Call to Freedom – JSS1 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note (Third Term)

Freedom is the state of being unbound, a condition of being without hindrance in the pursuit of one’s goals.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain the meaning of freedom and of the word “Exodus”;
2. state the reasons why the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites;
3. describe the birth of Moses and his stay in Midian;
4. narrate the call of Moses at Mount Horeb;
5. explain the roles of Aaron and of the promise of the land of Canaan in the call of Moses.

What is freedom?

Freedom is the state of being unbound, without hindrance in the pursuit of one’s goals.

• Example from the Bible: the Israelites sought freedom while under Egyptian bondage.
• Their condition: they were used as slaves and cruelly oppressed.
• God’s response: God saw their suffering and promised to free them.
• God’s instrument: Moses was chosen to lead them out of Egypt.
• Moses’ helper: his brother Aaron went with him and spoke for him.

What are examples of freedom?

Freedom can be seen in several areas of life.

• Freedom from slavery: the Israelites leaving Egypt.
• Political freedom: a country ruling itself, as Nigeria did at independence in 1960.
• Freedom of worship: the right to serve God in one’s own way.
• Freedom of speech: the right to express one’s views.

What is the Book of Exodus?

Exodus is the second book of the Old Testament, and the word means departure, exit or going out in large numbers.

• Subject: it tells of Israel’s going out of Egypt after 430 years of suffering.
• Main person: Moses, the leader God sent to free the Israelites.

How did the Israelites come to Egypt?

• Cause: a famine in Canaan.
• Who went: Israel (Jacob) and his children went down to Egypt.
• Number: seventy souls, made up of Jacob, his sons and grandsons, with their wives and daughters.

Why did the Egyptians oppress the Israelites?

The Egyptians oppressed the Israelites because the Israelites kept multiplying and the Egyptians feared them.

• New Pharaoh: after Joseph died, a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph began to oppress them.
• Offence: the Egyptians were offended as the Israelites continued to multiply.

There were three reasons for the oppression:

1. They wanted to stop the Israelites from multiplying and so weaken them.
2. They wanted to prevent them from growing strong enough to gain freedom and leave Egypt.
3. They feared the Israelites would join their enemies, fight them and drive them out of the empire.

What methods of oppression did the Egyptians use?

The Egyptians used five main methods to oppress the Israelites.

1. Affliction by taskmasters: overseers were set over them to make their work hard.
2. Slavery: they were denied freedom in every area of life.
3. Forced labour: they worked hard making bricks and mortar and in the fields.
4. Building store cities: they built the cities of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh.
5. Killing of baby boys: the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah were ordered to kill newborn boys, and later all boys were to be thrown into the river.

How was Moses born and what happened to him in Egypt and Midian? (Exodus 2:1-24)

Moses was born a Hebrew in Egypt, saved as a baby, raised in Pharaoh’s palace and later fled to Midian.

Who were the parents of Moses?

• Tribe: both parents were from the tribe of Levi.
• Father: Amram.
• Mother: Jochebed.
• Other children: Aaron and Miriam.

How was Moses saved as a baby?

Moses was saved because his mother hid him and then placed him in a basket by the river.

1. His mother saw that he was a goodly, handsome child and hid him for three months.
2. When she could no longer hide him, she put him in a basket of bulrushes at the river’s edge.
3. His sister Miriam stood at a distance to see what would happen.
4. Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe and found the baby.
5. She paid his mother, without knowing it, to nurse him for her.
6. When he grew up, he was returned to the princess and became her son.

• Meaning of “Moses”: “drawn out”, because the princess drew him out of the water.
• How he reached Pharaoh’s palace: Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him in as her son.

Why did Moses flee to Midian?

Moses fled to Midian because he killed an Egyptian and the crime became known.

• First event: he killed an Egyptian who was fighting a Hebrew, because he could not tolerate an Egyptian oppressing an Israelite.
• Second event: he tried to settle a quarrel between two Israelites and was asked whether he was a prince or a judge.
• Result: he realised the crime was known and fled to Midian.

What happened to Moses in Midian?

In Midian, Moses became a shepherd, married and started a family.

1. He sat by a well and met the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian.
2. They came to draw water for their father’s sheep, and some shepherds harassed them.
3. Moses defended the girls and helped them.
4. Jethro, in return for this kindness, gave him accommodation, work and a family.
5. Moses became a shepherd and married Zipporah, Jethro’s daughter.
6. Zipporah gave birth to a son, Gershom, meaning “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”.

How did God call Moses? (Exodus 3:1-22 and 4:1-17)

God called Moses from a burning bush at Mount Horeb and sent him to free the Israelites from Egypt.

What happened at the burning bush?

1. Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, at Mount Horeb.
2. Horeb is also called Sinai, the mountain of God.
3. God appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, and the bush was not consumed.
4. Moses went closer to look at the strange sight.
5. God called him and told him to take off his shoes, because the ground was holy.
6. God made himself known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What did God tell Moses to do?

• The reason: God had seen the affliction of his people under the Egyptian taskmasters.
• God’s care: he had heard their cry and knew their sorrows.
• The mission: Moses was to go and deliver them from the hand of Pharaoh.
• The promise: God would take them to a large and good land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Canaan.

What did Moses say to God, and how did God answer?

• Moses asked for God’s name: God said, “I am that I am”.
• Moses said he was not eloquent in speech: God told him to make his brother Aaron his interpreter.
• Moses feared the people would doubt him: God gave him signs, such as a staff that turned into a snake.

What were the roles of Aaron and the promise of Canaan?

How did the Israelites celebrate their freedom?

The Israelites celebrated their freedom with songs of praise to God after crossing the sea.

• Moses and the people: they sang to the Lord for saving them from Pharaoh’s army.
• Miriam: the prophetess led the women in praise with timbrels and dancing.

Evaluation

1. What is freedom, and what does the word “Exodus” mean?
2. State the three reasons why the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites.
3. Mention five methods the Egyptians used to oppress the Israelites.
4. What did Moses’ mother do to save him, and what do the names “Moses” and “Gershom” mean?
5. Describe how God called Moses at Mount Horeb and say what Aaron’s role was.

Assignment

Explain the call of Moses, and say how Moses came to live in the palace of Pharaoh.

Reading assignment

1. Christian Religious Knowledge for JSS, Book 1-3, by A.F. Bello. Page 127.
2. Christian Religious Knowledge for JSS, Book 1, by T.N.O. Quarcoopome et al. Page 231.
3. Christian Religious Education for JSS, Book 1, by A.A. Adeyinka. Pages 60-66.

Weekend assignment

1. God appeared to Moses on Mount ____ (a) Everest (b) Horeb (c) Kilimanjaro (d) Carmel
2. Moses was asked to take off his shoes because the ground is ____ (a) Beautiful (b) Holy (c) Slippery (d) Waterlogged
3. Moses complained that he was not ____ (a) eloquent in speech (b) Fluent in speech (c) Brilliant in speech (d) Good in speech
4. ____ is to be the interpreter for Moses (a) Aaron (b) Miriam (c) Jacob (d) Zipporah
5. God promised to take the children of Israel to the land of ____ (a) Canaan (b) Haran (c) Jericho (d) Galilee
6. How old was Moses when God called him? (a) 40 (b) 80 (c) 120 (d) 100
7. ____ is described as the mountain of God (a) Sinai (b) Haran (c) Carmel (d) Everest
8. The Israelites were in bondage for ____ years (a) 4000 (b) 40 (c) 430 (d) 100
9. ____ was the prophetess who mobilised the women to praise God after their freedom (a) Deborah (b) Miriam (c) Esther (d) Ruth
10. ____ is the spokesman of Moses (a) Aaron (b) Joshua (c) Elijah (d) Joseph
11. All the souls who left Canaan for Egypt were ____ in number (a) 70 (b) 50 (c) 60 (d) 80
12. Shiphrah and Puah were the Hebrew ____ (a) Stewards (b) Midwives (c) Slaves (d) Mothers
13. Moses was from the tribe of ____ (a) Judah (b) Levi (c) Benjamin (d) Moab
14. The name of the father of Moses is ____ (a) Jacob (b) Amram (c) Jerusalem (d) Jethro
15. ____ is the name of Moses’ mother (a) Miriam (b) Rachel (c) Jochebed