JUNIOR
AGE: 10 - 11
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
V & VI
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LESSON – 8
AARON MAKES A GOLDEN CALF
After Joseph’s death, the new
Pharaoh, the King of Egypt kept Israelites as slaves. God raised Moses as a
leader of the Israelites to deliver them from Pharaoh and to bring them out.
God told Moses to take them to a promised land called Canaan. The Israelites
had to travel through a large desert before they could enter Canaan. The
incident in today’s lesson happened when they were in the large Sinai desert on
their way to Canaan.
In the first lesson we learnt about Adam’s sin
and how God had challenged the serpent that a woman’s seed would crush the
serpent’s seed. It was part of God’s plan that a Messiah or a Saviour would be
born as a woman’s seed. God wanted a separated nation and a holy people for Himself,
through whom the Saviour could be born. That’s why God chose the Israelites as
a Holy nation and gave them many special laws including the ten commandments to
keep them holy.
Two months after they left Egypt, the Israelites reached
the Sinai Desert and they pitched their tents at the base of Sinai Mountain.
God called Moses from the mountain to speak with him. God told Moses that he
also wanted to speak directly with the Israelites so that they will have the
fear of God. On the third day, there was thunder, lightning and a very loud trumpet
sound, that the people trembled. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke
because the Lord had descended on it in fire (Exodus 19: 9-25). Then God spoke
to the Israelites and taught them the ten commandments and also gave many laws
on how to lead a holy life as God’s chosen people. Read about it in Exodus 20th
to 23rd chapters.
Then
God once again called Moses to climb up the mountain so that He could give
Moses the Stone tablets on which the ten commandments were inscribed by God
himself. To receive these stone tablets, Moses climbed the Sinai Mountain and
stayed there for forty days. He had left the Israelites in the care of his
brother Aaron and another leader named Hur.
But even before the forty days were over, the
Israelites started to feel impatient. They were worried that something might
have happened to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. Till that time, it was Moses
who had led them and had spoken on their behalf with God. So, the Israelites
felt insecure and told Aaron to make a god for them who could go before them
and lead them in the desert. They even threatened to stone Aaron if he didn’t
do as they told him.
Aaron told them to bring their gold ear rings. Aaron melted the gold ear rings and made an idol in the shape of a calf. The Israelites were very excited with the idol.
Aaron was very pleased
and he even made an altar for it and proclaimed a festival for the calf the
next day. The next day the people offered burnt offerings and peace offerings
for the calf and there was feasting and dancing.
God
told Moses to quickly climb down the mountain because the people had strayed
from God’s way. God was so angry that he wanted to destroy them and make Moses
into a great nation. But Moses interceded for them and prevented God from
destroying them. After Moses climbed down the mountain, he burned with anger
when he saw the calf. So, he threw the stone tablets in the ground and smashed
them. Then he burnt the golden calf, ground it into a powder and made the
Israelites to drink it.
Bible Reference: Exodus 32
Memory
Verse: There shall be no foreign god …………. and
I will fill it. (Psalm 81:9,10)
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITIES
Fill
in the blanks:
1.
Two months after they left Egypt, the Israelites reached the …………………. Desert.
2. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because
the Lord had descended on it in ……………..
3. Moses had left the Israelites in the care of his
brother …………. and another leader named ………………..
4. Aaron told the
Israelites to bring their ………………………..
Give short answers:
1.
What happened when God descended to speak with the people of Israel on Mount
Sinai?
2. Why did Moses stay on the
mountain top for forty days?
3. What did the Israelites
ask Aaron to do?
4. Why did God tell Moses
to quickly climb down the mountain?
Answer in
brief:
1. What happened at the base of Mount Sinai when
Moses was there in the top of the mountain for forty days?
