(25 minutes)
Supplies Needed: Small statue or similar object (such as a trophy), electronic device or remote control
Teacher Note: Today’s Treasure Story is from Exodus 32. Instruct your students to find the passage in their Bibles and to take turns reading it or to follow along as you read it to them.
Teacher Note: For the object lesson, bring a small statue or a similar object (such as a trophy) to class along with a handheld electronic device or the remote control for a television.
What does worship mean? How do we worship? Who is the only one that we should worship? The Bible is very clear that we are to only worship God. Call on a volunteer to read Luke 4:8: “And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” We worship God by loving Him more than anything else and putting Him first in our lives. We also worship Him by giving Him our time, our possessions and our talents and by singing praises to Him.
Only God deserves our worship. The Israelites had seen God do amazing things. They had even heard His voice and seen His presence. However, while Moses was on Mount Sinai learning from God, the Israelites got tired of waiting for him. They decided to create their own god.
The Israelites had seen many idols when they lived in Egypt. They were used to seeing the Egyptians worship manmade idols. When the Israelites did not think that Moses was coming back, they asked Moses’ brother Aaron to make them an idol that they could worship and follow.
Invite students to define the word “idol.” Hold up the small statue you brought from home and ask: Could this be an idol? Do any of you have one of these that you bow down to every day? Next, hold up the electronic device or remote control and ask: What about this? Do any of you have one of these in your house? Do you ever play video games or watch television for a long time? Do you have a favorite show that you never miss? Can those things be idols? Discuss with students how video games and watching television can be examples of things that become idols in our lives. When we choose to play video games all day and spend no time talking with God or reading our Bibles, we are making the video game an idol. When we choose to make time for our favorite television show instead of taking any time to pray, we are making the television an idol.
Idols are not just statues. Idols are anything that we make more important than God. We cannot worship God while we worship other things. Exodus 20:5 tells us that God is a jealous God. This means that God wants to come first in our lives. Nothing should be more important than God.
When the Israelites became impatient with Moses and with God, they quickly turned back to their old ways and to what was familiar. God had asked them to be different from the Egyptians and other nations, but they chose to disobey God and worship things that they had seen others worship.
God was very angry at the Israelites and told Moses that He was going to destroy them. God is holy, perfect, and righteous, and He cannot tolerate sin. The Israelites deserved God’s wrath, and they deserved death because of their sin.
Moses boldly asked God not to destroy the people. Moses talked with God every day, and he knew God’s promises. Moses also knew that God was a forgiving God. Moses prayed for God to forgive Israel. Israel did not deserve God’s forgiveness, but He chose not to destroy all of Israel because He is merciful.
What does merciful mean? (Merciful means to be full of mercy and compassion for people. When God shows us mercy, He does not give us the punishment that we deserve.)
The passage does not say that the Israelites were not punished. There were severe consequences for what they had done, but God did not destroy them all. Even though the Israelites had seen God’s presence and heard His voice, even though they had seen the miraculous things He had done and even though He had given them laws to follow, they still sinned. They were unable to save themselves from the temptation and power of sin. They were unable to change their hearts.
Jesus, God’s Son, is the only one who can change our hearts. When we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sin and to guide our lives, He does! He comes into our lives, forgives us of our sin, and begins to change our hearts to look more like His. Like the Israelites, we cannot save ourselves from sin, and we cannot be good enough to go to heaven. Only Jesus can do these things for us.
Jesus wants you to know Him, to love Him and to worship Him. We can get to know Him by reading the Bible, praying, coming to church, and learning from others who know Him. When you really know who Jesus is, you can’t help but love and worship Him. If you would like to learn more about Jesus, please talk to your parents or to one of your teachers today.