Pharaoh’s Request to Moses

Tags

God, Moses, Pharaoh, plague, plea

An Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Pharaoh asked Moses to plea to God for him to stop the plague.

Bible Study Tools

Discussion Questions regarding pleas and  prayers:

• Pharaoh asked Moses to plea to God. What is a plea?
• What is a prayer?
• What is the difference, if any, between a plea and a prayer?
• For what type of things do we pray to God?

Creative Thinking Questions About Asking for Things:

• Pharaoh asked Moses to make his plea to God. Name as many reasons as you can for asking someone else to ask God for something that you want.
• Are there any differences between asking a friend for something and asking God? If so what?

Homeschool Activities for Both Homeschoolers and Non-Homeschoolers:

• Write a plea to God for something that you want.
• Write a plea to God for something that a friend wants.
  • How are the two above pleas different?
• Make a billboard to encourage people to ask God for what they want.
• Explain how much you should leave things up to God and how much effort you should still exert after you ask God for something?
• Do you think that a personal plea to a parent or a plea on behalf of a sibling is more powerful? Why?
• When is it better to do things for yourself and when is it better to ask for help?
• Is making a plea to God the same as asking a friend for help? How is it the same and how is it different?
• Do you think that a personal plea to God from Pharaoh or a plea on behalf of Pharaoh by Moses would be more powerful? Why?

 

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The Children of Israel Will Follow Moses

Tags

Children of Israel, Moses

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

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Bible Talk

Discuss with your children what it would mean that the Children of Israel listen by choice?:

• What does it mean to do something by choice?
• Have you ever done something not by choice?
  • How did it feel?
• What does it mean to listen to someone?

Creative Thinking about listening:

• How do we know if we should listen to someone or not?
• When is listening not enough?

Homeschool Activities about the Children of Israel following Moses by choice:

• Write a story about someone doing something because they wanted to.
  • Now write the story but about someone who didn’t want to do the same thing.
• Write about the difference between hearing and listening.
• Do we always have a choice in what we do? Explain.
• Did you ever make a bad choice in your life? Why was it bad?
• Did you ever make a good choice in your life? Why was it good?
• If you made a good choice in your life, would it necessarily be a good choice for someone else? Explain.
• Write about another leader that people have followed by choice.
• Make a list of other leaders that people have followed by choice.
• Moses was told that the children of Israel would follow him. Do you think that it would have made a difference to Moses if the children of Israel followed him but not by their choice? Explain.

Moses Questions His Ability to Take the Children of Israel Out of Egypt.

Tags

Children of Israel, Moses, Pharaoh

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

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Bible Talk

Discuss Ability:

• How do we know if we can do something?
• What does it mean to believe in someone?
• Is is it okay to question God?

Creative Thinking About Believing in Yourself:

• Is it harder to believe in yourself or someone else? Why?

Homeschool Activities Related to Moses Questioning His Ability to Take the Children of Israel Out of Egypt:

• Make a list of qualities that a leader needs.
  • Put a check mark beside any of these qualities that you posses.
• Do you think that Moses needed different skills to stand before Pharaoh and convince him to let the children of Israel go than he did to lead them out of Egypt?
  • Why are these the same or different?
• If you were Moses would you have questioned God’s request of you? Why or why not?
  • If so, what would you have said to God?
• What is it that makes us afraid to try and do something that we are asked to do?
• Do you have to be someone important to accomplish great things? Why or why not?
• Write a diary entry for Moses describing what he felt when God asked him to go to Pharaoh and to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
• Try to convince someone to give you something that they don’t want to give you.
  • Did you convince them?
  • Was it easy or hard?
  • If they gave in why do you think they gave it to you and if they didn’t why not?

God Announces That He Will Rescue the Children of Israel

Tags

Children of Israel

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss suffering and being rescued:

• What is suffering?
• What does it mean to be a people?
• What does it mean to need to be rescued?

Creative Thinking About Saving the Children of Israel:

• At what point do people “need” saving?
• Explain why you think that God would pick this point to talk about saving His people.:

Homeschool Activities related to God Rescuing the Children of Israel:

• There is much suffering in the world today. Name as many peoples as you can that would like to be heard by God and taken to another land.
• Why would it say, “And bring them up…”?
• Research and write about a people today that would like to be taken away from their situation.
• Describe what you think would make a land “good”.
• Do you belong to a people?
  • Tell about your people.
  • How does it feels to belong to them?
• Write a story about suffering.
• Describe how you feel when you hear about people suffering.
• Can someone really feel suffering through knowing about it? Explain.
• Are the children of Israel still around today? How are they known today? Where do they live? Do they live in a “good and spacious” land?

The Miracle of the Burning Bush

Tags

burning bush, miracle

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss the miracle of the burning bush:

• What normally happens when a bush catches fire?
• How could a bush burn but not be consumed?
• What is a miracle?

Creative Thinking About Miracles:

• What things in life do we take for granted that could be called miracles?

Homeschooling Activities concerning miracles and the burning bush:

• Write a poem or a song about miracles.
• Research how fire consumes things. Describe or draw pictures to explain how it works.
• Explain your understanding of miracles.
• List as many miracles as you can that happen in the Bible.
• Write a journal entry from the burning bush’s point of view.
• Describe in detail a scene with a bush burning. Use all of your senses to describe the fire.
• Tell about something that happened to you, or someone you know, or make up a story about something extraordinary happening.
• Write a newspaper article about the burning bush that was not consumed. Make sure that your title makes people want to read the article.
• What would you tweet if you saw the burning bush?

 

 

Moses Receives His Name

Tags

Moses, Pharaoh's daughter

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss Moses’ name:

• Pharaoh’s daughter gave the baby boy the name Moses because for her he came from the water. Do you think that people are influenced from where they came from?

Creative Thinking about Moses:

• Moses was basically adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. Write a list of advantages and disadvantages of being adopted.

Homeschooling Activities about Moses:

• Find out if your name has a meaning.
  • Express the meaning of your name in some art form.
• Do you think that the meaning of a name affects a person? Explain why or why not.
• Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
  • What does this mean?
  • Do you agree?
• If you could name yourself now with a meaningful name that tells something about yourself what would it be and why?
• Find out the meaning of your last name.
• Where does your family originate from? Write about the country that your family came from.
• From his name Moses would know that Pharaoh’s daughter was not his mother. How do you think this would affect him?
• Moses was basically adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. Write about the adoption process today.

 

Miriam Offers Help

Tags

Miriam, Moses, Pharaoh

If you like these verses check out the book Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Pharaoh’s daughter takes a baby boy out of the water. She realizes that it is a baby boy from the children of Israel (Hebrews), but she wants to keep the baby anyway. Miriam, Moses’ (the baby boy’s) sister was hiding near the river checking what would happen to Moses. When the daughter of Pharaoh took the baby she came out of hiding and offered to find her a Hebrew woman (one of the women from the children of Israel) to breastfeed the baby.

Help for how to use Bible Study Guide for Miriam Offers Help

Bible Talk  

Discuss with your children:

• How is a baby fed?
• What options would Pharaoh’s daughter have to feed the baby if Miriam didn’t offer to find a Hebrew woman to do it?
• Why do you think that they use the term Hebrew for children of Israel?

Creative Thinking related to Miriam Offers Help

• I’m sure that the mother of the baby Moses was very happy with what her daughter, Miriam, did. Often we don’t express our thanks for things that we are happy about. Why do you think that this is so?

Homeschool Activities related to Miriam Offers Help

• Research the origin of baby formula.
• Pharaoh’s daughter saved a Hebrew baby boy. What do you think her father said to her when he found out?
• Write a tweet from the baby’s sister (Miriam):
  • while she was watching the basket in the river.
  • when she saw Pharaoh’s daughter tell her servant to take the basket out of the water.
  • when Pharaoh’s daughter said she could get a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby.
• Research how a mother’s body makes milk.
• Write a song or poem from the mother’s point of view when Miriam comes home with her baby son.
• Find a way for the mother to express her thanks to her daughter Miriam.
• Express your thanks to someone for something that they did for you.
• Create a campaign to encourage people to thank others when warranted. Use at least two of the following medium:
  • twitter
  • blog post
  • flyer
  • poster
  • billboard
  • email
  • lecture
  • cartoon

 

 

Pharaoh Orders the Midwives to Kill the Baby Boys of the Children of Israel

Tags

Children of Israel, Pharaoh

If you like this quote check out Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme and other books by Marcia Goldlist.

Pharaoh decided that in order to keep the children of Israel under his control he would order the midwives who attended to the births of the Hebrews (children of Israel) to kill all of the baby boys. He let the baby girls live.

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss with your children or students:

• What is a midwife?
• Why would Pharaoh give his decree to the midwives?

Creative Thinking

• What are the benefits to Pharaoh of killing the baby boys but letting the girls live?
• What would have been the benefit to Pharaoh of killing the baby girls but letting the boys live?
• Think of another way that Pharaoh could have controlled the children of Israel.

Homeschooling Activities

• Midwives are used in many countries today instead of doctors to deliver babies. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a midwife?
• Write a formal law by order of Pharaoh that every baby boy should be killed.
• Write a journal entry of a midwife for the children of Israel after hearing the new decree.
• Create a billboard from Pharaoh’s palace about the new law.
• Do you think that Pharaoh told everyone the new law or did he try and keep it secret by only telling the midwives for the children of Israel?
  • What would be the benefit of telling everyone the law?
  • What would be the benefit of only telling the midwives for the children of Israel?
• Why do you think that Pharaoh didn’t just outlaw the children of Israel from having babies?
• Write a protest letter from the children of Israel to Pharaoh protesting the decree.
  • Who do you think would sign the letter?
• Write a secret letter to circulate among the children of Israel of ways to get around the new decree.

Pharaoh is Afraid of What the Children of Israel Will Do If There is a War

Tags

Children of Israel, Pharaoh

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is afraid that if there is a war the children of Israel will join the enemies and leave Egypt.

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss with your children:

• When there is a fight do people have to pick sides?
• If you think that one of your friends is going to become friends with someone you don’t like does this bother you? Why?
  • What are your options of things that you can do?

Creative Thinking

• What are the benefits to a country of having a large population?
• What are the disadvantages to a country of having a large population?
• What would the benefits have been to Egypt of having the children of Israel stay?

Homeschooling Activities

• In the time of the Bible war was common. What is the same and what is different between the wars then and now?
• There is a saying, “There is safety in numbers.” What does this mean? Do you agree?
• What benefit would there be to the children of Israel leaving with Egypt’s enemy?
• Write a discussion among some of the children of Israel about what they should do if there is a war. Have them discuss the various possibilities.
• Do you think that the children of Israel felt Egyptian? Explain. Try and support your answer.
• Do you think that it is smart for a leader to worry about what different parts of his/her population might do in different circumstances?
• Should a leader be more concerned with developing his/her country or protecting it? Explain.
• Do you think that the children of Israel saw themselves in a good position because their numbers were growing? Explain.
• Do you think that the children of Israel thought about if they would support Pharaoh if there was a war? Explain.

 

 

Pharaoh is Afraid of the Children of Israel

Tags

Children of Israel, Pharaoh

Excerpt from Enjoying Exodus: The Bible in Rhyme by Marcia Goldlist

 The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, is afraid that the children of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will keep expanding in number and strength. His true fear is that when there is a war, which was very common then, that the children of Israel would help the other side. He wants to make a plan to deal with the children of Israel so that they will not continue to grow and possibly go to the other side.

Bible Study Tools

Bible Talk

Discuss with your children: 

• What is wisdom?
• Why was Pharaoh afraid of the children of Israel growing in number? Do you think that this was justified?

Creative Thinking

• Why would a people go against the leadership just because they had grown in population?
• Make a chart of advantages and disadvantages for ethnic groups living together.

Homeschool Activities

• What is the population of your town or city?
  • Make a pie chart of the population of where you live dividing it by as many ethnic groups as you can.
• Do the different ethnic groups get along where you live? Give examples to back up your opinion.
• Do you think that there is a difference of how various ethnic groups get along today in your city and how they got along in Egypt at the time of the beginning of the book of Exodus?
• Do you think that Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, should have worried more about the children of Israel growing in population, how to get them to be on his side, or how to integrate them into the population? Explain.
• Pharaoh wanted to use wisdom in dealing with the children of Israel. Write a speech for Pharaoh to give to his main backers so that they will be behind him.
• If a representative of the children of Israel could respond to Pharaoh’s worry about them expanding and not being on his side what would they say? Write a speech for a representative to give before Pharaoh.
• Create a plan to present to Pharaoh of how to promote unity among the Egyptians and the children of Israel. Give as much detail as possible.
• Create a campaign for your town or city to encourage people to get along. Use at least two of the following media:
  • billboard
  • tweets
  • blog
  • flyer
  • talk to various groups
  • posters
  • TV or radio commercial for a local channel
  • advertisement in a local paper
• If you were Pharaoh at this time would you have worried about the children of Israel growing in number? Explain.