Lesson: Rebellion Against God's Laws (No. CB41

Christian Churches of God

No. CB41_2

Lesson:

Rebellion Against God's Laws

(Edition 1.0 20060218-20060212)

In this lesson we will review the paper Rebellion Against God’s Law (No. CB41). The aim is to help children understand what a covenant is and also the consequences of breaking God’s Law.

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA

E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

(Copyright ã 2006 CCG, Vicky Jean-Joseph, ed. Wade Cox)

This paper may be freely copied and distributed provided it is copied in total with no alterations or deletions. The publisher’s name and address and the copyright notice must be included. No charge may be levied on recipients of distributed copies. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles and reviews without breaching copyright.

This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

Lesson:

Rebellion Against God's Law

Goal:

To review the basic concepts related to the Rebellion Against God's Law.

Objectives:

Children will be able to understand what a covenant is.

Children will be able to understand the consequences of rebelling against God's Laws.

Resources:
Rebellion Against God's Law (No. CB41)

The Golden Calf (No. 222)

The Ten Commandments (No. CB17)

The Law of God (No. CB25)

Relevant Scriptures:

Genesis 2:16-25

Exodus 31:12-18

Exodus 32:1-6, 15-20, 25-35

Exodus 33:1-6, 12-22

Exodus 34:5-9, 27-28

Exodus 35:1-2

Deuteronomy 10:1-5

Jeremiah 7:22

Matthew 4:1-2; 10:32

John 1:18

Hebrews 10:3-4

Galatians 3:19

1Timothy 6:18

Memory Verses:

Exodus 33:20

Format:

Open with Prayer.

Lesson on Rebellion Against God's Law.

Activity associated with Rebellion Against God's Law

Close with Prayer.

Lesson:

Read: Rebellion Against God’s Law (No. CB41)

Questions and Answers

Q1. What is a covenant?

A. A covenant is an agreement between two parties.

Q2. What was the covenant God made with Israel?

A. The agreement was that Israel would forsake other gods and obey the One True God, and in turn God would protect them and be their God (Deut. 31:6)

Q3. What are the rules of the covenant?

A. The Ten Commandments and civil laws given at Mount Sinai (Deut. 30:16).

Q4. Did Jesus Christ make a new covenant?

A. No, Jesus extended the existing covenant to include all nations as spiritual Israel (Rom. 9:24-26).

Q5. Did the extension to the Covenant (often called the New Testament) do away with the Ten Commandments?

A. No, the Ten Commandments are spiritual laws, and are separate from the ceremonial and ritual laws (Deut. 30:16; Mat .5:11; Lk. 16:17).

Q6. What did Moses do on Mount Sinai?

A. Moses fasted for forty days. The Angel of God taught Moses about God's Laws and gave him the Ten Commandments written on two tablets (Ex. 32:25-31).

Q7. What did the people do while Moses was on the mountain?

A. The people became restless; they believed that God and Moses had forgotten about them. They melted their gold jewellery and make a large golden calf. Then they had a feast and offered sacrifices to the golden calf (Ex. 32:1-6).

Q8. Why did Moses break the two tablets?

A. He was angry because the people turned to worship other gods while he was away receiving God's Laws. This represented Israel breaking the Covenant with God (Ex. 32:19).

Q9. What was Israel's punishment?

A. Moses burned the calf, ground it into powder and made the people drink it. The disloyal priests were killed. Those who sinned were struck with a plague (Ex. 32:20, 27-28, 33-35).

Q10. Why did God give Moses new stone tablets?

A. God is merciful and gracious, He will forgive us if we stop sinning and obey him (Ex. 34:6-7; Acts 18:30).

Activity Options:

Family Trees

1) Large drawing of the Tree of God

Supplies: Cardboard, paint, brushes, clean-up cloths, 3x5 cards, marker, double-sided tape or glue stick, small diagram of the Tree of God.

Preparation Tasks: Using the 8 ½ x 11 drawing of the Tree of God (i.e. trunk of the tree) as a pattern, enlarge the drawing on cardboard or butcher’s paper. Allow the children to paint or colour the tree. When the tree is dry mount it on the wall. Prior to the lesson use 3x5 cards and write one word per card. The list includes: righteousness, goodness, holy, perfect, truth, (God); Law of God, Messiah, spiritual creation, (creation of the Earth), (Adamic creation), Adam, Cain, Abel, Seth, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Abraham, Ishmael by Hagar, (and the 12 princes of Ishmael if you want the children to be familiar with them); Isaac by Sarah; Esau by Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) by Rebekah; Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, Rachel, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Dinah, Asher, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Keturah (and the 6 sons of Keturah if you want the children to be familiar with them).

Directions: Divide the number of cards amongst the children, and starting at the roots of the tree, ask the children who has one of the 5 centralities of God and His Law. Allow the child to come up and attach the card in the correct place. Continue as you move up the trunk of the tree into the branches. The activity can be simplified by handing out a fewer number of cards at a time.

Children can receive an 8 ½ x 11 sheet to take home and colour as a reference

2) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with his 12 sons

Supplies needed: Cardboard or construction paper, scissors, template of man, woman and handmaid; small cards or post-its with the names of the individuals on them, or names written directly on the templates of the man, woman and handmaid (for ease in teaching young children, the women and children can be colour-coded to assist the child with the correct placement on the chart); one large piece of tag board or a free-standing display board.

Preparation tasks: Cut out men, women, and handmaids. Sketch out the placement of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah with lines coming down for the children of the unions. Divide all the templates between the children. Review how God created everything. Review the basics of the line from Adam, Seth and Noah to Abraham. Review the promises made to Abram and when his name was changed to Abraham and why. Then, beginning with Hagar, have the children start placing the people in their correct positions on the family tree.

3) Individual family trees

Allow each child to create his/her own family tree.

4) Ascents of Moses

The activity sheet below gives detailed information for each ascent of Moses; the text in blue is the children’s version. The adult version is also included to provide additional information as the children grasp the material. If the children are younger provide pictures to assist them with grasping the concepts. The lesson can be presented in a variety of ways:

a) Concentration of the Ascents of Moses:

Make the two sets of cards and allow the children to have the cards/poster-boards turned upside down and play the game as a concentration matching activity.

Supplies needed: poster-board, markers.

b) Puzzles of the Ascent of Moses:

Make the set of cards for each ascent "self contained". Write/draw the information on a large piece of tag board and then cut the tag board into at least 2 pieces or more and allow the children to "put the puzzle together". Once all seven ascents and the introduction are put together, place the "puzzles" in the correct sequence and read through the sequence.

Supplies needed: poster-board, markers, and scissors.

c) Detailed Sequence cards:

We can take the individual ascents and place the sequence of events within each one of the major ascents. This is a more complex task for the older children. This might be done with the individual pictures contained on one page and then the children need to number what happened first, second, third and so on.

Supplies needed: poster-board, markers.

For this activity one could draw individual pictures that relate to the Ascents of Moses and place them in a random fashion on one page. The children can then be asked to place them in chronological order of what happened first, second, third and so on, by placing a number 1 on the event that happened first, and so on through all the Ascents.

(Mount Sinai should always remain consistent in picture representation.)

d) Timeline:

Write or draw the specific things that happened from arriving at Sinai. Have the children pick up the cards and place them in the correct sequence. Once the cards are in the proper placement put the labels: 1^st Ascent of Moses, 2^nd Ascent of Moses, etc. above the correct aspect of the timeline. Also place the number of the month over the correct aspect of the timeline to reinforce when the events happened.

Supplies needed: poster-board, markers, cards with 1^st Month, 2^nd Month, etc. to the 7^th Month; 1^st Ascent of Moses, through to the 6^th Ascent of Moses; introduction; end or completion of the Ascents of Moses.

The Ascents of Moses Activity Sheet

Salvation began with the Exodus from the New Moon of Abib. On the 15th, Israel was taken out of Egypt as the Death Angel passed over the blood on their doorposts. The lamb’s blood points us to Jesus Christ as our Lamb, our Messiah for the salvation of all mankind. Lamb (which is Messiah) slain from the Foundation of the World. Picture is of Slain Lamb, blood on door posts with the text: "salvation for mankind and the Fallen Hosts is through Joshua the Messiah".		The Ascents of Moses This whole exercise teaches us about the sacrifices and dedication that are required to attain the Kingdom of God. The first three ascents were to prepare for the giving of the Law. The Ascents of Moses Shows us the giving of the Law that teaches us of the sacrifice and dedication to God and His Law that is necessary for Salvation.
New Moon of the Third Month or Sivan 1 1/3 Exodus 19:3 – 6 Exodus 19:7 - 8	1st Ascent 1^st ascent Moses walking up Mount Sinai	Moses went up to be with God and the Lord said to him: "Tell the children of Jacob, you have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bare you on eagles wings… If you obey my covenant you will be a peculiar treasure to me above all people, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Tell the children of Israel these words." Moses did as the Lord commanded. God offered His covenant promise. On top of the mountain an eagle flying away from Egypt, towards the world - Eloah’s Covenant promise.
Between Sivan 1 – 6 1/3 -6/3 Exodus 19:8 – 13 Exodus 19:14 - 19	2nd Ascent 2^nd ascent Moses walking up Mount Sinai	Moses returned and told the Lord the peoples’ words. They said they would obey all that the Lord had commanded. The Lord said to Moses: "Go down and sanctify the people. I will come down to them, be ready the third day, wash their clothes, set the bounds so they do not cross and perish… On the third day the Lord came down on Sinai in a cloud with fire and a trumpet blast growing louder and louder. Moses spoke and the Lord answered him by a voice. Thus God gave the basis of the Law verbally to Moses and the Covenant was accepted by the people when told of it. Picture with people washing their clothes, 3^rd day, Mount Sinai on fire, and people shouting: "we will accept the Covenant of Eloah".
Between Sivan 1 – 6 1/3 -6/3 Exodus 19:20 – 25 Exodus 19:25 Exodus 20:1-23:33	3rd Ascent 3^rd ascent Moses walking up Mount Sinai	The Lord called out from the top of the mount: "Come up Moses." Moses went up, and the Lord said, "Go down, charge the people, if they break through the bounds, they will perish." Again the Lord said to Moses, "Get down, and then you and Aaron come up, but charge the priests and the people to remain". The Lord spoke the Ten Commandments and gave the judgments and ordinances to Moses. The people heard the thundering and the sound of the trumpet and saw the lightning and stood far off and were afraid. Picture of a mountain with thunder and lightning. A picture of the trumpet being blown and people trembling and moving away from the mountain. Moses saying, "do not fear and do not sin". Moses then descended and told the people not to fear as it was done so that they would fear and not sin. The first elements of the Law were reduced to writing at this time.
Ascent on Sivan 20 20/3 Descent at end of the Fourth Month called Tammuz Exodus 24:9 to Exodus 32:14 Exodus 32:15 – 30 Deut. 9:11-21	4th Ascent 4^th Ascent Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu + 70 walking up Mount Sinai	The Lord told Moses to come up with Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders and worship some distance away. Moses alone was to come near to the Lord. Moses then further reduced the elements of the Law he had been given to writing at that time. Moses then built the altar of the Lord and appointed the twelve pillars according to the tribes of Israel and selected young men of the twelve tribes to offer sacrifice. Moses and Aaron and the other seventy-two elders of Israel ascended and saw and ate and drank before the Lord, the Elohim of Israel (cf. Deut. 32:8). Yahovah then said: "Come up Moses. I will give you tablets of stone, and the Law and the commandments that I have written that you may teach them" (Ex. 24:12). A cloud covered the mount six days. On the seventh day Yahovah called Moses out of the cloud, which was like a devouring fire to the people of Israel. In the 40 days and nights on the mount, Yahovah of Israel spoke many details, giving exact orders on how to construct the tabernacle, who and how to anoint, how to make the priestly garments, how to build the ark and covering, the conduct of the sacrifices, the Sabbaths and many other details. But the people grew weary of waiting and they sinned and had Aaron make the Golden Calf and they conducted themselves according to its lewd rites. When Moses came down the mount, he was so angry at the sight of the Golden Calf that he broke the tablets of stone. Moses, plus the 70 eating and drinking with Yahovah. Moses called up to receive the stone tablets. Others walk down the mountain. 40 days; the people taking off gold objects and giving them to Aaron. Aaron by a fire, Golden Calf, Moses and Joshua coming down the mountain, tablets broken. Moses had fasted for 40 days yet the people broke the Law and so Moses symbolically broke the tablets as a breach of the covenant. He then stood in the gate and said, "Whoever is for the Lord come with me". And they slew 3000 of the rebels that day. The calf was ground down and sprinkled in the water. 3000 killed and Moses sprinkling gold over the water.
Ascent 5 probably in the Fifth Month called Ab 5^th Month Exodus 32:31 - 33 Exodus 32:34 - Exodus 34:3	5th Ascent 5^th ascent Moses walking up Mount Sinai	Moses returned to the Mount asking forgiveness for the sin of idolatry of the Golden Calf. Moses asked God to forgive them or blot him out of the Book. Moses came down and led the people to where God told him. There was a plague because of the calf. The tabernacle was placed outside of the camp. The Lord descended and spoke to Moses. Moses was told the people were to be separate. God had said that He would show "my presence" and guide him and the people of Israel into their possessions. Moses was told to hew another set of tablets, and only Moses was to come up to top of the Mount and no one else (or their flocks) was to be on the Mount. Picture of Moses praying, "forgive them…"; plague stayed; Tent of Meeting outside of the camp; flocks away from Mount Sinai.
Month of Ab & Elul 5^th and 6^th Months Exodus 34: 4 – 28 Exodus 34: 29 - 35	6th Ascent 6^th ascent Moses walking up Mount Sinai carrying 2 stone tablets	Moses took the second set of tablets to the Mount. He worshiped there, asking God for forgiveness for the people. Moses was told not to make any covenants with other nations or else they will be a snare to them, that they would become involved with these nations who believe in other gods. The Holy Days are listed and given on this visit. During this second 40 days Moses was given more of the Law. Moses was to be given a partial glimpse of the Glory of the Lord. The Yahovah of the Presence could not be seen in his fully glorified state or that person would die. Moses was told to write these words of the Law given to him, but the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of the Yahovah on the tablets of stone. However, all of the law of the covenant was given by the Yahovah of Israel to Moses. At this time Moses came down from the Mount and his face shone through exposure to the Glory of the Lord. Moses with the tablets of stone; Moses with veil over his face or somehow reflecting the glory of God.
The Seventh and Complete Phase Feasts of the 7^th Month	Completion 7^th Phase	Moses was able then, over the six ascents, to prepare himself and the people of Israel to keep the feasts of the Lord in the Seventh Month. The Feasts represent the final reconciliation of mankind with God. Pictures of Feast of Trumpets, Atonement; people keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, Last Great Day and final handover from Messiah to Eloah.

Trunk of the Family Tree

Branches of the Family Tree