The Sun and the Moon Stand Still

The Sun by Destinee.

Central Truth: God will fight fo us!

Scriptures: Joshua 10:1-27

When the king of Jerusalem heard what the Israelites had done to Jericho and Ai, he sent messages to the king of Hebron, Warmth, Lachish, and Eglon to join him in an alliance against Israel. The armies gathered and besieged Gibeon who sent messages to Joshua reminding him of their treaty to protect them from their enemies. When Joshua prayed, God told him not to worry because the five kings will be delivered into his hands. Joshua and  his army marched to Gibeon and defeated the five kings. Joshua’s men pursed the remainder of the five kings’ army, and God sent hailstones that killed many of the enemy. Joshua asked God to keep the sun and moon still so that the Israelites could finish off the enemy, and God answered his request. 

"Sun, stand thou stilton Gibeon; and thou,

Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.

And the sun stood still,

and the moon stayed until the people had avenged

themselves upon their enemies."

Joshua 10:12-13

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School. This week we a couple of pages. On the first we pasted a margin strip with Joshua 1:9 (“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”) and printed the above verse (Joshua 10:12-13) along with it. On the opposite page we drew a picture of the sun with short summaries of the story of the Amorite Battle. 

The Defeat at Ai

The Land of Canaan

Central Truth:Faith is obedience in action!

Scriptures: Joshua 8

After capturing Jericho, the Israelites next set their site on the city of Ai. The first attack on Ai, the Israelites were defeated. When Joshua prayed to God and asked why they were defeated, God told him that there was sin in the camp. Someone had stolen valuables from the city of Jericho contrary to God’s command that all the spoil was to be devoted to God. After a search of the camp, Achan confessed to taking the goods from Jericho.

After Achan and his family were punished, God’s anger was gone. God tells Joshua that he has given Ai, its people, and the land to the Israelites. Joshua sent a detachment of soldiers by night west of the city. Joshua and the rest of the army camped on the north side of the city. The following morning, the king of Ai sent his army out to battle Joshua and his men who pretended to flee. When the army of Ai pursued after Joshua, he stretched out his spear in the air to signal to the hiding Israelites to enter the city and set it on fire. Joshua and his men then turned around and attacked their pursuers. The Israelites smote all the people of Ai that day. The Israelites were allowed to keep cattle and spoil from the city of Ai.

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School. This week we talked about how obedience and faith are interconnected, so we added a doodle in our journals to remind us of our faith:

The Battle of Jericho

Central Truth: Faith includes obedience.

Scriptures: Joshua 5:10-15; 6; Hebrews 11:30-31

After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites kept the Passover, eating the grain and produce of the land of Canaan. The day after eating the produce of the land, the manna ceased. As Joshua scored the city while preparing for the battle, a Man with a drawn sword appeared. The Man told Joshua that he was the captain of the host of the Lord. He gave Joshua instructions on how to capture the city, and Joshua obeyed. 

Joshua organized his army as the Man had instructed. For six days, they marched around Jericho one time without making a noise. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times. After the seventh time around, Joshua told them to shout because God has given them the city. The walls fell flat and the Israelites took the city, saving only Rahab and her family.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,

after they were compassed about seven days.

By faith the harlot Rahab perished not 

with them that believed not,

when she had received the spies with peace.

Hebrews 11:30-31

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School.  It is difficult to study and understand the Book of Joshua without knowing where the places are that were conquered by the Canaanites. In our journals, we added a map that included the possible locations of the biblical cities of Jericho, Ai, Bethel, and Shechem.

Israel Crosses the Jordan River

The Israelites crossing the Jordan River (picture from freebibleimages.org).

Central Truth: We should always remember what God does for us in our lives.

Scriptures: Joshua 3 and 4

The city of Jericho is located at the eastern entrance into the land of Canaan, so it was necessary for the Israelites to capture this city first before conquering the rest of the land. Before they could attack Jericho, they first had to cross the Jordan River. Unfortunately, the Israelites came to the river during a time when the Jordan overflowed its banks. It was going to take a miracle to cross the river. Joshua instructed the priest to carry the Ark of the Covenant to the brink of the river. When the soles of their feet entered the water, the water stopped flowing and the people were able to cross the river on dry ground. Twelve men from each of the tribes were instructed to carry a stone from where the priests stood with the Ark and to the other side of the river and made a heap of stones as a memorial. Joshua also took twelve stones from the river and made a second heap of stones where the priests stood in the river. The memorial marked the location of the crossing. As soon as the priests carried the Ark to the other side of the Jordan River, the water again flowed, overflowing the banks as before. 

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School. This time we had fun recreating the scene of the crossing of the Jordan River with scrapbook paper and construction paper. The scene was inspired by a coloring page I found on the Internet. Here are a couple of pages: