for Benjamin? (answer: Joseph has seated them oldest to youngest and has given Benjamin five times more food than everyone else.)

1. Read Genesis 44:1-11, 18-19, 33-34. (audio)
2. What happened? What did Joseph sneak into Benjamin’s sack?  (answer: silver cup to make it look like he stole it)
3. He is testing them to see how they will treat his mother’s son, Benjamin. He sees they have changed their hearts and do not treat Benjamin the way they treated him.
4. Who offers to be a slave instead of Benjamin?  (answer: Judah)

1. Read Genesis 44.
2. What is Joseph doing?  (answer: He is testing them to see if they have repented and changed their hearts and actions towards the sons of Rachel, their father’s favorites.)
3. Who offers to become a slave instead of Benjamin?  (answer: Judah. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and here is Judah sacrificing himself for his brother.)

1. Read Genesis 45:1-10. (audio)
2. The brothers sold him, but who does Joseph say “sent” him?  (answer: God)
3. Some people say God only does the “good” stuff. He doesn’t send the bad stuff in our lives. But here Joseph is saying that God was in control of all the “bad” that happened to him.  The thing is, when God is in control, He works it all out so it ends up being for your good.

1.  Read Genesis 45.
2. We are always focused on our own lives, but God is not only working in our lives but in all of His children’s lives and working out His plan in the whole earth. Think about all of the things God did to get Israel to Egypt, which is going to be the next important phase in their history.  What can you think of?  (answer: More than I can know, but He…got Joseph to Egypt, Joseph imprisoned where he interpreted dreams, Pharaoh had a dream and is told about Joseph, Joseph interprets and is put in charge of Egypt, abundance and famine in all the land, Joseph’s brothers needing food because of the famine, because Joseph is in charge he can bring his family to live near him so they will be provided for)
3. Joseph’s family didn’t know God was setting up the next phase of Israel’s history. They saw God providing for them during the famine and they saw God reuniting and healing their family, bringing them together when before there was hatred and jealousy. God is always at work in bigger ways than we can see.

1. Read Genesis 46:2-4. (audio)
2. What promises did God give Jacob?  (answer: that He would be in Egypt with them and that He would bring them out again)
3. Read Genesis 47:1-6. (audio)
4. Where did the Israelites settle?  (answer: the part of Egypt called Goshen)

1. Read Genesis 46:2-7. (audio)
2. What promises did God give Jacob?  (answer: that He would make them a great nation, go with them, and bring them back; and that Joseph would be with him when he died)
3. Read Genesis 47:11-31. (audio)
4. What does Jacob make Joseph promise?  (answer: that he’ll bury him where his father was buried)
5. What did Pharaoh end up owning after the famine?  (answer: everything and everyone–they sold it all and themselves for food)
6. Governments still do this. They want to control people and they can do that by supplying their needs. If people need the government to supply their food, their housing, their education, their healthcare, etc., then the government in effect “owns” them. Governments have been known to raise taxes so the people become poor to the point of needing to be dependent on the government. Then the people becomes “slaves of the state.” But we have freedom in Christ to be slaves to no one. We serve the King alone and can rely on Him, a benevolent Master, to provide our food, our housing, our education, our healthcare, etc. Because of our faith, we can live free from fear of lack and will never become slaves.

1. Read Genesis 50:15-26. (audio)
2. What were Joseph’s brothers afraid of?  (answer: that Joseph would do something to get back at them)
3. Joseph tells the brothers that God had used his coming to Egypt for good and saved many lives. How did God save many lives through Joseph’s being sold as a slave? (answer: because he was in Egypt he was able to interpret the Pharaoh’s dream and store up food to give the people during the famine to keep them from starving)

1. Read Genesis 50.
2. Did you know that Joseph’s body was a mummy buried in Egypt somewhere?
3. Joseph says to his brothers that they intended harm, but God intended good. What “good” does he say God brought about?  (answer: “the saving of many lives”)
4. What does Joseph make his family promise?  (answer: to carry his bones out of Egypt–He believed God that one day they would leave Egypt and live in the land promised to their family.)

1. Read Exodus 1:8-13, 22. (audio)
2. Did you notice we started a new book? Exodus. EX in the beginning of a word means out, like in the word EXit. In Exodus the Israelites are going to come out of Egypt. The main character of the story now is going to be Moses. This is where his story is going to begin.
3. What did the new Pharaoh do to the Hebrews?  (answer: He made them slaves and ordered that all the boy babies be killed.)
4. A long time passes…
5. Read Exodus 2:1-10. (audio)
6. Moses’ mother hides him by the river. Now she must have hidden him near Pharaoh’s palace because Pharaoh’s daughter finds him and feels bad for him and wants to take care of him. And one of my favorite things in the whole Bible is that Pharaoh’s daughter hires Moses’ own mother to take care of him!

1.  Read Exodus 1 and Exodus 2:1-10. (audio)
2. What has happened to the Israelites?  (answer: They have become so numerous that the new Pharaoh has made them slaves and is trying to kill all of their boy babies.)
3. A long time passes during Exodus 1.
4. Who pulls Moses from the riverside?  (answer: Pharaoh’s daughter)
5. What does Moses mean? Read what it says in the Scripture and click on the little a.  (answer:  draw out, or take out)
6. The book of Exodus is about the Israelites’ Exit from Egypt.

1. Read Exodus 2:11-15. (audio)
2. Moses sees the Israelites being treated wrongly. He tries to save one himself. How did he do it?  (answer: by killing the Egyptian)
3. He made things worse instead of better. God is going to use Moses to save, or deliver, the Israelites from the Egyptians, but it’s not going to be by the power of man.
4. Moses ends up living with the Midianies and marries one of them.
5. This is happening about 40 years later. Read Exodus 3:1-10.
6. We’ll read more about this day.

1. Read Exodus 3:7-22. (audio)
2. Tell someone what God’s plan is. What are all of the instructions to Moses?

1. Read Exodus 3.
2. Why does Moses have to take off his sandals? (answer: because it was holy ground)
3. What does that mean?   (answer: God’s holy, perfect presence was there)
4. What does God say to call Him?  (answer: I Am Who I Am)
5. What do you think of that name?
6. What does it tell us about God?    (answer: He’s bigger than a name can define.)
7. Where is God going to take the Israelites?   (answer: to the land of the Canaanites–notice the land is being lived on by lots of different people)
8. What are they supposed to do on their way out?  (answer: plunder the Egyptians by asking for gold and silver and clothes)

1. Read Exodus 4:1-17. (audio)
2. Moses is worried that the Israelites won’t believe him and he’s worried that he won’t be able to speak well. What does God do to help him?  (answer: He gives him miracles to perform, including a staff that turns into a snake, and he sends his brother Aaron to speak for him.)

1. Read Exodus 4:1-17. 27-31. (audio)
2. Remember to see Moses as a real person. What is Moses worried about?  (answer: Everything. He’s worried about the leaders not believing him and about being able to speak well.)
3. Picture Moses being told to pick up the snake after he just ran away from it!
4. What does God remind Moses of when he says he can’t speak well?  (answer:  that He made Moses’ mouth and gave him the ability to speak and can take it away)
5. Moses still doesn’t want the job. It always makes me feel good that God doesn’t give up on Moses at this point. He gives him Aaron to help him. You’ll see in the coming days how Aaron begins as the one who speaks and does everything, but Moses will find his confidence and it will switch.

1. Read Exodus 5:1-9, 22-23. (audio)
2. What was Pharaoh’s response when Moses and Aaron asked him to let them go for a few days?  (answer: He said no and increased their work.)
3. Moses is upset because God sent him to deliver his people from the Egyptians but instead he made things worse! He doesn’t know what’s about to happen.

1. Read Exodus 5.
2. Why are the Israelites mad at Moses?  (answer: Their work load was made harder because Moses asked for them to get time off.)
3. Can you empathize with Moses? Do you understand how he is feeling? God sent him with miracles and told him He was going to deliver the Israelites, and Moses told the leaders of the Hebrews that God was going to deliver them, and then things just got worse. There was no deliverance. The Bible says that God is not slow the way we measure slowness. We always want the bad to end immediately and the good to come even sooner! God has bigger plans and is working out bigger and more important things than our immediate comfort. He loves us enough to make us wait for the deliverance. You may think sarcastically, oh great. But think of it this way. What happens to the child who never is allowed to ever be discomforted in any way, always gets what she wants and never has to suffer through discipline?

1. Read Exodus 7:14-24. (audio)
2. What was the first plague God sent to change Pharaoh’s mind?  (answer: turn the Nile into blood)
3. Notice that Pharaoh’s magicians, who practice evil magic, could also turn water into blood. Notice that God allowed them only to make the plague worse! They couldn’t make it better! If they truly had power like God’s, they could have turned it back into water. Only God could end the plague.

1. Read Exodus 7.
2. This was the first plague.
3. Notice how Pharaoh’s magicians with evil powers could play copycat and make snakes and turn water into blood, but why doesn’t that show their power was as great as God’s?  (answer: They couldn’t get rid of the snakes and they couldn’t get rid of the blood. They could only add to the problem. Only God could end it.)
4. By the way, this chapter tells you the ages of Moses and Aaron. How old were they and who is the older brother?  (answer: 80 and 83.  Aaron is the older brother.)
5. It was totally against the culture, but God repeatedly chooses the younger brother. You’ll see it many more times.

1. There is a plague of frogs and a plague of gnats all over Egypt. Pharaoh’s magicians can make more frogs, but they can’t make the dust turn into gnats like God did. The Israelites suffered through these first plagues it seemed. I’m sure after those plagues, the Israelites had changed their minds about Moses and believed that God was using him to rescue them from the Egyptians.
2. Read Exodus 8:20-30. (audio)
3. What did God do differently this time to show that He was in control over the land?  (answer: He kept the plague of flies from Goshen, which is where the Israelites lived.)

1. Read Exodus 8.
2. What were the next three plagues?  (answer: frogs, gnats and flies)
3. What did God do to show the Israelites that He was using Moses to deliver them and to show Pharaoh that He was “in the land”?  (answer: The Israelites suffered through the first three plagues and then God spared Goshen, which was where they were living.)
4. Do you think the plagues changed the attitudes of the Israelites toward Moses?

1. Read Exodus 9:1-7. (audio)
2. What plague did God send?  (answer: He killed the farm animals of the Egyptians.)
3. How did God show that He was the God of the Hebrews?  (answer: None of the animals belonging to the Hebrews, Israelites, died.)
4. In the rest of the chapter God sends a plague of boils, which are sores on your body, and a plague of hail.

1. Read Exodus 9.
2. Reread verses 15 and 16. Tell what they say in your own words. Then tell what these verses tell us about God.  (answers: some things are that He is all powerful, in control, and is working to glorify His name)

1. Next came a plague of locusts. Then…
2. Read Exodus 10:21-29. (audio)
3. What plague is God going to send next?  (answer: darkness)
4. How will God treat the Hebrews differently from the Egyptians?  (answer: They will have light.)
5. What does Moses agree with at the end of the chapter?  (answer: Pharaoh will never see his face again.)

1. Read Exodus 10.
2. What does God say in verses 1 and 2 about why He is doing all of this?  (answer: He is doing it so that their children and grand children will know his power and ability to deliver, and so that they will know that He is the Lord, the ruler of all.)
3. What is Moses asking for?  (answer: a week off to worship God)
4. Pharaoh is being so unreasonable. They just want time off and he and his people are suffering so much. Remember this when you or your parents come across someone who is so completely unreasonable that you can’t even understand it. Chances are that God is at work in your life to bring about something great!

1. Read Exodus 12:1-16. (audio)
2. What was the last plague?  (answer:  The first born of all the Egyptians died.)
3. When death passed over the Israelites because of the lamb’s blood, that night we call the Passover. Death passed over them. Jesus died during the Jewish holiday of Passover. His last meal was the Passover supper and then he was killed. That’s why we call Jesus the Lamb of God. He was our Passover lamb. His blood covers us and makes it so death can pass over us and not touch us. Many things in the Old Testament reflect what is going to happen in the New Testament. Sometimes they seem so different, but they really are a perfect match!

1. Read Exodus 12:1-17, 29-42. (audio)
2. We call the night when death passed over the Israelites because of the lamb’s blood “Passover.” Death passed over them. Jesus died during the Jewish holiday of Passover. His last meal was the Passover supper and then he was killed. That’s why we call Jesus the Lamb of God. He was our Passover lamb. His blood covers us and makes it so death can pass over us and not touch us. Many things in the Old Testament reflect what is going to happen in the New Testament. Sometimes they seem so different, but they really are a perfect match!
3. How many Israelites left Egypt?  (answer: It would seem at least 2 million, and 3 million would not be unlikely. There were 600,000 men.)
4. I don’t know how you organize and lead so many without technology!
5. Everything happened as God had said. They plundered the Egyptians and He brought them out.
6. God institutes the first of the Hebrew holidays. What holiday is it and what are they to do?  (answer: The Festival of Unleavened Bread — They are to eat bread without yeast for seven days and do no work. The Passover meal has to be cooked and eaten in a certain way.)
7. There is nothing evil in yeast. Just like the Passover lamb, it has special meaning. Here is something about yeast in the New Testament. Matthew 16:5-12 (audio)
8. What is the yeast they need to be careful about in the New Testament?  (answer: The teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, because they did not teach only the Scripture, but their own ideas as well.)

1. Read Exodus 14:5-28. (audio)
2. What happened?  (answer: Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after the Israelites. God made a way for them to escape by opening a pathway of dry land through the sea, but the water crashed down on the Egyptian army.)

1. Read Exodus 13:19-22. (audio)
2. What did Moses do?  (answer: He took Joseph’s bones with them out of Egypt just like he had asked.)
3. How did God lead them?  (answer: in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night)
4. Read Exodus 14.
5. Memorize Exodus 14:14.
6. That verse is exactly what happened; the Israelites defeated the Egyptian army without fighting. They only had to follow God.
7. What does the last verse say? (answer: The people feared God and trusted in Him and in Moses because of what had just happened.)
8. Review your memory verses: Romans 8:28  Jeremiah 29:11  Exodus 14:14

1. Read Exodus 15:19-27. (audio)
2. What test does the Lord give the Israelites? He tells them to obey Him.)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 15.
2. Look at these two verses again.
3. How long did they trust God and Moses? until when?  (answer: After they were delivered they trusted them until they had a new problem.)
4. That is what humans are like. We need to be thankful every day, so we don’t need a major problem to get our attention back on God.

1. Read Exodus 16:1-4, 11-23. (audio)
2. When the Israelites were hungry, what did they do?  (answer: They grumbled, again.)
3. What did God provide for them?  (answer: quail meat in the evening and bread in the morning)
4. This type of bread the Israelites named manna, and they ate it every day for forty years until they came to the land God promised them.

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 16.
2. How was the Lord going to test them?  (answer: They were only to gather what they needed for one day and not leave any left over. Then they were to gather two days worth to prepare for resting on the Sabbath.)
3. Did everyone obey?  (answer: No, of course not.)
4. Realize how quickly again the Israelites complained to God and didn’t trust Him. Think about how you think when you get sick or something goes wrong. Are you quick to praise God that He will deliver you, or do you grumble?

Levels 1-4

1. Read Exodus 17:1-13. (audio)
2. How were they testing the Lord?  (answer: They questioned, “Is the Lord among us or not?” They questioned if God had abandoned them and stopped taking care of them.)
3. What did Moses have to do for the Israelites to win against the Amalekites?  (answer: He had to keep up his arms and his staff.)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 17.
2. What does it mean that they were “testing” the Lord?  (answer: They were asking if He was really there.)
3. What did Moses have to do in order for them to win over the Amalekites?  (answer: keep up his arms and staff  in the air)

1. Read Exodus 19:16-25. (audio)
2. What is this talking about? Moses is talking to God on Mount Sinai (pronounced “sigh-nigh”). Only Aaron is allowed to come along. Everyone else must be set apart as holy — they had to clean their clothes and make sure they didn’t do anything wrong  just so that they could stand near the mountain. Anyone who touched the mountain would die. We’ll read more about this later, how God is holy and people cannot just go into His presence. That’s the most powerful thing that Jesus did. His death and resurrection makes it so that we can be made holy and can go into God’s presence. On the mountain, God is going to give the law, the Ten Commandments, to Moses.

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 19.
2. It’s a metaphor that God took them out of Egypt on eagle’s wings. What does it mean? (An eagle is one of the highest flying birds.)  (answer: He’s saying that He carried them out, kept them above all of the troubles that He was bringing on the Egyptians.)
3. ⁵ Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you^[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’  This is still true, but now Christians are part of Israel and the Israelites who don’t believe in Jesus are no longer part of “true Israel.”
4. Read Romans 11:17-24. (audio). He’s comparing true Israel to an olive tree.
5. Those who believe, as it says, are those who are God’s “treasured possession” and “priests” and “a holy nation.” That’s you if you believe!
6. When it is talking about consecrating yourself, it means to set yourself apart for God. They were to be as pure and holy as they could be and present themselves to God. Today we are consecrated by the forgiveness of our sins and the filling of the Holy Spirit so that we are set apart as holy to live for God and not ourselves.

1. Read Exodus 20:1-12. (audio)
2. *What are the Ten Commandments? Fill in the worksheet. You will finish it tomorrow.

Levels 5-8*

1. Read Exodus 20.
2. *What are the Ten Commandments? Fill in the worksheet.

Levels 1-4

1. Read Exodus 20:13-24. (audio)
2. Finish your worksheet from Lesson 74.

Levels 5-8

1. We are going to look again at the Ten Commandments and how some of them are “adjusted” in the New Testament.
2. “You shall not commit adultery.” Read Matthew 5:28. How does Jesus make the law stricter?   (answer: He makes thinking about someone’s body who is not your spouse the same as touching and lying naked with that person.)
3. “You shall not murder.” Read Matthew 5:21-22 (audio). How does Jesus make the law stricter?  (answer: He makes hating someone equal to murdering someone.)
4. In Hebrews 4 it talks about the Sabbath rest. It says, by faith, those who believe have entered into the rest, a rest from their works. We do not have to work to earn our salvation. By faith we consider the work of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross.
5. Why does God say He is testing the Israelites, verse 20?  (answer: to cause people to fear Him–It is for their benefit, though, so that they will stop sinning.)

1. What comes next is the Law. We are not going to read the whole law given to the Israelites. There are more than 600 laws. They cover all sorts of things. Things like, “If your cow wanders away and falls into a hole on someone else’s land…” and tells you what should happen to be fair.
2. Read Exodus 23:20-33. (audio)
3. What are the Israelites told not to do?  ( hint: verse 24)
4. What are they promised if they obey and worship God? (hint: verse 25)
5. What do verses 32 and 33 say they shouldn’t do? What happens if they do?

Levels 5-8

1. What comes next is the Law. We are not going to read the whole law given to the Israelites. There are more than 600 laws. They cover all sorts of things. Things like, “If your cow wanders away and falls into a hole on someone else’s land…” and tells you what should happen to be fair. You’ll read just a little part today.
2. Read Exodus 23.
3. What can you learn about what’s right and what’s wrong from the first 9 verses?
4. In the Sabbath laws section it talks about not planting for a year. That’s actually good farming practice. Those who don’t do that wear out the land and it starts producing less and less.
5. The Israelites may want their enemies gone in an instant, but why does God say He will drive them out slowly?  (hint: verses 29-30)
6. Find the water borders on the map.

1. Read Exodus 24 (audio). Be on the lookout for strange and unusual things.
2. What did you notice that was strange and unusual?  (answer: What I saw that seemed strange and unusual is that they saw God, at least his feet. Also, they put blood on everybody.)
3. What do the Israelites promise to do?  (hint: verse 7)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 24.
2. What do the Israelites promise to do? (hint: verse 7)
3. Do you think they will keep their promise?
4. This chapter records two incredible encounters with God. What are they?  (answer: Moses and the elders see God, at least His feet, and God calls Moses into the cloud on the mountain, and Moses stays in God’s presence on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.)
5. What is God going to give Moses?  (hint: verse 12)

1. Up on the mountain God gives Moses instructions for building him a place to live among the Israelites. It’s called a tabernacle. There are six chapters on instructions for how to build it, what to put inside it (for offering sacrifices and for honoring God’s presence) and for who can approach it and how. Here are a few pictures from a mini museum of what the tabernacle was like.
2. Read Exodus 32:1-8 and 31-35. (audio)
3. What sin did the Israelites commit?  (answer: They built an idol, a statue to worship as god.)
4. How did God punish them?  (answer: He sent a plague.)

Levels 5-8

1. Up on the mountain, God gives Moses instructions for building him a place to live among the Israelites. It’s called a tabernacle. There are six chapters on instructions for how to build it, what to put inside it (for offering sacrifices and for honoring God’s presence) and for who can approach it and how. Here are pictures of what the tabernacle was like. You can read next to the pictures a little about them.
2. Read Exodus 32.
3. Do you remember what the Israelites promised before Moses went up the mountain (from Lesson 77)?
4. What did they do?
5. What does Moses do for them?  (answer: He pleads with God to not destroy them.)
6. What does Moses do against them?  (answer: He sends those “on the Lord’s side” to kill other Israelites for what they had done.)
7. Who were the ones “on the Lord’s side?”  (answer: the Levites, they become the priests that serve in the tabernacle)

1. Read Exodus 34:1-14, 29-32. (audio)
2. Who wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets?  (hint: verse 1)
3. What are some of the ways that God describes Himself?  (hint:  verses 6 and 7)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Exodus 34.
2. What promise does the Lord make?  (hint: verse 10)
3. What command does He give? (hint: verses 11-14)
4. What do you think the Israelites are going to do?
5. What do you think of Moses shining? Ever hear the song, “This Little Light of Mine”? I’ve had non-Christians tell me that I glowed. It makes me think of Moses and the light of Christ shining through me.

1. Read Leviticus 6. (audio)
2. Did you notice? We moved into new book. The rest of Exodus repeated all of the directions for the tabernacle while the people built it. God was very specific in how it should be done, what colors, what sizes. The tabernacle, the arc and the mercy seat were where God dwelt among the Israelites. And just like when God’s presence was on the mountain, anyone not invited and not made holy could not go into the tabernacle, or they would die. That’s what Jesus did for us. He makes us holy so that we can be in God’s presence. That doesn’t mean we get to sin and still be with God. It means that we can be holy through repentance and through the forgiveness we are offered, because Jesus took our punishment for us by dying on the cross.
3. In Leviticus we read about many more of the laws. In this chapter it talks about some of the offerings they are required to make. When someone sinned, something had to be sacrificed, an animal was killed, so that the sin could be forgiven. In the New Testament we read, “The wages of sin is death.” Death is the payment sin requires. That’s what Jesus did for us. He made the payment. We don’t sacrifice animals anymore because Jesus was the final sacrifice, great enough for all of us.
4. When an offering was made, sometimes for sin, sometimes to say thank you, sometimes to celebrate a holiday, part of the animal was burnt (all the fat–God was keeping them healthy!) and part of the animal was given to the priest for him and his family to eat, and the rest the person making the offering got to keep/eat. There are very specific rules for all of it, which of course, the Israelites will soon break!

Levels 5-8

1. Read Leviticus 6 and 7:22-38. (audio)
2. Did you notice? We moved into new book. The rest of Exodus repeated all of the directions for the tabernacle while the people built it. God was very specific in how it should be done, what colors, what sizes. The tabernacle, the ark and the mercy seat were where God dwelled among the Israelites. And just like when God’s presence was on the mountain, anyone not invited and not made holy could not go into the tabernacle or they would die. That’s what Jesus did for us. He makes us holy so that we can be in God’s presence. That doesn’t mean we get to sin and still be with God. It means that we can can be holy through repentance and through the forgiveness we are offered, because Jesus took our punishment for us by dying on the cross.
3. In Leviticus we read about many more of the laws. In this chapter it talks about some of the offerings they are required to to make. When someone sinned, something had to be sacrificed, an animal was killed, so that the sin could be forgiven. In the New Testament we read, “The wages of sin is death.” Death is the payment sin requires. That’s what Jesus did for us. He made the payment. We don’t sacrifice animals anymore because Jesus was the final sacrifice, great enough for all of us.
4. When an offering was made, sometimes for sin, sometimes to say thank you, sometimes to celebrate a holiday, part of the animal was burnt (all the fat–God was keeping them healthy!) and part of the animal was given to the priest for him and his family to eat, and the rest the person making the offering got to keep/eat. There are very specific rules for all of it, which of course, the Israelites will soon break!
5. What else were they not allowed to eat besides the fat?  (answer: blood)

1. The next few chapters are about the different types of sacrifices and Aaron and his sons making the sacrifices and offerings to God. Remember, there are specific rules for what they are supposed to do. If they feared and honored God, they would follow all of the rules. Then this happens…
2. Read Leviticus 10:1-3. (audio)
3. Read Leviticus 11:1-3 (audio). These are the rules God set for the Israelites for what they could eat.
4. What does the New Testament say about these dietary laws?  Mark 7:18-19 (audio) Acts 10:9-16 (audio)
5. The first one shows that the disciples didn’t just give up their diet that they had been trained on since youth. The second one, the vision, was used by God to teach Peter that God could “clean” a non-Jew. Just after this, Peter goes to the home of a non-Jew, a Gentile, and preaches the gospel. Before, he wouldn’t have even gone into the home of a Gentile because it was “unclean.” But both of these show that the power of God is not found in food. Eating certain foods doesn’t make us “unclean”, unholy. Sin is what makes us unholy.

Levels 5-8

1. The next couple of chapters are about Aaron and his sons following the rules and regulations set by God in making sacrifices and offerings. By following the rules, they show God that they fear and honor Him. Then this happens…
2. Read Leviticus 10:1-3. (audio)
3. Read Leviticus 11:1-3 (audio). These are the rules God set for the Israelites for what they could eat.
4. What does the New Testament say about these dietary laws?  Mark 7:18-19 (audio)   Acts 10:9-16 (audio)
5. The first one shows that the disciples didn’t just give up their diet that they had been trained on since youth. The second one, the vision, was used by God to teach Peter that God could “clean” a non-Jew. Just after this, Peter goes to the home of a non-Jew, a Gentile, and preaches the gospel. Before, he wouldn’t have even gone into the home of a Gentile because it was “unclean.” But both of these show that the power of God is not found in food. Eating certain foods doesn’t make us “unclean”, unholy. Sin is what makes us unholy.

1. What we skipped was a long list of rules for the Israelites to live by.
2. Read Leviticus 23. (audio)
3. This is a list of holidays the Israelites are to remember each year. You remember Passover, right? The Day of Atonement is when the Israelites’ sins are forgiven when a sacrifice is made on their behalf. They are to live in little huts for a week during the Festival of Booths.

Levels 5-8

1. The part we skipped, you can go read sometime if you are interested. There are a lot more rules. Many of them are about how a man and woman are only for their husband or wife and no one or nothing else.
2. Read Leviticus 23. This is a list of the Israelites’ holidays ordained by God.
3. On the Day of Atonement two goats are presented before the Lord for the forgiveness of sins for the people. One is sacrificed; one is called the scapegoat and symbolically carries the sins of the people into the desert. A scapegoat is one who takes the blame for others.

1. Read Leviticus 25:11-28. (audio)
2. What does God say in verse 23?  (answer: He says that the land they live on is really His. He says they are just renting the land. They shouldn’t act like they own it.)
3. What do you have that you don’t really own, that really belongs to God? Ask your parents about it.

Levels 5-8

1. Read Leviticus 25:8-43. (audio)
2. The Year of Jubilee is a really neat thing. God gave the Israelites their land, everything they have. It all comes from Him, so He can give and take away. He made a plan that every 50 years things are returned. If they had to sell their land, it is returned to them after 50 years. It also talks about if someone becomes poor that you are to help him. If you sell something to him, you cannot sell it for a profit. Stores buy and then sell at a higher price. That’s how they make money. God forbids making money off the poor. He says sell it for the same price you bought it. God repeatedly shows His care for the poor. It’s one of the things I love about Him! It may seem like every religion takes care of the poor in some way. But in other religions, people only take care of the poor for selfish reasons. They believe it helps them earn their way to heaven. They will only do it if they feel they need to make up for some sin. Christians do it out of love. We love God and love others. That’s our motivation for everything.

1. Read Leviticus 26:1-17. (audio)
2. What are some of the blessings promised to them when they obey?
3. What are some the punishments promised them when they disobey?

Levels 5-8

1. Read Leviticus 26:1-17. (audio)
2. What are some of the blessings promised to them when they obey?
3. What are some the punishments promised them when they disobey?
4. Knowing this, why do you think they continued to disobey?

1. Read Numbers 11:1-23, 31-34. (audio)
2. What did the Israelites do wrong?  (answer: They complained.)
3. How did God punish them?  (answer: God sent a fire and a plague.)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 11.
2. What was the Israelites’ sin?  (answer: They complained about their hardships and about wanting meat, even acting like it had been better in Egypt.)
3. What was God’s response?  (answer: He was angry. He sent fire and a plague.)

1. Did you notice we are in a new book now? It’s called Numbers. Can you guess why? Yep, there are a lot of numbers in the book. They count up everyone by family and keep records of everything. This is all significant as a record of history, but it’s not terribly exciting.
2. Read Numbers 12. (audio)
3. Remember that Aaron, Moses, and Miriam are brothers and sister. How are Aaron and Miriam feeling?  (answer: sounds like they were prideful and jealous)
4. What happened to Miriam?  (answer: She got leprosy.)
5. What was special about Moses?  (answer: He was more humble than everyone and God spoke to him plainly face to face.)

Levels 5-8

1. Did you notice we are in a new book now? It’s called Numbers. Can you guess why? Yep, there are a lot of numbers in the book. They count up everyone by family and keep records of everything. This is all significant as a record of history, but it’s not terribly exciting.
2. Read Numbers 12.
3. Remember that Aaron, Moses, and Miriam are brothers and sister. How are Aaron and Miriam feeling?  (answer: sounds like they were prideful and jealous)
4. What happened to Miriam?  (answer: She got leprosy.)
5. What was special about Moses?  (answer: He was more humble than everyone and God spoke to him plainly face to face.)

1. The Israelites have reached part of the land that God promised them. Moses sends spies into the land to see what’s there.
2. Read Numbers 13:17-33. (audio)
3. Who wasn’t afraid of the people in the land and said that they should go take the land?  (answer: Caleb)
4. Why is everyone else afraid?  (answer: They say the people there are so big and their cities have walls around them.)
5. Stand up. Look down at your feet and picture a grasshopper. The Israelites said that’s what they felt like next to the people who lived there. There were giants living there, like Goliath was a giant, but saying they were like grasshoppers next to them was definitely an exaggeration.

Levels 5-8

1. The Israelites have reached part of the land that God promised them, a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Moses sends spies into the land to see what’s there.
2. Read Numbers 13:17-33. (audio)
3. Who’s not afraid?  (answer: Caleb)
4. Why were the others afraid?  (answer: They say that there are giants in the land and that the cities are fortified, have big walls around them.)
5. The Nephilim are mentioned previously in Genesis 6:4, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days–and also afterward–when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” We don’t know much else about them, but in Numbers it seems to say that they are abnormally tall. You can ask your parents what they think about the Nephilim. I have wondered if some of the Greek myths may come from these.

1. This is a bit of a long one today. Be patient to read it. Read Numbers 14:1-10, 26-45 (audio). This starts right after the Israelites hear that there are giants living in the land they are supposed to go conquer and live in.
2. What are they saying?  (answer: They want a new leader. They don’t want to fight.)
3. What do they want to do to Joshua and Caleb?  (answer: They want to kill them.)
4. What’s their punishment? (answer: They can’t enter the Promised Land. Anyone 20 years old and up will have to die in the desert. The Israelites will wander in the desert for 40 years instead of entering into the Promised Land.)
5. When they realize they are going to be punished, they say, “Oh, we’ll obey now,” and they go up to fight, but that wasn’t what they were supposed to do. It was too late. They got beaten in the battle.

Levels 5-8

1. This is a long chapter. Read Numbers 14.
2. What are they saying?  (answer: They want a new leader. They don’t want to fight.)
3. What do they want to do to Joshua and Caleb?  (answer: They want to kill them.)
4. What’s their punishment? (answer: They can’t enter the Promised Land. Anyone 20 years old and up will have to die in the desert. The Israelites will wander in the desert for 40 years instead of entering into the Promised Land.)
5. What do the Israelites decide to do after they realize they are going to be punished?  (answer: They decide to go up and fight.)
6. What’s wrong with that? (answer: It was too late. They missed the chance. That’s not what they were supposed to do at that point. They were disobeying again and God didn’t help them, so they were defeated.)

1. Read Numbers 16:1-7, 28-35, 41-50. (audio)
2. These men were sons of Levi. That means they were Levites. They were the tribe chosen to care for the tabernacle and all related duties. Only specially chosen ones could be priests and enter the tabernacle to offer sacrifices and be in God’s presence. They thought they were just as good as Aaron. They said, “The Lord is with us too, so we can present an offering to the Lord too.”
3. They are all killed.
4. Do you have any guess why the Israelites didn’t fear God after those men were killed? We know they didn’t because they complained that Moses and Aaron had killed the Levites, when God was the one who had done it.
5. Then God punishes the Israelites and sends a plague. Thousands die until Aaron makes a sacrifice so that they can be forgiven.
6. These stories should teach you the fear of the Lord. He is holy and all-powerful and we can’t treat Him just any way we please.

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 16.
2. These men were sons of Levi. That means they were Levites. They were the tribe chosen to care for the tabernacle and all related duties. Only specially chosen ones could be priests and enter the tabernacle to offer sacrifices and be in God’s presence. They thought they were just as good as Aaron. They said, “The Lord is with us too, so we can present an offering to the Lord too.”
3. How are the leaders killed to show that it’s from the Lord?  (answer: The earth opens up and swallows them, their families, and all of their belongings.)
4. We know they still didn’t fear the Lord after this happened because they complained that Moses and Aaron had killed the Levites when God was the one who had done it. Why do you think they still didn’t fear God?
5. Then God punishes the Israelites and sends a plague. Thousands die until Aaron makes a sacrifice so that they can be forgiven.
6. These stories should teach you the fear of the Lord. He is holy and all-powerful and we can’t treat Him just any way we please. This is the same God who sent Jesus. God is love, but God is holy too.
7. Jesus’s sacrifice made it so that we can be “priests,” we can enter the presence of the Lord, but we still can’t be like Korah and appoint ourselves to a position in the Church, in the body of Christ. There are many today who just print up a business card with the word “apostle” or “prophet” and expect others to follow them because of the title, when they were not ordained and sent by God to fulfill that position in the church. Those people need to learn the fear of the Lord!

1. Read Numbers 17. (audio)
2. What does God do to teach the Israelites who He has chosen so that they will stop complaining about their leaders?  (answer: He has the leader of each tribe write his name on a staff and place it in the tabernacle. In the morning Aaron’s staff had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. His staff was placed in the tabernacle as a reminder to everyone.)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 17.
2. What does God do to teach the Israelites who He has chosen so that they will stop complaining about their leaders?  (answer: He has the leader of each tribe write his name on a staff and place it in the tabernacle. In the morning Aaron’s staff had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. His staff was placed in the tabernacle as a reminder to everyone.)

1. Read Numbers 20:1-13. (audio)
2. You read that Miriam, Moses’ sister, died. Later in the chapter Aaron dies.
3. The Israelites are complaining again about food and say it would have been better to have been killed than to die of thirst. Why don’t they believe God will provide for them?!
4. What instruction does God give Moses?  (answer: Speak to the rock and water will come out.)
5. What does Moses do?  (answer: He strikes the rock like God had had him do 40 years earlier.)
6. Because Moses didn’t treat God as holy (by disobeying what God had said), Moses and Aaron are told they will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land they have been leading the Israelites toward for 40 years. (It would have been a short journey, but they were forced to wander in the desert for 40 years because they didn’t believe God would help them defeat the giants.)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 20.
2. Who dies in this chapter?  (answer: Miriam and Aaron)
3. What are the Israelites complaining about  again?  (answer: not having food or drink)
4. There’s one reason to fast…to make sure food is never so important to you that you would complain against God and think it would have been better to be dead.
5. What does Moses do wrong?  (answer: He doesn’t treat God as holy. He disobeys the command to speak to the rock. Instead he hits the rock the way that had worked 40 years earlier.)
6. What is his punishment?  (answer: He will not enter the Promised Land.)
7. This again teaches the fear of God. Moses knew God face to face. He obeyed all of these years. But one time disobeying (in what may seem a small thing) kept Moses from entering the Promised Land.

1. The Israelites defeat one of the groups of people living in Canaan. Another group, the Moabites, are afraid. Their king, Balak, tries to get God on their side by asking Balaam to curse the Israelites.
2. Read Numbers 22:7-34. (audio)
3. God tells Balaam not to go with them. But when Balak’s officials push him, he goes and asks God again. God is not pleased that Balaam was still willing to go with them after He had told Balaam no. What does God do to show Balaam He is angered?  (answer: He sends a destroying angel to block his path.)
4. What keeps Balaam from being killed by the angel?  (answer: His donkey stays away from the angel.)
5. What do you think makes this a famous story from the Bible? (answer: The talking donkey!)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 21:1-9. (audio)
2. Take a look at the logo for the American Medical Association. What is it?  (answer: a snake on a pole) You can see this symbol in various forms associated with the medical profession.  One  Two
3. The people were healed by looking at the snake on the pole. Of course, God was the only one with the power to heal them, but He gave them something to show their trust and obedience. If they believed God’s command and were willing to obey, they showed it by looking at the snake, and they were healed.
4. Read Numbers 22:7-34. (audio)
5. Why was God angry with Balaam?  (answer: God had told him specifically and directly to not go with them. But when higher officials come and ask again, he doesn’t tell them no. He says that he’ll ask God again. He already knew the answer.)

1. Read Numbers 27. (audio)
2. This may not seem a significant chapter, but I wanted to point out something. It was really remarkable to have these daughters get the right to inherit land. Their father had died and he had no sons. God gives the land ownership to the man’s daughters. While men seem to rule everything and get all the rights, God doesn’t leave the women without hope. He provides for them and is thoughtful of them at all times.
3. Moses is about to die. Who does he pass on leadership responsibilities to?  (answer: Joshua)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Numbers 27.
2. I want you to notice that women are given the right to own land in this chapter. It’s not heard of in most places in ancient times. God doesn’t leave them homeless just because they had no brother. He gives them land, the inheritance that would have gone to their brother if they had had one. God doesn’t forget about them just because they are women. He cares for everyone.
3. Moses is about to die. Who does he pass on leadership responsibilities to?  (answer: Joshua)
4. The next two chapters are about the Israelites’ special days, if you are interested in their holidays. Chapter 33 is about each place they camped as they moved around, if you are interested in geography.

1. We come to the book of Deuteronomy. In this book there is a retelling of Israel’s history.
2. Read Deuteronomy 6. (audio)
3. Memorize Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
4. What promises does God give them if they obey?  (hint: verses 2, 3 and 24)

Levels 5-8

1. We come to the book of Deuteronomy. In this book there is a retelling of Israel’s history.
2. Read Deuteronomy 6.
3. Memorize Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
4. What promises does God give them if they obey?  (hint: verses 2-3 and 24-25)

1. The whole book of Deuteronomy Moses is giving a speech. He reminds the Israelites of how God has taken care of them and of all of the promises He has made. He also reminds them of the laws and the consequences of disobeying. Towards the end he presents everyone with a choice. What is the choice?
2. Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20. (audio)
3. What is the choice?  (answer: He says you can choose between life and death. If they obey God, they will live. If they disobey God, they will die.)
4. We have the same choice today. We’ve already broken God’s laws, but we can ask for forgiveness because of Jesus’ death for us. And we can ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us and help us live according to God’s Word.

1. In the whole book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving a speech. He reminds the Israelites of how God has taken care of them and of all of the promises He has made. He also reminds them of the laws and the consequences of disobeying. Towards the end, he presents everyone with a choice. What is the choice?
2. Read Deuteronomy 30.
3. What is the choice?  (answer: He says you can choose between life and death. If they obey God, they will live. If they disobey God, they will die.)
4. How do we have the same choice today?  (answer: We’ve already broken God’s laws, which means choosing death. But if we want to choose life, we can ask for forgiveness because of Jesus’ death for us. And we can ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us and help us live according to God’s Word.)
5. What is your choice?

1. Moses dies and Joshua becomes Israel’s leader. He sends spies into Jericho and then leads all of Israel across the Jordan River.
2. Find the Jordan and Jericho on the map. The Jordan runs between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Jericho is just north of the Dead Sea. Here is a broader perspective.
3. Read (audio) Joshua 2:1-14 and Joshua 3:14-17. (audio)
4. How does Israel cross the Jordan?  (answer: The priests stand in the water carrying the ark of the covenant, and the water stops flowing and heaps up in a pile, leaving the ground dry for the Israelites to cross.)

1. Moses dies and Joshua becomes Israel’s leader. He sends spies into Jericho and then leads all of Israel across the Jordan River.
2. Find Jericho and the Jordan River on the map. The Jordan runs between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Jericho is just north of the Dead Sea.
3. Read (audio) Joshua 2:1-14 and Joshua 3:14-17. (audio)
4. How does Israel cross the Jordan?  (answer: The priests stand in the water carrying the ark of the covenant, and the water stops flowing and heaps up in a pile, leaving the ground dry for the Israelites to cross.)
5. How does Rahab help the spies and encourage the Israelites? (answer: She hides the spies and lies to those looking for them. She tells them that everyone is afraid of them and knows that God will give them the victory.)

1. Read Joshua 6:1-20. (audio)
2. What did they have to do in order to make the wall fall down?  (answer: Obey God! Did I trick you? Yes, they had to march 7 days and play trumpets and shout, but the marching and shouting doesn’t make walls fall down; only God could have done that. Their obedience showed their faith in Him to do it!)

Levels 5-8

1. Read Joshua 6.
2. What did they have to do in order to make the wall fall down?  (answer: Obey God! Did I trick you? Yes, they had to march 7 days and play trumpets and shout, but the marching and shouting doesn’t make walls fall down;  only God could have done that. Their obedience showed their faith in Him to do it!)
3. Did they keep their promise to Rahab?  (answer: yes)
4. Practice your memory verses. Romans 8:28  Jeremiah 29:11  Exodus 14:14   Deuteronomy 6:4-5

1. Read Joshua 7:1-21. (audio)
2. What happens when they go to attack Ai?  (answer: They are defeated and chased away.)
3. Why? (answer: Someone had disobeyed God’s command not to take anything from Jericho for themselves.)
4. Who broke God’s command?  (answer: Achan)
5. He is stoned to death because he disobeyed.

1. Read Joshua 7.
2. What happens when they go to attack Ai?  (answer: They are defeated and chased away.)
3. Why? (answer: Someone had disobeyed God’s command not to take anything from Jericho for themselves.)
4. Who broke God’s command?  (answer: Achan)
5. What happens to him?  (answer: He and everything that was his is killed and burned.)
6. Read Joshua 8:1-8. (audio)
7. They obey God’s commands. Do you think they defeat the city of Ai this time?

1. Read Joshua 10:1-15. (audio)
2. Five kings join together to attack. God tells Joshua that he will win. They surprise-attack them.
3. What does Joshua say to the sun?  (answer: Sun, stand still until we have the complete victory.)
4. Joshua was asking that night wouldn’t fall until the battle was over. We don’t know how God did it, but He did. Maybe the Lord provided the light Himself for the Israelites that day, to make it light all night. Or, maybe He broke the laws of physics that He created (like when He made an ax float). If God spoke the universe into existence, then he can control it by His word as well.

1. Read Joshua 10:1-28. (audio)
2. Five kings band together to attack. God tells Joshua that they will win.
3. Why does verse 9 remind me of George Washington crossing the Delaware?  (answer: Washington led the troops all through the night to bring them close for the surprise morning attack. The book of Joshua has lots of clever ways of attacking.)
4. How did the Lord fight for them and kill the enemy without the use of swords? (answer: He sent down hailstones. God controls the weather. He can control whether the hailstone hit an Israelite or the enemy. God doesn’t miss.)
5. We know now that the sun always stands still. It’s the earth that’s moving. It was just an expression to say that the sun stood still. Joshua was asking that night wouldn’t fall until the battle was over. Maybe the Lord provided the light Himself for the Israelites that day, to make it light all night. Or, maybe the earth could have stopped spinning. It’s a law of physics that objects in motion tend to stay in motion. If the earth suddenly stopped spinning, the people, animals, trees, buildings, etc. would have kept moving and flown right off! However, if God spoke the universe into existence, then He can control it by His word as well. God is not bound by the laws of physics. He made an ax head float. Jesus and Elijah just lifted off into heaven. God is big enough and powerful enough to make the earth stand still without it causing catastrophes.
6. It was light all day and all night. What does verse 14 say was remarkable about that?

1. Read Joshua 24:1-21. (audio)
2. Joshua is about to die. He reminds Israel what God has done for them.
3. What does verse 12 say that God did for them?  (answer: God sent hornets to get the others to leave the land.)
4. What does everyone promise?  (answer: that they will serve the Lord)

1. Read Joshua 24.
2. Joshua is about to die. He reminds Israel what God has done for them.
3. What does verse 12 say that God did for them?  (answer: God sent hornets to get the others to leave the land.)
4. What does everyone promise?  (answer: that they will serve the Lord)