Joshua, the Story

For our VBS, we're covering the story of Joshua.  This is more or less the story as I'm telling it, plus a few teaching notes and discussion questions.  This telling grew out of the previous bible study.

Start with the timeline: Creation, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, something historical (knights, pilgrims, etc.), Today.

In particular, ask about Moses, and get or share at least the Exodus story. When the Lord frees them, they are supposed to go to Mount Sinai to worship and praise God, and then to the land of Canaan, that God has promised them. It was like an entire big city trying to get up and walk someplace new. The Israelites were divided up into 12 tribes, based on Jacob/Israel’s 12 sons, which included Joseph.

The Story of Joshua

Day 1
So almost as soon as the Israelites left Egypt, before they even got to the mountain to worship and praise God, they had a battle. The people – called the Amorites (possible aside about people named after their ancestors) – did not want this humongous crowd of people coming through their land. The Israelites were confused, tired, and anxious about what their future would hold. And now they have a battle on their hands!

This is the first we hear about Joshua. Moses calls him forward to be the general of the people: Joshua, son of Nun, and Joshua goes forth into battle. Moses goes above the battle with the staff the Lord gave him. When he raises the staff, the Israelites start winning the battle. When his arms lower, they start losing. So his brother Aaron and a man named Hur make him sit down, and they help him hold his arms up. So Israel wins the battle! Then the Lord tells Moses, “Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too.” (Exodus 17)

After this, Joshua, son of Nun, becomes Moses’ assistant. When the Israelites finally get to the mountain, Moses is supposed to go up on the mountain to talk with the Lord. A cloud came down on the mountain to show God’s presence. Moses leaves the Israelites to worship at the base, and Aaron and Hur to watch over them. Moses enters the cloud for 40 days and 40 nights. Was Joshua in the cloud, too? We don’t know! This is when God gave Moses the 10 commandments. But Joshua stayed up with Moses the whole time, because when they came down, he said, ‘It’s so loud – sounds like a battle!’ And that’s when the Israelites had made a golden calf, and were worshipping that, instead of worshipping God. Moses was so angry he broke the tablets of the law, and he and Joshua went back up on the mountain. God forgave them and gave Moses new stone tablets with the Law. (Ex 24)

God gave very specific instructions for making an Ark – a container like a big box – to hold the tablets. And a tent where they could put the ark and that would be where the Lord dwelled. Moses would go in this tent to talk with God. “The Lord would speak to Moses personally, as a man speaks to his friend.” Moses would take Joshua, son of Nun, with him to this tent of meeting, and the pillar of smoke would come to the front of the tent while they were in. When Moses went out to share with the people what God said, Joshua stayed in the tent. (Ex 33) Why do you think he did that?

Finally, about a year after Mount Sinai, they reached Canaan, the promised land. They received manna in the morning and quail at night to eat. Manna appeared like frost on the ground, and quails are like a small chicken. Sometimes we think of manna like a kind of bread. Moses, at God’s command, sent one person from each tribe to scout out the new land. It had been more than 400 years since Jacob had left to take his sons to join Joseph in Egypt. Joshua represented the tribe of Ephraim, and a man name Caleb represented the tribe of Judah. These 12 men went into the land looking for all the details Moses had asked about. What might they have been looking for? (Food, people, cities, armies.) They crossed the big river Jordan, and went into Canaan for 40 days.

They found an amazing land! More food than they could have imagined. Moses asked them to bring back fruit, and they brought a bunch of grapes so big it had to be carried on a pole between 2 men. They described a fertile land with many people and cities and kings. They said “It really is flowing with milk and honey.” But… they also said the people were big. Ten of the scouts were afraid of trying to go in, even though the Lord had promised to clear their way. Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.” But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” So they started spreading lies among the people. The land devours the people who live there! The people who live there are giants! We’ll all die if we try to go there! Only Joshua and Caleb told the truth and supported Moses. So what do you think the people said?

God was very angry. The 10 lying spies were struck dead by a plague. Moses begged for forgiveness for the people. Again. And God spared them, but he did give a curse. None of the grownups who rejected the Promised Land would be able to go in, and the whole tribe of Israel would have to wait 40 years. One year for each day. So they went back into the wilderness. Only Caleb and Joshua would return. (Numbers 13)

What did you learn about Joshua? Tomorrow we’ll find out what happens next. Even Joshua didn’t know what God was preparing him for.

Day 2
Timeline review, plus discuss ‘What happened yesterday?’

At one point in the wilderness, even Moses disobeyed God. So he was not going to enter into the Promised Land either. But God led him up onto a mountain to show him the land. He also had Moses tell Joshua that Joshua was going to be the leader of the people now, and was going to lead them into the Canaan. Moses blessed him, laying on his hands. God spoke to Joshua directly, telling him ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ In fact, God told him twice: “Be Strong and Courageous” How do you think he was feeling? (Num 27, Deuteronomy 31) From then on, Joshua was full of the Spirit. (Joshua 1)

Right away, Joshua tells the people it’s time to go in. He gave them three days to pack. He sent two spies into the big city that guarded the river, Jericho. They stayed with a woman named Rahab, who almost everyone in Jericho disapproved of. But somehow the king’s men found out they were spies and went to Rahab’s to find them. She tells the spies that everyone in Jericho knows what the Lord has done for Israel, and that they are all scared.  She hid and protected the spies, but made them promise to spare her and her father’s family. They agreed, and later were able to escape back to the city. (Josh 2)

But how to cross the Jordan? A few spies can get across, but a whole nation of people with all their stuff? God gives Joshua the plan. Send the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, which holds the tablets of the law, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s sprouting staff, into the river, which was at flood stage. The river will stop, and the people can cross. Like a whole big city’s worth of people. The priests went out, and the river stopped. Like there was dam, the water built up in a wall. The people crossed on dry land. Joshua told the leader of each tribe to grab a stone from the river to be a reminder of what God was doing. All the people crossed safely, and they made camp. They had a meal from the food that grew in Canaan - in fact their Passover meal. (What did the Passover meal help them remember?) And that was the end of the manna; God let them know that the story of their time in Egypt was over and their story in the Promised Land had begun. (Josh 3)

Now that they were across the river, Joshua was faced with the problem of Jericho. A big, powerful city with massive walls to protect it.  Joshua went out to pray about this problem, and almost immediately bumped into a stranger wearing a sword. ‘Are you one of us or one of our enemies?’ Joshua asked him. ‘Neither,’ he said, ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s Army. The Lord is going to hand over Jericho to you. Have the priests march around the city, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, once a day for six days. On the seventh day, march around 7 times. After that, blow the shofar and shout with all your might.’ Joshua told the priests the instructions, and then he told the soldiers to go in front of them. For six days in a row, the marched around the city. Their instructions for the 7th day included completely destroying the city, taking nothing for themselves, bringing any treasure for the Lord’s house, and sparing Rahab. He charged the spies with finding her and getting her and her family out safely. On the 7th day, they marched all 7 times. Then Joshua gave the command: Priests blow your horns! Then he told the people to all shout with all their might. And the Lord crumbled the mighty walls of Jericho. The soldiers went in and completely conquered the city. One soldier disobeyed the Lord’s command, took some treasure for himself, and brought ruin on himself and his family. Rahab really became a part of the Israelites, and in fact is the great-great-great-grandmother of David and one of Jesus’ ancestors. (Josh 6)

The Israelites were finally safely in the Promised Land. Unfortunately there were 30 kings who wanted them out! But that’s the story for tomorrow night.

Day 3
Timeline review. What happened yesterday? What’s their big problem now?

The first battle after Jericho was with the city of Ai. They won that by splitting into 2 armies. One army ran away, and when the King of Ai and his army gave chase, the other Israelite army came from behind and trapped them. (Josh 8)

The next people they met were the Gibeonites. Even though they were more powerful than the people of Ai, they were terrified of the Israelites and more so, their God. So they put on their oldest clothes and sandals, brought old crumbly bread and wineskins, and went to the Israelites. They told them they had heard of the power of God (true) and came from far away (false) to make a treaty. (What’s a treaty?) ‘How do we know you’re not from Canaan?’ the Israelites asked, ‘we’re supposed to conquer this country completely.’ ‘Look at our clothes, sandal, wineskins and bread!’ the people from Gibeon said. The Israelites were convinced, and make a promise in God’s name. Without asking God. Soon they found out they had been tricked! The Israelites wanted to kill the Gibeonites. But Joshua says no, they made a promise in God’s name and now they had to keep it. He made them the servants for the Tabernacle, and they became a part of the Israelite nation. (Josh 9)

When the King of Jerusalem heard about this, he got together four more kings and attacked Gibeon. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua and asked for help, so Joshua marched all night with the army to surprise the five kings. The Lord sent them into disorder, and finished the battle with large hailstones. During this battle, Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun in the sky, so there would be no night for the enemies to escape. And He did, making the sun stand still for an entire day. (Josh 10)

The Israelites then defeated the kings of the south. So most of the remaining kings gathered together to make a massive army. The Lord told Joshua not to worry. The Israelites only had to make it so they couldn’t use their chariots, and then the Lord would hand over the army. And that’s just how it happened. Israel defeated king after king with the Lord’s help, and yet none of those cities asked for mercy; instead they chose to fight. In this way, Joshua conquered the whole land, as God had promised Moses, not leaving out even one part. (Josh 11)

Are we called to crush our enemies like the Israelites? No! Now we have Jesus’ command to love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44).

The Lord told Joshua it was time to start dividing up the land among the tribes. Some decisions were made on the spot, some by promises that Moses had made. Joshua listened to the people, and changed decisions to be fair if that was needed. One of the people who came to Joshua was Caleb. He reminded Joshua of how Moses had promised him the land he had explored 40 years ago. Even though there were the giant people there, Caleb told Joshua, “so now look at me today. I’m 85 years old. I’m still as fit to go to war now as I was when Moses sent me out. Now give me this mountain region which the Lord spoke of that day. You heard that the people of Anak are still there and that they have large, fortified cities. If the Lord is with me, I can force them out, as he promised.” So Joshua did as Moses had promised. (Josh 14) The Israelites gave Joshua the city he had wanted, and he rebuilt it and lived there. (Zoomable map.)

When all the land had been divided, Joshua called together the people. He told them to respect the Lord, and get rid of the gods of Egypt and the gods of the Canaanites they had conquered. If even after all he has done for you, you don’t want to serve the Lord, decide that now. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The people dedicated themselves to the Lord. Joshua asked them if they were sure, and they said yes! Joshua warned them that if they went back to other gods that they would deserve disaster because God is perfect.

And they had many problems, but the Lord showed them great mercy, even to the point of sending his own son. Jesus, instead of calling us to conquer a country for ourselves sends us out to let people know about God’s mercy. (Matthew 28:19) But we can learn a lot about how to do it from following Joshua’s example. What made him a great leader?

Photo credits: Flickr - popculturegeek.com, Jamie Lynn Ross

Joshua, the Bible Study

In preparation for our VBS, I did a bible study on Joshua with several groups.  It's too long for a single session, so pick and choose!

Joshua

Equipping
Exodus 17: 8 The Amalekites fought Israel at Rephidim. 9Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men. Then fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I will hold in my hand the staff God told me to take along.” 10Joshua did as Moses told him and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel would win, but as soon as he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win. 12Eventually, Moses’ hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset. 13So Joshua defeated the Amalekite army in battle. 14The Lord said to Moses, “Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too: I will completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”

1) What do we learn about Joshua from this? Why make sure that Joshua hears it, too?


Exodus 24: 12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and the commandments I have written for the people’s instruction.” 13Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14He said to the leaders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. … 18Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Exodus 33:7 Now, Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who was seeking the Lord’s will used to go outside the camp to the tent of meeting. 8Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances to their tents and watch Moses until he went in. 9As soon as Moses went into the tent, the column of smoke would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10When all the people saw the column of smoke standing at the entrance to the tent, they would all bow with their faces touching the ground at the entrance to their own tents. 11The Lord would speak to Moses personally, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would come back to the camp, but his assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, stayed inside the tent.

2) What do we learn about Joshua here? Do you think he was up with Moses the whole 40 days? Why would he stay inside the tent?


Numbers 13: 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2“Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.” 3So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. … 4These are their names: … 6Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah; … 8Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim; …But Moses gave Hoshea, son of Nun, the name Joshua. … [Moses gave many things to look for]… 25Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. 26They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.

27This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. 28But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. …[They described the many peoples living there.] 30Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.” 31But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” 32So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. 33We saw Nephilim there. (The descendants of Anak are Nephilim.) We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that’s how we must have looked to them.”
[This betrayal and lack of faith angers God. He strikes the lying scouts dead of a plague, and curses the Israelites to wander in the desert 1 year for each day the scouts were gone, and guarantees that none of them will enter the land.] 14:38 Of all the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua (son of Nun) and Caleb (son of Jephunneh) survived.

3) What would that have been like for Joshua and Caleb? What do you think Joshua learned from this? What enabled him to be faithful in this?


Numbers 27: 12  The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Mountains, and take a look at the land I will give the Israelites. 13After you see it, you, too, will join your ancestors in death, as your brother Aaron did. …18So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19Make him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and give him his instructions in their presence. 20Give him some of your authority so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.” … 23Moses placed his hands on Joshua and gave him his instructions as the Lord had told him.

Deuteronomy 31:14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is coming soon. Call for Joshua. Both of you come to the tent of meeting, and I will give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua came to the tent of meeting. 15Then the Lord appeared in a column of smoke at the entrance to the tent. [God foretells the Israelites future betrayals, and gives the amazing Song of Moses]… 23The Lord gave this command to Joshua, son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, because you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 34: 9 Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the Spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The Israelites obeyed him and did what the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Joshua 1: 1 After the death of the Lord’s servant Moses, the Lord said to Moses’ assistant Joshua, son of Nun, 2“My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people must cross the Jordan River into the land that I am going to give the people of Israel. … 7Only be strong and very courageous, faithfully doing everything in the teachings that my servant Moses commanded you. Don’t turn away from them. Then you will succeed wherever you go. 8Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed. 9I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ ”

4) What would it be like to receive this blessing from God via Moses? What has Joshua learned that will make it possible? Have you ever followed someone who was hard to live up to?


Finally Entering the Promised Land
Joshua gave the people 3 days to pack. He sent spies into Jericho, the strong city that bordered the Jordan and barred their way into Canaan. But they were almost caught by the king’s men. A woman named Rahab saved them. And then had this exchange:
Joshua 2: 9 “I know the Lord will give you this land. Your presence terrifies us. All the people in this country are deathly afraid of you. 10We’ve heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea in front of you when you left Egypt. We’ve also heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites, who ruled east of the Jordan River. We’ve heard how you destroyed them for the Lord. 11When we heard about it, we lost heart. There was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is the God of heaven and earth. 12Please swear by the Lord that you’ll be as kind to my father’s family as I’ve been to you. Also give me some proof 13that you’ll protect my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and their households, and that you’ll save us from death.” 14The men promised her, “We pledge our lives for your lives. If you don’t tell anyone what we’re doing here, we’ll treat you kindly and honestly when the Lord gives us this land.”

5) What do you think about what Rahab did? Betraying her people, protecting her family, finding God…? Rahab is the mother of Boaz and the great-great-grandmother of King David.

Joshua 3: 9 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10Joshua continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you… 11Watch the ark of the promise of the Lord of the whole earth as it goes ahead of you into the Jordan River. … 13The priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, will stand in the water of the Jordan. Then the water flowing from upstream will stop and stand up like a dam.” 14So they broke camp to cross the Jordan River. The priests who carried the ark of the promise went ahead of the people. 15(The Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest season.) When the priests who were carrying the ark came to the edge of the Jordan River and set foot in 16the water, the water stopped flowing from upstream. The water rose up like a dam … 17The priests who carried the ark of the Lord’s promise stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.

Joshua 4: 1 The whole nation finished crossing the Jordan River. The Lord had told Joshua, 2“Choose one man from each of the 12 tribes. 3Order them to pick up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, where the priests’ feet stood firmly. Take the stones along with you, and set them down where you will camp tonight.”

Joshua 5: 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So Joshua named the place Gilgal, the name it still has today. 10The people of Israel camped at Gilgal in the Jericho plain. There they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11On the day after the Passover, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12The day after that, the manna stopped. The people of Israel never had manna again. That year they began to eat the crops that grew in Canaan.

6) After 40 years! What could this have been like? Would you have been happy or sad to see the end of the manna?


Joshua 5: 13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” 14He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?” 15The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.

Joshua 6: 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you. 3All the soldiers will march around the city once a day for six days. 4Seven priests will carry rams’ horns ahead of the ark. But on the seventh day you must march around the city seven times while the priests blow their horns. 5When you hear a long blast on the horn, all the troops must shout very loudly. The wall around the city will collapse. Then the troops must charge straight ahead into the city.”

6Joshua, son of Nun, summoned the priests. He said to them, “Pick up the ark of the promise, and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns ahead of the Lord’s ark.” 7He told the troops, “March around the city. Let the armed men march ahead of the Lord’s ark.” … They did this for six days.
15On the seventh day they got up at dawn. They marched around the city seven times the same way they had done it before. That was the only day they marched around it seven times. 16When they went around the seventh time, the priests blew their rams’ horns. Joshua said to the troops, “Shout, because the Lord has given you the city! 17The city has been claimed by the Lord. Everything in it belongs to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rahab and all who are in the house with her will live because she hid the messengers we sent. 18But stay away from what has been claimed by the Lord for destruction, or you, too, will be destroyed by the Lord. If you take anything that is claimed by the Lord, you will bring destruction and disaster on the camp of Israel. 19All the silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron are holy and belong to the Lord. They must go into the Lord’s treasury.” 20So the troops shouted very loudly when they heard the blast of the rams’ horns, and the wall collapsed. The troops charged straight ahead and captured the city. 21They claimed everything in it for the Lord. With their swords they killed men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 22But Joshua said to the two spies, “Go to the prostitute’s house. Bring the woman out, along with everything she has, as you swore you would do for her.” … 24Then Israel burned the city and everything in it. But they put the silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron into the Lord’s treasury. 25Joshua spared the prostitute Rahab, her father’s family, and everything she had.

(Joshua 7) Despite Joshua’s serious warnings, Achan takes some treasure from Jericho. The Lord is angered, and the people kill him and his family when they find out.

7) Out of the many amazing stories in the Old Testament, this is one of the most famous. Why do you think? What can it teach us today?


Taking the Land that was Given
(Joshua 8) The Israelites defeat Ai by tricking them out of their city. Again the city is left without a soul.
Joshua 8: 30 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord God of Israel . 31He built an altar with uncut stones on which no iron chisels had been used. This was as the Lord’s servant Moses had commanded the people of Israel in the book of Moses’ Teachings. … 35Joshua read Moses’ Teachings in front of the whole assembly of Israel, including women, children, and foreigners living among them. He did not leave out one word from everything Moses had commanded.

8) How do you reconcile God’s command to the Israelites to wipe out certain peoples with the God who in Jesus’ person says “love your enemies”?


The Gibeonites who live near Ai are scared at this point. They come to meet the Israelites disguised as foreigners who have traveled far and beg for a treaty with the Israelites because of their mighty God.
Joshua 9:14 The men believed the evidence they were shown, but they did not ask the Lord about it. 15So Joshua made peace with them by making a treaty which allowed them to live. … [Within 2 days of travel, however, they found that the people of Gibeon were among their new neighbors!]… 22Joshua sent for the people of Gibeon and asked, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when you live here with us? 23You are under a curse now. You will always be servants. You will be woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 24They answered Joshua, “We were told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and destroy all who live there. We deceived you because we feared for our lives. 25Now we’re at your mercy. Do to us what you think is good and right.” 26So Joshua rescued them and did not let the people of Israel kill them.

9) Why not destroy the Gibeonites? Were the Gibeonites right to deceive the Israelites? What might Joshua have learned from this?


Joshua 10: 12 The day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord while Israel was watching, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!” 13The sun stood still, and the moon stopped until a nation got revenge on its enemies. Isn’t this recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a day the sun was in no hurry to set. 14Never before or after this day was there anything like it. The Lord did what a man told him to do, because the Lord fought for Israel.

10) How do you reconcile incredible accounts like this with what we know in our modern age?

(Joshua 12) All together they conquered 31 kings. This was not all, but left some peoples for the tribes to take care of in their own territories.

Joshua began dividing up land, but what about the other survivor of the exodus?
Joshua 14: 6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb, son of Jephunneh and grandson of Kenaz, said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7I was 40 years old when the Lord’s servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. I reported to him exactly what I thought. 8But my companions discouraged the people. However, I was completely loyal to the Lord my God. 9On that day Moses swore this oath: ‘The land your feet walked on will be a permanent inheritance for you and your descendants because you were completely loyal to the Lord my God.’ 10So look at me. The Lord has kept me alive as he promised. It’s been 45 years since Israel wandered in the desert when the Lord made this promise to Moses. So now look at me today. I’m 85 years old. 11I’m still as fit to go to war now as I was when Moses sent me out. 12Now give me this mountain region which the Lord spoke of that day. You heard that the people of Anak are still there and that they have large, fortified cities. If the Lord is with me, I can force them out, as he promised.” 13So Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

11) Caleb’s faith is awesome. Do you know someone like that? What effect does it have on their life?


(Joshua 17) Zelophehad’s daughters receive inheritance. (Joshua 20) Six cities of refuge.

Joshua 24: 1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. …[The Lord describes all he did for them from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, with Moses in Egypt, the desert, and with Joshua in taking Canaan.] …13So I gave you a land that you hadn’t farmed, cities to live in that you hadn’t built, vineyards and olive groves that you hadn’t planted. So you ate all you wanted!”
[Joshua says] 14“Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16The people responded, “It would be unthinkable for us to abandon the Lord to serve other gods. 17The Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. He did these spectacular signs right before our eyes. He guarded us wherever we went, especially as we passed through other nations. 18The Lord forced out all the people ahead of us, including the Amorites who lived in this land. We, too, will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

19But Joshua answered the people, “Since the Lord is a holy God, you can’t possibly serve him. He is a God who does not tolerate rivals. He will not forgive your rebellious acts and sins. 20If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you. He will destroy you, although he has been so good to you.”

21The people answered Joshua, “No! We will only serve the Lord!” 22Joshua said to the people, “You have testified that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” They answered, “Yes, we have!” 23“Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Turn yourselves entirely over to the Lord God of Israel.” 24The people replied to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

25That day Joshua made an agreement for the people and set up laws and rules for them at Shechem. 26Joshua wrote these things in the Book of God’s Teachings. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree at the Lord’s holy place. 27Joshua told all the people, “This stone will stand as a witness for us. It has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us. It will stand as a witness for you. You cannot deceive your God.” 28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own property. 29After these events, the Lord’s servant Joshua, son of Nun, died. He was 110 years old. 30He was buried on his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

12) We know that they went from this decision to falling away. What do you think happened? Why did God stay faithful to him?


13) Looking back over Joshua’s life, how would you describe him? What can we learn from him?

The Big Ten

Well, almost nothing.  Found a great resource on the Ten Commandments from the Jewish perspective.  Check out Hebrew For Christians.  It was invaluable when I was carving (painting) my stone (styrofoam) tablets.  Worth brosing the rest of the site, too.

Also, if you're investigating the different ways Christians parse them, try Wikipedia.  The article both sort out the Exodus vs Deuteronomy revelations, and the Jewish vs Anglican vs Catholic/Lutheran break up.  One of the odd situations where there is a differance and the Lutherans agree with the Catholics instead of the Anglicans.  Commandments 1 & 2 and 9 & 10 are the sticking points.

One of the misconceptions I've dealt with this time through Exodus is that the Ark held the broken fragments of the first set of tablets.  It may have, but Moses also got a second set on the occasion that the Lord passed by him in the cleft in the rocks. 

Cartoon from the often funny Speedbump.com.

Study for the Story

Moses – Overview Study

For VBS this year we’re trying to tell the whole story of Moses.  In three 20 minute stories.  The goals for the kids are to hear the story, think about it vividly using their imagination, connect it to their relationship with God, and to put it in context with the Bible.  It’s okay if it doesn’t all happen here as these are mostly process goals we’re practicing.  Here is the story version of these bible passages.

For today, let’s look at the story and think about questions that arise for ourselves.  We can talk about the questions here or pose your own, or think of what questions the kids will have.

Day 1:  Moses is born, spared, raised as a prince, exiled, finds a family and then meets God.
Moral: we often don’t feel we can do what God calls us to.  He’ll help!
Questions
•    What connections do you see between Joseph’s story and Moses’?
•    How did Moses’ time as a Prince prepare him for what was to come?  Is it important that he was slated for death?
•    Moses doesn’t seem to have any trouble believing the voice from the bush is God.  Why is he so hesitant to go on God’s mission?





Day 2:  Moses returns to Egypt, with Aaron engages with Pharaoh, brings the plagues, including the first Passover, leads the people out and God destroys the Egyptian army.
Moral:  God has saved us.
Questions
•    What do you think about the idea of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart?
•    Why is it so hard for Pharaoh to let the Israelites go?  Can you relate to that?
•    Why so many plagues?  What can we learn from them?





Day 3: Moses receives the law, struggles with the Israelites, struggles with his own faith, learns to walk with God, and sees the people ready for the Promised Land.
Moral:  even if you screw up, stay in relationship with God.
Questions
•    Does God change his mind?  How do you think of passages like Moses pleading for the Israelites?
•    Why was it so hard for the Israelites to follow God, even with visual and visceral daily reminders of the Lord’s presence?
•    How do you separate forgiveness and consequences?  God repeatedly forgives the Israelites, but assigns consequences regardless.  Why?  How does it help the people?





What’s one thing from this story that you want to spend more time thinking about?

Moses in Three Days

Intro: Timeline -  have pictures representing Eden/creation, Abraham (2000 BC), Joseph(1800 BC), Jesus (0), middle ages (1000 AD), modern day (2000 AD).  Optional- David, Esther or Daniel.  Sort them out on a timeline, and then show something that represents Moses, and talk about him coming after Joseph.  If they don’t know about Joseph, you might want to remind/share that he came to Egypt as a slave, was made a prince, and saved the whole country and his whole family from a terrible drought.

Focus for all three days:  connections (text-self and text-scripture, especially Jesus) and imagining with 5 senses.

Day 1 (Exodus 1-4) About 1400 BC. 
Moral:  we often don’t feel we can do what God calls us to.  He’ll help!

70 men came with Jacob to live with Joseph.  They lived there for more than 400 years and became more than a million people.  They divided themselves into tribes by which of Joseph’s brothers they had as an ancestor, and called themselves Israelites after Jacob’s nickname Israel.  The later pharaohs did not remember how Joseph had saved all of Egypt, did not like the Hebrews, and made them slaves.  The Pharaoh in our story was worried that there were too many Israelites and ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all the boy babies!  But the midwives refused.  So Pharaoh told the Egyptians to kill all the boy babies that were born by drowning them.  When one beautiful baby boy was born his mother hid him for three months, but then couldn’t any more.  So she made a basket into a mini-boat and put him into the Nile River, which has crocodiles and hippos!

The baby’s older sister Miriam watched what happened, and saw Pharaoh’s daughter, a princess of Egypt, find him.  She immediately went to the princess and asked if the princess needed a nurse for the baby.  Miriam then went and got her mother, the baby’s own mother, for the job of nurse!  The princess named him Moses, which means “pulled-out.”

Years passed and Moses grew up as an Egyptian prince, but at some point learned he was a Hebrew by birth.  One day, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and Moses killed the Egyptian!  He buried the body to hide what he did.  The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting and tried to stop them.  “What are you going to do, kill us, too?” they asked.  Moses was scared that people knew of his crime.  In fact, Pharaoh found out and ordered Moses to be killed, which caused him to flee out into the desert to a land called Midian.  The people who lived in Midian were also Abraham’s descendants, but not through Isaac, like Jacob, Joseph and the Israelites.

In the desert at a well, Moses saved some girls from shepherds, who had chased the girls away from the well.  The girls’ father, Jethro, accepted Moses into their tribe, and later married his daughter Zipporah to him.  Moses became a shepherd, and he and Zipporah had a son named Gershom, whose name refers to being an alien in this land, and more children after that.  Jethro was a priest of God, and we think that’s where Moses found out about the Lord.

One day when Moses was tending the sheep, he came to Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai.  There he saw a bush on fire that was not burning up.  That made Moses very curious.   When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”  And Moses said, “Here I am.”  God warned him, “Do not come any closer.  Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.  I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.  I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt and heard them crying out.  So I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and bring them into a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”  And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you:  when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am.  Say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”   Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’  But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.”

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” The Lord said, “Throw your staff on the ground.”  Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.  Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was diseased and white.  He put it back in his cloak and took it out and it was healthy again. Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe these two signs, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground and it will become blood on the ground.”

Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent. I am slow of speech and tongue.”  The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”  But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”  Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you.  You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.  He will speak to the people for you.  But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

So Moses went to Jethro and asked for permission to return to Egypt, and Jethro said yes.  So Moses gathered his wife and sons, Gershom and Eliezer (“God is my helper”) on a donkey and headed to Egypt.  The Lord had told Moses that all the people who wanted Moses dead were dead.  He also told Moses to do the signs he had been given for Pharaoh, but that God would harden his heart so that he would not let the Israelites go.  The Lord had Aaron, Moses’ older brother, come meet Moses and take him to the leaders of the Israelites.  They believed Moses and the signs, and worshipped the Lord for hearing their cries. 


Day 2 Exodus 4-14  
Moral:  God has saved us.

After talking to the Israelite leaders, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.’ ”  Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”  Moses and Aaron said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”  But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers:  “Make the work so hard that they will pay no attention to lies.”  The Israelite leaders complained about this to Moses and Aaron.  Moses asked God about it, and God said that He will set the people free, and to tell the Israelites that the Lord will them to the Promised Land.  But the Israelites were too discouraged to listen.  Moses again complained that he didn’t speak well enough to address Pharaoh, and the Lord reminded him that this is why He called Aaron.

Since Pharaoh refused, as God had warned, it was time for the plagues.  The Lord told Aaron and Moses to warn Pharaoh that God would turn the river Nile to blood.  Pharaoh wouldn’t listen, so it was done.  When Aaron stretched out his staff, even the stored water in jars turned to blood.  All the fish in the river died, it stank, and the people had to dig wells for water.  The Pharaoh’s magicians did a trick that had a similar effect, and that convinced Pharaoh to ignore Moses and Aaron.

A week later, Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh that they would fill the Nile and Egypt with frogs.  Aaron stretched out his staff and the frogs came.  The magicians did a frog trick, but this time Pharaoh said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”  So Moses asked the Lord for relief, and the frogs in the houses died.  After Pharaoh saw this relief, he changed his mind from yes to “No!” 

So the Lord told Moses to have Aaron strike the dust with his staff, and the dust turned into gnats that covered the animals and the people.  Even the magicians said that they couldn’t do this - that it must be God.  But Pharaoh wouldn’t listen.  The Lord told Moses to go back early the next day, and to warn Pharaoh that the next plague would be flies.  But just on Egyptians, not where the Israelites lived.  The flies started the next day.  Pharaoh said the Israelites can pray, but they should pray there in Egypt.  Moses told him that God had asked them to go three days out into the desert to pray.  After a day of the awful flies, Pharaoh said they could go pray and worship the Lord, so Moses said the flies would be gone by tomorrow.  The next day, every single fly was gone, but then Pharaoh hardened his heart, again.

The next plague was livestock - all the Egyptian farm animals would die.  Did it happen?  (Yes!)  Did Pharaoh change his mind? (No!)  The next plague was boils - big sores all over the Egyptian’s bodies.  Did it happen?  (Yes!)  Did Pharaoh change his mind? (No!)  The next plague was hail - the worst hail that Egypt had ever seen.  Did it happen?  (Yes!)  Did Pharaoh change his mind? (No!)  But yes! Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.  Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”  But after Moses prayed to stop the hail, Pharaoh changed his mind, again.

The next plague was locusts.  Pharaoh was afraid, and said the Israelites could go - but just the men.  So the Lord told Moses to stretch out his staff.  Did the locusts come?  (Yes!)  Did Pharaoh change his mind? Yes!  But after Moses prayed to God and He sent all the locusts into the sea, Pharaoh hardened his heart, again.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses did and total darkness covered all Egypt, except the Israelites, for three days.  No one could see anyone else or leave their house for three days.  Then Pharaoh said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children… but not your animals.”  Moses said they needed the animals, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure I never see you again, because the next time I see you, you will die.” Moses replied, “I will never see you again.”  But the Lord gave Moses a last warning for Pharaoh: “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go.  Tell the people to ask their neighbors for silver and gold.  About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.  Every firstborn son in Egypt will die.  There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt – worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.”  Moses gave Pharaoh this message, then, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord told Moses that Pharaoh would let them go after this, and would even chase them out.  He gave Moses instructions for this crucial night.  The Israelites were to make a special meal of lamb, and smear the lamb’s blood on their door post.  The Angel of the Lord came that night, and passed over the doors with lamb’s blood, so that this holy day is called the Passover.  Still today Jews celebrate this feast in the same way Moses did.  But in each Egyptian house, the firstborn sons of the humans and animals died.  Even in Pharaoh’s house.  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to go, take everyone, take everything, and leave.

God told Moses the way to go, gave them a pillar of cloud to follow, and even told them where to camp on the edge of the Red Sea.  Pharaoh changed his mind (again!) and set out with his army to kill all the Israelites.  As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.  They complained to Moses, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?  It would have been better for us to keep being slaves than to die out here!”  Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see how the Lord will save you.”  The Lord gave Moses the plan, “Tell the Israelites to move on.  Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” The pillar of cloud moved between them and the army of Egypt to hold the army back.  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

When the cloud moved, the Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh ordered all of his horses and chariots to follow them into the sea.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were swept into the sea and not one of them survived.  That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians.  And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Day 3 Exodus 15-40, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Moral:  even if you screw up, stay in relationship with God.

After crossing the Red Sea and the Lord’s destruction of the Egyptian army, the Israelites celebrated and praised the Lord.  Then they marched into the desert.  Three days in they found water, but it was bitter, and they started grumbling to Moses again.  The Lord told Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water to turn it sweet.

After 40 more days they were grumbling again.  “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve us to death.”  Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.”  Moses had Aaron tell the people.  While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.  The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” That evening, quail came and covered the camp.  In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.  When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.  When the Israelites saw it, they said “manna?” to each other, which means “What is it?”  Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.  The Lord has commanded: gather just as much as you need, and do not try to keep it overnight.”  He told them to take about a half-gallon per person. However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.  The Lord fed the Israelites manna and quail for their whole time in the wilderness.

Later the Israelites grew thirsty again, and again complained.  Moses urged them to trust the Lord, but still they complained.  The Lord told Moses to use his staff to bring water from a rock by striking it.  The Lord also helped them win a battle by having Moses hold the staff over the Israelite army, which was led by Joshua.

Moses had sent his wife and sons back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and they told him about the exodus from Egypt.  He was amazed at what the Lord had done, and went to see Moses and to bring back Zipporah and the boys.  They praised and worshipped the Lord together.  But Jethro saw that Moses was being the judge, settling all arguments, for all of the many Israelites.  He told him to appoint people, if God approved, to take over that job.  From then on, Moses only had to hear the most difficult cases. 

Finally after three months, they reached Mt Sinai, also called Mt Horeb.  The Lord told Moses to climb the mountain, where He would appear in a cloud and speak to Moses.  Moses brought Aaron with him, and then the Lord told Moses the law that we now call the Ten Commandments.  He described how the Israelites should worship, and gave them rules to make their life better and safer.  He told Moses he would send angels to show them the way and prepare the land.  He told Moses to go back and get the elders to worship from afar.  Moses told all this to the Israelites, wrote down everything that the Lord had said, and went back with the elders to the mountain. 

The Lord called him up to the mountain again for a week, and this time he took Joshua with him.  On the 7th day Moses was called into the cloud, where he then stayed for 40 days.  During this time, God gave Moses two tablets with the God’s own writing.  He also told Moses directions for a chest, called the Ark of the Covenant, to hold the tablets, and a tent to be their temple, called the Tabernacle, where the Lord would dwell. The Lord set Aaron and his family to be the priests for the Tabernacle. Aaron’s descendants became the priests of Israel even up until Jesus’ day.
But while they were waiting for Moses, the Israelites became impatient.  The people asked Aaron to make them idols to worship.  And he did!  They made a golden calf, and worshipped it as if it was God.  When the Lord told Moses what the people were doing, God said He would just wipe them out, and then start over with Moses, like Abraham.  Moses plead for the Israelites and went down to correct them.  He was so mad when he saw the Israelites out of control that he smashed God’s tablets.  He destroyed the calf statue, ground it up, put it in water and made the Israelites drink it.  He called for the people who were loyal to the Lord, and sent them like an army to kill the people who were not sorry.  Then Moses went back to the Lord and begged for mercy for the people.  God agreed to lead the people to the promised land. The Israelites built the Tabernacle by God’s instructions, and God would dwell there as a cloud.  When the cloud lifted and moved, the Israelites packed up and followed it.

During the journey, there’s two different ways that Moses met with the Lord.  In a meeting tent, the Bible says that they often sat and talked face to face, like two men.  But one time, Moses asked to see the Lord’s full glory.  The Lord said it would destroy Moses to see God’s true face.  So He told Moses to hide amongst the rocks, and cover his face, and then the Lord would pass by.  The Lord gave Moses two new tablets with the Law, then passed by him in the rocks.  When Moses went back to the people his face glowed so brightly from being that close to the Lord that the people were frightened.  So Moses put on a veil until the glow dimmed.  This agreement between God and the Israelites is called the Covenant of the Law. 

About a year after receiving the Covenant of the Law, they reached the promised land, also called Canaan. Moses sent 12 scouts into the land, one from each of the tribes.  When they came back from 40 days of exploring, they reported to Moses.  Caleb and Joshua said, “let’s go!”  but the others were afraid.  They spread rumors about how terrible the land was and that there were armies of giants.  The Israelites freaked out, and refused to believe God and go into the promised land.  God again was tempted to wipe them out, but again Moses plead for them again.  God forgave them again, but said they must wait one year for each day the scouts spent - 40 years - and no one who disobeyed the Lord would be allowed to enter the promised land.  This was almost everyone, except Caleb, Joshua, Aaron and Moses.  The Israelites weren’t happy with this, and tried to go in on their own, but they were badly defeated by the armies that lived there.  (Numbers 13, 14)

But sadly, during those 40 years of wandering, even Moses had a problem.  The people were grumbling again about water, and the Lord told Aaron and Moses to go to a rock again, call forth water, and strike it with the staff.  But when they did, the water did not immediately rush out, so they struck it with the staff again. God knew this was from a lack of faith, and told Moses that even he wouldn’t enter the promised land.  Another time the Israelites began to complain and the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them.  But Moses prayed, and the Lord said if he would make a snake to hold up on his staff, all who looked on it would be healed of the poison.  So Moses made a bronze snake and lifted it up, and the people were cured. (Numbers 20, 21)

For the rest of the 40 years, the people lived in the desert.  Sometimes staying in one place for a while, sometimes traveling each day following God’s presence in the cloud.  Manna in the morning and quail at night.  When the forty years were done, the Lord called Moses up to a mountain near Canaan.  There God showed him all of the promised land, and Moses finally died.  The Bible records him being 120 years old.  Then Joshua led the people into the promised land - and they followed him!  But how will they get past Jericho?  That’s the beginning of another story. (Deuteronomy 33, 34)

Moses at the Turning Point

Moses had a lot of turning points in his amazing life.  But the big turn to me is the Burning Bush.  The first part of his life seems like it is about getting him to Mt. Horeb.  (Later called Mt. Sinai... for some reason.)

Moses – Life and Times
The Turning Point:  Exodus 3:1-15

1)    What do you know about Moses?


Introduction:  A couple of weeks ago the church reading was about Moses coming down from the mountain after meeting with God.  His face was glowing so much he had to wear a veil.  And what we read from Corinthians was Paul sharing how now all believers are like Moses, with a personal relationship with God.

That always makes me interested in Moses, because I feel like by studying him I can learn better how to spend my time with God.  This is the story of the Burning Bush, where Moses first met God. 

Moses’ Life:  Sort the big events in Moses’ life into order.  (Cards attached, click for full size.)

The Reading:

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2)    What was Moses’ job?  What’s Midian?  Where’s Horeb?  Any other questions?

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

3)    What’s so amazing about a burning bush?  Why not just appear in glory?  Why remove sandals?  Why does he describe himself as “God of…” all those people?  Who are they?  Any other questions?

Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

4)    How did they get to Egypt?  What’s so bad about it?  What other questions can you think of?

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

5)    Does Moses want to go?  What other questions can you think of?

God said to Moses, “I AM Who I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:  This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.”

6)    What does that mean “I am who I am”?  How will that help the Israelites know who sent Moses?  Why is he worried about what they think? What other questions can you think of?


7)    What’s one thing you take away from studying this?


BONUS:
The Name: God refers to himself here as I AM WHO I AM.  The word for this in Hebrew is below (in ancient and modern form, read right to left) and is sometimes called the Tetragrammaton (four letter written word).  For the last 2500 years it is never spoken by Jews.  Instead they say Adonai (which means Lord).  That’s why in some translations of the bible you see LORD in all caps instead of the actual word.  The letters for this in English are (usual left to right) YHWH.  When Christians first started reading the Old Testament they had never heard the word (since it is never spoken) and mispronounced it JeHoVaH, but correctly it is YaHWeH (Yahweh).  It’s rude to use it out loud in front of religious Jews since they do not.


Game:  Then as time allows we'll try out Apples to Apples - Bible Edition.  It seems really fun, and might give me the chance for sneaky assessment.  Apples to Apples is perhaps the best social game ever, and this is a good variant.

Resources:
Jewish Encyclopedia - combines Old Testament scriptural references with archaeology and history.  Great Info.