YEA Lesson Library
Let’s Be Unleavened
About This Lesson
This lesson focuses on the Exodus history of the Night To Be Much Observed and the Days of Unleavened Bread and provides the reason we celebrate them today.
Scriptures
Exodus 12:14-20
Exodus 12:20
Exodus 13:6-10
Leviticus 23:4-8
Numbers 28:17-25
John 6:35
John 6:48-51
1 Corinthians 5:7, 8
Words to Know
YEAST - a leavening product used in baking bread; it puffs up
UNLEAVENED - without leavening; not puffed up
LEAVENING - something added to bread or pastries to cause it to rise
SPORES - yeast in the air which will cause bread to rise
The Lesson
Have you and your family ever moved from one house to another? When a family moves to another house there is a lot of work to do. What if your Mom told you to move every- thing in your room, everything in your closet, all of the dishes in the kitchen, right now! Wouldn’t everything be a mess? You would be so busy that you wouldn’t have time to make bread or bake cookies.
A long time ago God told the children of Israel to move – right now! As a matter of fact, they had to do it that very night. They couldn’t even wait until morning!
God chose Moses and Aaron to get the Israelites out of Egypt. Remember, they didn’t have cars, trucks or a moving van to carry their things. All of their clothes, food, and dishes had to be carried in their arms or put on a cart or wagon. The wagon was pulled by hand or by an animal.
They didn’t have yeast to put in their bread like we do. They had to put their bread outside for several days if it was to be light and fluffy. If they didn’t, it was flat and heavy when it was baked. The Israelites had to move in a hurry. They didn’t have time to let their bread set and become leavened. So they baked their bread before it became leavened.
God tells us that this is why we must eat unleavened bread for seven days. It is so that we will remember that He brought the Israelites out of Egypt in a hurry.
God looked down from heaven and watched the Israelites leave Egypt that night. There was a big round moon in the sky as they left with all of their things. He said that we must celebrate that night every year. It’s a very special night! God wants us to remember how He saved His people from Pharaoh. Do you remember your lesson “Let My People Go?” Pharaoh beat the Israelites and worked them very hard. The Days of Unleavened Bread help us to re- member that today God can save us from evil. The Night to be Much Ob- served is a time for great celebration.
If the sky is clear on the Night to be Much Observed, go outside and look up at the big full moon. It will be the same beautiful moon that lit up the sky many, many years ago when Israel left Egypt. The Israelites, with all of their children, were like a big army marching out of Egypt.
At sunset on the same evening every year, God say we are to have all of the leavening out of our houses. He also says to stop working until sunset the next evening. There’s something that God wants us to learn from eating unleavened bread for seven days. Unleavened bread reminds us that we want to follow God’s way. It helps us to remember that Jesus is our Friend. When Jesus is our friend, we must not think of ourselves as being better than others.
It’s not enough to just not eat bread that is leavened. We must eat some unleavened bread for seven days. This is to remind us that God the Father and Jesus Christ are really wonderful. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, we should try to spend a lot of time with them in prayer and Bible reading. This will help us to learn how to be like a sunbeam of light from God to other people.
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for giving us the Days of Unleavened Bread. Teach us how you want us to act. Help us to be a sunbeam for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Exodus 13:6-10
Monday - Leviticus 23:4-8
Tuesday - Numbers 28:17, 18, 25
Wednesday - 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8
Thursday - Exodus 12:15-20
Friday - John 6:35
Saturday - John 6:48-51
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. State that the Days of Unleavened Bread last for seven days.
2. Explain that the Days of Unleavened Bread is a time we don’t eat leavening as well as when we eat some unleavened bread every day for seven days.
3. Tell why we eat unleavened bread.
4. State that Jesus causes a change in our life.
Topics & Themes
Bible study
Bread of Life
Days of Unleavened
Bread
Egypt
Egypt, Coming Out
Eating Unleavened Bread
Jesus, Our Friend
Night To Be Much
Observed
Prayer
Unleavened
Yeast
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students and teacher’s books, crayons, pencils, popcorn, popcorn popper, clear plastic cups, potting soil, bean seeds, pitcher of water, Saran Wrap, measuring tape, songbook, CD/cassette tape and music player, attendance and memory verse charts, stars
Preparation
These lessons should be spliced into the YEA curriculum and taught in their season. It’s best to teach the appropriate lesson the Sabbath before the Holy Day. You may want to keep each child’s Festival Supplement in a folder and give it to them the Sabbath before the lesson is taught so the students can be prepared for class. This will reduce the chances of these books getting lost. Try to keep extra YEA books and materials on hand for unexpected guests during a Holy Day season.
How to Teach This Lesson
Greet the children with the smell of fresh popcorn as they come into the classroom. Ask them to tell what they did to celebrate the Night to be Much Observed. Ask them if they went outside that night and saw the big full moon in the sky. Ask: Do you think this is the same moon that the Israelites saw the night they left Egypt?
Popcorn - Give each child a bowl of pop- corn and seat them in small chairs or on the floor in a semicircle. Ask: How would you describe the popcorn that you are eating? (Light, airy, fluffy.) Show them some kernels that have not been popped and have them compare unpopped corn to the popped. Explain that these two grains help us to understand what leavening does in food. Vocabulary - Introduce and discuss the following vocabulary terms: yeast, unleavened, leavening.
Moving houses - Ask one of the students who has recently moved to a new house to describe how much work moving was. Remember, children love to tell the parts they know. Encourage them to continue with the story and relate their experience to the Israelites leaving Egypt.
The difference between leavened and unleavened bread - Ask the student to tell you how unleavened bread is different from the bread they eat the rest of the year. Let them tell what their favorite unleavened bread or cookie is. Explain how the Israelites did not have yeast, baking powder or baking soda in those days. When they made bread, they had to let the dough set for several days before they baked it. It took time for yeast spores in the air to cause the dough to rise and become light.
The Israelites left in a hurry - When Pharaoh eventually said the Israelites could go have a feast, they had to leave Egypt in a hurry. They didn’t have time for yeast to cause their bread to rise. They had to take their bread dough and bake it just like it was. That meant they had flat bread. This bread is to remind us that Israel left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for their bread to rise ( Deuteronomy 16:3).
Why do we eat unleavened bread for seven days? Ask: Would it please God for you to say, “I don’t like unleavened bread, so I just won’t eat any bread for seven days?” Explain that God commands us to eat unleavened bread for seven days. It helps us to remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is more important than anything we eat. If we want to be a “sunbeam” for God, we should spend a lot of time with our friend Jesus during the Days of Unleavened Bread. We do this when we pray, read our lessons, read our Bible and come to Sabbath services.
Review Questions
1. How many days did the Israelites eat unleavened bread?
2. Why do we eat unleavened bread?
3. Why can’t we just not eat any bread for seven days?
4. What does unleavened bread mean to us?
5. What should we think about as we eat it?
6. What kinds of things would you do if you wanted to be a “sunbeam” for God?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Have the students plant two bean seeds in clear plastic cups, water and cover each one with Saran Wrap for faster germination. Explain that when Jesus comes into their lives, they begin to grow more like Him. The more they grow like Him, the more they behave like they are children of God. You will have seven weeks for the beans to grow indoors (in your home). The children will be able to see the growth and possibly even pick some beans on The Feast of Firstfruits. This provides a concrete image of the fruit we are to bear if Christ dwells in us. Also measure the height of each child, so that their physical growth may be seen on Pentecost as well.
REACH Activity
1. Make a week-long menu of what you will eat during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Then make a grocery list for what you’ll need to buy at the store. Give this to your mom.
2. Make a poster with a Public Service Announcement reminding people to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread. You might say: No Yeast for a Week!! or Obey God; Be Unleavened!! or Eat Unleavened Bread Every Day; It’s Essential for Your Spiritual Health. Plan out your poster. Use stencils and markers. Be sure to make your letters large enough to see from a distance. Post in the foyer of your home or church.
3. Write a letter explaining what leavening is to a friend who doesn’t celebrate the Days of Unleavened Bread. Explain why you won’t be eating doughnuts or pizza when you come to visit during the week.
4. Do a sword drill with the Daily Devotional Scriptures.
More Information: 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.
5. Create an acrostic poem using U-N-L-E-A-V-E-N-E-D. Share with your parents or another adult. (Each letter of a word begins a line of the poem; i.e. in a “P-R-O-M-I-S-E” acrostic poem, a word beginning with “P” starts the first line. A word beginning with “R” start the second line; “O” the third line, etc.)
6. Make some unleavened bread. (Ask for help from an adult.) Share with your family.
7. According to Exodus 12:39, why did the Israelites eat unleavened bread? Write the answer in your Bible notebook.
8. Sing:
A. From the CEM Hymnal: “Trust and Obey” on pg. 193, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” on pg. 7, and “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” on pg. 52.
B. From Kids Classics Collection: “My God is So Big” on pg. 14, “God is So Good” on pg. 87, “He is Lord” on pg. 90, and “Praise Him, Praise Him” on pg. 76.
C. From The Group Songbook: “Awesome God” on pg. 55, “Change My Heart, O God” on pg 53, and “Create in Me a Clean Heart” on pg. 36.
9. After singing “My God is So Big” (Kids Classics Collection pg. 14), write a paragraph telling about what God has done for you.
10. After singing “God is So Good” (Kids Classics Collection pg 87), write another verse specific to the Days of Unleavened Bread.
11. Take the label from a box of matzo. Use part of it to make a bookmark. You may wish to just use the photo, or you may want to use the ingredient list. Glue it to a strip of construction paper or cardstock. On the back side of the paper, write your memory verse. Decorate with stickers or coloring tools. Punch a hole in the top and add a tassel.
12. In your Bible notebook, start a list of God’s Holy Days. You may choose to organize it in a chart with columns, like: Name of Holy Day, When, Scripture References, Special Activities. Remember to add to the chart each Holy Day. Or you may choose to write the information in a paragraph.
13. Using index cards, make a concentration game with the Holy Days, Passover, and Sabbath. (You’ll need 18 cards.) Decorate and play with a younger sibling or a friend.
14. Read Exodus 13:40-42. In your Bible notebook, answer these questions: 1) What is the Night to Be Much Observed? 2) Who says to observe it? 3) Why does God tell us to observe it? 4) How do you observe the Night to Be Much Observed in your family?
15. Help your mom make special meals during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
16. Read Leviticus 23:9-16. The countdown to Pentecost starts during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Because God tells us to count, choose to do at least one of the following:
* Make a calendar to keep track of the count. Find 50 stickers so that you can put a sticker on the calendar each day.
* Make a paper chain. Number the chains. Every seventh chain should be special; it’s a sabbath. Take off a chain each day of the count. The 50th chain should be very special; it’s Pentecost.
* Keep a special journal that you can add to each year. Each page is for a different day of the count. Each year you can a new entry for each day after reading what you had written the previous year.
17. God’s Holy Days are always very busy and very special. Made a card so that you can write a thank you note to someone who made the spring holy days extra special for you this year. And remember to thank God too!
18. Using a concordance, find one other scripture in the Bible which talks about the Days of Unleavened Bread. Write it down in your Bible notebook.
Song
“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” is on page 21 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Lead the children in praying for a closer walk with Jesus. Thank Him for the beautiful meaning in the Holy Days that help us to learn more of Him.
Printable Pages
