Clean Water for All God’s Children
Context:
The story of the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt is the pivotal story in the
Jewish faith. It highlights many of God’s characteristics, as understood by the early
people of God, such as:
God
hears
the cries of the oppressed
God is capable of and inclined to
intervene
in human history
God raises up leaders (however imperfect!) for God’s people
God can act in
supernatural
ways (at least, ways we don’t understand!)
God commands obedience
One difficulty children may have is the violence in the story. How could God justify the
killing of all those Egyptians? It’s best not to try to explain this difficult theological
question, but just to admit that there is much about God’s ways that we don’t understand,
but we can be
certain
that God’s intention is for the good of all God’s creation.
The important thing for the children to glean from the story is God’s constant care for the
people, and God’s use of the everyday element water as an instrument of salvation.
If you have prepared a backdrop of land, sea and sky (same as for Day 1 Creation Story),
create a slit in the center from bottom nearly to the top, and attach string to each side.
Then, as you tell the story, the sea can ‘part’!
Story:
Long, long ago - about 3,000 years ago - the chosen people of God, called the Hebrews,
were living as slaves in the land of Egypt. The king of the Egyptian people, who was
called Pharaoh, was very cruel to his Hebrew slaves, and he made them work very, very
hard. For nearly 400 years, Pharaoh was very mean to the Hebrews, and they were sad
and tired.
But God heard the groans and cries of the Hebrew people, and God raised up a prophet
named Moses, whom God intended to be the one to lead the Hebrews out of the land of
Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.
Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “Let my people go!” But Pharaoh said, “No!” So God
sent a plague on the land of Egypt. Once again, Moses said to Pharaoh, “Let my people
go!” And once again, Pharaoh said, “No!” So God sent still another plague upon the
land, and another, and another. In fact, nine times Moses said, “Let my people go!” and
nine times, Pharaoh replied, “No!” Finally, God sent one last and terrible plague upon
the Egyptians, and finally, Pharaoh said, “Go!”
Day 2: Bible Story
Crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14)