Numbers 30 teaches children that God takes promises seriously, and that the people around us can help us keep the promises we make. This lesson suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
When we make a promise to God, we should keep it, and God cares about the promises we make. God also gives his people wise helpers who look out for them.
Memory Verse
Numbers 30:2
When a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
(WEB)
Hold both hands out in front of you, palms up, as if you are carrying something heavy. Then lower them slowly to your sides while you say the verse together. Keep repeating it until the motion helps everyone remember the words.
The Story: Numbers 30 for Kids
God spoke to Moses, and Moses called together the leaders of the tribes of Israel. God gave them an important rule about vows. A vow is a special promise, and when someone made a promise to the LORD, they had to keep it. Their word mattered very much.
God also talked about girls and women in the family. A young girl who lived in her father’s house could make a vow. If her father heard about it and said nothing, the vow stood. If her father said no on the day he heard it, the vow did not stand, and God would forgive her. Her father was looking out for her, and God knew about it.
A married woman had a husband who could also look at her vows. If he heard a vow and agreed with it, it stayed. If he said no on the day he heard it, he could cancel it, and God would forgive her. A widow or a woman who had been divorced had to keep her own vows, because no husband was there to step in.
Then Moses said these were the rules God gave him about husbands, wives, fathers, and daughters. God wanted families to care for one another and to think carefully before making a promise. A promise is a big thing to God.
Read It Together
Numbers 30:5
But if her father forbids her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand. The LORD will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.
(WEB)
Show the children how God forgives. Explain that the father was protecting his daughter, and God still forgave her when a promise was canceled. Remind children that God is kind to people who are trying to do the right thing.
Numbers 30:16
These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house.
(WEB)
Point out that these are rules God gave to Moses for families. Explain that God cares about how families treat each other, and that God gave these rules so people could live well together.
Talk About It
- What is a promise, and why do you think God wants us to keep our promises?
- Can you tell about a time when someone kept their word to you?
- Why do you think God gave fathers and husbands a way to help the people in their families?
- What is one promise you could make to God or to someone you love this week?
- How does God show that he forgives us when we make mistakes?
Activity Ideas
Promise Keeper Drawing
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and a pencil. Ask each child to draw a picture of a promise they want to keep, such as helping at home or being kind at school. Write the words “I will keep my word” across the top. Let them take the drawing home to hang on the fridge.
Carry the Promise Game
You will need a small, light object like a bean bag or a folded cloth, and an open space to move. Have children stand in a line and pass the object from one person to the next without dropping it. Explain that passing it carefully is like keeping a promise carefully. Talk about how everyone in the line helps the object get to the end, just as families help each other keep promises.
Promise Jar at Home
You will need a clean jar, paper strips, and a pen. Each day for one week, have your child write one small promise they will keep and drop it in the jar. At the end of the week, open the jar together and read the promises aloud. Thank God for helping them keep their word, and talk about any promise that was hard to keep.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God takes vows seriously and that he set up a way for families to protect one another. The chapter describes an ancient setting where a father or husband could review a woman’s vow, so it is best read as a picture of God’s concern for faithfulness and for people who could easily be taken advantage of.
Avoid telling children that God wants fathers or husbands to control women or make decisions for them. The chapter is an ancient law for a different time, and children should hear the main lesson: God values our word, and he is ready to forgive when we fall short.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, thank you for being a God who keeps his promises. Help us to keep our word and to think before we promise something. Thank you for forgiving us when we make mistakes. Help us to care for the people in our families and to be honest with you and with them. Amen.
