OT 38 Lesson Plan

OT-38

"The Golden Calf”

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Big Idea

Love God, not stuff.

Materials Needed:

-table and two chairs/stools

-index cards

-fake beards and Bible robes if you have them

-playdough rings (from small group time)

-two large rocks (clean them off and write two or three commandments on them using a permanent marker i.e "Don't steal" or "Don't murder.")

-Moses cards: fold each card in half so that it can stands vertically, write each of the sentences below separately on one side of a folded card using a green marker.

A. Moses B. Mountain top C. Talking with God D. God's rules written on stone E. Heard about Israel's idol F. Asks God to not destroy Israel. G. Destroys the stones. H. Destroys the idol I. Got ready to leave

-Aaron cards: fold each card in half so that it can stands vertically, write each of the sentences below separately on one side of a folded card using a red marker..

A. Aaron B. Mountain bottom C. Hearing "What's up with Moses?" D. Hearing "Make a god for us!" E. Made an idol. F. Drank, danced, and worshipped G. Lied about the idol H. Suffered a plague

Setup:

1. Set a table in the front of the teaching area with two chairs/stools.

Lesson

1. Using the sheets from small group time, review a few of the items the children mentioned during small group time. Explain the following:

We all have things that we really like and are important to us. If our house ever caught on fire, a few of those things are so important to us that we would quickly snatch them up and run out of the house with them.

Sometimes we can love stuff so much that it becomes a problem. We can end up loving our stuff more than we love God. In our story today, we'll meet a group of people who chose to worship a thing they made rather than the God who made them.

2. Select two children to come up front and sit in the chairs. Instruct each child to read each card that's placed in front of them throughout the lesson. In front of one child, place Moses Card A with the text facing out. Place Aaron Card A in front of the other child. (For the rest of this lesson plan, each will be referred to as "Moses" and "Aaron.") If you have them, give them the fake beards and Bible robes to wear. Explain the following:

Our story is going to focus on two different people, and that's why we have different kids up here. As you can see, one represents Moses, and the other represents Aaron. These two men were brothers, and in charge of leading God's people, the Israelites.

If you remember from before, after leaving Egypt and walking through the Red Sea, God led the Israelites to the foot of a mountain, Mount Sinai. At that mountain, God came down in a great cloud and starting giving them some rules. The people were so afraid of God that they told Moses to go up the mountain and talk to God by himself.

3. Place Moses Card B in front of Moses, and Aaron Card B in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
    Our two different men start out the story in two different places. Moses was on top of the mountain, Aaron was at the bottom.

4. Place Moses Card C in front of Moses, and Aaron Card C in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
    Moses was at the top of the mountain for a long time, talking with God and learning all his commandments. At the bottom of the mountain the people came up to Aaron and asked, "What's up with Moses? He's been up there forever! I don't think he's ever coming back!"

5. Place Aaron Card D in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
    While Moses was still on the top of the mountain talking with God, the people of Israel told Aaron, "Make a god for us to worship!" So Aaron said to them, "Take your gold earrings and give it to me." So the people took their earrings and gave it Aaron." (Instruct the children to give Aaron their playdough rings, which will represent the gold earrings.)

6. Place Moses Card D in front of Moses and Aaron Card E in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
    So Aaron made a god for the Israelites, an idol. He melted the gold from the earrings down and cast it and shaped it into the shape of a calf. (Instruct Aaron to shape the playdough into a rough calf-shape.) When they saw the calf that Aaron had made for them, they said, "Here are our gods that rescued us from Egypt!" When Aaron saw how they reacted, he said, "Tomorrow we will have a great festival to God."
    Meanwhile, up on the mountain, God was still giving his law to Moses. In order to help Moses remember all that he had told him, God wrote his rules on two large stones, both front and back. (Hand the two large stones to Moses.)

7. Place Moses Card E in front of Moses and Aaron Card F in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
   The next morning, Aaron and the Israelites got up early to worship the golden calf that Aaron had made. They gave offerings to it and worshiped it. Later, they ate, drank, sang and danced, in a good mood after worshipping their idol.
    Still up on the mountain, Moses heard God say, "Go back down the mountain, Moses, because your people have turned from me and are worshiping a golden idol they have made. Leave me alone in my anger, for later I will destroy them."

8. Place Moses Card F in front of Moses. Explain the following:
   Moses knew that his people, the Israelites, had sinned against God by worshiping the golden calf, but he didn't want them to destroyed. So he asked God not to destroy the Israelites, and God listened.

9. Place Moses Card G in front of Moses. Explain the following:
    When Moses came down the mountain, he heard the people singing and saw the people dancing to the idol. He was so angry that they were worshiping an idol instead of God that he took the two stones that God had given him, the stones on which God himself wrote his rules, and threw them on the ground at the bottom of the mountain, breaking them into pieces. (Instruct Moses to take the two large stones and drop them on the ground.)

10. Place Moses Card H in front of Moses. Place Aaron Card G in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
   Moses took the golden calf idol and threw it into a great fire. Then, he ground it down into a very fine dust, poured that dust into water, and made all the Israelites drink it as punishment for what they had done.
    He asked Aaron, "Why did you do this?" Aaron lied to Moses, saying, "They didn't think you were coming back, so they asked me to make a god to worship. I collected their jewelry, threw it into the fire, and out popped this golden calf!"

11. Place Moses Card I in front of Moses and Aaron Card H in front of Aaron. Explain the following:
   Because they chose to worship a golden calf instead of him, God sent a plague on the Israelites and they suffered.
    God told Moses to lead the Israelites from the bottom of the mountain to the land of Caanan, the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the very first of God's people.