Week 176 · about 45 minutes
Numbers 17
Numbers 17 · Memory verse Numbers 17:5
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Numbers 17), the matching word search and answer key (Numbers 17 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read Numbers 17 in about four minutes, stopping at Numbers 17:5: “It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you, cease from me.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Numbers 17?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Numbers 17 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “Moses laid up the rods before Yahweh in the Tent of the Testimony.” Numbers 17 opens with these words: “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,” The line to keep is Numbers 17:5: “It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you,…” Carry the word “happen” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Numbers 17:5: “It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you, cease from me.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Numbers 17? Then try this: Read “It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Numbers 17. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Numbers 17:5. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Numbers 17 and write Numbers 17:5 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Numbers 17:5
“It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you, cease from me.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Numbers 17. Help us remember Numbers 17:5 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.