Lesson 041 Bread From Heaven Exodus 16:4-35
MEMORY VERSE JOHN 6:33 "For the bread of God is He w ho c om es dow n from heav en and gives life to the world." WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Self-hardening clay or Sculpey. Animal crackers or graham crackers. White cornmeal, flour, yellow cornmeal, macaroni, or beans. ATTENTION GRABBER Kooky Creations Use self-hardening clay or Sculpey to let the kids create something that they have never been seen before! We are going to learn in our lesson today that if God chooses, He can make something brand new that no one has ever seen before just to meet our needs. That is what He does for His people in the wilderness. He feeds them with a brand new food that has never been seen before. Read on in your lesson today and we will find out what that new kind of food was. LESSON TIME! Moses led the Israelites through the desert on a journey to the Promised Land. The people soon forgot the great miracles God had performed to allow them to escape Egypt. They longed to return to Egypt and began to murmur or complain against Moses and Aaron, his brother. They wanted meat and bread to eat like they had in Egypt. Unfortunately they began to long for the Egypt, the very place from which God had delivered them. We have to be careful about
longing for the world that God has delivered us from when we come to Jesus. We need to be thankful for all that God has done in our lives and not complain. Let s learn about what God did in His people s lives when they came to Him with this complaint. We must trust God without murmuring or complaining. EX O D U S 16:4-8 T h e n t h e L O R D s ai d t o M o s e s, " B e h o l d, I w i l l r ai n br e ad f r o m h e av e n f o r y o u. An d t h e p e o p l e s h al l go o u t an d gat h e r a c e r t ai n qu o t a e v e r y d ay, t h at I m ay t e s t t h e m, w h e t h e r t h e y w i l l w al k i n M y l aw o r n o t. " An d i t s h al l be o n t h e s i x t h d ay t h at t h e y s h al l p r e p ar e w h at t h e y br i n g i n, an d i t s h al l be t w i c e as m u c h as t h e y gat h e r d ai l y. " T h e n M o s e s an d Aar o n s ai d t o al l t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l, " At e v e n i n g y o u s h al l k n o w t h at t h e L O R D h as br o u gh t y o u o u t o f t h e l an d o f Egy p t. " An d i n t h e m o r n i n g y o u s h al l s e e t h e gl o r y o f t h e L O R D ; f o r H e h e ar s y o u r m u r m u r i n gs agai n s t t h e L O R D. B u t w h at ar e w e, t h at y o u m u r m u r agai n s t u s?" Al s o M o s e s s ai d, " T h i s s h al l be s e e n w h e n t h e L O R D gi v e s y o u m e at t o e at i n t h e e v e n i n g, an d i n t h e m o r n i n g br e ad t o t h e f u l l ; f o r t h e L O R D h e ar s y o u r m u r m u r i n gs w h i c h y o u m ak e agai n s t H i m. An d w h at ar e w e? Y o u r m u r m u r i n gs ar e n o t agai n s t u s bu t agai n s t t h e L O R D. " God had a special plan for the Israelites. That is why He called them out of Egypt. God had intended to provide for their needs the whole time, but the Israelites lacked faith. God was going to rain bread from Heaven, and this should not have been hard for
the Israelites to believe because they had seen God do greater miracles. Murmuring is complaining in a low tone or in private, and when the Israelites complained against their circumstances, they were complaining against God. God had brought them there and given them great promises, but by complaining they showed that they doubted that God had led them and that He was able to save them. We need to remember all of the great things God has done in our lives so we won't forget and start to doubt God. Whatever God calls us to do, whether it is sharing about Jesus to a neighbor or being a missionary in a strange land, He will help us do it. He will provide for our every need. If we forget that, we will wind up complaining against God, the Creator of the universe, instead of accomplishing what He wants us to do. We must trust God without murmuring or complaining. EX O D U S 16:9-18 T h e n M o s e s s p o k e t o Aar o n, " S ay t o al l t h e c o n gr e gat i o n o f t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l, ' C o m e n e ar be f o r e t h e L O R D, f o r H e h as h e ar d y o u r m u r m u r i n gs. ' " N o w i t c am e t o p as s, as Aar o n s p o k e t o t h e w h o l e c o n gr e gat i o n o f t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l, t h at t h e y l o o k e d t o w ar d t h e w i l d e r n e s s, an d be h o l d, t h e gl o r y o f t h e L O R D ap p e ar e d i n t h e c l o u d. An d t h e L O R D s p o k e t o M o s e s, s ay i n g, " I h av e h e ar d t h e c o m p l ai n t s o f t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l. S p e ak t o t h e m, s ay i n g, ' At t w i l i gh t y o u s h al l e at m e at, an d i n t h e m o r n i n g y o u s h al l be f i l l e d w i t h br e ad. An d y o u s h al l k n o w t h at I am t h e L O R D y o u r G o d. ' "
S o i t w as t h at qu ai l s c am e u p at e v e n i n g an d c o v e r e d t h e c am p, an d i n t h e m o r n i n g t h e d e w l ay al l ar o u n d t h e c am p. An d w h e n t h e l ay e r o f d e w l i f t e d, t h e r e, o n t h e s u r f ac e o f t h e w i l d e r n e s s, w as a s m al l r o u n d s u bs t an c e, as f i n e as f r o s t o n t h e gr o u n d. S o w h e n t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l s aw i t, t h e y s ai d t o o n e an o t h e r, " Wh at i s i t?" F o r t h e y d i d n o t k n o w w h at i t w as. An d M o s e s s ai d t o t h e m, " T h i s i s t h e br e ad w h i c h t h e L O R D h as gi v e n y o u t o e at. " T h i s i s t h e t h i n g w h i c h t h e L O R D h as c o m m an d e d : ' L e t e v e r y m an gat h e r i t ac c o r d i n g t o e ac h o n e ' s n e e d, o n e o m e r f o r e ac h p e r s o n, ac c o r d i n g t o t h e n u m be r o f p e r s o n s ; l e t e v e r y m an t ak e f o r t h o s e w h o ar e i n h i s t e n t. ' " An d t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l d i d s o an d gat h e r e d, s o m e m o r e, s o m e l e s s. S o w h e n t h e y m e as u r e d i t by o m e r s, h e w h o gat h e r e d m u c h h ad n o t h i n g o v e r, an d h e w h o gat h e r e d l i t t l e h ad n o l ac k. Ev e r y m an h ad gat h e r e d ac c o r d i n g t o e ac h o n e ' s n e e d. To prove that God was with the Israelites and that He would care for them, God allowed them to see His glory in a cloud in the wilderness. Then God provided food for them miraculously. God caused quail to come in the evening to provide meat for them and then small pieces of a bread-like food to form on the ground. The bread they called manna, which means, "what is it?" because no one knew what it was. God provided just enough every day for each person. No one had too much or too little.
It is amazing how patient God is. Here were His people complaining about how God wasn t taking care of their needs and then He miraculously takes care of them. The manna would continue for the Israelites for 40 years as they lived in the wilderness. God always provides for our needs. What s That? Make some fake manna by crushing animal crackers or graham crackers to cornmeal size crumbs. Give your students a taste in individual paper cups. Be sure to tell them that this is pretend manna. Talk about what the word manna means. EX O D U S 16:19-29 An d M o s e s s ai d, " L e t n o o n e l e av e an y o f i t t i l l m o r n i n g. " N o t w i t h s t an d i n g t h e y d i d n o t h e e d M o s e s. B u t s o m e o f t h e m l e f t p ar t o f i t u n t i l m o r n i n g, an d i t br e d w o r m s an d s t an k. An d M o s e s w as an gr y w i t h t h e m. S o t h e y gat h e r e d i t e v e r y m o r n i n g, e v e r y m an ac c o r d i n g t o h i s n e e d. An d w h e n t h e s u n be c am e h o t, i t m e l t e d. An d s o i t w as, o n t h e s i x t h d ay, t h at t h e y gat h e r e d t w i c e as m u c h br e ad, t w o o m e r s f o r e ac h o n e. An d al l t h e r u l e r s o f t h e c o n gr e gat i o n c am e an d t o l d M o s e s. T h e n h e s ai d t o t h e m, " T h i s i s w h at t h e L O R D h as s ai d : ' T o m o r r o w i s a S abbat h r e s t, a h o l y S abbat h t o t h e L O R D. B ak e w h at y o u w i l l bak e t o d ay, an d bo i l
w h at y o u w i l l bo i l ; an d l ay u p f o r y o u r s e l v e s al l t h at r e m ai n s, t o be k e p t u n t i l m o r n i n g. ' " S o t h e y l ai d i t u p t i l l m o r n i n g, as M o s e s c o m m an d e d ; an d i t d i d n o t s t i n k, n o r w e r e t h e r e an y w o r m s i n i t. T h e n M o s e s s ai d, " Eat t h at t o d ay, f o r t o d ay i s a S abbat h t o t h e L O R D ; t o d ay y o u w i l l n o t f i n d i t i n t h e f i e l d. " S i x d ay s y o u s h al l gat h e r i t, bu t o n t h e s e v e n t h d ay, w h i c h i s t h e S abbat h, t h e r e w i l l be n o n e. " N o w i t h ap p e n e d t h at s o m e o f t h e p e o p l e w e n t o u t o n t h e s e v e n t h d ay t o gat h e r, bu t t h e y f o u n d n o n e. An d t h e L O R D s ai d t o M o s e s, " H o w l o n g d o y o u r e f u s e t o k e e p M y c o m m an d m e n t s an d M y l aw s? " S e e! F o r t h e L O R D h as gi v e n y o u t h e S abbat h ; t h e r e f o r e H e gi v e s y o u o n t h e s i x t h d ay br e ad f o r t w o d ay s. L e t e v e r y m an r e m ai n i n h i s p l ac e ; l e t n o m an go o u t o f h i s p l ac e o n t h e s e v e n t h d ay. " The Israelites were not supposed to keep manna overnight or to gather it on the Sabbath. God promised to provide it fresh every day except for the sixth day; He would provide double so they could save it and not have to gather on the Sabbath. However, the people lacked faith and some tried to keep it overnight; and some tried to gather on the Sabbath, not trusting God to provide. God saw that the people continually refused to keep His commandments. The Sabbath was to be holy and no work was to be done on it. God gives us His commandments to bless us and protect us. When we disobey them we are not
trusting in God and we miss out on blessings. We must trust God without murmuring or complaining. EX O D U S 16:30-35 S o t h e p e o p l e r e s t e d o n t h e s e v e n t h d ay. An d t h e h o u s e o f I s r ae l c al l e d i t s n am e M an n a. An d i t w as l i k e w h i t e c o r i an d e r s e e d, an d t h e t as t e o f i t w as l i k e w af e r s m ad e w i t h h o n e y. T h e n M o s e s s ai d, " T h i s i s t h e t h i n g w h i c h t h e L O R D h as c o m m an d e d : ' F i l l an o m e r w i t h i t, t o be k e p t f o r y o u r ge n e r at i o n s, t h at t h e y m ay s e e t h e br e ad w i t h w h i c h I f e d y o u i n t h e w i l d e r n e s s, w h e n I br o u gh t y o u o u t o f t h e l an d o f Egy p t. ' " An d M o s e s s ai d t o Aar o n, " T ak e a p o t an d p u t an o m e r o f m an n a i n i t, an d l ay i t u p be f o r e t h e L O R D, t o be k e p t f o r y o u r ge n e r at i o n s. " As t h e L O R D c o m m an d e d M o s e s, s o Aar o n l ai d i t u p be f o r e t h e T e s t i m o n y, t o be k e p t. An d t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l at e m an n a f o r t y y e ar s, u n t i l t h e y c am e t o an i n h abi t e d l an d ; t h e y at e m an n a u n t i l t h e y c am e t o t h e bo r d e r o f t h e l an d o f C an aan. Omer Pile! Bring two quart sized containers and some substance you have on hand such as white cornmeal, flour, yellow cornmeal, macaroni, beans, etc. Let the kids take turns measuring into the jar. Older kids could guess how many loaves of bread could be made out of it.
Explain that a quart is approximately the amount of an omer. God knew that the Israelites had a tendency to forget His miracles, so He commanded Moses to keep an omer of manna so that future generations would have evidence of God's miracle. We need to trust God to provide for our needs everyday and be careful not to forget about God's plan for us. God wants to use our lives to do great things and to bring glory to His name. If we obey Him we will touch people's lives and help bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus. If we lack faith, we will be like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, complaining against God, and not making a difference in other people's lives. We must trust God without murmuring or complaining. Let s remember to trust the Lord in everything. God loves us so much and He will take care of our every need, every day. We shouldn t worry about tomorrow, but trust in the Lord to provide what we need today. Let s remember to be thankful for what God provides for us. When we complain we are being unthankful which is showing disrespect to the Lord. He knows what we need and will provide it. PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of thanksgiving for His wonderful provision. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.