CHARACTERS

NARRATOR 1

NARRATOR 2

NARRATOR 3

AARON

MOSES

GOD

ISRAELITES

Narrator 1: After God brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, they wandered in the desert looking for the Promised Land. As the days went on, the people began to complain that they were hungry and thirsty.

Israelites: It only we had died in Egypt! You brought us out here to starve!

Narrator 2: Then God said to Moses…

God: I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. I will test them and see if they will obey, or if they will become greedy and gather more than they need.

Narrator 3: So Moses and Aaron gathered the people, and Moses told Aaron to tell them what God had said…

Aaron: In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. In the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because God has heard your complaining about not having enough food. So stop whining; you are not just whining to us, you are complaining against the Lord!

Narrator 1: In the evening quail flew into camp so that it was easy to catch them for food. In the morning there was a fine dew on everything, and when the dew lifted they saw a powder as fine as frost.

Israelites: What is this?

Moses: It is manna which you can use like flour to make bread, just as God has promised. Gather as much as each of you needs for the day.

Narrator 2: Most of the people did as they were told and only gathered what they needed. But some people became greedy and tried to store up more than they needed. The greedy ones found that what they had stored up turned into a horrible mess full of bugs.

Narrator 3: The children of Israel continued to wander in the desert, and each day there was quail in the evening and manna, in the morning. But the people started to complain again as they wandered.

Israelites: Why did you bring us out of Egypt? There is not enough water in the desert for us to drink. We should have stayed in slavery; at least in Egypt we wouldn’t die of thirst!

Narrator 1: Moses said to God…

Moses: All they are doing is whining and complaining! What shall I do with them? They are almost ready to kill me!

God: Go ahead of the people and take some of the leaders with you to a place in the desert where there is a large rock. Take your staff, the one you used to help deliver the people from Pharaoh. I will stand in front of you at the rock. Strike the rock with your staff and I will make water pour out of it.

Narrator 2: So Moses did what God had said, and the people were amazed.

Narrator 3: As they wandered in the desert they came into the wilderness around the mountain called Sinai. Then Moses heard God calling to him to come up the mountain.

God: Tell the Israelites, the house of Jacob and Rachel and Leah, of Isaac and Rebekka, of Abraham and Sarah, tell them that I, the Lord their God, the one who brought them out of slavery in Egypt as if they were on the wings of eagles, the one that gave them food and water in the desert, tell them that if they obey my voice, I will keep my covenant with them. They shall be my most treasured people. For all people on the earth are mine, but if you obey my voice I will make you a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.

Narrator 1: So Moses called the people together and told them all that God had said.

Israelites: Everything that the Lord has spoken, we will do.

Narrator: So God said to Moses…

God: I am going to come to you in a dense cloud at the top of the mountain in order that the people hear and know to trust you. Have the people prepare for a Holy Day tomorrow when I will speak to you.

Narrator 3: So Moses brought the people out the next morning to meet God.

Moses: Stay here and I will go up the mountain and speak with God.

Narrator 1: So the people stayed at the bottom of the mountain and Moses went up to the top. The mountain was covered in clouds and the whole mountain shook like an earthquake. And God spoke these words to Moses. And God wrote them down on tablets of stone for Moses to take to the people…

God: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. You shall have no other gods before me. I shall be your only God. Do not make idols or statues of other gods to pray to. You shall not use my name in any way except to pray to me or talk about me. You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Rest on the Sabbath day and worship and pray. You shall honor your father and mother. Do not kill or murder another person. Do not have sex with another person’s wife or husband. Do not steal. Do not lie about what someone else has done. Do not be envious of what other people have.

Narrator 1: As God spoke to Moses and made the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the whole mountain continued to shake and there was lightning and thunder and the people were afraid. When Moses returned they said to him…

Israelites: We are scared of God.

Moses: God has done this so that you will know that what I am saying is from God. Do not be afraid. As long as you keep God’s commandments, you have nothing to be afraid of.

Narrator 2: Then God gave Moses many more instructions abut how the people should live so that they would be kind to each other and to strangers and to their animals.

Narrator 3: The people had never had so many rules before, but God only made rules so that people would get along better and be healthy and holy.

Narrator 1: The people continued to wander in the wilderness for forty years. At the end of the forty years, Moses died and Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land.

THE END

Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice

Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press