6. Honor Your Parents

(For instructions on how to use this study, see Welcome to The Ten Commandments)

Commandment: "Honor your father and your mother..." (Exodus 20:12a NET)

Bible Story: 12 Men Went to Spy on Canaan (part 1) - Numbers 13

Goals-

Cognitive: The children will learn about the Israelites' lack of faith in God which resulted in their spending the next 40 years in the desert.

Affective: The children will understand it is important to trust God even when things look impossible in our own eyes.

Books to know this week:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude Revelation

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles

Key passage(s) to know this week:

· The 10 Commandments - Exodus 20

· The Model Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13

· A Messianic Psalm - Psalm 22

· Imitating Christ's Humility - Philippians 2:1-11

· A Priestly Blessing - Numbers 6:24-26

Praise and Worship Time (15 minutes)

1. Opening Prayer

2. Sing songs of choice

Review Bible Books and Key Passage (5 minutes)

Have the children find the following books/passage in the Bible:

1. Hebrews

2. Ruth

3. 1Thessalonians

4. 1 Kings

5. The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

6. A Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26)

Tell the Bible Story (15 minutes)

1. Prepare to teach

Review last weeks' Bible Study notes

Read Numbers 12-14 (Numbers 14 will be taught next week)

Read all the Bible story notes prior to teaching

2. Teach

Assign the following passages/verses to be read by the children:

· Numbers 13:1-2

· Deuteronomy 1:22-23

· Exodus 3:8

· Numbers 13:17-20

· Numbers 13:23

· Numbers 13:25

· Numbers 13:27-29

· Numbers 13:30

· Numbers 13:31-33

Review where we left off last week:

· The Israelites had been in the desert for almost a year.

· They had been complaining about not having meat so God sent them some quail.

· Moses wasn't sure how they were going to feed all these people some meat so he questioned God about it.

· God asked Moses "Is my arm too short?" He told Moses he would see whether of not what God says will come true.

· Of course, what God said did come true. The people had quail although, some died because of God's anger towards them.

And since then?

· Shortly after this, Moses' brother and sister (Aaron & Miriam) began talking about Moses because of his Cushite wife. They were jealous that God had spoke through Moses and not through them.

· God dealt with both of them (but we'll discuss this story at another time).

It's now been over a year since they left Egypt.

Have a child read Numbers 13:1-2

· God told Moses to go ahead and send out some men to explore.

· Before we assume this is God's idea, let's look at Deuteronomy 1:22-23.

Have a child read Deuteronomy 1:22-23

· They had reached their destination and were supposed to go in and take the land.

Ask: Whose idea was it to explore the land?

· It was the people's idea. Moses thought it was a good idea and we see in Numbers that God gave them permission to go and explore the land.

Now, what are they going to find? Let's look back at the beginning and see what God told Moses about where He was leading them.

Have a child read Exodus 3:8

· God was going to lead them into a good and spacious land.

· This was a land flowing with milk and honey.

· It was also the home of the Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

· So Moses knows that the land is not vacant. It is being lived in by some pagan people.

Let's continue.

Have a child read Numbers 13:17-20

· Moses asks the men to go explore Canaan. They were to

a) see what the land was like

b) see whether the people who live there are strong or weak

c) see if there were lots of people or just a few

d) see what the land was like; was it good or bad

e) see what kinds of towns they lived in

f) see if there are walls around the towns

g) see if the soil was fertile or poor

h) see if there were trees

g) bring back some fruit if they could

· Remember, they haven't had fruit in over a year. They've had manna and quail. Fruit would be absolutely wonderful right now.

· So the men did as Moses requested. They went into the land and started exploring. Here's what they found:

Have a child read Numbers 13:23

· They found fruit.

· They cut off a branch bearing one single cluster of grapes.

· It took two men to carry it.

· They also brought with them some pomegranates and figs.

Have a child read Numbers 13:25

· They spent 40 days exploring the land.

· Meanwhile, the rest of the people are sitting not far away.

The men returned and reported to the people. Have a child read Numbers 13:27-29; What did the people find?

· It did flow with milk and honey and they gave Moses the fruit sampling, BUT,

· They saw the people were powerful and the cities fortified and large.

· They saw that the Amalekits, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Canaanites lived in the land

Ask: Remember what God told them...was what God said correct? Yes. He told them they would find people groups there and they did.

Have a child read Numbers 13:30

· Caleb saw where this conversation was going so he stopped it.

· He urged the people to go and take the land God had promised them.

· He told them they could do it.

Have a child read Numbers 13:31-33

· But the other men said `no, we can't do this'

· And they spread among the people a bad report about the land they had explored.

· They said the land `devours' those living in it

· They also said they saw giant like people

Note the last sentence in this chapter: "and we seemed like grasshoppers both to ourselves and to them."

Explain to children the following:

· They were looking at the situation through their own eyes, not through God's eyes.

· So what are they to do?

o What they found was not a surprise to God. He told Moses from the very beginning what they would find. He also told Moses He was giving them the land.

o Rather than taking the land, they requested spies be sent. That probably wasn't part of God's original plan, but sometimes God lets us do what we want to teach us a lesson on dependence on Him.

o They have spent over a year in the desert now and have witnessed God provision for them over and over again.

· What are they to do?

We'll see next week in `12 men went to spy on Canaan, part 2'

Review the commandment: Honor your father and your mother.

The complete verse reads like this: "Honor your father and your mother that you may live a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving to you." (Exodus 12:12 NET)

· When God promises something, we can hang tight to it because He will not disappoint us.

· The Israelites should do the same, correct? They should hang on to the promise that God said He would give them the land.

· We should hang tight to the promise that when we honor our parents, God will bless us.

· We should honor our parents because it is the right thing to do.

What does Jesus say about this commandment?

· In Matthew 15:4-6, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for not honoring their aging parents.

· Honoring your parents is more than just obeying them. Children (young and old) should show their parents respect.

· Yet, Jesus also taught that God should come first. Matthew 10:37 teaches we should love God more than our parents.

3. Pray

Praise God for who He is, the ultimate Promise Keeper.

Thank God for His many promises including this one tied to the commandment to honor our parents.

Commit to honor God by honoring those He has given us to care for us, our parents.

4. Explain the Family Activity Sheet

· When we're young, we honor our parents by obeying them.

· The first part of the family activity is to obey our parents.

· In the space provided, we're to list some of our chores. As we obey this week, have mom or dad initial the box letting us know you were honoring them with your obedience.

· Do this for at least 4 days.

· When we get older, we honor our parents by thanking them and saying good things about them.

· In the space provided, complete the sentences.

Weekly Challenge (20 minutes)

In this week's challenge, the children will be building a `house' using only swim noodles and masking tape. The goal is to build a structure (4 walls and a roof) that all the team members will fit in. The children will get extra credit for creativity.

1. Before the Challenge

Gather the necessary supplies.

Supplies:

· 8 swim noodles and 1 roll of masking tape per team

· Set out 8 swim noodles and 1 roll of masking tape per team.

2. The Challenge

On your mark, have the teams build a `house' using the noodles provided. The goal is to build a structure that will stand on its own and that all the team members will fit in/under.

The team to complete the structure - build a free standing building large enough to `house' all of their team members - wills the challenge.

Hand out the key passages and books of the Bible cards (NT and Genesis - 2 Chronicles). The teams are to put the books of the Bible in the correct order, match the key passages with the correct scripture reference and locate the passages in the Bible. When the team has completed the task, they are to raise their flag letting you know they are done.

3. Apply the Challenge

Explain to the children that building a stable home out of swim noodles may have seemed a little challenging. Building a stable home in the world is even more challenging. Our parents have a lot of responsibility. When we honor our parents by obeying them, it makes their God given tasks a little bit easier. The Israelites were left with a choice...obey God and take the land or obey men and not take the land. Obedience to God brings blessing. We know what the Israelites should do, but will they do it? You are faced with a choice...honor your parents just a God commanded or not. Again, obedience to God brings blessing. How will you choose?

Closing (10 minutes)

1. Award this week's medals based on the week's challenge.

2. Assign this week's memory work:

Books of the Bible:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation,

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Key Passages:

The 10 Commandments - Exodus 20

The Model Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13

A Messianic Psalm - Psalm 22 (`Messianic' means about Jesus)

Imitating Christ's Humility - Philippians 2: 1-11

A Priestly Blessing - Numbers 6:24-26

Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5-7

3. Explain the Key Passage:

One of Jesus' most famous sermons is the one recorded in Matthew 5-7. It is called the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus explained much about His expectations for us as believers. We should all be very familiar with the content found in this (as well as other) teaching of Christ.

4. Closing prayer.

5. Closing song of choice.