Single lesson
The Lamps and the Showbread
Leviticus 24:1–9
In this lesson, children learn that these instructions were given to Israel through Moses for worship in the Tent of Meeting. They will identify who brought the items, who arranged them, and why these actions mattered in Israel’s covenant life.
Before you teach
Leviticus 24:1–9 records Yahweh’s instructions to Moses about the lamps and the bread set before him in the Tent of Meeting. The passage names the children of Israel, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons, and repeats that these actions were done before Yahweh continually as a lasting statute and covenant practice.
Students will be able to say that Leviticus 24:1–9 gave Israel ongoing worship instructions: the people supplied oil, Aaron arranged the lamps, twelve cakes were set before Yahweh each Sabbath, and the bread belonged to Aaron and his sons in a holy place.
Welcome: Who is this instruction for?
5 minBegin by introducing the passage as God’s instruction for Israel’s worship. Ask children to listen for the people involved. Read the first verses and note that Yahweh spoke to Moses, the children of Israel were commanded to bring oil, and Aaron had a special duty with the lamps.
Leviticus 24:1, Leviticus 24:2, Leviticus 24:3
Read and explain: The lamps before Yahweh
7 minRead verses 2–4 together. Explain that the people brought pure olive oil for the light. Aaron kept the lamp in order from evening to morning outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting. Point out the repeated word continually, which shows this was an ongoing worship practice before Yahweh.
Leviticus 24:2, Leviticus 24:3, Leviticus 24:4
Discuss: The twelve cakes and the Sabbath pattern
7 minRead verses 5–8. Help children notice the details: fine flour, twelve cakes, two rows of six, pure gold table, and pure frankincense. Each Sabbath the bread was set in order before Yahweh continually. Explain carefully that the passage calls this an everlasting covenant on behalf of the children of Israel.
Leviticus 24:5, Leviticus 24:6, Leviticus 24:7, Leviticus 24:8
Make and respond: Draw a context chart
7 minChildren make a simple labelled chart with two columns, ‘Lamps’ and ‘Showbread’. Under each heading, they add who was involved, what was used, where it was placed, when it was arranged, and any repeated words such as continually, holy, or covenant. Share findings in pairs.
Leviticus 24:2, Leviticus 24:4, Leviticus 24:6, Leviticus 24:8, Leviticus 24:9
Closing: What was the purpose in Israel’s worship?
4 minReview the chart together. Summarise that these were holy duties before Yahweh, connected with Israel’s covenant worship. End by asking children to explain the original setting first, before suggesting one careful application such as taking worship seriously and listening carefully to God’s word.
Leviticus 24:3, Leviticus 24:8, Leviticus 24:9
Questions to explore
Who supplied the oil, and who kept the lamp in order?
Look for the different responsibilities in the passage: the children of Israel brought the oil, and Aaron kept the lamp in order before Yahweh.
Leviticus 24:2, Leviticus 24:3
What details show that the bread was arranged carefully and regularly?
Find the numbers and timing in the text: there were twelve cakes, set in two rows of six, and arranged every Sabbath day before Yahweh.
Leviticus 24:5, Leviticus 24:6, Leviticus 24:8
What does the passage say happened to the bread after it was set before Yahweh?
Read the final verse closely: it belonged to Aaron and his sons, and they were to eat it in a holy place because it was most holy.
Leviticus 24:9
Make, think or respond
Annotated Lamps and Bread Diagram
What you’ll need
- plain paper
- pencils
- coloured pencils or markers
- Bible
Try it together
- Draw two simple areas on the page and label them ‘Lamps’ and ‘Showbread’.
- Read the passage again and add labels for people, items, place, and timing in each area.
- Circle repeated ideas such as ‘before Yahweh’, ‘continually’, ‘holy’, or ‘covenant’.
- At the bottom, write one sentence about the original purpose of these instructions for Israel’s worship.
This diagram helps children organise the passage’s own details before talking about any present-day application.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, provide sentence starters such as ‘The people brought...’, ‘Aaron arranged...’, and ‘Every Sabbath...’.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to compare the lamp instructions and bread instructions by listing what is similar and what is different from the text.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: ‘Lord God, thank you for speaking clearly to your people. Help us listen carefully to your word and understand what you said to Israel about worship before we think about our own response. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Leviticus 24
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
3 Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
4 He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Yahweh continually.
5 “You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
6 You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
7 You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel.
9 It shall be for Aaron and his sons. They shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.