We Believe: Chapter 9
The students will learn:
Moses led God's people through the wilderness.
God gave his people the law.
The people build God a dwelling place.
God led his people toward the promised land.
Faith Words
Mount Sinai - a mountain peak in the rocky southern part of the Sinai peninsula.
miracle - an extraordinary event that is beyond human power and brought about by God.
manna - a sweet bread-like food that God provided for the Israelites in the desert.
Ten Commandments - the laws of God's covenant given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Ark of the Covenant - a wooden box in which the tablets of the Ten Commandments were kept.
Facts:
Moses led God's people through the wilderness.
During the journey, God tested his people's faithfulness again and again.
When they complained they had no food, God provided manna.
When they complained they had no meat, God provided small birds called quail.
When they complained they had no water, God instructed Moses to strike a certain rock and water miraculously gushed out.
On Mount Sinai, God reminded Moses that the Israelites were his special people.
If God's people would follow the Ten Commandments, they would keep their covenant relationship with God.
We can find the Ten Commandments in Chapter 20 of the Book of Exodus.
Moses set up a stone altar with 12 pillars. The pillars represented the twelve tribes of Israel and the 12 sons of Jacob. (#19)
God reminded Moses that the Israelites were to worship the one true God, not the false gods that other people thought existed.
The Israelites built God a dwelling place.
The journey of the Israelites took many years.
The biblical writer counted the Israelites' journey as taking forty years.
The story of these years is mainly told in the Book of Numbers.
On their journey, God made his presence known to the Israelites by the huge cloud that hung over the meeting tent during the day. At night the cloud became fiery, so that the Israelites could see it. (#20)
Finally the Israelites arrived on the plains of Moab and met a prophet named Balaam, who predicted the greatness of Israel in the centuries to come.
Joshua was chosen to succeed Moses and lead God's people into Canaan