📖

We Want Meat!

Wilderness Grumbling

Day 51of 180
Week 11of 36
25Minutes
← Day 50Day 51 of 180Day 52 →
🖨️ Download Worksheet (PDF)
🎯 What You'll Learn

Learning Objectives

1

Understand how complaining hurts our relationship with God

2

Recognize the difference between needs and wants

3

Learn to be thankful for God's provisions

📖 Scripture Connection

Numbers 11:4-6

“The mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now we have lost our appetite. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes.'”

— Numbers 11:4-6 (WEB)

Demonstrates how quickly people can forget God's miraculous provisions and begin complaining

📦 Materials Needed

  • Bible (World English Bible)
  • Complaint jar
  • Crackers
  • Water bottles
  • BibleMouse Resource Guide: Grade 2 Bible
  • Colored paper
  • Markers
📚 Step-by-Step

Lesson Plan

1Opening (3 min)

Welcome to today's BibleMouse adventure! Let's review what we learned about leaving Egypt.

💭 Review Question: What special meal did God give the Israelites to remember their rescue?
2Teaching (8 min)

Today we'll learn about a time when God's people forgot to be thankful and started complaining.

📌 Key Talking Points:
  • The Israelites had been freed from Egypt
  • God provided manna (special bread) every day
  • They started to get bored with God's amazing provision
💬 Discussion Questions:
  • What is complaining?
  • How do you feel when someone complains about something you've done for them?
3Activity: Thankfulness vs. Complaining (10 min)
interactive learning

Create a 'Complaint Jar' and 'Thankfulness Poster'

📝 Instructions:
  1. Draw a sad face on the complaint jar
  2. Create a colorful thankfulness poster
  3. Practice turning complaints into thankful statements
  4. Put pretend 'complaint papers' in the jar
🔄 Variations:

Simpler: Use stickers to mark thankful moments

Challenge: Write out full sentences of gratitude

4Closing (3 min)

Remember, God loves when we are thankful!

📝 Review Questions:
  • What did the Israelites complain about?
  • How can we choose to be thankful instead?
🙏 Prayer:

Dear God, help us to be thankful for all You provide

Coming up: Tomorrow we'll see how God responds to complaining

💎 Memory Verse

Numbers 21:9

“So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”

— Numbers 21:9 (WEB)

🎯 Activity: Snake and Pole Tracing: Children trace a snake shape while reciting the verse, using their finger as a 'pole'

👨‍👩‍👧 For Parents

Teaching Notes

📚 Background:

This lesson addresses the human tendency to take God's provisions for granted

💡 Teaching Tips:
  • Use a gentle tone when discussing complaining
  • Model thankfulness in your own speech
  • Encourage positive reframing of complaints
🤔 Common Struggles:

Children often struggle to recognize their own complaining behavior

👀 Signs of Understanding:

Attempts to reframe negative statements positively

🚀 Want More?

Extension Activities

  • BibleMouse Printables Library: Thankfulness coloring page
  • Create a family gratitude journal
  • Sing a thankfulness song from BibleMouse Song Collection

Ready for Tomorrow?

Great job completing today's lesson!

Continue to Day 52 →Back to Bible