Balaam and the Talking Donkey – Numbers 22 to 24

Balaam and the Talking Donkey – Numbers 22 to 24

Balaam was a prophet who lived during the time of Moses.

Question: What is a prophet?

Answer: A spokesperson for God

Balaam wasn't the good kind of prophet. He was the bad kind of prophet because he was greedy and sometimes used magic to go against God's will.

King Balak was terrified when he realized that thousands upon thousands of Moses' Israelite army was heading toward his country of Moab.

Why was King Balak so scared? He heard that the God of Israel helped the Israelites win the fight with the Amorites by sending down gigantic icy hailstones to crush the heads of a bunch of them. God also allowed the sun to shine extra long so the Israelites could see to kill many more of those Amorites.

That frightened king decided, "I'd better send for Balaam, that prophet-for-hire. I will pay him lots of money to curse the Israelite army for me. That way, I have a better chance of beating the Israelites in a fight. "

Greedy Balaam tried to say no, but King Balak refused to take no for an answer. Finally, Balaam said:

BALAAM: Okay, I will saddle up my donkey and set out on my way.

There was a huge problem. God was angry with Balaam for agreeing to go. He sent an angel, holding a sharp sword, to block Balaam's path.

Balaam could not see the angel, but his female donkey could.

To avoid the angel killing Balaam, she ran from the road into the field. Balaam beat her.

When she saw the angel blocking the way between two stone walls, she tried to squeeze by and accidentally crushed Balaam's foot. Balaam beat her again.

When she saw the angel blocking a narrow path, she lay down and refused to get up, even though Balaam beat her a third time. Suddenly, God allowed that female donkey to speak out loud. She said:

DONKEY: Balaam, Hee-haw, what have I done to you that deserves you beating me 3 times?

BALAAM: You have made me look like a fool! If I had a sword, I would kill you!"

DONKEY: But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life. Have I ever done anything like this before?

BALAAM: No, you have not.

At that moment, God opened up Balaam's eyes. When he saw that angel holding a very sharp sword, he fell to the ground in fear.

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Balaam, why did you beat your donkey 3 times? Look! I have come to block your way. If your donkey hadn't protected you, you would be dead right now.

BALAAM: Oh, Angel of the Lord, I have sinned. I didn't realize you were there, blocking my path. I will return home if you are against me going.

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Go with these men. But you are ONLY to say what I tell you to say.

When Balaam reached the country of Moab, King Balak impatiently said, "Balaam! I need you to curse the Israelite army for me so I have a better chance to beat them in a fight and drive them away from my land. " Balaam said:

BALAAM: King Balak, even if you offer me a palace full of silver and gold, I can only speak the message that God puts in my mouth.

Three times, Balaam told King Balak to build 7 altars. While he sacrificed a young bull and ram on each altar, Balaam would go to a lone hill to speak to God.

Each time, Balaam felt forced to bless the Israelite army rather than curse them. King Balak yelled:

BALAK: Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times. Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.

Before returning home, Balaam prophesied that the future Messiah would be born to the Israelite people.

Question: Who was the Messiah?

Answer: Jesus

Question: here is only one other Bible story with a talking animal. What was that animal?

Answer: Snake aka Serpent

Question: Who did that animal talk to?

Answer: Eve and Adam

Question: What was the name of the garden where Eve and Adam originally lived?

Answer: Garden of Eden

Question: Are there any questions or comments?

Please note: These are Bible stories we use with the girls at our Wednesday night Youth Outreach program sponsored by West Highland Baptist Church in Athens, Alabama. The pastor uses his own material when working with the boys. I also use these Bible stories with the Youth Sunday School class I co-teach.

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to Bible books about Jesus, middle school anti-bullying curriculum books, plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle).

It will open up in a new window.

• Author’s Page on Amazon.com

Here is my website: https://bible-books-for-his-glory.com/index.html. It describes which stores you can order any of my 7-book series called "Bible Books for His Glory."

It will open up in a new window.

• Bible Books for His Glory 7-book series

Forgiveness of Sins Talk Show – Leviticus & N.T.

Forgiveness of Sins Talk Show – Leviticus & N.T.

TALK SHOW HOST: Debbie, I see you have a poster called 'FORGIVENESS OF SINS.' Why did you choose that topic?

DEBBIE: It's because of the upcoming holiday.

Please note: If this talk show is used after Easter or long before Easter, then adjust the question to read: “It is because of the religious holiday that we usually celebrate in either March or April.”

Question: What is the holiday that happens this Sunday?
OR
What is the religious holiday that happens in either March or April?

Answer: Easter

Question: What do we call the Friday that falls before Easter?

Answer: Good Friday

Question: About 2000 years ago, who was crucified on Friday and rose again on Sunday?

Answer: Jesus

Question: When Jesus volunteered to be crucified, what did He die to save us from?

Answer: Our sins

TALK SHOW HOST: Debbie, we probably all understand that the bottom half of this poster is about Jesus. But what is happening in the top half of this poster?

DEBBIE: The top half of the poster represents sins committed by any of the Israelites during the time of Moses.

TALK SHOW HOST: How long ago was that?

Question: Moses lived 1500 years before Jesus. Jesus lived 2000 years ago. So, 1500 plus 2000 = how many years ago did Moses live?

Answer: 1500 + 2000 = 3500

DEBBIE: Right. Moses lived about 3500 years ago.

TALK SHOW HOST: Okay. So, if one of those Israelite moms or dads or kids sinned, what did the family need to do?

DEBBIE: Great question. Since they did not want to die for their sins, they needed to choose a substitute to die in their place. Their substitute would be a lamb that was free of blemishes.

Question: What do you think it means for a lamb to be free of blemishes?

Answer: No physical marks or defects

TALK SHOW HOST: After picking out a lamb with no marks or defects, what did they have to do next?

DEBBIE: They had to bring that lamb to the priest. Then, in front of the priest and any witnesses, they would say, "I confess I have sinned. This is what I did wrong." Then, they would list their sins.

Question: What kinds of sins do you think they might have committed back then? [accept 3 answers]

Answer: Stole something, Coveted somebody's possession, Spread mean gossip or false rumors, etc.

TALK SHOW HOST: What was the third step?

DEBBIE: They would place their hands on top of the lamb's head. Then, they would imagine that all their sins entered the perfect body of the lamb.

TALK SHOW HOST: What was the final step?

DEBBIE: Then, the priest would sacrifice the lamb by killing it.

TALK SHOW HOST: Yikes! That lamb was innocent of committing sins, but it had to die for that family's sins anyway.

Question: Who else was innocent of committing any sins, but died anyway?

Answer: Jesus

TALK SHOW HOST: Debbie, tell us about the Scapegoat ceremony.

DEBBIE: Debbie: Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would choose a scapegoat. He would imagine transferring every sin committed by any of the Israelites in the previous year into this goat. Then, another priest would take this scapegoat, supposedly full of everybody's sins, miles away into the wilderness.

Then, another priest would take this scapegoat, supposedly full of everybody's sins, miles away into the wilderness.

TALK SHOW HOST: What would happen if the goat came back?

DEBBIE: It's not in the Bible, but there is a Jewish tradition that states that the Israelites would panic and say, "Oh, no! Our sins are returning to us." So, to keep that from happening, the priest started to push the goat off the top of a mountain to its death.

TALK SHOW HOST: Yikes! Poor goat! So, how often would they do this scapegoat ceremony?

DEBBIE: They would do this once a year from the time of Moses.

TALK SHOW HOST: So that leads us to the bottom half of the poster. Tell us about that.

DEBBIE: The bottom half of the poster is all about Jesus. As John the Baptist said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Question: Let's get a volunteer to read John 3:16.

Answer:
John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world:
He gave His one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life. (NLT)

TALK SHOW HOST: So, how did Jesus save us from our sins?

DEBBIE: Debbie: Short answer. As it says in Romans 6:23, "the wages of sin is death."

But instead of us having to die for our sins and go to hell, Jesus volunteered to be our substitute. Even though He never sinned during the 33 years He spent on earth, He was willing to die in our place.

And because He was crucified on the cross and rose again 3 days later in that tomb, as long as we confess our sins, do our best not to sin again, and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are saved from our sins and can spend eternity in Heaven.

In conclusion, as it states in 1 Peter 1:19, we are saved by the "precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God."

Question: Are there any questions or comments?

Please note: These are Bible stories we use with the girls at our Wednesday night Youth Outreach program sponsored by West Highland Baptist Church in Athens, Alabama. The pastor uses his own material when working with the boys. I also use these Bible stories with the Youth Sunday School class I co-teach.

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to Bible books about Jesus, middle school anti-bullying curriculum books, plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle).

It will open up in a new window.

• Author’s Page on Amazon.com

Here is my website: https://bible-books-for-his-glory.com/index.html. It describes which stores you can order any of my 7-book series called "Bible Books for His Glory."

It will open up in a new window.

• Bible Books for His Glory 7-book series

Battle of Jericho tale from Exodus 2 & 6

Battle of Jericho tale from Exodus 2 & 6

After 40 years of the Children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, Moses had died at the age of 120.

So, who was their new leader? It was Joshua.

As their leader, Joshua was responsible for finding a safe way to lead his people across the Jordan River.

More importantly, Joshua also had to find a safe way for the Israelites to conquer the walled city of Jericho, which was about six miles beyond the river-crossing.

Before either of those things happened, a Ringleader asked a great question.

RINGLEADER: Joshua! How are we supposed to win the Battle of Jericho when a gigantic wall surrounds it?

Joshua said, "No worries! I have a plan. I am going to send 2 spies to find us the best way to enter and conquer that city. "

Those 2 spies met a friendly innkeeper who had an inn built into the wall on the outskirts of the city. Her name was Rahab.

Rahab said, "If you promise to keep my family and me safe, I promise to hide you from Jericho's fighting men. "

The 2 spies promised. In the middle of the night, just before they prepared to climb down a rope attached to her window, they handed Rahab a red cord.

They said, "Hang this red cord outside this window so our fighting men will know which part of this city not to attack during the upcoming battle. Since you have kept your promise to hide us on this day, we guarantee that you and your family will be safe. "

Before they escaped to safety, Rahab told the 2 spies some comforting news."

Rahab said, "Even though the people of Jericho worship idols, I believe that your God is much more powerful. After all, we have all heard the amazing things your God has done to keep you safe, such as parting the Red Sea. No wonder everyone in Jericho is afraid of you and your God. "

Joshua and the Israelites were thrilled to hear this good news.

Joshua then prayed, "God, what should we do to win this battle of Jericho? "

God gave Joshua a very strange plan to follow. Then God said:

Father God: If you follow my plan, you will easily win this battle in 7 days.

The Ringleaders said:

RINGLEADER: How can that crazy-sounding plan possibly work?

Even though there were still doubts and fears, all the Israelites agreed to follow God's 7-day plan.

On the first day, 40,000 fighting men and 11 priests got ready to line up and march around the city of Jericho one time.

They kept quiet as God had warned them:

Father God: Other than the trumpet blasts, do not whisper or talk.

Some of the people of Jericho stood on top of the wall watching this silent parade.

People inside the walls probably asked, "What do you see? "

The watchers reported, "There's a long line of fighting men all holding swords. Near the front of the line, there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 priests blowing trumpets made of ram's horns. Next in line are 4 priests holding poles and a gold-covered box. I wonder what's inside that box? And following that, there are thousands of soldiers also holding swords. "

The only sounds heard were marching feet and trumpet blasts.

Since that lap around the city was only about half a mile, they could easily complete the march in about 15 minutes.

That would be like us silently marching around the gym 10 times.

Those 40,000 fighting men and 11 priests repeated that silent march six days in a row.

It was different on the 7th day. God had told them, "March around the city 7 times. " That silent march would have lasted nearly 2 hours.

The tension inside the walled city of Jericho was immense. They saw the Israelites marching around their city 1 time, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 times.

But..., at the end of that 7th lap, God had told the 40,000 soldiers to yell as loudly as they could as soon as they heard the priests blow a loooonnng trumpet blast.

Believe it or not, right after the Israelites yelled, except for the part of the wall that had the red cord hanging out the window, those tall, thick walls tumbled down.

Quickly, the 2 spies ran in to help Rahab and her family escape. After that, the Israelites safely used their swords on all the idol-worshipping people of Jericho.

Centuries later, Rahab and her husband became one of the long-ago grandparents of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

And as the chorus of the Battle of Jericho song goes:

CHORUS:
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho
And the walls came a-tumbling down.

Do you want to sing that chorus?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why were the people of Jericho scared of the Israelites?

Answer: They heard of the amazing things God did to keep the Israelites safe.

2. What did Rahab hang out of her window?

Answer: A red cord

3. How many Israelite soldiers marched around Jericho?

Answer: 40,000

4. How many times did they march around Jericho on the first 6 days?

Answer: One time each day

5. How many times did they march on the 7th day?

Answer: 7 times

6. Does anybody know what was inside that gold-covered box called the Ark of the Covenant?

Answer:
A. The 2 stone tablets listing the 10 commandments
B. A sealed jar holding some Manna-bread
C. Aaron's staff that had budded in the wilderness

Please note: These are Bible stories we use with the girls at our Wednesday night Youth Outreach program sponsored by West Highland Baptist Church in Athens, Alabama. The pastor uses his own material when working with the boys. I also use these Bible stories with the Youth Sunday School class I co-teach.

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to Bible books about Jesus, middle school anti-bullying curriculum books, plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle).

It will open up in a new window.

• Author’s Page on Amazon.com

Here is my website: https://bible-books-for-his-glory.com/index.html. It describes which stores you can order any of my 7-book series called "Bible Books for His Glory."

It will open up in a new window.

• Bible Books for His Glory 7-book series