Preschool July 14, 2013 8:45am
Teacher BIBLE STUDY The Lord brought His people into the promised land. Now they had a task set before them: conquer the people living in the land. The first city the Israelites came to was Jericho. The people of Jericho had heard about God and what He had done for the Israelites. They understood God s power and wanted nothing to do with Him. Joshua sent spies to Jericho to check it out. A prostitute named Rahab knew how powerful God was. She wanted to be on God s side. Rahab hid the spies and kept them safe from the people of Jericho. In return, the spies promised that Rahab and her family would be safe when the Israelites conquered the city. The people of Jericho worshiped false gods, and God was bringing His judgment against them. The Lord s reputation went ahead of the Israelites, creating fear in the people of Jericho. God was in control. He told Joshua that the battle would be just fine. (See Josh. 6:2.) The battle of Jericho was fought by faith. The Israelites did not focus on what was going on inside the city of Jericho; they focused on doing what God had instructed. They obeyed even when it seemed nothing was happening. On the seventh day, the trumpets sounded, declaring, The Lord is near! Joshua gave the people specific instructions to destroy everything in the city except for Rahab and her family. The Israelites were not to keep anything for themselves. The Lord was going to provide for all of their needs. They had no reason to plunder Jericho. Jesus spoke of the Lord s provision in Matthew 6:33. As you teach kids this week, lead them to trust God for all of their needs, including their greatest need to be rescued from sin by Jesus Christ. 1 Preschool Leader Guide
Preschool Bible study OVERVIEW Session Title: The Conquest of Jericho Bible Passage: Joshua 2; 6 Big Picture Question: Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Key Passage: Joshua 24:15 Unit Christ Connection: Joshua was a representation of Christ, leading the Israelites to victory in overcoming Canaan as Jesus leads us to victory in overcoming the world. Small Group Opening Large Group Bible Study Small Group Activities Snack and Transition Each child will take home their Journal Page, a Family Journal Page and a Big Picture Card for Families. 2 Preschool Leader Guide
The BIBLE STORY The Conquest of Jericho Joshua 2; 6 The Israelites were camping near the Jordan River. The Israelites were so close to the land God had promised to give them! There was one more thing they had to do: take it over. Many other people lived in Canaan (KAY nuhn), and the Israelites had to defeat them. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to check it out. They stayed at the house of a woman named Rahab (RAY hab). The king of Jericho heard the spies were with Rahab, so Rahab hid the men on her roof to keep them safe. Rahab had heard what God did to Pharaoh and believed in God. She wanted to help His people. When it was safe for the spies to leave, Rahab said, Please be kind to my family since we have been kind to you. When you attack Jericho, please do not kill us. So the spies promised to keep Rahab and her family safe, and they left Jericho. Rahab tied a bright red rope in her window so the Israelites would know which house she lived in. God said to Joshua, Jericho is yours. Here is what you should do: March around the city one time each day for six days. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, and the priests should blow the trumpets. Then all the people should shout, and the walls of Jericho will fall down. The Israelites can then go into the city and take it over. Joshua obeyed God. He commanded the people to carry the ark of the covenant and march around the city. The priests blew their trumpets. They marched around the city one time. The Israelites were very quiet, just like Joshua told them to be. The second day, they marched quietly around the city again and then returned to their camp. They did this every day for six days. On the seventh day, the Israelites got up early and marched around the city seven times. On the seventh time when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua said, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! So the people shouted, and the wall fell down flat so that the Israelites went into the city and captured it. They destroyed everything in the city, but the two spies spared Rahab and her family. 3 Preschool Leader Guide
Christ Connection: God helped His people take the city of Jericho. God told them not to take anything from the city. God would give His people what they needed. Jesus said God gives people what they need. (Matthew 6:33) The greatest thing we need is to be rescued from sin. God sent Jesus to rescue us. 4 Preschool Leader Guide
Small Group Opening Session Title: The Conquest of Jericho Bible Passage: Joshua 2; 6 Big Picture Question: Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Key Passage: Joshua 24:15 Unit Christ Connection: Joshua was a representation of Christ, leading the Israelites to victory in overcoming Canaan as Jesus leads us to victory in overcoming the world. Prepare: Play the unit song Our God in the background. Set an offering basket near the door. LOW PREP Where Is Rahab s Family? activity page, 1 per kid large craft sticks large sheet of paper markers red yarn or ribbon tissue paper Welcome and Session Starter After a kid has worked on the activity page, he may participate in an activity described below. Activity Page: Where Is Rahab s Family? Tell kids to look first at five members of Rahab s family and then find the same five people standing in the same order in one of the rows. Rahab s father, mother, brothers, and whoever else lived in her house were saved. Say Rahab lived in Jericho. Today you will hear how she saved her family. Make craft stick puppets Invite kids to draw faces on large craft sticks to be people. They may dress the people in tissue paper. Sketch a city wall on a large sheet of paper; cut out three or four windows near the top of the wall. Hold puppets where they look out the windows. Explain that one person in today s Bible story lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. Hang a red ribbon out one of the windows. Save the puppets and paper to use in large group. 5 Preschool Leader Guide
Count to seven Stand in a circle. Invite kids to take turns calling out an exercise. Everyone should do the exercise seven times, counting aloud. Suggest exercises such as hopping, patting knees, wiggling your nose, swinging arms in circles. Say Listen for the number seven in today s Bible story. Play If You Can Hear Me Follow the usual rules for Simon Says. Kids should do the things that begin with If you can hear me and not do things that do not begin with If you can hear me. Begin with these sentences: If you can hear me, stand on your toes. Put your feet flat on the floor. If you can hear me, put your feet flat on the floor. If you can hear me, put your arm over your head and touch your ear. If you can hear me, bend your knees. Stand up straight. If you can hear me, put your arms down at your sides. Transition cue: clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. Transition to Bible study Say In today s Bible story, you will hear that the soldiers marched around a city called Jericho several times without speaking. Try to walk to Bible study very quietly. 6 Preschool Leader Guide
Large Group bible study Session Title: The Conquest of Jericho Bible Passage: Joshua 2; 6 Big Picture Question: Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Key Passage: Joshua 24:15 Unit Christ Connection: Joshua was a representation of Christ, leading the Israelites to victory in overcoming Canaan as Jesus leads us to victory in overcoming the world. Large Group Bible Study Key Passage Poster Bible Joshua 24:15 song puppets and window cutout from Make craft stick puppets welcome activity tape Review the key passage Point to Joshua 2 in your Bible. Ask who remembers the name of the Bible book that tells about Joshua and the Israelites moving into the land. (Joshua) Remind the boys and girls that Joshua and his family promised to serve God. Show the key passage poster and play the key passage song, Joshua 24:15. If your translation does not use the words we will serve the Lord, explain that those words mean the same as [insert the words of your translation]. Stand and sing the song. Introduce the Bible story Show the paper with the cutout windows. Explain that these were windows of houses built into the city wall. Let kids take turns holding their craft stick puppets up at the windows. Tape one or two in place in each window. Say At the end of the Bible story you can tell me what the people were looking at from the windows. I also want you to tell me the name of the person looking out of the window with the red ribbon. 7 Preschool Leader Guide
The Conquest of Jericho picture Big Picture Question Poster Note: Rahab married an Israelite named Salmon. They were King David s great-greatgrandparents. Tip: Do activities one of these ways: as a group, all at the same time in small groups that rotate through each activity set up as centers, allowing preschoolers to browse and choose Tell the Bible story Tell the Bible story The Conquest of Jericho. Talk about the Bible story Ask questions about the story. What were the people in the windows looking at? (the Israelites marching around their city, Jericho) Who was standing at the window with the red ribbon? (Rahab) How did Rahab help the Israelites? (She hid the men looking at the city.) When the Israelites moved near Jericho, what did God tell them to do? (March around the city for seven days carrying the ark of the covenant.) Were the people marching around Jericho laughing and talking? (No. They were very quiet.) How many days did they march around the city one time only? (six) Do you think the people in Jericho were frightened? (Probably. They had heard about God, and they didn t understand what the Israelites were doing.) What happened on the seventh day? (They marched seven times, they blew horns and shouted, and the walls fell down.) What happened to the people in the house with the red cord? (They were saved.) Think about the battle of Jericho. Did the Israelites have to fight? (No. They depended on God.) Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Who won the battle? (God did!) Hooray for God! Transition to small groups 8 Preschool Leader Guide
Small Group activities Session Title: The Conquest of Jericho Bible Passage: Joshua 2; 6 Big Picture Question: Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Key Passage: Joshua 24:15 Unit Christ Connection: Joshua was a representation of Christ, leading the Israelites to victory in overcoming Canaan as Jesus leads us to victory in overcoming the world. Small Group Activities LOW PREP chenille craft stems, 2 per kid pony beads masking tape Play a circle game Guide kids to sit in a circle. Ask each child to count off when you point to him or her around the circle; for example, the first child will say, One, the second, Two, and so forth. When a child says, Seven, he may take a turn standing in the center of the circle. Begin counting again as the seventh child stands in the center. Play until each child has had a turn to stand in the center. Say The people marched around the city of Jericho seven times before they shouted and the walls fell down. Did the people fight the battle? (no) Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. Make noise sticks Double over a short bit of one end of a chenille craft stem and tape it down. Ask kids to slide several pony beads onto the stem. Glue or tape down the other end. Each child needs to make two noise sticks. Ask kids to rub or click the sticks together to make noise. 9 Preschool Leader Guide
Say The people shouted and made noise when the walls fell down. Pretend to be the Israelites on the seventh day at the city. March around a table or a couple of chairs very quietly seven times. At the end of the seventh time around, say, Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. Everyone can make noise with their noise sticks and say something like Hooray for God! or Down with the walls! If kids want to collapse to the floor like the walls of Jericho, let them! shoe box blocks Build with blocks Place a shoe box on the ground. Challenge kids to use blocks to build a wall around the shoe box. Share the following facts about city walls as kids work: Some cities had a wall around them for protection against enemies. The wall was strong and thick and high. The top was flat. There were towers along the wall. Guards could walk around on top of the wall. They would look for criminals inside the city and enemy armies outside the city. The gate or gates in the wall were closed at night. In the daytime, when the gates were open, people could come inside to the market. Sometimes people built their houses against the wall, and sometimes a row of houses actually made up the wall, as Rahab s house did. Say Jericho had a strong wall, but God helped the people win the battle against the people of Jericho. 10 Preschool Leader Guide
Snack and Transition Take a bathroom break, wash hands, and serve the snack. Thank God for the snack. Journal Page crayons Transition - Journal Page When a child finishes her snack and throws away her trash, she may draw on the journal page, suggest that she draw something that will help her remember the Bible story. [Note for teachers: God s commands to wipe out the people in Canaan (Deut. 20:16-18) came after generations of patience on His part. God is loving, merciful, patient, and just. Justice demands judgment. Judgment comes. The people living in Canaan were not ignorant of God; they had seen Him at work. But they continued to worship false gods in detestable ways, including with child sacrifices. (See Lev. 18:21.) Their iniquity had reached its full measure. (See Gen. 15:13-16.) Even at that, God is merciful, and Rahab an individual with faith was saved from destruction. (See Heb. 11:31.) Taking the land in the way God directed suited His purposes of judgment and blessing at that time and place.] 12 Preschool Leader Guide
Journal Page July 14, 2013 Joshua Key Passage: Joshua 24:15 Session 1: T he Israelites Crossed the Jordan River Joshua 3 4 Session 2: T he Conquest of Jericho Joshua 2; 6 Session 3: Achan Sinned Joshua 7 Session 4: The Defeat of Ai Joshua 8 Session 5: The Day the Sun Stood Still Joshua 10:1-15 Session 6: Joshua s Final Encouragement Joshua 23:1 24:28 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. OK to print
Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15 UNIT 8 Key Passage Poster (ESV) 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. OK to print Joshua
Who fought the battle of Jericho? God fought for His people. UNIT 8 Session 2 Big Picture Question 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. OK to print Joshua
Where Is Rahab s Family? Instructions: Find members of Rahab s family who are standing in the same order as in the row below. Choose for yourselves today the one you will worship. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh. Joshua 24:15 Rahab s family chose to worship Yahweh. UNIT 8 Session 2 Preschool Activity Pages 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. Joshua
UNIT 8 Session 2 The Conquest of Jericho 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. OK to print Joshua
The Conquest of Jericho Joshua 2; 6 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources.