YEA Lesson Library
Untangle the Mess
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches how important the exodus from Egypt is to the student today and gives the reason for the observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Scriptures
Exodus 3:13-15
Exodus 10:1-2
Exodus 12:14-16
Exodus 12:17
Exodus 12:37-39
Exodus 12:41-42
Ezekiel 20:10-12
Ezekiel 39:7
I Corinthians 5:6-8
I Corinthians 14:33, 40
Words to Know
EXCOMMUNICATE - to cut off from communion or membership
FEND - to resist or make defense
RIGOROUS - extremely harsh
The Lesson
Choices – choices – choices! Every day we face them. What is important to us determines what we choose. And what we choose shows what is really important to us. Whatever we value gets priority in our lives.
“It has been said that there are two things most difficult to get people to do: to think – and to do things in the order of their importance. Armies of activities cry for our time. Carelessness about our priorities can soon leave our lives like the little boy who fell asleep with gum in his mouth – a tangled mess” (Proverbs for Graduates).
Israel had completely lost the right priorities. They were slaves in captivity and didn’t even know who the True and Living God was. Slaves didn’t have the privilege of setting priorities and doing things in the order they consider to be important. They didn’t have the right to think and plan. Their taskmasters did all of this for them. The Israelites had no choice but to follow orders. There was nothing they could do to get out of the mess they were in. God had to get them out. He gave them priorities and showed them they must do things in the order of His importance.
That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. “When the people stopped to eat, they baked bread from the yeastless dough they had brought along. It was yeastless because the people were pushed out of Egypt and didn’t have time to wait for the bread to rise to take with them on the trip.” They couldn’t buy yeast at a grocery store to put in their dough and make their bread rise. Their dough had to set for some time collecting yeast spores from the air before it would rise. There was no time for this. Israel had to get out of Egypt, and get out in a hurry.
The Israelites probably numbered more than two million when they left Egypt. This must have been some sight! Six hundred thousand men, plus women and children and animals, moving all of their earthly possessions on foot and on the animals to another land. People of all sorts went with them as well. This is how the Days of Unleavened Bread began.
We celebrate “The Night to Be Much Observed” remembering that God freed Israel from the rigorous slavery of Egypt. It was a time of great celebration – at last they were free. Our forefathers left Egypt with a “high hand” under a full moon.
God began to teach them priorities, and that doing things in His order of importance was good for them. “You shall celebrate this every year (this is a permanent law) to remind you of this fatal night. The celebration shall last seven days. For the entire period you are to eat only bread made without yeast. Anyone who disobeys this rule at any time during the seven days of the celebration shall be excommunicated from Israel. On the first day of the celebration, and again on the seventh day, there will be special religious services for the entire congregation, and no work of any kind may be done on those days except the preparation of food” (Exodus 12:14-16 TLB).
What does all of this have to do with you as a teenager today? Should you have priorities? Should you learn to think – and to do things in the order of importance? If so, what should your priorities be ?
Some of the choices you have to make during the Days of Unleavened Bread are choosing between having a slice of pizza or a hamburger, and eating flat bread. Why should you choose flat bread over a slice of pizza? Well, God said you should. He provides you with every bite you eat. He has an order of importance. It’s okay to eat pizza for 51 weeks out of the year. But it is not pleasing to God for you to eat pizza during these seven days. He wants you to remember that Israel was pushed out of Egypt and had to leave in such a hurry that they didn’t have time for their bread to rise. It is so important to God that we don’t eat leavening for seven days that He said any Israelite who did would be excommunicated. They would be cut off from the camp of Israel and left to fend for themselves in the wilderness. They would be in danger of the Egyptians taking them back to the rigorous tasks of slavery.
For seven days, leavening pictures sin. Going back into sin would be like an Israelite being taken back as a slave. God says, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Obeying God’s truths, His rules, makes you free from the consequences of sin. Christians are no longer in slavery to sin.
Do your choices show that you value pleasing God? Give some thought and prayer to what is important to God. On “The Night to Be Much Observed,” go outside and look up at the full moon. Think about your forefathers who were held in slavery for 400 years. How do you think they felt when they were free? You don’t have to be like the little boy who fell asleep with gum in his mouth. You have a choice that can untangle your mess. By choosing to obey God, your life will reflect right priorities. It will have order pleasing to Him. You can be free from the consequences of sin and have blessing beyond belief!
Student Prayer
Great God and Father,
You brought our forefathers out of Egypt and freed them from slavery. What a night to celebrate! Help us always remember that it is one of your priorities for us to celebrate this for seven days and not eat any leavening during that time. Thank you that through your love you will deliver us from the consequences of sin as you delivered Israel from slavery.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Exodus 10:1-2
Monday - Exodus 3:13-15
Tuesday - Ezekiel 39:7
Wednesday - I Corinthians 5:6-8
Thursday - I Corinthians 14:33, 40
Friday - Exodus 12:41-42
Saturday - Ezekiel 20:10-12
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that Israel came out Egypt under a full moon celebrating their freedom with a high hand.
2. Create a day’s menu from foods that are unleavened.
3. Discuss how God’s priorities and God’s order of doing things will make their life better.
4. Draw a comparison of Israel being freed from slavery with their being freed from the consequence of sin when they live an obedient Christian life.
Topics & Themes
Consequences of sin
Days of Unleavened Bread
Eating Unleavened Bread
Egypt
Egypt, Coming Out
Freedom
Holy Days, Unleavened Bread
Israelites
Night To Be Much Observed
Obedience
Priorities
Redemption
Sin
Slaves
Unleavened
Yeast
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students’ and Teacher’s books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook
How to Teach This Lesson
Explain to the class that we are going to play a game that actors do so they can learn to work together. In this game, we will all be a part of the same machine. Machines have moving parts and those motions make sound. The first person who is a part of this machine may stand up and move his arms from side to side over his head making a “ticktock”sound with each swing. The next “part” may stand in front of the first person and go up and down bending his knees with a bopping sound. Then the next “part” of this machine may stand beside the second person and sway back and forth from the waist making a scratching sound with each movement. The entire class is to be a part of this machine. Each person can use their imagination and choose their movement and sound. Remember, all are to work together as a part of the same machine. You interact with other parts, but you don’t touch other parts. Give them a minute to come up with their movements and sounds, and to stand near one another to create a machine. Then tell them you are going to turn on the switch and they are to start their machine. Give the “machine” about 20 seconds to run and then stop it.
Debrief by asking the following questions:
Once the machine was going, was it easy or hard to keep it going? Explain.
What would have happened if you had stopped or decided to go in a different direction?
What would have happened if an Israelite had decided to eat leavening during the Days of Unleavened Bread?
How did keeping your actions consistent with other parts make the machine work better?
How is keeping your actions consistent in this game like keeping your actions consistent with God’s commandments? How is it different?
Have you eaten such things as pizza or hamburgers during the Days of Unleavened Bread and knew it was wrong? How did you feel? Did anyone see you who knew you shouldn’t be eating those things? How did they react? Did you find yourself in a tangled mess? How? You have 51 weeks of each year that you can eat all of the leavened foods you want, how difficult is it to abstain from these food for only one week?
How do the choices you make show what is important to you?
Why do you think God wants you to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread? What do the Days of Unleavened Bread teach us? When you see the full moon on the Night to Be Much Observed, of what does it remind you?
How does Israelites being freed from slavery compare with a Christian’s life?
How can having the same priorities as God and doing what He says be important and make your life better?
How can keeping your actions during the Days of Unleavened Bread consistent with the Word of God make your life better?
Now go over the memory verse and the activity in the Students’ book. Give each student the opportunity to share their menus with the class.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight
Look up the Hebrew word for “generation after generation.” Write down its meaning. Look at how it is translated in other Bible translations and write down three of them in your Bible notebook. Then find three other Scriptures where this word/phrase is used. Make a note of these in your Bible notebook along with a comment about how long God intended the Holy Days to be observed - based on this word.
Where in the World?
There is quite a controversy about the Red Sea crossing. Some believe the Israelites took a northern route across the Sea of Reeds. Others believe the Israelites took a more southern route. If possible, watch the documentary Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle. Using the Biblical accounts, the filmmaker presents a logical, compelling rationale for where he believes the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. If you cannot watch the film, do your own research online and form an opinion based on the Biblical facts: 1) The Egyptians drowned! It couldn’t have been a sea only a few inches deep; 2) A body of water only a couple of inches or feet deep wouldn’t have kept the Israelites from crossing if they were afraid of the pursuing Egyptians; 3) Chariot wheels have been found where? Write a short description of what you have learned in your Bible notebook along with a map which shows the most likely point of crossing the Red Sea.
They Did What Back Then?
Historically bread was leavened by mixing equal parts of flour and water. You can still do this today. Once you mix the flour and water, the mixture is placed in a bowl, covered with a cloth, and set on a counter. Yeast spores in the air leaven the bread. It takes a few days for the yeast to divide and grow. Once you have the starter, you can divide it. Some you keep; some you bake into bread. You can try this at home. Look up a recipe online. Document the fermentation process with your camera. Keep what you have discovered in your Bible notebook.
Making It Mine
Since this holy day is a lasting ordinance, you also should get all of the leavening out of your house prior to the start of the first Day of Unleavened Bread. But getting rid of leavening is just half of it! You should also eat unleavened bread each day. This is God’s commandment as a perpetual ordinance. The Apostle Paul gives more information about the spiritual significance of being unleavened. Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. How does Paul use leavening as an object lesson for us to understand the corrupting influence of sin in our lives? How does this inspire you to be more diligent to rid your life of sin and leaven? Write about it in your Bible notebook.
Worldview Collisions
Secular worldviews say that your goal is to enjoy life as much as possible. Avoiding foods that you love to eat for a week doesn’t fit in with this worldview. God says to obey Him that you may be blessed. Our Creator God designed life, the holy days, and His commandments for your good. When He commands you to get the leavening out of your house (and off your property - and out of the country!) for a week, you can be sure it is for your good. As Christians we obey God because He’s sovereign; we don’t have to understand why He commands certain things. We just are required to obey. Design a poster exhorting God’s people to obey God’s laws whether they understand the full reason behind them or not. Display in your Sabbath school classroom.
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
“This Is the Day” is on page 35 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and hold hands. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer asking God to help their priorities to be His. And to always do things in His order so their lives will not be a tangled mess.
Printable Pages
