Made for Praise! Lesson 5/8 - Zamar
What is praise and worship? Are there different ways to praise the Lord? What’s it for? How do we do it? The following lessons help kids explore what it means to praise the Lord, and the amazing power and results we can get from doing it. Different words in the Bible are translated as “praise,” and each of them describes a different way to praise.
Today’s Hebrew Praise Word: Zamar which means to praise with instruments, especially in joyful expression with every available instrument! Miriam did this when she led the Israelite women in Zamar praise with tambourines and dancing after the Egyptian army was covered by the Red Sea! Check it out in Exodus 14:26-31 and 15:20-21.
Here’s our teaching video that talks all about this: Made for Praise - Lesson 5 - Zamar
And here’s a video about this Bible Story: Story of Miriam; Life with Nelly (**only up to 2:38 - the rest goes beyond the scope of this lesson)
We see Zamar every Sunday when the worship team leads the congregation in singing with their instruments. Another expression of Zamar can be seen at sports arenas, where people cheer, clap their hands and stomp their feet and use noisemakers when their team scores! It’s using everything possible to make a joyful noise! We can make a joyful noise, even without “real” instruments: our hands, voices and anything around us can be used. Jesus said if we didn’t praise Him, even the rocks would cry out. That’s Zamar!
Isaiah 30:32 talks about how God wages war on our enemies to the sound of our praising with instruments! That’s quite a miracle to have God fight our battles while we just praise Him with a noisemaker!
And that brings us to our praise motto this week: When I praise the Lord, God defeats my enemies!
Here are some activity sheets you can do to support this lesson
Made for Praise – Lesson 5 Outline – Zamar
Made for Praise – Lesson 5 – Elementary Activity Sheet
Made for Praise – Lesson 5 – Preschool Activity Sheet
And remember, you were made for praise!
Mara Fraser