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JWG 2Nd Grade Unit 4.Qxd Grade 2—Unit 4 Choices in the Wilderness The Israelites often disobeyed God on the journey to the Promised Land. God punished them by sending them back into the wilderness for 40 years before allowing the Israelites to enter Canaan. The Israelites had a hard time trusting in God’s promises to care for them. In this unit, students will learn that we can trust God to go with us through difficult circumstances. They will hear from a pastor about the choices that a church leader needs to make, and they will learn about the natural consequences of both good and bad choices. LESSONS 1. Spies in the Land of Milk and Honey 2. The Blossoming Rod 3. Living with the Consequences Unit 4 / Choices in the Wilderness: Unit Overview 135 Unit 4: Choices in the Wilderness Unit Information SUMMARY God used the wilderness journey to teach the Israelites to trust and obey God. Moses listened to God and moved the Israelites to Kadesh. But the people did not believe that God could lead them into the Promised Land. God punished the Israelites by sending them into the wilderness for 40 more years. KEY BIBLE TEXTS • Numbers 11 • Numbers 13-14 • Numbers 17 • Numbers 20 BIBLICAL BACKGROUND The People Complain Here we find the Israelites traveling from Sinai to Kadesh. During this journey God’s chosen people made a series of complaints. Many of them were never satis- fied with the way things were, and complained frequently about the hardships of the journey. They complained because they were tired of eating manna. They com- plained because they had no meat. They even wished that they were back in Egypt. God grew tired of their complaining. God gave them an abundance of the requested meat, but punished them by striking the complainers with a sickness when they ate too much. Moses, too, complained to God that the responsibility of caring for all the people was too heavy. God promised to send the Spirit of the Lord on 70 of the elders to help with the demands of the people, and God promised to send enough meat to fill everyone. Even Moses had a difficult time believing all of this. The Israelites’ disobedience and fall from faithfulness was met by God’s divine judgment. Spies in the Land of Milk and Honey The Israelites arrived at Kadesh, just to the south of Canaan, their Promised Land. They had survived a long wilderness journey, and now the land “flowing with milk and honey” was within reach. God told Moses to send twelve spies (one from each of the twelve tribes) to enter the land of Canaan and bring back a report. Although they found great beauty and fertile valleys, most of the spies were fearful. The people of Canaan looked like giants to them, and they were afraid they would be killed. Only Joshua and Caleb trusted that God would help them in the new land. Even though Canaan was the land that God had promised them from the start, many people lamented that God had brought them here to die in the desert. Despite the miraculous ways that God had protected and provided for the Israelites, they did not have faith in God’s promises. God was so discouraged by the people’s lack of faith and trust that God threatened to destroy them again. Again, Moses interceded on behalf of the people. God heard Moses and sent the Israelites back into the desert to wander for 40 more years. Unit 4 / Choices in the Wilderness: Unit Information 136 The Blossoming Rod The Israelites doubted God’s decision to choose Aaron and his sons as priests. They took their complaints straight to Moses. Moses asked God to clearly show God’s choice by sprouting the rod belonging to the chosen priest. One rod from the leader of each of the twelve tribes was placed in the tent of testimony. God exceeded Moses’ request by making Aaron’s rod not only sprout, but blossom and produce almonds. Although Moses thought that this act would end all the grum- bling, there was more to come! Moses Disobeys God The Israelites continued to complain about their experiences and wish that they were either dead or back in Egypt. At Kadesh they became thirsty and asked Moses for water. God told Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water,” Numbers 20:8a. Moses, in his anger against the people, disobeyed God’s instructions. He spoke to the people and then struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it. Both Moses and Aaron were punished for their disobedience and were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS • We can choose to be thankful even in difficult circumstances. • God can use our disobedience to teach us specific lessons. • Sometimes it is hard to follow God when everyone else wants to do something another way. • God led the Israelites to a bountiful land. • When we try to do things on our own strength, things often go poorly. • Aaron’s rod sprouted as God’s confirmation that Aaron was to remain priest of the Israelites. His rod was kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder to the Israelites never to doubt the choice of Aaron’s family and the tribe of Levi as priests for the people. • Moses disobeyed God’s specific instructions and was faced with the consequences of his actions. • Both obedience and disobedience have consequences. WORSHIP Focus: Choices (Alternate focus: if you study this unit around Thanksgiving, gratefulness would be an appropriate theme for worship) Worship Table Symbols: • Grapes, figs or a pomegranate (real or artificial), to represent the bounty of the Promised Land (Lesson 1) • Branch or twig to symbolize Aaron’s blossoming rod (Lesson 2) • Rock to symbolize the one that Moses struck (Lesson 3) Suggested Songs: “Dear God, We Thank You” and “Thank You, Thank You” (pages 32 and 34 in Jubilee Songbook) Unit 4 / Choices in the Wilderness: Unit Information 137 Suggestion for Thanksgiving-related worship: On a Monday, start a list of things for which students are thankful. Write on a large sheet of newsprint, “I thank God for ________.” Everyone gets a chance to thank God for one thing. On Tuesday, write on the sheet of paper, “I thank God for __________ and ___________.” Go around the circle, and everyone gets the chance to thank God for two things. On Wednesday, write “I thank God for _________, __________, and __________.” Proceed through Friday, adding one item each day. (You could have students write the lists themselves as well, to reinforce the habit of using commas.) Another option is to use a dice: Pass it around the classroom and each student rolls to see how many things they can list for which they are thankful. (You could use the 6 as a wild number, letting the student who rolls it choose how many things to list.) ASSESSING TEACHING / LEARNING You will have various opportunities during this unit to assess your students’ understanding of the material and to add materials to their portfolios, if you are using this method of assessment: oral paraphrases of the spies’ reasons for enter- ing or not entering Canaan (Lesson 1), lists of the jobs of a pastor (Lesson 2), and written understanding of consequences to obedience and disobedience (Lesson 3). A Unit 4 assessment sheet is also available. MEMORY PASSAGE Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever… to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, His love endures forever. to him who led his people through the desert . His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-2, 13-16, 26) Suggested Memorization Tool: This passage might be fairly long for children to memorize, except for a few of the phrases. This passage works very well in a call-and-response format: the leader (teacher or a student volunteer) reads the main sentences, and the group chants together, “His love endures forever.” Unit 4 / Choices in the Wilderness: Unit Information 138 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever… to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, His love endures forever. to him who led his people through the desert… His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-2, 13-16, 26 Unit 4 / Choices in the Wilderness: Unit Information 139 Dear Parents, During this unit, “Choices in the Wilderness,” students will continue their wilderness trek with the Israelites, a journey in which they continued learning to trust and obey God’s commands. Unit Overview Moses led the people from Sinai to Kadesh, with the Promised Land lying just to the north. He then sent spies into Canaan to explore; ten reported that it was too dangerous to enter the land, but two, Joshua and Caleb, trusted in God and reported that God would help them. The people listened to the ten, doubting that God could lead them into the Promised Land.
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