Week 3

 

Check out this information about the Minoans from National Geographic:

"In the epic poem The Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer praised an island that lies 'out in the wine-dark sea . . . a rich and lovely sea-girt land, densely peopled, with 90 cities and several different languages.' This sophisticated place is not just a random spot in the Mediterranean—Homer is describing Crete, southernmost of the Greek islands and home to one of the oldest civilizations in Europe. Located some 400 miles northwest of Alexandria in Egypt, Crete has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, around 7000 B.C. The culture that developed there during the second millennium B.C. spread throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean world. Crete’s command of the seas would allow its stunning art and architecture to deeply influence the Mycenaean Greek civilization that would succeed it."

The remaining Week 3 sentences come from the Bible:

• Abraham: Genesis 11-25
• Joseph: Genesis 27-50
• Israelistes Taken Captive: Exodus 1

 

 

Card 3A: Minoans lived on the large island of Crete near southern Greece.

There are multiple prepositional phrases in this sentence:

• on the large island
• of Crete
• near southern Greece

Sometimes it can be confusing to figure out where to put prepositional phrases in a diagram, particularly if there are multiple ones as there are in this sentence.  If you need additional tips about how to diagram prepositional phrases, Grammar Revolution has a helpful article with practice sentences.

 

 

 

Some thoughts from Kristin's heart:

"When my second daughter Esther was a wee babe, I rocked her in her nursery glider one day and mused how that she was approximately the age that baby Moses was when his mother Jochebed found it necessary to release him into the Nile in the little ark of bulrushes that she had prepared.

The Nile at that time was filled with many such helpless Hebrew infants at the command of the Egyptian Pharoah to the midwives: Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river… (Exodus 1:22). The difference: the infant Moses was protected and prepared for such an impossible, deadly journey by a loving, dedicated mother.

Realizing that the Egyptian Nile is representative of the world, I am aware that my precious children will one day have to live among the faithless, fallen, and children of the evil one. However, like the wise and loving mother Jochebed, I hope that I can prevent my babies from being plunged to destruction. I am striving to pad and protect them with an ark of safety and deliverance that is under the watchful eye of the Almighty, just as baby Moses and Noah were.

It is my duty to protect my children’s hearts and lives from an evil world. Satan diligently strives to infiltrate our children’s minds with evil from every angle: rock music, blatant pornography, occult teachings in “children’s” movies and cartoons, humanistic teaching all around us…

Sometimes my duty to protect their innocence and purity seems an impossible task! But I am sure that Jochebed felt equally hopeless as she faced the challenge of concealing her son’s existence from the evil authorities which had set out to destroy him. She creatively and skillfully crafted an ark of safety from the strongest materials available to her.

Exodus 2:3 ~ And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

She lovingly placed her precious infant inside and released the little ark into the water. She then wisely set up a watch over her son to ensure his survival.

Jochebed had parented another child who was instrumental in this scene:  12-year old Miriam.  Her mother had instilled into Miriam the wisdom, boldness, and discernment to observe the scene that unfolded, approach the Egyptian princess, and orchestrate the opportunity for Moses to return to his mother's loving arms.

Exodus 2:4-9

⁴ And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

⁵ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

It is my duty to set up some safeguards in my children’s lives at this urgent hour when they are still dependent upon me.  It is also of utmost importance that I prepare to prudently release them toward independence, surrounded by a water-tight ark that will protect their souls and hearts from the evil that lurks everywhere.

Almost as often as I lament to see parents with precious young children cast them out to be indoctrinated by the world before they have the strength and skill to swim in such dangerous waters, I grieve to see Christian parents try to keep a death grip on their young adults who should have already been prepared to face the currents of the Nile.  They can't be isolated forever!

Lord, grant me the wisdom and prudence to gradually grant my children the independence necessary to build their strength and test their character and faith. Give me discernment to know who should be trusted to influence their souls and help me prepare them for their journey through Egypt. And help me to set up a watch as their voyage is chartered, that their arks may be strong and able to outlast the mighty current of the world and its god.

Ultimately, Jochebed’s efforts were met with great success. Why? For one, God had a tremendous plan for young Moses that did not include drowning in the Nile. And He used a godly mother to protect that young child and gently guide him to that great place of service for our Lord.

I can only hope that my children will one day be a fraction of use to the Almighty as the great man of God Moses, who continued the role of his mother in protection, guidance, and service a million-fold."

 

WORKSHEETS

Click here for worksheets for each of the sentences in Week 3.