Ok we're back to another Bible Bathday. The saga continues. The aim is to transform one bathtime a week into telling a Bible story that involves water. Super fun. See intro post here.
Story 6 - The Exodus
From: Exodus 15
What you'll need:
2 people toys (duplo?) - optional
What we'll do: We'll see God rescue his people Israel from Pharaoh and his army. Pharaoh, in his strength, tries to defeat God's people. So God, in his strength, dominates Pharaoh and his army, by parting the Red Sea as an escape route for the Israelites.
Let's do it (a possible script):
Get kids in a particularly warm (but safely warm) bath.
Ok we're going to hear another story of God saving his people from Egypt. That's why the bath is so warm again today. Last time we heard about how God did things like turning water into blood and sending frogs on the Egyptians to get the king of Egypt - Pharaoh - to let his people go. But Pharaoh kept saying no. He wanted to keep them as his slaves. So eventually God sent a killing angel to the Egyptians, but he saved the Israelites. And finally Pharaoh said, 'Yes! You can go. Get out of here!" So the Israelites packed up, and got out of there. Quick smart. (Hold up one person toy as the Israelites, if you have it).
The only problem was, guess who changed his mind again? Pharaoh. (Hold up the second person toy as Pharaoh). He didn't want to lose his slaves. So not long after the Israelites had left, Pharaoh got his massive army together, they got into their chariots and they started chasing the Israelites. Imagine being the Israelites, getting chased by this scary army. And what was worse, the Israelites were trapped! In front of them was the Red Sea, and behind them was Pharaoh's army.
With the toys, have the Israelite person walk up to the edge of the bath (the red sea) and have the Pharaoh person follow behind them.
What would they do? They were stuck. It looked like Pharaoh was going to win and they would have to become slaves again. But don't worry. God had a plan the whole time. He was about to do something amazing. He told Moses to lift up his hand over the red sea. Lift up the toy's hand and get the kids to lift up their hands too. And God sent a strong wind, to create a path across the Red Sea.
Get the kids to try blowing on the water to create a path. It won't work - but it did for God. Get them to try pushing the water out of the way with their hands. It won't work - but it did for God. Start walking the Israelite person across as though on dry ground (or just describe this happening).
The Israelites walked across the Red Sea, but on dry ground. They walked across the path God had made for them. He was saving them - again! But do you know what? Pharaoh and his army followed down on the path. Get Pharaoh toy to follow. Now who do you think is going to win? God or Pharaoh. That's right - God. Just as the Israelites got to the other side of the sea, God told Moses to lift up his hand again (get the kids to lift up their hands) and the wind stopped blowing (get them to start blowing again, and stop when you tell them to).
And guess what? The water came crashing down on the Egyptians. Get the kids swirl the water around the Egyptian toy. The Egyptians drowned - and God saved his people! They were safe. Isn't God incredible?
Link to Jesus
Did you know that we are a bit like the Israelites? We're not trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, but we are trapped in between 2 other things. We are trapped between sin and death. Talk about being in a major pickle! We can't escape sin. We can't escape death. Not by our selves anyway. But guess what? God did something amazing. He sent Jesus, to make a safe path out of this pickle. When Jesus died for our sin on the cross, he cleared the only path that would save us from sin and death. And if we trust in him, we can safely get through to the other side. We don't have to be afraid of dying. We don't have to be afraid of our sin. Jesus is stronger, and he has made a safe path out of this pickle.
For Extra Keen Beans
Bring a battery-powered leaf blower (a mini one would be best) to blow a path in the bath
See other Bible Bathday posts here