Talking Donkey
Introduction
What do you remember about Abraham, the Israelites, and the promise land? So far we have learned what was going on in the lives of Abraham and the Israelites... but today we are going to learn what was happening in the promise land while the Israelites were in route to the promise land.
The Story:
Balak, the king of Moab, had a problem. The Israelites were being led into the promised land by God and were commanded by God to destroy all of the current residents of that land. They had just finished their task of wiping out the Amorites and the Moabites were next.
The people of Moab were terrified because there were so many Israelites. In fact, Moab was filled with panic because of the people of Israel. Numbers 22:3.
Balak was the king of Moab, at the time. He was going to pay Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites. He asked for Balaam to come meet him. Balaam rode a donkey to go meet Balak. An angel of the Lord appeared to the donkey on his way, 3 times. Each time the donkey saw the angel and tried to turn away. He knew the Lord was against Balak. Each time the donkey turned away, Balaam beat the donkey to try to keep him moving forward. After the third time, the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and he talked to Balaam. It said to Balaam, “What have I done to you? Why did you hit me those three times?” Numbers 22:28.
At that same time, God made Balaam see the angel. It appeared Balaam was repentant, but his heart was still opposed to the Israelites.
Even though Balaam still wanted to curse the Israelites. God would not let him. Instead, he made him bless the Israelites.
The lesson for our children is to teach them that God's plans will not be thwarted. The silly donkey knew better than Balaam to listen to God. The author uses satire to bring about this point. Another key lesson is that God chose the Israelites to be his people. We see throughout the Old Testament that God protected the Israelites and this is one of those stories.
Questions:
Who was the king of Moab? (Balak)
Why did Balak want Balaam to curse the Israelites? (He was afraid that they were going to destroy the Moabites)
What animal did Balaam ride? (a donkey)
Why did the donkey go off the road? (It saw an angel on the road)
What did Balaam do when the donkey went off the road (He beat the donkey to get it back on the road)
How many times did the donkey see the angel? (3 times)
What happened after Balaam beat the donkey the 3rd time? (The donkey talked to Balaam and asked him why he was hitting him, Balaam saw the angel too)
Did Balaam ever curse the Israelites? (No)
Activities
Activity 1 "Talking Donkey Mask"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
Scissors
Craft sticks
Crayons
Tape
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Print and color the template. (Template)
Cut it out and glue it onto a piece on cardstock or construction paper.
Cut out the template from the cardstock or construction paper.
Glue on two large googly eyes and black string for the hair.
Finally glue on a large craft stick for a handle.
Activity 2 "Pin the tail on the donkey game"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
Donkey Poster
Tail pieces
Blindfold
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Put up the picture of the donkey
Let the kids take turns being blindfold, spinning around 5 times, and attempting to pin the tail on the donkey.
Activity 3 "Listening Ears Craft"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
Construction paper
Printer paper
markers
tape
scissors
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Let the kids draw oversized ears on plain paper.
Let them color and cut out the ears.
They can pick a color piece of construction paper and cut it into two strips in order to make a headband.
On the front of their headband they need to write and decorate the words "I will listen to God's plan"
Lastly, tape the ears on the headband like you see pictured above.
Activity 4 "Follow God's Direction Game"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
christian just dance videos below
If they don't want to play the Christian Just Dance game they can play follow the leader.
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Let the kids do as many of the Christian just dance videos as they want above.
After it is over talk about how if they were actually playing for points they would only win if they followed the directions perfectly. This is the same way we should live our lives... following God's directions to the best of our ability..... some of the dance moves we didn't like, others we did! The same can be true of God's direction for our lives.... we may want to do our way sometimes but if we follow God's directions even if we don't understand or don't like it we will "win" at life. He only wants what is best for us.
Wrap It Up!
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
Worship
Energy Release!
Last Minute Filler Ideas
-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.
-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)