Deep and Wide

After the golden calf, God tells Moses that he isn't going to go with them to the promised land.  Moses pleads with God to reconsider.  If God doesn't go with them, how will they be any different from any other people group? Moses wants to know God, and to please him. God sees Moses' heart, and tells him he will do what Moses asked. 

Moses was gone for forty days. The children of Israel said they didn't know what had happened to Moses.  They forgot about the 10 commandments. They gathered around Aaron and asked him to make a god that would lead them. Aaron made a golden calf.  They sacrificed to the golden calf and had a festival. When God saw it, he wanted to destroy them, but Moses talked him out of it. But they had dis...

When we trust someone, it is easier to do what they say. When God gave Moses the 10 commandments on Mt Sinai, he wanted to make sure that the people would trust Moses. So he actually came down on top of the mountain in a thick cloud, to show that he was real. The mountain smoked and trembled with the power of God so near. Moses spoke to him, and God answered.

In Exodus 20, God tells the Israelites 10 commandments. If they followed these 10 rules, life would go well for them. You can remember the 10 commandments, by using this finger play. The first one is the thumb on your right hand. Listen and learn them! 

God gave manna from heaven for his people, the Israelites. Every day they had just what they needed. They didn't have to keep any leftovers for the next day. But some people didn't trust God. They kept some overnight, and it went bad. God also told them on the sixth day, to gather twice as much. On the sixth day, they cooked enough for two days. That way, on the seventh day, they could r...

In Exodus 16, the people of Israel grumbled about the lack of food. Moses talked to God about it, and God said he would rain down bread from heaven for the people to eat. Also he sent quails in the evening so they could have some meat. 

In Exodus 15, we hear the song of praise the Isaelites offered to God when he delivered them from the Egyptian army. God is our strength! God fights for us. Even when the water is too bitter to drink, if we ask God. he will show us how to fix it. God told the Israelites that if they listen to him, and obey him, he will be the God who heals them. 

Pharaoh's army caught up with the Israelites at the Red Sea. How will they escape? God moved between the Egyptians and the Israelites so that the Egyptians couldn't see them. Then, he had Moses stretch out his staff over the water so that the water divided right down the middle. The Israelites walked through on dry land. But what happened when the Egyptians tried to go through. It was a...

God led the Hebrew slaves away from Egypt. He appeared as a pillar of fire at night, and a column of cloud by day, so they wouldn't get lost. But God had a sneaky plan to have one last battle with the Egyptians. When the Israelites turned back, Pharaoh thought they must be lost of confused. He gathered his army and went out to capture them. How will they escape?

God performed wonders in the land of Egypt, to demonstrate he was the one true God. The last wonder that he did was the miracle of the Passover. As God moved across Egypt, the first born son in every house died. But because the Hebrews put the blood of the lamb over their doors, no one died. God passed over their houses. At last Pharaoh wanted the Hebrews to leave. 

Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrew slaves go. So God showed Pharaoh his power. Plague followed plague.  The river turned to blood.  Then frogs invaded. The animals got sick and died. There was a tremendous hailstorm. Unimaginable destruction occurred. But Pharaoh kept resisting God. Will Pharaoh ever change his mind? 

God tells Moses what to do when he gets to Egypt.  Moses goes with his brother Aaron to speak to Pharaoh.  He tells Pharaoh they have to go for three days into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God.  Pharaoh says, "No." Pharaoh's heart is hard. But God is ready to show Pharaoh who is the boss. 

Moses grows up in the Egyptian palace. When he goes outside and sees how his Hebrew brothers and sisters are treated, he gets angry! He kills an Egyptian, and has to run to get away from Pharaoh's punishment. Many years later, he sees a burning bush in the wilderness. God speaks to him from the bush. God will go with him to rescue the Hebrews, and bring them to their own land. 

The family of Israel moves to Egypt and becomes a multitude. Pharaoh is afraid of them, because there are so many. What if they decide to fight? So he turns them into slaves. There are still too many, so Pharaoh has a plan to get rid of all the baby boys. However, one mother finds a way to save her child. Pharaoh's daughter finds him, loves him, and decides to adopt him. 

In Genesis 45, Joseph reveals his love for his brothers and his father. He cries over them, hugs them, encourages them to move to Egypt, gives them presents, and tells them to hurry. Pharaoh is happy, too. He tells them to take carts and provisions so they can bring the whole family to live in the best land of Egypt. 

When Joseph's brothers need food, they make a trip to Egypt. There, they bow down to Joseph, just like it was in his dreams. Joseph is not sure if he should tell them who he is! So, he plays a trick on them to see how they feel about him. Do they still hate him?  Listen to how big forgiveness can be. 

The situation is bleak for Joseph, stuck in jail for something he didn't do. But one day two other men are made prisoners. When Joseph hears their dreams, he tells them what God is saying about the future. When Pharaoh has a dream, they call for Joseph's help. Pharaoh makes Joseph his right-hand man. 

When Joseph is sold to Potiphar in Egypt, God helps him become the best slave Potiphar ever had! All was well, until Potiphar's wife gets mad and tells a lie about Joseph. Now he has to go to jail.  He is stuck there for a long time. 

From Genesis 37, Joseph has two dreams that make his brothers very jealous. When they get a chance, they sell him to traders who are traveling to Egypt. When they tell their father, Jacob (who God calls Israel), that Joseph was killed, he will never be happy again. But God has a plan for Joseph. God goes with him to Egypt. 

 Jacob goes to Haran to escape Esau's murderous wrath. There he finds his mother's family. His uncle Laban has two daughters, Leah and Rachel. He works seven years so that he can marry Rachel, but his uncle gives him Leah instead. He gets to marry Rachel, too, but he has to work seven more years. Leah and Rachel, with the help of their maids, have twelve children. 

Esau is so mad that he wants to kill Jacob. Rebekah and Isaac want Jacob to go back to Haran. It will give Esau time to cool off, and Jacob could find a good wife there, too. Jacob heads off in the direction of Haran, and has a dream about a ladder going up to heaven. God speaks to Jacob in the dream, and Jacob realizes that he wants to be God's friend, too. 

Isaac is ready to pass the blessing of God to his son, Esau. But Rebekah helps Jacob to get in first. Jacob tricks Isaac into thinking he is Esau. He takes the blessing! 

Isaac and Rebekah have two babies! The older one is named Esau, and the younger one is Jacob. When they grow up, Jacob makes a good deal with Esau. Esau sells him his birthright for a bowl of soup! Now Jacob gets to be the next leader of the family. 

When it's time for Isaac to get married, Abraham sends his servant to find the right girl.  The servant goes back to where Abraham used to live and asks God for help!  God answers his prayer right away. Beautiful Rebekah comes along. She offers to water all the camels!

God tells Abraham to take Isaac up to a mountain and sacrifice him. Abraham gets a few servants, and packs a donkey for the trip. He brings wood, a fire, and a knife. Then he takes Isaac with him and the supplies on a three day journey. When they arrive at the place, Abraham and Isaac walk on ahead, with Isaac wondering where the lamb is. God himself provides the sacrifice!