Opening Activity

• Explain that God has a plan for each of our lives. The families we are born into and the things that happen to us are not random – rather, God uses them to prepare us to serve Him.
• God had a very important job for Moses to do when he grew up. Today we will learn about how God looked after Moses as a child.
• The story of Moses is found in the second book of the Bible. Ask if anyone knows the name of this book and show them where it is.

Bible Story

• Briefly explain the background to the Israelites (Hebrews) being slaves. (Exodus 1: 1-11)
• King Pharaoh became so desperate to stop the Israelites increasing in number that he decided to drown all the Israelite baby boys in the River Nile. (Exodus 1: 22) How would an Israelite mum and dad have felt if they had just had a new baby boy?
• In one home, a beautiful healthy baby boy was born. His parents hid him in the house, trusting God to keep him safe. But after three months, they could no longer hide him. Why not? His mother made a waterproof basket from bulrushes (explain), put the baby inside and hid the basket in the tall reeds at the edge of the river. Miriam, the baby’s sister was left to watch what would happen, but only God could keep the baby safe. (Exodus 2: 1 – 4)
• Tell the next part of the story dramatically – describe how Miriam notices the princess (Pharaoh’s daughter) and her helpers coming along. Will she notice the baby? Will she tell the King? Yes, the princess spotted the basket and asked her helper to bring it to her. Describe her response on seeing the Hebrew baby inside. The princess would not let him be harmed! God was at work in keeping the baby safe! (Exodus 2: 5 – 6)
• Then Miriam stepped forward and offered to find a nurse for the baby. Who would she get? The princess agreed and Miriam ran off to find her own mother! So the baby’s mother was able to look after him at home in complete safety because the princess agreed to it. Later on, when the baby had grown into a boy, the princess took him to live in Pharaoh’s palace. She adopted him and called him Moses, which means “taken out of the water”. (Exodus 2: 7–10) Now Moses had become a prince of Egypt!
• Help the child understand that God was behind all that happened. According to Pharaoh’s law, the baby should have drowned. Moses’ parents had faith in God – they trusted God to look after their baby and He did. This was just the beginning of God’s plan being worked out. God wants us to trust Him to work out His plan in our lives.