Elementary Level, Block 4—Moses
Week 33
Moses—Shepherding the Flock
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who are patient, humble, sensitive, and enduring.
Reference Reading: Exodus 3:1
Memory Verse: For you have need of endurance in order that, having done the will of God, you may obtain the promise. (Hebrews 10:36)
Story Sample
We have only learned a little bit about Moses so far, but I already know that I want to be someone like him! He grew up in a family who loved and followed God (just like you and me) and he studied and learned many things so that he could be useful to God (just like we can). He grew up in Egypt where he learned from the very best at that time. But after 40 years, something happened in which Moses was led by God to leave Egypt. He was educated for 40 years in the palace and then became a shepherd in the wilderness for another 40 years. This was actually all part of God’s plan for him, so that one day he would lead God’s people back to Canaan, the land that God had promised them so many years before.
We heard last week how Moses was educated in the palace. This week, we will hear how he was trained to be useful to God in the wilderness. Do you know what a wilderness is? It’s like a desert. There’s not much in the wilderness. Well, there in the wilderness, Moses was a shepherd. Do you know what a shepherd does? He tends, herds, and guards the sheep. He guards a big group of sheep at a time, called a flock, from the big animals that would eat them, like a wolf or lion. A shepherd has to find the best grazing area for the sheep to eat grass and find water for them to drink and lead them back home to rest. Does that sound like something you would want to do as a job? What about doing it for 40 years of your life?
Do you know what sheep are like? They’re not very smart animals. If they get caught on a barbed wire one day when they try to go through the fence, the shepherd will have to rescue them, and then they’ll try again the next day, and the next day. So someone needs to watch out for them. They also like to stray. Because they’re always looking for fresh grass, it’s easy for them get separated from the group and get lost.
Have you had to take care of your younger sibling before? Maybe your mom had to go outside to do some gardening and you and your little brother stayed inside to play. And your mom asked you to watch your little brother, to make sure he doesn’t get hurt or give him a snack or water when he’s hungry. Or what about taking care of a pet? Does anyone here have a pet? What are some things you need to do to take care of your pet? [Discuss with the children things they need to do, e.g., give them food and water, play with them, change the fish’s water, etc.]
Do you want to know what Moses learned from being a shepherd all those years? Moses had to learn to be very patient, since the sheep will make the same mistake over and over again. He also had to learn to be sensitive to the needs of the sheep. He would need to know if they’re hungry or thirsty or tired or hurt. Shepherds are also very lowly people so he had to learn to be humble. And Moses also had to learn to be an enduring person. What does that mean? Well, remember he grew up learning from his parents and later was educated in the palace? At 40 years old, he must have thought he could be someone famous and do something great for God. Well, at 40 years old, he had to become a lowly shepherd. And not just for a few days or even a few months or even a few years! He was a shepherd for 40 years! Is anyone here 40 years old? No? That seems like a long time, doesn’t it? For someone so educated to be a shepherd for 40 years, someone who needed to care for a flock of sheep every day, he certainly would have learned to become enduring. He endured—that means he was not only patient but he also accepted the difficulties he had to face. Day after day, in the freezing cold in the winter and in the scorching heat in the summer, Moses learned so many things from tending the sheep.
We can all learn to take care of someone or something else other than ourselves. We can help water the plants and make sure they have enough soil. We can help feed the fish or the parrot or the cat. And we can help take care of our younger siblings, too! We can learn to be responsible like Moses. And when we are given responsibilities, we can learn to be patient, humble, sensitive, and enduring.