YEA Lesson Library

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, the children will be able to:

1. Tell why the Israelites grumbled and complained.

2. Name the two kinds of food God gave the Israelites.

3. Give the name of the bread God sent down from heaven.

4. Tell how God showed them which day was the Sabbath.

5. State that they should be thankful for what God gives them.

Topics & Themes

Forgot
God’s Love
God’s Provision
Gratitude
Grumbling
Manna
Obedience
Quail
Sabbath

Materials Needed

Bible, YEA Students' and Teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, stickers, music player and CD or cassette, songbook, clean sheet, popped corn, Styrofoam bowls, cups, punch

Preparation

"Marketers know that decisions are based on an emotional feeling with the product. That’s why they create characters in commercials that make us smile or feel good.

We need to evoke emotions in children to help them make decisions - and learn. In Christian education, emotions are the glue that cements learning" ("all that glitters... may be gold," by Christine Yount, Group Magazine).

Since hunger is one of our basic feelings, great emotion can be associated with it. Most American children have never suffered real hunger, merely transitory pangs. But even that is enough to cause an emotional response. Help the children understand that God has the supply to meet all our needs. And because of His love for us, He will give us what we need.

How to Teach This Lesson

Ask: Have you ever been really, really hungry? What happens when you are really hungry? (Allow the children to think about this and describe in their own words.) Sometimes your tummy hurts or growls. It is hard to think about anything but food.You may get weak. Some people even feel faint - especially if they have diabetes.

Ask: Do you think it would be easy or hard to be happy if you were really, really hungry? How would you feel?

Supplies Running Low - The Israelites had been walking through the desert for over two months. And everyone was hungry. The Israelites started grumbling and complaining. They were mad at Moses for leading them into the desert where there was no food. Ask: When you are on a long trip, and you get hungry, what do you do? Do you stop at McDonald's? Where is your favorite place to eat?

There were no restaurants in the desert. There were no grocery stores to buy food. All the people had to eat was what they took with them when they left Egypt. Now that food was gone. Ask: What would you do if you were the Israelites? Do you remember why they were in the desert? God was leading them to the Promised Land, and God was taking care of them. He protected them from the Egyptian army. He led them across the Red Sea on a dry path: Ask: Do you think God could give them food to eat, too?

The God of All Supply - Our God made the earth and everything in it. He made the food that grows in our gardens. He made the fruit on the trees. He made the cows from which we get our hamburger and milk. He made the chickens and eggs we eat. Ask: Instead of grumbling and complaining, don’t you think it would have been better if they had asked God to help them?

What Is It? - Moses told the Israelites that every morning God would send tiny flakes on the ground. All the people had to do was pick it up. Then they could make it into sweet tasting bread. The first time they saw the flakes, someone asked, "What is it?" They called these flakes manna, which means, "What is it?" Now they had food to eat. God told them to gather twice as much on Friday so they wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath. He told them there would be no manna on the Sabbath. But some people went out to gather manna on the Sabbath. Did they go hungry?

Tastes Like Chicken! - When the Israelites complained that all they had to eat was bread, God sent them quail. A quail is a small bird that is good to eat, like chicken. Ask: Do you think the Israelites would have starved to death eating only the bread from heaven? No! But, God gave them more than enough. He not only took care of their needs, he took care of their wants, too.

Because He Loves Us- God fed the Israelites in the desert because He loved them. He gives you food, clothes, a nice home and family to take care of you because He loves you. He gives you everything you need. And you should be happy and thankful to Him, not complaining because you don't get everything you want. God will take care of you if you will obey Him. He loves us.

Review Questions

1. Why were the Israelites so hungry?

2. What did they do when they were hungry?

3. What did they cal the bread that God sent from heaven?

4. What else did God send the Israelites to eat?

5. When you don’t get everything you want, should you grumble and complain? What should you do?

Teacher-Directed Activity

After all the talk about food, it will be good to give the children a snack.

Spread a clean sheet on the floor. Sprinkle several bags of popped corn on the sheet (enough so each child will have a small bowl full). Give each child two small plastic or Styrofoam bowls. Tel them to pretend they are the Israelites going out on Friday to pick up manna. They can fill their bowls and sit down to eat their snack. Give them a small glass of punch or juice to go with their popcorn. (Be sure to keep the popcorn on the clean sheet, so it will be edible.)

REACH Activity

Materials Needed: tempera paint, paint brushes, clay, package of colorful construction paper, string, glue, tape, Kids Classics Collection songbook and/or CDs, Bible, YEA book, Bible notebook, black permanent marker, watercolor paints, 11 x 17 drawing paper, pencils, markers, colored pencils, crayons, scissors, ruler, index cards, CEM Hymnal, Bible dictionary, concordance, access to encyclopedia or the Internet, Bible encyclopedia, Bible map or Bible atlas, dictionary, hangers, blank stickers or labels

1. When were you the hungriest you have ever been? What food do you want to eat more than anything when you are very hungry? How do you feel and act when you are hungry? Write the answers to these questions in your Bible notebook.

2. How did the Egyptians treat the Israelites when they lived and worked in Egypt? Use your Bible, YEA book, and concordance to help you find the answer. Write the information in your Bible notebook.

3. Do you remember where Egypt is located? Use a Bible map and find Egypt. Draw the map of Egypt in your Bible notebook. Label other cities, towns, landforms and bodies of water that you know.

4. There may be times that you forget how much God loves you. Make a mobile from your choice of materials. Trace and cut out one red construction paper heart for each year of your life. On each heart write or draw the ways you know that God loves you. Hang the mobile in your room to remind you of God’s love.

NOTE: Making a Mobile: Cut out the shapes desired for reinforcing the lesson (i.e., the plagues of Egypt). Use heavy card stock for the shapes. Using a single hole punch, punch a hole in the center of the top of the shape. Thread different lengths of yarn, string, or fishing line through the differ- ent shapes. This will allow the shapes to dangle at different levels. Tie the tops of the strings onto a hanger. Spread them out along the hanger so the hanger is balanced. To display the mobile, the hook on the top of the hanger can be twisted perpendicular to the rest of the hanger in order to hang the finished mobile over a curtain rod.

5. Use white, blank stickers or labels to draw pictures of manna and quail. Make enough for the calendar activity that follows. Use color pencils for this activity.

6. Make a calendar for the next month. Use construction paper of any color but at least 11 x 17 in size. Draw the boxes large enough to fit the stickers of manna and quail. Leave enough room on the bottom of the calendar to write a Scripture of your choice from the YEA lesson Scriptures. Hang the calendar. Whenever you look at the calendar, think of what you have eaten that day. Could you eat only manna and quail for one month. What about 40 years? Discuss this with your family at mealtime.

7. What do you think manna looked like? In your Bible notebook draw a picture of what the Israelites saw in the morning. To make it three dimensional, find something (potato flakes, for example) to glue on the paper for the manna. Write the instructions for collecting the manna at the bottom of your picture. Share with family and Sabbath School class.

8. Use a Bible encyclopedia and dictionary to learn about quail. Write the information in your Bible notebook. Draw a picture of a quail and label its parts. At the bottom of your picture write God’s instructions to the Israelites for collecting quail. Share with family or Sabbath School class.

9. Do a survey. Find out how many people know what “manna” means. Report back to your Sabbath School class.

10. Write in your Bible notebook how God used the manna and quail to teach His people to honor the Sabbath.

11. How do you feel when you do something nice for someone, but they still complain? Write about a time when you just couldn’t please someone. You know what? God doesn’t like grumbling either.

12. Read 1 Corinthians 10:10. Write how God feels about grumbling.

13. Do a sword drill with the Daily Devotionals for this week. Write the one verse that is your favorite when you are finished.

NOTE: Sword drill: Use the Daily Devotional Scriptures to have a sword drill. Read the Scripture reference to the child. Then start the timer. When the child has found the verse, stop the timer. Read the verse and talk about how it relates to the lesson. Challenge the child to see how quickly he/ she can find each of the verses in the Bible.

14. Divide a piece of drawing paper in half. Draw people gathering the manna in the morning and the quail at night.

15. Sing: “Jesus in the Morning” on page 89 of Kids Classics Collection. Substitute “manna in the morning” and “quail in the evening” for two verses.

16. Compare manna and Jesus. How are they alike? How are they different? (Hint: don’t forget to think about your memory verse when you’re comparing manna and Jesus.)

17. Who is the One that God sent down from heaven that is mentioned in the memory verse? Read and discuss John 6:25-35 with your family or Sabbath School class. Memorize the verse together as a family or class.

18. Sing: “Break Thou the Bread of Life” on page 118 of the CEM Hymnal.

Note: The activity in the parent/teacher’s guide is excellent. If the children don’t get to do it during class, be sure to do it at home for them.

Culminating or On-going Activities

1. Create a newspaper or newsletter with headlines from each of the YEA lessons, or write your own. Each reporter should have their own story to write. Use pictures with each story. Make copies for each family member or Sabbath School student.

2. Design one mural for these ten lessons. Additions are made after each lesson.. Hang the mural when completed. Invite others to your Exodus mural.

3. Ask students to create a game from the YEA lessons on the plagues. Provide simple materials and supplies. Students share and teach the games to each other. Store games in ziplock bags or small boxes.

4. Set up the classroom as a news station. Create call letters for your news station, for example BNN - Bible News Network or BNS - Bible News Station. Invite family and friends to hear the newscast of what happened during these ten YEA lessons. Divide the newscast into several parts: headline news, eyewitness/man on the street segment, weather report, sports, and the strange and unusual. Have someone videotape the newscast for the class to watch at a later date.

5. Write a thank you note to your Sabbath School teacher and/or your parents, telling them which lesson you liked best in On The Move and why.

Song

"His Banner Over Me Is Love" is on page 36 of Kids Classics Collection.

Closing Prayer

Lead the children in prayer, thanking God for the many things He gives them. Also, give thanks for the snack that will be eaten during the Activity time.