Intermediate Level, Block 4—Egypt to Good Land
Week 36
The Children of Israel—Praising, then Complaining
Point to Emphasize: We need to praise and thank God and not complain.
Reference Reading: Exodus 15
Memory Verse: I will praise You… / Your works are wonderful, / And my soul knows it well.
(Psalm 139:14)
Story Sample
The Lord really took care of His people in a great way, didn’t He? Who would have ever thought that the Israelites could have escaped the Egyptians? And who would have ever thought He would have done it in such a big way as to open the Red Sea and let the Israelites cross over? There is no One like God!
So, how do you think the people felt after all this had happened? Do you think they just thought “Oh well, that was nice, now let’s just go on”? No, I don’t think so. Do you think they felt happy? Do you think they felt grateful? Do you think they felt cared for? Yes, I think they were feeling all these things. So, how could they express all these feelings they must have had? Well, they did it by praising.
Who can tell me what praise means? The dictionary says: 1) Words of approval or admiration; 2) To worship and express thanks to. So, when your mom and dad get your report card and they tell you how wonderful you performed, those are words of approval, or praise. And when you hear your parents say, “PRAISE THE LORD!”, they are worshipping and thanking God.
Well, I’m sure the Israelites really felt like praising God after they crossed the Red Sea, and they did their praising by singing a song. Singing is a great way to praise God. Exodus chapter 15 even gives all the words of the song that they sang. They sang, “I will sing to Jehovah, for He has triumphed gloriously; / The horse and its rider He has cast into the sea… This is my God, and I will praise Him…” (Exodus 15:2-3). We don’t know the tune of the song but I surely like the words of the song. They were singing to God, praising Him for what He had done!
Can you remember any praising songs? Can you name some we could sing? [E.g. Oh We Will Praise; Praise Him, Praise Him, All Ye Little Children; Would You Like to Praise the Lord, etc. Storyteller sing 2 or 3 songs.]
Doesn’t singing make you happy? It makes God happy too! As the Israelites were praising God, do you think they had long, sad, frowning faces? No, of course not! That’s because praising causes us to be happy.
Unfortunately, the praising didn’t last long. Right after all the singing and praising, the children of Israel began to complain. First they complained that there was no water, and when they did find water they complained that it was too bitter to drink. What a short memory they had! But aren’t we all like this? When I was young I used to love to go to a place called Red Rock Canyon and play on the rocks. But my parents worked a lot, so we didn’t get to go very often. When we did get to go, I would always say, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU”, because I was so happy. But I also can’t tell you how many times we would get home and an hour later I was complaining and would say, “I’m bored, there’s nothing to do!” How quickly I’d forget! [Storyteller, tell a story from your experience.]
And that’s just what the Israelites did. They forgot what God had done for them and started complaining. Moses had to cry out to Jehovah once again on their behalf, and God showed him a tree. Moses cast the tree into the bitter waters, and the waters became sweet. Once again the faithful God came in to care for His people.
With this story we see that no matter how much we complain, God still takes care of us. However, we don’t want to be those who complain. A complainer is a person who is constantly miserable and not happy. A complainer is always grumbling and whining.
Would you rather be one who complains all the time or one who praises all the time? I want to be one who is full of praise!