The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize children with one of the most important parts of our religious heritage, the ten commandments, and also to foster a searching spirit.

This lesson has 2 parts, which may be used for two separate lessons if desired.

Part 1. Discovering the Ten Commandments

The ten commandments, along with a number of other statements which sound like they could be commandments, are written on small pieces of paper and placed inside plastic eggs and hidden. Below is a list of 30 "commandments" which we have used. Scriptural references for some are given for the use of the teacher.

1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. Worship no God but me.

2. Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it.

3. Do not use my name for evil purposes.

4. Observe the sabbath and keep it holy.

5. Respect your father and your mother.

6. Do not commit murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not accuse anyone falsely.

10. Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.

11. Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. (Luke 12:33)

12. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. (Luke 10:27)

13. Love all the living creatures and the earth, my creation.

14. Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)

15. Watch out and guard yourself against any kind of greed. (Like 12:15)

16. What does the Lord ask of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God, (Micah 6:8)

17. Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you.

18. Forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven you. (Col. 3:13)

19. Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Col. 3:12)

20. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matt 5:44)

21. Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt 5:38)

22. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev. 19:18)

23. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. (Matt 22:22)

24. Love all the children and the children's children.

25. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

26. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

27. Do not eat the flesh of unclean animals.

28. Thou shalt not ridicule others.

29. Thou shalt not misuse alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.

30. Respect your teacher and other elders.

Suggested Introduction:

Now that we have found all (30) eggs, we will find out how many of the ten commandments you know. I know you think you know all of them, but I want to see if you really do. We will divide up into two teams and see which team can come up with the right answers.

Children open eggs. Each statement has a number. Go through in order 1 to 30 and write commandments on the board or a piece of newsprint. Leave room at the end for columns in which each group will answer "yes" or "no".

Divide up into 2 or 3 teams (depending on number of children) or remain a single group for small classes. Each group should choose a clerk and make its decisions after the manner of Friends.

The quick way is for the teacher to go over these statements in order and with the help of the children determine which are the correct ten commandments. If you have time, have the students assemble a jigsaw puzzle made of large pieces of cardboard which the teacher has prepared with the correct ten commandments.

After they have settled down, tell them to listen in their hearts to what they think are important commandments that God wants them to know, but which are not in the ten. After a bit, put them back in their teams and have each team write ten additional commandments. They can use some of the ones they have already heard. Give them a half hour. An adult will need to be there for each group to help write them down and to act as a recorder.

After the half hour, have them read them out loud to each other. Is there anything here that conflicts with the ten commandments? What do they think about that?

Part 2: Creating a Midrash

Introduction: We will be writing a sort of midrash story today. Who here has heard the word "Midrash" and knows what it means? (I expect no one will know) Read the explanation "What is a Midrash" from Sandy Sasso's book But God Remembered

Many stories in the Bible are well known, like those of Abraham and Isaac, Moses on Mount Sinai, and David and Goliath. But other stories are only brief sketches and seem incomplete. We often wonder about what has been left out. When we read the Bible, we imagine what else the women and men in a story might have thought, said or done.'

Suppose you are reading the biblical story about Lot's wife turning back to see the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra, and about her becoming a pillar of salt. You wonder why she turned around, and why she became a pillar of salt. Suppose you say she turned around out of compassion for those left behind, and the pillar of salt was from her tears. In adding this explanation, you would be creating a type of story which in Hebrew is called a midrash. Many such stories were told by our ancestors to enrich the stories of the Bible. In time, some of these were written down, and then they were read again and again until they began to feel very old, as if they were always part of tradition.

Read the following story, written by two children, Marion and Lucy:

We all remember the story of Moses and the commandments. Moses went up the mountain to write down God's rules for us to live by. But when he came down the mountain and found that his people had deserted their God and were worshipping an idol, he smashed the commandments in disgust.

He went back up the mountain and asked God to give his people a second chance, and to rewrite the commandments. God forgave the people their weaknesses and did. But what the Bible doesn't say is what happened to Moses on the way down the mountain the second time, and how he lost some of the commandments. In the tradition of Jewish misrash, here is that story.

The commandments God gave to Moses:

1. Have no other God before me.

2. Do not make or worship any graven images.

3. Do not take God's name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5. Honor your parents.

6. Do not kill.

7. Do not steal.

8. Do not lie.

9. Do not commit adultery.

10. Do not covet your neighbor's possessions.

11. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul.

12. Love your neighbor as your self.

13. Love all living creatures and the earth, my creation.

14. Love all the children and the children's children.

15. Do not hold grudges or prejudices.

On the way down the mountain the second time, Moses saw a shepherd making an idol. Moses was angry. His people had promised to be obedient and to honor God when he was gone. Now they had turned their back again on their promises. Moses took the third tablet that was tucked under his arm, and threw it at the shepherd. As soon as it left his hand, he realized how wrong he was, and sent a quick prayer that no harm would come to the shepherd. Seeing the heavy stone flying through the air toward him, the shepherd stepped out of the way, and his life was saved. But in his shadow was a small lamb, that was crushed by the stone.

Moses ran over to the shepherd, apologizing for his temper, and thanking the Lord that he had not broken one of God's laws by killing the shepherd. But the third tablet was shattered over the body of the little lamb, and Moses could read the writing in the broken bits. It said: Love all creatures of the earth, my creation.

Moses was ashamed of what he had done. He could not face God, and ask for the commandments to be written a third time. So he went down the mountain, with only the ten commandments to offer his people. He tried to forget what he had done, and tried to forget the missing commandments. But God remembered, and from that generation on, found ways to tell the world of the missing commandments in each generation.

Ask the children to write a midrash of their own, either as a group, or by pairs.

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