Pharaoh Changes His Mind

Tags

Children of Israel, Pharaoh

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

Pharaoh and his servants changed their mind. They let the children of Israel leave Egypt and then wonder about what they have done.

Discuss:

• Do we sometimes not realize how good something is for us until it is gone?
• Pharaoh seems to have forgotten that he let the children of Israel go because that was the only way to stop the plagues. Do you think that he really forgot this so quickly?

Creative Thinking:

• What are the differences and similarities between workers and slaves?

Homeschooling Activities for absolutely everyone:

• Have you ever regretted a decision? Write about it.
• Pharaoh says that since they sent away the children of Israel they have no one.
  • Is this true?
  • Did he really need slaves to build his cities? Explain.
• Pharaoh seems to have forgotten about the ten plagues. Write Pharaoh a letter reminding him why he let the children of Israel go.
• Some people who forget have a disease called Alzheimer’s disease. Research Alzheimer’s.
• Research how the slaves in the United States were freed.
• Write a poem about being a slave.
• Pharaoh seems to feel hopeless. Write a song, poem, or essay about hopelessness.
• Pharaoh let the children of Israel who were their slaves go free. Is it okay to change your mind and reverse your decision when it involves other people. Explain.

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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?

 

Pharaoh is Given a Warning

Tags

God, Moses, Pharaoh, plagues

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

God tells Moses to instruct Pharaoh that anything or anyone who he does not bring in from the field and conceal will be struck down from hail.

Bible Study Tools

Discussion Questions:

• God told Moses to give a warning to Pharaoh. When is it good to give a warning to people?
• What are consequences?
• Pharaoh is told that everything should be brought in from the field and concealed. Who or what are these things and animals being concealed from?
• God set down the consequences very clearly of what would happen to any people or animals found in the field. Why is it good to tell people what the consequences of their actions will be?

Creative Thinking:

• When is it not a good idea to give a warning to someone?
• When is it a bad idea to tell people consequences of their actions?

Homeschool Activities that are also good for non-homeschoolers:

• Write someone a warning about something.
• What kind of warnings are you given? Do you heed them or not? Why?
• Compare a punishment with a consequence. How are they the same and how are they different?
• Research hail.
• Write a poem about hail.
• Describe how you like to be asked to do something and why.
• Interview Pharaoh about his decision to bring his people and animals inside.
• Body language can tell us a lot about what a person really feels. Describe Pharaoh‘s body language while Moses was telling him what God said.

 

Discussion Questions Regarding Strength:

Tags

Egyptians, God, Pharaoh, plagues

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

God tells Pharaoh that He could have just killed him and the Egyptians but He didn’t want to. God wanted them to be a living testimony to His strength. God wanted it known throughout the whole world that He was in control of man and nature.

Bible Study Tools for Homeschooling and Everyone Else

• Why was it more impressive for God to show His strength to the Egyptians rather than to kill them?
• Is it more powerful to tell people your strengths or to show them? Why?
• Is it more powerful for you to tell people about your strengths or for someone else to tell about them?

Creative Thinking Questions:

• When is it better to tell people your strengths and when is it better to be quiet?
• God could have wiped out all of the Egyptians. Would it be harder or easier for you to die knowing that your whole nation was dying with you? Explain.
• If God is so powerful why does He need humans to tell people about Him?

Homeschool Activities Related to God Showing His Strength to Pharaoh and the Egyptians:

• After seeing all of the plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians it is safe to say that some would truly begin to believe in God. Create a media campaign for these Egyptians trying to get others to believe in one God. Decide if you are aiming your campaign at fellow Egyptians or people from other countries. Use at least four of the following:
  • television
  • old fashioned messenger
  • radio
  • twitter
  • newspaper
  • magazine
  • blog
  • word of mouth
  • bulletin board
  • flyer
  • pamphlet
  • YouTube
•  What would be the difference between a campaign to get people to believe in one God aimed at fellow Egyptians and a campaign aimed at people from other countries?
• Come up with a one minute speech about your strengths.
• Write a poem of gratitude for being spared by an Egyptian.
• God said that He spared the Egyptians so that they would know His strength and tell the world about Him. Does this make the Egyptians God’s puppets? Explain.
• Write a case for God to save the Egyptian people if He was trying to decide whether to save them or wipe them all out.
• Write a case for God to wipe out the Egyptian people if He was trying to decide whether to save them or wipe them all out.
• What is your strength? How can you show  it to people?
• In the time of Pharaoh how could the Egyptians tell the world about everything that God caused to happen to them?

A Divide Between the Egyptians and the Children of Israel

Tags

Children of Israel, Egypt, God, Pharaoh, plague

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

God created a plague. All the Egyptian livestock died from the plague. But, the cattle that belonged to the children of  Israel did not die.

Discussion Questions Related to Cattle Dying in Egypt From the Plague:

• Is it normal for cattle to die?
• Is it normal for disease to spread?
• If it is normal for disease to spread and cattle to die why was this plague exceptional?

Creative Thinking About Cows Dying in Egypt:

• If an Egyptian said to you that it was just coincidence that all the Egyptian cattle died and none of the cattle from the children of Israel died, how would you convince him that this was God’s doing?
• If you were an Egyptian cow and you went over to where the children of Israel lived, do you think you would be spared, or you would still die? Explain.

Homecshooling Activities for Even Non- Homeschoolers About Cattle Dying in Egypt From the Plague :

• Write a journal entry from a cow on the Egyptian side that sees all of the cattle around her is a dying.
• Write a journal entry from a cow on the side of the children of Israel that sees the cows dying on the Egyptian side but all the cows healthy on the Israelite side.
• Create a TV news broadcast standing right on the division line between the Egyptians and the children of Israel.
• Write a poem from a dying cow.
• Research a disease.
• Research death.
• What do you think happens to someone after they die?
• What do you think people would do with all the cows after they die?
• Do you think that the children of Israel realized at the time that all the cattle of the Egyptians were being killed and their cattle was being saved? If they knew do you think that they felt lucky that God didn’t kill any of their cattle from this plague? Why or why not?

Check out my books for your holiday gifts!

Grief

Tags

God, Pharaoh, plague

Click to see the book trailer for Enjoying Genesis: The Bible in Rhyme Workbook. This workbook is filled with discussion and  creative thinking questions about the book of Genesis and lots of different activities that will get anyone’s mind thinking and pen writing! This book is great for homeschooling, youth ministries, religious schools who want to integrate English Language Arts and Bible, and anyone who wants unique ways to talk about the book of Genesis.

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

Moses told God when Pharaoh wanted the frogs to disappear. God took care of the frogs and they died. There were piles of frogs everywhere.

Bible Study Tools

Discussion Questions related to Pharaoh’s heart being hardened:

• What does it feel like when someone is nice to you until they get what they want and then they go back to not caring or being mean to you?
• What does relief feel like?
• What is grief?

Creative Thinking Questions:

• If you could harden someone’s heart, whose would it be and why?
• If you could soften someone’s heart, whose would it be and why?
• If you could relieve the situation somewhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Homeschooling Activities Related to God making the frogs disappear and hardening Pharaoh’s heart:

• Describe the feeling of the land when the frogs were gone.
• Write a journal of a frog as he saw what was happening to all the frogs around him.
• Many people have hardening of the arteries. What is this and how does it affect the heart?
• After Pharaoh saw that the frogs died he was not concerned with the situation. Do you think that this is a good quality for a leader? Why or why not?
• Learn how to make an origami frog. See how many you can make in ten minutes.
• Write a poem about grief.
• Research the heart.
• Why is the heart associated with love and caring?
• Describe the feeling of Pharaoh, or an ordinary Egyptian, when s/he saw that God had caused the plague of frogs to be gone from the land.

Water Turns to Blood in the First Plague

Tags

Aaron, first plague, God, Moses, Pharaoh

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

God told Moses to tell Aaron to take his staff and stretch it over the water and it would turn to blood. This they did standing before Pharaoh and his servants by the water. All the fish died and the water smelled bad.

Bible Study Tools for Homeschooling, Informal Education, Families, and English Language Arts Programs

Discussion Questions About the Rivers Turning to Blood:

• Which senses of the people were affected by the water turning to blood? How would this affect the people?
• How do your senses affect how you think about something?

Creative Thinking About the River Turning to Blood:

• If there were blood in a river today, what do you think the government would do? Outline the different steps that would be taken.
• Create a case for a lawyer to take before a judge suing Pharaoh for letting Moses and Aaron turn the river water into blood.
• Would the sight of the river being full of blood or the smell bother you more? Why?

Homeschool Activities Related to the First Plague:

• Research what fish need to live.
• Research blood.
• Do senses affect each other? Explain.
• What are things that people can do today if they do not have clean drinking water?
• Which countries in the world today have trouble getting enough clean drinking water?
• What in nature would be affected by the water turning to blood?
• What would be affected by the fish dying?
• Describe the river turning to blood in a newspaper article.
• Write a description of what happened to the river to be read on the nightly news.
• Research different plagues through history.

Check out my book trailer for Enjoying Genesis: The Bible in Rhyme Workbook!

Magic or Miracle?

Tags

Aaron, God, magic, miracle, Moses, Pharaoh

Check out this YouTube video about my latest book Enjoying Genesis: The Bible in Rhyme Workbook. This book consists of 120 exercise pages containing verses from Genesis, discussion questions, creative thinking questions and at least seven activities per page. There is also an extensive introduction to help you use this book. Check it out for homeschooling, informal education, English Language Arts programs, and for family fun!

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

God tells Moses to tell Aaron to throw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and have it become a snake.

Bible Study Tools

Discussion Questions About Magic and Miracles:

• What is magic?
• What is a miracle?
• Do you think that it is possible that people could do magic, such as turning a staff into a snake, many years ago and that we have lost the ability to do it today?

Creative Thinking About Magic and Miracles:

• What are the differences and similarities between magic and miracles?
  • Can you think of any similarities between magic and miracles and M&M candies?
• Why do you think that God chose Aaron’s staff to become a snake?

Homeschool Activities relating Aaron’s staff becoming a snake:

• There was no talking involved in throwing down the staff and having it become a snake so why do you think that God had Aaron do this and not Moses?
• Research snakes.
• Research magic.
• Learn a magic trick and present it to someone.
  • Was it hard to learn? Did it take you a long time to get it right? Could the person figure out how you did the magic trick or did you keep it a secret?
• Write a journal entry for the snake that came from Aaron’s staff.
• Write a journal entry for the staff describing how it felt being thrown down and tuned into a snake.
• Write a poem from the point of view of the snake.
• Why do you think that God would tell Moses to tell Aaron to throw his staff down in front of Pharaoh to have it become a snake. Why wouldn’t God just tell Aaron?

 

 

Why Would God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart?

Tags

God, Moses, Pharaoh

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

In order to create His signs and wonders, God harden Pharaoh’s heart. 

Bible Study Tools

Discussion Questions About Hardening Pharaoh’s Heart:

• What does it mean to harden someone’s heart?
• Why would God feel that He would have to harden Pharaoh’s heart in order to show His miracles?
• What does it mean to manipulate someone? Was God manipulating Pharaoh? What do you think about his?

Creative Thinking About Signs and Wonders:

• List as many reasons as you can why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart.
• Give examples of how you could harden someone’s heart.
• God gave signs and wonders. He created the plagues. What signs and wonders could a leader of a country do today to harden another leader’s heart?

Homeschool Activities:

• How do you feel when someone does not listen to what you ask them to do?
• Have you ever not done something you were asked to do just to be stubborn? Why were you stubborn?
• What do you think it would feel like to have your heart hardened? Explain.
• Write an entry in Pharaoh’s journal how he felt when he refused to do what Moses asked him to.
• If your task was to harden someone’s heart what would you whisper in his/her ear? Explain the circumstances of your task, what you would say, and why.
• If you were Moses how would you feel knowing that you were going to ask Pharaoh to do something that he could not agree to? Would it affect your performance?
• Have you ever felt God’s hand on something that you did? Tell about it.
• Have you ever felt that something had taken over your plans? Tell about it.
• Create a dialogue between God, Pharaoh, and Moses discussing God manipulating Pharaoh.

Moses Gives an Excuse to God

Tags

Children of Israel, Moses, Pharaoh

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

Moses claims that he is not a good speaker and that the children of Israel did not listen to him. Are these excuses? Should he still try to talk to Pharaoh?

Bible Study Tools

Discuss:

• What is an excuse?
• Do you think that Moses is giving an excuse?

Creative Thinking:

• Make a list of excuses for not doing something that you are asked to do.
• Make a list of reasons why the children of Israel would  not listen to Moses.
• Make a list of reasons why Pharaoh would  not listen to Moses.
• Make a list of reasons why the children of Israel should listen to Moses.

Homeschool Activities:

• Do you think that Moses feels inept? Explain why or why not.
• Does it stand to reason that because the children of Israel didn’t listen to Moses that Pharaoh wouldn’t? Explain.
• Before we were told that the children of Israel didn’t listen to Moses because their spirit was broken. Now Moses is saying that they didn’t listen because he is a poor speaker. Do you think that Moses is making excuses or that there is more than one reason that they don’t listen to him?
• Moses says that Pharaoh will not listen to his plea. How do you know something will not work if you don’t try?
• Write a speech to convince Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh.
• Write a letter to Moses telling him to try and speak to the children of Israel again.
• Write a letter from Moses to Pharaoh asking for a meeting.
• Write a flyer that Moses could give to the children of Israel explaining why they should listen to him.