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Blind Eyes God Is not Happy with Bribes |
 There
are many eyes in the ocean. Let's go tide pool exploring. |
  Crabs
love to hide under rocks and watch for food to walk by. Their pinchers are
ever ready to grasp anything that moves. They have eyes on stalks. |
 The
starfish is an amazing creature that can adapt to terrible events.
Fishermen finding starfish in their nets used to chop them up and throw
them back into the sea. Each arm grew another whole starfish. The
fishermen figured out they had only made their problem worse.
Sometimes a fish will bite off a starfish's arm, but the starfish can grow a new one! If a starfish has its center part and one arm, it can live. The new arms grow back in a few months. |
 The
starfish can wait quietly on the rocks till the tide returns. They have
little suction feet that help them move along on the rocks.
The mouth of the starfish is on their underside, in the middle. They eat shellfish. Using the suckers on their feet, they pull open the shell of the shellfish. Then, they push their stomach inside the shell and slowly digest the fish. |
Starfish have "arms." Most have five, but some have as many as twelve! Their arms bend easily in all directions. That is because the starfish's skeleton has many tiny flexible spines. Each arm has a "foot" on the end. Each foot has a "sucker" that helps the starfish stick to rocks and catch his food. The suckers are like suction cups.
Starfish cannot swim and it is not a fish. It is an echinoderm. They crawl and climb. Most starfish are less than eight inches across, but a few kinds can be as big as a small car! |
 Starfish don't have eyes, but on the tip of each of each arm they have an "eyespot." The eyespots are made of cells that can see if it is light or dark, but they cannot see shapes clearly. |
| Animals with blind eyes are strange creatures. It seems such a shame that they are blind yet perhaps they do not need to see. In caves are fish which cannot see. Way deep in the ocean are blind creatures. |
 You
shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and
perverts the words of the righteous. Deut. 16:19
SONG |
 The
Bible says that when Moses's father-in-law came to visit Moses, he worried
about Moses. He saw how tired Moses looked. Every day many people
came to Moses with their problems. Anytime there was fighting among the
campers they came to Moses to help them settle their differences. Jethro
suggested a team of people be selected to help Moses deal with the
camper's problems. (Exodus 8:21) Jethro mentioned a special kind of person
to be picked. It needed to be a person who would not accept a bribe. What
is a bribe?
It is a present of value. It might be money, or special food, or an animal. It might be special clothes, jewelry or a golden box to hold jewelry. It might even be a car, or a ticket to a baseball game. Everyone likes gifts. But sometimes you are not to accept the present. Sometimes it is given just to make you feel like you must not tell the truth, or not look for the truth. Don't take that gift. Can you find things in this picture which might be used as a bribe? Answers are at the end of the lesson. |
 Often
children are urged to take a gift of a little car or Lego set so they will
not tell their parents about something bad that happened. Maybe something
was broken or stolen. A cookie might be offered to keep you from telling
that brother got into the cookie jar between meals while mother was out in
the garden. The cookie looks so good. It is hard to say no. But remember
the Bible says not to take a bribe. The Bible says, "He who hates
bribes, will live." Proverbs 15:27 |
 Story:
The Speeding Ticket
Mike was speeding really fast in his new car. When he looked into his rear view mirror, he saw red and blue lights flashing. Then he heard a siren. He knew he had disobeyed the speed limit. The tall policeman came up to his car. He wrote a $200 dollar ticket. Mike talked to his lawyer and it was suggested that he get a baseball card for the policeman that was worth $100. In court, the policeman told the judge that there had been a mistake then he left the court room. Mike left the court very happy that his record did not have any bad marks on it. If it did, his car insurance would cost him more each month. The policeman changed his story because he was happy to have the baseball card. He lied. Was that right? Sometimes doctors are offered a gift at the end of the year if they can save the insurance company money. They can save money by not ordering expensive tests that a patient might need to discover why they are sick. Everyone likes money to pay their bills and go on vacations. It is hard to say, "No, it is written, 'you shall not take a bribe' " Deuteronomy 16:19. The Bible also says, 'He who hates bribes will live' Prov. 15:27. God needs people on His team who cannot be bought or sold. Would you like to be on God's team? |
| Answers to bribes in camp: camel, cattle, dog, bird, money bag, garment. |