Navigating the Bible #1

Navigating the Bible Wk 1

Opening Acts (10 mins)

1.        Lyrics game – I start a song while they see who can complete the lyric

a.       There was a farmer had a dog… (and Bingo was his name-o)

b.      Somewhere over the rainbow….(way up high)

c.       It’s fun to stay at the….(YMCA!)

d.      Do you want to build a snowman?...(Come on, let ‘s go and play)

2.       Each group can work together on Bible Quiz. Go over answers. 

Breaking Down the Bible Part 1 (20 minutes)

1.       What are some of your favorite Old Testament stories?

2.       Let’s page through together…and start putting together our table bookshelf

e  Each table will have a poster board and 39 slips of paper to represent their Books. Each group below has a different color. Adults can write the names on each slip while children will tape them onto the poster board to create a bookshelf of books.

a.       5 Books of Law (Brown): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

                                                               i.      Contain the laws of God to his people

                                                             ii.      10 commandments

                                                            iii.      Priestly laws

                                                           iv.      Famous people? (Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses…)

b.      12 Books of History (Dk Green): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

                                                               i.      Israel from settling of Promised Land

                                                             ii.      To return from slavery in Jerusalem

                                                            iii.      Who are some famous people from this era? (Sampson, Saul, David…)

c.       5 Books of Poetry (Blue): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon

                                                               i.      Written as verses or poetry

                                                             ii.      Famous people? (Job, David, Solomon)

d.      5 Books of Major Prophets (Dk Purple): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel

e.      12 Books of Minor Prophets (Pink): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

                                                               i.      Called Prophetic because filled with prophecies (What are prophecies?)

                                                             ii.      Famous people? (Daniel, Jonah, …)
**Book case posters will then be kept for next week's lesson.

Truth of the Bible : Red Sea Crossing Powerpoint (10+ minutes) 

Give cards with the following scriptures to various groups. They will read their verse as the corresponding picture comes up on the screen.
          Exodus 13:18 and Exodus 14:3
          Exodus 14:1-4
          Isaiah 19:19-22
          Exodus 14:23-28

Script for Powerpoint
1. Points on a Map

     a.       When travelling through "the wilderness of the Red Sea" Ex.13:18, escaping Pharaoh's army, God told Moses to turn south, so they headed through a wadi or canyon area that is called the Wadi Watir which led to the sea. 

     b.      The Bible in Ex. 14:3 says, "They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."  When arriving at the beach, the children of Israel felt trapped, as they could not turn back, nor head north because at the northern end of the beach was a three story, Egyptian military fortress which is still standing today undergoing restoration.  Additionally there were mountains obstructing their escape.

     c.       To the south the mountains came down to the sea, as mentioned by Josephus, "For there was [on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight" Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. 2, 15-3. You can see the mountains at the beach today. The people were about to turn against Moses because he had led them to an area where they were trapped and would surely die, or so they thought.

2.   The Beach

     a.       If one looks on a map for a beach area large enough for 2 million people to encamp on the gulf there is only one candidate:  Nuweiba Egypt.  The beach at Nuweiba is extremely large and could have accommodated a large number of people at the time of Moses.  

     b.      Pi-Hahiroth means, mouth of the hole, which we would apply to the mouth of the canyon above, as mentioned in The Exodus Revealed DVD. 

     c.        Migdol is a fortress, which we would apply to the ancient fort which is located at the  narrowest point on the beach where the gulf and the mountains are in close proximity.

3.       The  column lying at the edge of the water was discovered in 1978.  It matches one on the other side of the gulf in Saudi Arabia which had the inscriptions intact. 

     a.       The Hebrew words Mizram (Egypt), death, water, pharaoh, Edom, Yahweh, and Solomon were on that column.  Apparently one can conclude King Solomon had these columns erected 400 years after the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea on dry land. 

     b.      Solomon's sea port was at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba at Eilat (I Kings 9:26) and he was very familiar with the Red Sea crossing site, as it was in his neighborhood.   

     c.       The Bible even mentions this column!  Isaiah 19:19, "In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border." 

4.       Chariot Wheels

     a.       The Bible says the Egyptians pursued the Israelites into the opened sea.  But it was a trap set by God. 

     b.       It says when they were fully into the crossing, "He threw the army into confusion caused the wheels of their chariots to fall off". 

     c.       He then caused the sea to return to its place and the entire Egyptian army was swept into the sea.  Based on this account, we should find chariot parts at the bottom of the sea at the supposed crossing point, right?

                          i.      Above, left, photo taken of a gilded chariot wheel that remains on the sea floor.  It was found by Ron Wyatt using a molecular frequency generator from his boat above, after he set the equipment to search for gold.  

                            ii.       The Bible said all the chariots of Egypt and 600 "choice chariots", or gold veneered models, were in the army pursuing God's people.  It is speculated there were 20,000 chariots destroyed that day. 

                            iii.      Above, right, is a drawing of a four spoke chariot found in an Egyptian tomb

                             iv.      from the same time period.  According to ArkDiscovery.com, four, six and eight spoke wheels are found here in the gulf, and were only used at the same time during the 18th dynasty or 1446 BC when the exodus took place.

Take Home:

1.        Families with Kids – Small Gift Bag with 39 popsicle sticks each with a book from the Old Testament and in colors corresponding to the bookcase project above.

2.       Adults – Bookmarks

3.       Be ready for an OT challenge next week!!