Elementary Level, Block 4—Moses
Week 35
Moses—Aaron Becoming Moses’ Spokesman
Point to Emphasize: We should be willing to work together with others.
Reference Reading: Exodus 4:10-21
Memory Verse: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
Story Sample
Last week we talked about Moses listening to God. God told him to return to Egypt so that he could lead God’s people back to the land that He had given them, the land of Canaan. But Moses felt like he needed some help when speaking to Pharaoh back in Egypt. As a young man in Egypt Moses had learned so many things and he was so sure of himself. But now that he was 80 years old, he did not have so much confidence in himself. He wasn’t sure he would be able to speak so boldly to Pharaoh.
So Moses spoke to God about it, saying that he was slow of speech. But God reminded him that He was the one who gave Moses a mouth in the first place. Did he not think that God would go with Moses and would teach him what he should speak? Still, Moses didn’t trust God, so he asked Him again to send someone else to go with him to speak for him. So God gave him Aaron, Moses’ brother.
When I was young, I was VERY shy. But one of my sisters was very outgoing and talkative. Oh, how she loved to talk! So when I would go somewhere new, I would always take my sister with me so that she could do all the talking and I could just hide. I wonder if this was how Moses felt.
Aaron was to go along with Moses and speak whatever Moses told him to speak. Now, you might think that God would be angry that Moses didn’t trust him. But actually, God did this for a reason. Do you know what that reason was? He didn’t want Moses to go alone. God’s way was to send more than one person to go out for Him. He sent Aaron out to be a match to go with Moses. This is just God’s way.
It is not always easy to work with someone else. Sometimes we think we are so good that we can do everything by ourselves. We don’t need anyone else. But God puts us together for a reason.
Have you ever done a three-legged race? [Explain if they don’t know.] To get back to my sister, one time we were in a three-legged race together. I loved when my sister would talk for me and I could hide, but this was different. I really didn’t like being in the race with her. I was one of the fastest runners at school, but when I had to run with her leg tied to mine, I didn’t like it at all. I knew I could run faster all by myself. It was really hard to coordinate with her to run. But in a race like that, you have to run with another person. And the ones that work the best together are always the ones that win the race. In the end, I realized that there was a reason for that race—that I could learn how to work with others.
So Moses and Aaron had to learn to work together if they ever planned on getting their people out of Egypt and away from Pharaoh. Next week, we’ll find out how they did this. This was another part of Moses being the right person for God to use. First, Moses needed the right family, then he needed the right training in the palace and in the wilderness, then he needed to be one who listened to God. Now we have seen that he needed to be someone who could work with others.
We can learn to work with others too! Whether you are working on a school project together, playing on a sports team together, cleaning your meeting hall, washing dishes with your brother or sister, or even playing a duet on the piano, you will have many opportunities in the years to come to work with others. Let’s all try to bring an example back next week of how we worked together with someone!