Balaam & Balak SESSION TITLE: Balaam and Balak ​ BIBLE PASSAGE: Numbers 22–24 ​ STORY POINT: God commanded Balaam to bless His people. ​ KEY PASSAGE: Proverbs 3:5-6 ​ BIG PICTURE QUESTION: What does it mean to sin? To sin is to think, speak, or behave in any way ​ that goes against God and His commands. Parent Devotional God’s people, the Israelites, were in the wilderness. They had arrived at the promised land decades earlier, but the people had rebelled—refusing to trust God to give them the land. They believed it would be better to die in the wilderness than follow God (Num. 14:2), so God sent them into the wilderness for 40 years (vv. 28-29). In time, all of the adults died except for Joshua, Caleb, and Moses. The children grew up and more children were born. The Israelites disobeyed God time and again, but God still provided for them. He planned to keep His promise to give Israel the promised land. As the Israelites traveled, God gave them victory over attacking armies like the Canaanites and Amorites. Not surprisingly, when Israel set up camp in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River, Balak—the king of Moab—was terrified. The king knew he could not defeat the Israelites on his own, so he called on Balaam, a pagan prophet, to put a curse on them. Though Balaam did not follow God, he knew of God and God spoke to him. God told Balaam, “You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” God’s plan all along was to bless humanity (Gen. 1:28), specifically through the nation of Israel (Gen. 12:3). So each time Balaam spoke over Israel, God did not allow him to curse the Israelites. Instead, Balaam spoke in four clear messages, insisting that God would bless the Israelites. One of the ways God would bless the Israelites is found in Numbers 24:17: “A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel.” Balaam told of a powerful future king who would be victorious over his enemies. This prophecy referred to and was ultimately fulfilled by Jesus. Teach the kids in your group that God protects His people. His promises are sure. In Jesus, God fulfilled His promise of bringing blessing to the whole world. 1.5-5 YEAR BIBLE STORY + DISCUSSION QUESTIONS + ACTIVITY WORSHIP Watch and sing the song with the kids. Love the Lord | Kids Worship Motions with Lyrics | CJ and Friends: ​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdMIxCdlY-c Memory Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, ​and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, ​and he will make straight your paths. BIBLE STORY The Big God Story Balaam and Balak Numbers 22–24 God’s people were finally at the edge of the promised land. They camped near the river in the plains of a land called Moab (MOH ab). Now Balak (BAY lak), the king of Moab, saw the Israelites, and he was afraid. If the Israelites moved into Moab, they would take over! So King Balak sent messengers to a man named Balaam. The messengers said, “Come and curse the Israelites so that I might be able to win against them.” As Balaam traveled, the angel of the LORD came to stop him. Balaam could not see the angel, but his donkey could. Three times the angel stood in the way, and three times the donkey stopped. First the donkey went off the road. Then she ran into a wall and hurt Balaam’s foot. Finally, she crouched down on the ground. Balaam didn’t know why the donkey was stopping. He hit the donkey with his stick, so God made the donkey able to talk. “What have I done to you that you have hit me three times?” the donkey asked. “You made me look like a fool!” Balaam said. Then God allowed Balaam to see the angel. Balaam bowed in worship and said, “I have sinned! I will go back if you want me to.” The angel said, “Go with these men. But only say what I tell you to say.” When Balaam reached Balak, the king, he said, “I can only say what God tells me to say.” God had blessed the Israelites, so Balaam could not curse them. Instead, Balaam blessed the Israelites three times. King Balak said, “I brought you here to curse the Israelites, but you have blessed them! Go home!” Before he left, Balaam gave the king a special message. He said that one day a mighty king would be born to the people of Israel. The message was a special promise: “I see him, but not now … a star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will come out of Israel.” Then Balaam went home. Christ Connection: Balaam could not curse God’s people. God had blessed the Israelites, so Balaam blessed them too. Long after Balaam announced the coming king, Jesus was born. God sent Jesus to bless the world. Jesus rescues people from sin. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Why did the donkey stop? (The angel of the Lord was blocking the path.) 2. What did God make the donkey able to do? (talk) 3. What did the angel tell Balaam? (“Go with these men. But only say what I tell you to say.”) 4. Did Balaam bless or curse God’s people? (bless) 5. Who is the mighty King that would be born to the people of Israel? (Jesus) 6. What does it mean to sin? To sin is to go against God and His commands CRAFT & HANDS ON ACTIVITIES: Demonstrate how to use a digital recording device on a smartphone or tablet. Record and playback kind words and blessings about each of the children. Ask a volunteer to speak a kind thought about a classmate. Give suggestions. Record and playback spoken blessings. Open the Bible and record a child saying the key passage. Say • You gave your friends such kind blessings! A blessing is a word for a person’s good. In ​ ​ Bible times, when someone spoke a blessing over another person, they were speaking God’s favor on that person. In today’s Bible story, a king wanted a man named Balaam to curse the Israelites. A curse is a word for a person’s harm. Balaam could not curse the Israelites. Listen to ​ ​ our story to find out why. Play with farm animals Arrange farm animals and blocks on the floor. Guide preschoolers to construct fences and paths with blocks. Point out a donkey or an animal that resembles a donkey. Say • Have you ever seen a donkey? Have you ever heard a donkey? Have you ever heard a donkey talk? Donkeys don’t talk, but in today’s Bible story, God made a donkey talk! Listen to hear what the donkey said. Follow an obstacle course Create an obstacle course using existing items in the room. At the end of the course, open a Bible, point to the key passage, and read it aloud. Look at the Bible story picture and recall the story. Say • Balaam’s donkey ran into a serious obstacle—the angel of the Lord! After stopping three times, God let Balaam see the angel too. God would not let Balaam curse His people. God had blessed the Israelites, so Balaam blessed God’s people too. Long after Balaam announced the coming King, Jesus was born. God sent Jesus to bless the world. Jesus rescues people from sin. Explore animal habitats Set out books about animals and their habitats for preschoolers to browse. Talk about different habitats and the animals who live in them. Cut apart the “Where Would You Find It?” printable. Place the animal cards in a bag or basket. Lay the habitat page on a table. Ask a child to select an animal card, and match the animal to its habitat. When the donkey card is selected, mention that Balaam’s donkey surprised Balaam by talking. Say • How surprised Balaam must have been when the donkey talked! Balaam worshiped God when he saw the angel. He confessed his sin and said he would do what God wanted. What ​ does it mean to sin? To sin is to go against God and His commands. Balaam told the king that ​ God had blessed the Israelites, and many years later, a new King, Jesus, would be born to bless the world. Make a blessings stand-up book Fold a legal-sized sheet of paper fan-style, into fourths, to create a stand-up book for each preschooler. Print My Blessings on the cover. Talk about good things for which a child can thank God. ​ ​ Guide preschoolers to draw pictures of these blessings on each page. Allow them to add stickers. Open a Bible to the key passage, and read it aloud. Print the key passage on an index card, and challenge an older preschooler to copy it. Say • God told Balaam what to tell King Balak. Balaam could only say what God wanted him to say. Balaam blessed God’s people. He also told the king that God’s people, the Israelites, ​ ​ would be a blessing to everyone because one day Jesus would be born from their people. God sent Jesus to bless the world because He rescues people from their sin. Create a donkey puppet Print the “Donkey Puppet” onto heavyweight paper for each preschooler. Invite children to use crayons, markers, yarn, and googly eyes to decorate their puppets.