LESSON OVERVIEW FOR ADULTS
In Exodus 5:1-23, Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh with God’s command to let the Israelite people go into the wilderness to worship Him. Pharaoh responds with defiance, refusing to acknowledge God’s authority and rejecting the request. Instead of releasing the Israelites, Pharaoh increases their burden by commanding that they continue making the same quota of bricks but without being provided straw, a necessary binding material. This forces the Israelites to search for their own straw while maintaining impossible production standards, making their already difficult work even harder.
The Israelite foremen cry out to Pharaoh but receive no relief, and they turn their frustration toward Moses and Aaron, questioning why they came at all since the situation has only worsened. Moses himself brings his confusion and disappointment to God, asking why He sent him if it would only lead to more suffering. This passage teaches us that obedience to God doesn’t always bring immediate relief. Sometimes circumstances become more difficult before they improve, and in those moments, we must continue to trust God’s plan, wait patiently, and hold onto hope that He is working even when we cannot see it.
OPENING ACTIVITY 10:15-10:30 | Mud Bricks
Items Needed:
- Egg Cartoons (1 per child or small group)
- Dirt or sand (1 cup per child)
- Water (2/3 cup per child)
- Measuring cups
- Mixing bowls
- Towels for cleanup
Begin by having each child measure 1 cup of dirt or sand and pour it into their bowl. Then help them measure 2/3 cup of water and add it to the dirt. Let children mix the dirt and water together using their fingers until completely combined. This tactile experience is perfect for kinesthetic learners and helps them understand the texture and consistency needed for brick making.
Once the mud mixture is ready, guide each child to carefully divide and pack the mud into the compartments of an egg carton, pressing it down firmly with their thumbs. This creates individual brick shapes. After all compartments are filled, allow them to dry in the tray (children can take their bricks home at the end of class and dump them out at home).
As children work, talk about how the Israelites had to make thousands of these bricks every single day in the hot sun. Explain that this is just for fun for us, but for them it was exhausting work. Connect this activity to the Bible lesson by mentioning that Pharaoh made their job even harder by not giving them straw to mix with the mud.
BIBLE VERSE GAME 10:30-10:40 | Building Block Verse
Memory Verse: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” – Psalm 130:5 (ESV)
Items Needed:
- Large building blocks
- Tape and marker
Write one word of the memory verse on pieces of tape and stick them to building blocks: “I,” “wait,” “for,” “the,” “Lord.” Mix up the blocks and have children work together to stack them in the correct order. Let them knock the tower down and rebuild it several times while saying the verse together. This reinforces the verse through repetition and movement.
SONG 10:40-10:50
BIBLE STORY 10:50-11:00 a.m.
Question 1: Where is this found in the Bible? Exodus
Question 2: Is this in the Old Testament or New Testament? Old Testament
Who remembers the man Moses? [Wait for response] That’s right! Moses was the baby in the basket who grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. Well, Moses is all grown up now, and God gave him a very important job.
God told Moses, “Go tell Pharaoh to let my people go!” Moses walked right up to the king with his brother Aaron and said to Pharaoh, “God says, ‘Let my people go!'” Can you say that with me? “Let my people go!” [Let kids repeat enthusiastically]
But do you know what Pharaoh said? [Make an angry face] Pharaoh said, “NO! I will NOT let them go!” Can everyone make an angry face like Pharaoh? [Wait for kids to make faces] Pharaoh was very mean.
Then Pharaoh did something even meaner. The Israelite people, God’s people, were slaves in Egypt. That means they had to work very, very hard all day long. What do you think they made? [Wait] They made bricks!
Let’s pretend to make bricks. Scoop up some mud! [Pretend to scoop] Pat it down! [Pat hands together] Put it in the sun! [Pretend to place brick down] Good job! That’s one brick. But they had to make hundreds and hundreds of bricks every single day! Let’s do it again faster. Scoop, pat, place! Scoop, pat, place! [Repeat several times quickly] Whew! That’s hard work!
Now, to make good bricks, you need something called straw. Straw looks like really dry grass. Can you pretend to pick up some straw? [Pretend to gather straw] The straw helped hold the mud together so the bricks wouldn’t fall apart.
Before this, Pharaoh’s servants would bring the straw to the Israelite workers. But because Pharaoh was angry at Moses, he made a new rule. Let me whisper it to you… [Whisper loudly] Pharaoh said, “NO MORE STRAW! They have to find their own straw AND still make the same number of bricks!”
So now the poor workers had to run around looking for straw! Look over here! [Point right] Look over there! [Point left] Look everywhere! [Turn around] This made them SO tired! And they STILL had to make all those bricks! Let’s make bricks again. Scoop, pat, place! [Do motions] Scoop, pat, place! Their arms were so tired. Can you show me tired arms? [Let arms droop]
The workers said, “This is too hard! We can’t do this! Why did Moses come and make things worse?”
Even Moses was confused. He talked to God and said, “God, why did you send me? Things are harder now, not better!”
Have you ever had something really hard happen? [Let a few children share briefly if time allows] Maybe you got hurt, or someone wasn’t nice to you, or something didn’t go the way you wanted. It’s okay to feel sad when hard things happen.
But here’s what we need to remember: [Hold up one finger] Even when things are really, really hard, we can trust God. God had a big plan to help His people, but they had to wait.
Let’s practice what God wants us to do when life gets hard. Our memory verse says, “I wait for the Lord.” Can you say that with me? “I wait for the Lord!” [Repeat together]
Waiting is hard, isn’t it? But God was working on His plan to rescue His people. They just couldn’t see it yet. Sometimes we have to wait and trust God even when we don’t understand.
Let’s end with this: When things are hard, we can trust God! [Thumbs up] When we’re tired, we can trust God! [Thumbs up] When we have to wait, we can trust God! [Thumbs up] God ALWAYS has a good plan!
Theological Questions:
- Who told Moses to go talk to Pharaoh? (God told Moses to go talk to Pharaoh)
- Did Pharaoh obey God? (No, Pharaoh did not obey God. He said no and made things harder for God’s people)
Life Application Questions:
- What can we do when something is really hard? (We can pray and ask God to help us. We can trust God even when things are hard)
- Is it okay to feel sad when hard things happen? (Yes, it’s okay to feel sad. Even Moses felt sad and confused. But we can still trust that God loves us and has a good plan)
Closing Prayer:
[Fold hands and bow heads]
“Dear God, thank You for loving us. When things are hard, help us trust You and wait for You to help us. We know You always have a good plan. Amen!” [Have everyone shout “AMEN!” together]
BIBLE CRAFT 11:00-11:15 a.m.
Items Needed:
- Small Metal Boxes
- Box Labels
- Hot Glue & Glue Gun (Pre Assembly)
- Small slips of paper
Help children cover their small box with red or brown construction paper to look like a brick. Explain that when things are hard, they can write or draw their prayer on a slip of paper and put it in their prayer brick box. This reminds them to bring their hard things to God, just like Moses did. Give each child a few slips of paper to start with. This craft teaches children a practical way to pray and trust God with their worries.
BIBLE MOVIE AND SNACK
Handout snacks and allow kids to eat them while watching the Bible story video.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Exodus 5 (KJV)
¹ And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
² And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
³ And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
⁴ And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
⁵ And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
⁶ And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
⁷ Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
⁸ And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
⁹ Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
¹¹ Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
¹³ And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
¹⁴ And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
¹⁵ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
¹⁶ There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
¹⁷ But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.
¹⁸ Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
¹⁹ And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
²⁰ And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
²¹ And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
²² And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
PARENT TAKE HOME SHEET
Today’s Key Takeaway:
Trust God Always
What I Learned Today:
Moses asked Pharaoh to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh said no and made their work even harder. The Israelite workers had to make bricks without being given straw, which made their job very difficult. Even when life is hard and we have to wait, we can trust God because He always has a good plan.
Questions to Ask Me:
Theological Questions:
- Who did God send to talk to Pharaoh? (Moses and his brother Aaron)
- What did Moses ask Pharaoh to do? (Let God’s people go)
- Did Pharaoh obey God? (No, Pharaoh said no and made things harder)
- What were the Israelite people making? (Bricks)
- Who can we trust even when things are hard? (God)
Life Application Questions:
- What can you do when something is hard or makes you sad? (Pray to God, trust God, talk to Mom or Dad)
- Is it okay to feel sad when hard things happen? (Yes, even Moses felt sad, but we can still trust God)
- What does our memory verse tell us to do? (Wait for the Lord, which means trust God even when we have to be patient)
- Can you think of a time when you had to wait for something? (Various answers – waiting for a birthday, waiting to feel better when sick, etc.)
- How does it help to know that God loves you even when things are hard? (It helps us not be so scared; it reminds us God is taking care of us; it gives us hope)
Memory Verse: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” – Psalm 130:5 (ESV)