Today’s Reading:
Read Numbers 7:1-4; Numbers 9:15-23
We’re learning about how God used a cloud to help the Israelites know where to go as they traveled. God was so good to provide the Israelites specific direction for when they should move and where they should go. Want to play a fun game to remember this? Make a cloud out of cotton balls and white construction paper. Choose one person in your family to move the cloud throughout the house. Whenever the cloud moves, your family should move as well.
God gave specific directions to Moses, Aaron and the priests for how the tabernacle was to be set up. The Israelites followed those directions, and they also brought offerings to God when the tabernacle was finished. The offering helped provide for the work of the tent of meeting, but it was also given as an offering to the Levites.
When the Tabernacle was set up, a cloud covered it and the Tent of Meeting and appeared as a fire to let the Israelites know that God was there and that they needed to stay where they were for that time. When the cloud lifted, the Israelites knew it was time to pack up their things and move towards the Promised Land again. Sometimes the cloud would stay for a day and other times it would stay for several days. The cloud was what let the Israelites know if they should stay or if they should go. It was a reminder of God’s presence with them.
Numbers 9:23 says, “They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to his command through Moses.”
Application/Prayer:
Read Isaiah 30:21. Thank God that we can listen for His voice to know which way we should go, too!
February Memory Verse:
“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
February memory verse coloring sheet