SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets

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1 JOSIAH FINDS THE BOOK 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Three SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets AIM: To use the story of Josiah to teach my class the importance of sticking to the Bible. OBJECTS TO HAVE: The word renovate written on a card (when you say it, say it slowly) Carpenter s tools, or pictures of carpenter s tools A container for collecting money An old, dust-covered Bible, hidden somewhere in the classroom Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: Have you ever had work done at your house? I m talking about where a man comes in with a bunch of tools and fixes something that is broken, or builds on a new part of the house that wasn t there before, or installs something new, like an air conditioner or a dishwasher have you had work like that done at your house? That kind of work is called renovation. Maybe your dad has done renovating at your house. When I was a boy, my father went through the whole house and renovated every single room. One room at a time, he tore down the old walls and the old ceiling, and put up new walls and a new ceiling. When he was finished renovating it, the room looked like brand new. That s the kind of work that I am talking about. If you ever get the chance to watch men renovate like that, or maybe even to help them, you should ask if you can do it, because not only will you have fun watching and helping, but you will learn a lot about renovation, too. Today I am going to tell you about a man who led the people of Israel to do some renovating in the House of God, and something very interesting that happened as a result. STORY: The Bible tells us about a man named King Josiah. King Josiah was one of the best kings that Judah ever had. He was king for 31 years in the city of Jerusalem. But there is something very interesting about King Josiah, something that you may not even believe: Josiah became the king of Judah when he was only 8 years old! Can you believe that? Can you imagine being a king over a whole country at your age? That s what happened to Josiah. He was made the new King of Judah when he was only 8. When Josiah became king, there were many problems in the land. As Josiah grew older, he began to try to figure out ways to solve those problems. One of the biggest problems was that the House of God was beginning to fall down. There were walls that were broken, doors that were falling off of the hinges, and windows that needed to be replaced. All of these renovations would cost money, and there was no money available to make the renovations. So Josiah asked everyone in the land to contribute to the work of renovating the House of the Lord. He placed a box at the entrance of the Temple, so that everyone who came in could give. When finally there was enough money, Josiah told the workers to begin the work of renovating the temple. The men went to work, fixing holes in the walls, repairing windows and doors and handles. They were hammering and sawing and drilling a patching. Have you ever smelled that smell when people have been working, and you can smell the sawdust and the paint? Everything looks like new and it even smells like new. That s the way it was in the Temple. Everything began to look and smell like new again. It was a wonderful time. One day as the men were working, a very interesting thing happened. The Bible says that as they worked renovating the temple, one of the workmen reached into a spot that had been ignored for many years. Maybe there was an old box that needed to be moved from that spot. Or, maybe there was a hole in the wall near that spot that needed to be fixed. But as one of the workmen was reaching into that dark spot.. he felt something. He picked it up and looked at it was all dusty and dirty. It had been lying there for many years. The workman cleaned the dust off of it and looked at it. He went to the supervisor, and he said, I found a Book! The supervisor took the Book to the preacher, and he said, Look we found a Book! The preacher took the Book to another man, who was called a scribe, and said, The men have found the Book of the Law!

2 Do you know what the Book was that they found? It was the Bible! It had been missing for many years. You see, in that day, books were very rare and precious. People did not have their own copy of the Bible, like we have today. When the Bible that was in the Temple was lost, that meant that there was no more Bible in all of the land. And as a result, the people had stopped obeying and serving God they did not even know what God had commanded them. Kids, that is what has happened in our country today. Most people in America have no idea what the Bible says. They do not read it, they do not go to church to hear it preached and read, and they live their lives having no idea what God has said. That is very different from the way things were in years gone by in America. There was a day in America when nearly everybody went to church on Sunday morning, where every home had a Bible in it, and where every family read the Bible together every day. There was a time when the public schools had a Bible in every classroom, and where the teacher read from the Bible every day. Can you believe that? But now, people do not know what the Bible says anymore. And that is why so many people in our country are living in disobedience to God. Even though we have Bibles all around us, we have lost the Book, just like they had lost it in Josiah s day. Let s find out what would happen if we would find the Bible again, like they did. These preachers took the Bible and immediately brought it to King Josiah. King Josiah, the workers in the temple have found the Book of the law of God! Josiah immediately asked for the Book to be read to him. As the preachers read the clear commands of God found in the Bible, King Josiah realized just how far they had drifted from obeying God. He realized how wicked they had become. He realized how many things were being done right there in his kingdom, that were in clear disobedience to the laws of God. Josiah began to weep out loud, and he tore his coat in half to show that his heart was broken for the sins of his nation. That is the first thing that would happen if people were to truly discover the Bible again: We would cry out in repentance to God, realizing that we have sinned against Him. We would realize that our music, our television shows, our drugs, our divorces, our cursing, our drinking beer, and all of our other sins are wicked in the sight of God. We would cry out to God for mercy. When the men finished reading the law, Josiah knew that crying was not enough. He knew that if they were to get right with God, they must get all of the sin out of the land. Josiah sent a team of his men throughout the land, and their job was to get all of the wickedness out. Every idol that they found for worshipping false gods was torn down. Every place was destroyed where there was wicked dancing and rock music. Every place was torn down where people were drinking and committing wicked sins. All of the places where sin was being practiced were demolished. That s the second thing that will happen when we discover the Bible again: We will get the sin out of our lives. We will stop listening to wicked rock and rap music. We will stop going to the movies, and watching dirty shows on television. We will stop renting wicked DVD s, and stop watching HBO and MTV. We will stop cursing and hating and disobeying our parents, smoking, drinking, dancing and trying to get rich by playing the lottery instead of working for a living. We will get right with God and clean up our lives. The land of Judah had a great revival when the people got the sin out of the land. And do you know what happened? God began to bless the land, the king and the people once again. That is the third thing that will happen when we get to know the Bible again: After we repent and get all of the sin out, God will begin to bless us again. And even if all of America does not repent and get right with God, you can have God s blessing on your life if you will do what God tells you to do. They said, We found the Book! and when they read and obeyed the Book, the Word of God, God greatly blessed them for it. You have a Bible. But do you read it and obey it? Why don t you find that Bible again, read it every day, carry it with you when you go to church and school, and let God bless your life! Let s learn our memory verse. Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

3 JOSIAH FINDS THE BOOK 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Three SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. TO GET YOUR LIFE RIGHT WITH GOD, START WITH THE THING THAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. 22:1-7. When this young king was 18, it was obvious to him that the House of God had been neglected, and he set out to do something about it. He did not yet know just how severely his people had neglected the faith and their God; but it was obvious that the Temple had been neglected, so he went to work to fix it. Sometimes when we think about getting our lives back on track, it seems so hopeless and overwhelming that we don t even know where to start. The remedy is, to start with the needs that are obvious and are right in front of you. You can t fix it all today, but you can begin to fix the most glaring problems today. II. WHEN YOU FIX WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, GOD WILL SHOW YOU MORE. 22:8-10. It was in the effort to fix the Temple that they discovered an abandoned copy of the Law of Moses. Because they did the obvious, God showed them were to go from there. God will guide you in your effort to get back to Him. Sincerely take that first step, and He will show you the rest of the way. III. THE RIGHT RESPONSE TO CONVICTION IS REPENTANCE. 22:11. When Josiah was smitten in his heart with the realization of just how far they had strayed from God s Word, his immediate reaction was to rip his clothes as a sign of despair, which was the customary show of despair in his day. When you come face to face with the realization of how far short you come in pleasing God, you can respond with apathy, or you can respond with a passionate resolve to change. That passionate resolve to change is called repentance, and it is the right response when we are convicted of our wicked condition. IV. GOD IS PLEASED WHEN WE EARNESTLY SEEK HIM. 22: After Josiah s show of repentance, he began to seek God s face through the best prophets he knew. He sincerely wanted to know what God required of them. That is seeking God. There is not a clearer message in the Bible than the message that God wants every one of us to diligently seek Him, to get on our faces before Him and beg Him to show us what He wants us to do. V. GOD IS PLEASED WHEN DEAL WITH OUR SINS THOROUGHLY. 23:1-25. Josiah set out to turn his heart and the hearts of the people of Judah and all Israel back to the Lord, like no king had ever done. 23:25. He left no stone unturned in his effort to return to God. God loves and rewards the person who turns to Him with his whole heart.

4 Josiah Finds the Book 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 Renovation of the Temple Leads to Revival I. 2 KINGS 22: Josiah leads the restoration of the Temple 8-10 The law of Moses is discovered and read to Josiah II. 2 KINGS 22:11-20 The Prophetess Declares Gods Judgment Josiah seeks to understand the meaning Judah will be destroyed for their idolatry Josiah will go to his grave in peace III. 2 KINGS 23:1-3 The King and the People Make A Covenant 1-2 The king reads the book to the people 3 IV. 2 Kings 23:4-24 The King and the People Purge the Land 4-14 They destroy and burn everything in Judah associated with idolatry and sin They restore the Passover 24 They remove every influence V. 2 Kings 23:25-25 There had never been another king like Josiah God still had to bring judgment upon Judah Adult Bible Class

5 JOSIAH FINDS THE BOOK Josiah s workers were surprised to discover a copy of the Law of Moses, as they renovated the Temple. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Colossians 3:23

6 Josiah Finds The Book Complete the crossword puzzle below using information from today s lesson ACROSS DOWN 2 The workers were working in the 1 The people were doing a project on the temple 4 While they were working, the workers 3 Josiah raised to found a renovate the temple 6 After they found the Book, a great 4 The Book that the workers found was came to the land the 8 The king s name was 5 The renovation project was led by Josiah 9 The Book had been 7 Josiah was the King of in the house of God And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. COLOSSIANS 3:23

7 Josiah Finds The Book The answers to this weeks puzzle 1 R 2 T E 3 M P L E 4 B O O 5 K O N I I 7 6 N O B N R E V I V A L G J Y A E U D 8 J O S I A H T 9 A O H I D D E N

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