Single lesson
Edom Refuses Israel Passage
Numbers 20:14–21
In this lesson, children follow a short border story. Israel asks to pass through Edom’s land, Edom refuses, and Israel turns away. Students will trace the order, notice the choices, and hear what Israel says Yahweh has done.
Before you teach
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. Israel’s message recalled hardship in Egypt, said that Yahweh heard their voice, sent an angel, and brought them out of Egypt. Israel asked to pass through Edom’s land without taking produce or water. Edom refused, and Israel turned away.
Students will be able to retell the sequence in Numbers 20:14–21, identify the choices and outcomes, and state that Israel said Yahweh heard their cry, sent an angel, and brought them out of Egypt.
Welcome: Hear the message and the ending
4 minIntroduce the passage as a border story with a request, an answer, and an outcome. Ask children to listen for three things as you read: what Israel says about its past, what Edom says, and what Israel does at the end.
Numbers 20:14, Numbers 20:16, Numbers 20:21
Read and explain: Trouble in Egypt and Yahweh’s help
7 minRead verses 14 to 16. Explain that Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom. Israel’s message remembers hardship in Egypt and says that when they cried to Yahweh, he heard their voice, sent an angel, and brought them out of Egypt.
Numbers 20:14, Numbers 20:15, Numbers 20:16
Discuss: Israel asks, Edom refuses
7 minRead verses 17 to 20. Israel asks to pass through without going through fields or vineyards and without drinking from wells, promising to stay on the king’s highway. After Edom says no, Israel offers to pay for water, but Edom still refuses and comes out strongly against them.
Numbers 20:17, Numbers 20:18, Numbers 20:19, Numbers 20:20
Make and respond: Put the story in order
8 minChildren make five simple sequence cards: messengers sent, trouble in Egypt, Yahweh heard and brought Israel out, request to pass, Edom refuses and Israel turns away. As they order the cards, ask which parts show God’s action and which parts show people’s choices.
Numbers 20:14, Numbers 20:15, Numbers 20:16, Numbers 20:17, Numbers 20:21
Closing: State the outcome clearly
4 minReread verses 16 and 21. Help children finish with two clear statements from the passage: Israel says Yahweh heard them and brought them out, and Edom refused passage so Israel turned away. Invite a brief oral retelling in order.
Numbers 20:16, Numbers 20:21
Questions to explore
What does Israel say Yahweh did when they cried out?
Use the words of the verse: he heard their voice, sent an angel, and brought them out of Egypt.
Numbers 20:16
What promises did Israel make when asking to pass through Edom’s land?
Look for the details about fields, vineyards, wells, and staying on the king’s highway.
Numbers 20:17
What is the final outcome of the passage?
Read the last verse and name both parts: Edom refused passage, and Israel turned away.
Numbers 20:21
Make, think or respond
Five-Part Border Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or markers
- Bible
- scissors
Try it together
- Draw or write five parts of the story on paper.
- Cut the paper into five cards.
- Read the verses again and place the cards in order.
- Ask children to point to a card and tell what action or choice it shows.
This activity helps children follow the order of Numbers 20:14–21 and remember what Israel said Yahweh had done.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, use simple symbols on the cards, such as a road, a well, or a turning arrow.
- For older children, ask them to add short words from the verses, such as heard, highway, not pass, and turned away.
An optional closing prayer
You might pray: “God, thank you that this passage says you heard Israel’s cry and brought them out. Please help us listen well and learn from your word.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Numbers 20
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “Your brother Israel says: You know all the travail that has happened to us;
15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers.
16 When we cried to Yahweh, he heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the edge of your border.
17 “Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink from the water of the wells. We will go along the king’s highway. We will not turn away to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.”
18 Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.”
19 The children of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway; and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will give its price. Only let me, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.”
20 He said, “You shall not pass through.” Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, so Israel turned away from him.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.