Ehud's Dagger

The Book of the Judges

Central Truth: God can use any person and situation to accomplish his will.

Scriptures: Judges 3:12-30

The story of the Judges of Israel is a period of time between the death of Joshua and the establishment of the United Kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon. During this time, the government of Israel was a loose confederation of tribes gathered around the Tabernacle. There was no national leader like Moses and Joshua. The judges were merely tribal leaders who usually led their own tribes and perhaps surrounding ones.

When Israel was conquered by the king of Mesopotamia, they had turned away from God and was worshipping idols. They served the king of Mesopotamia for eight years until they repented and God sent Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother, to deliver them. The next enemy was Eglon, king of Moab, who conquered Jericho with his allies. When the Israelites cried out to God, he sent Ehud from the tribe of Benjamin to deliver them.

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School. We now begin our study of the Book of Judges. As an introduction to Judges, I found some fun charts and maps to add to our scrapbooks:

I was also inspired by the Judges Lapbook found on the Bible Fun For Kids website. We are using parts of the lapbook to include in our scrapbooks:

Othniel the Judge before Ehud.

Othniel means "Lion of God."

The Land Promise Fulfilled

The allocation of the land to the 12 Tribes of Israel (from freebibleimages.org).

Central Truth: God always fulfills his promises.

Scriptures: Joshua 21:43-45; 24

Joshua had been chosen by God to succeed Moses and became the military captain and master of strategy for Israel. For Joshua to conquer Canaan, it was necessary to conquer the strategically located city of Jericho and then conquering the cities of Ai and Bethel in the heart of the central hill country, dividing the land in two. Joshua could easily campaign against both the south and the north. First, he conquered the southern region of Canaan, and then he conquered the northern region. When the land finally rested from war, Joshua, Eleazar, and the heads of the tribes of Israel cast lots among the twelve tribes. Each of the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received a portion of land along with the other sons of Jacob. The Levites did not receive any land except for forty-eight cities for them to dwell. Since the Levites’ responsibility was to serve the religious needs of the people, they were scattered throughout the entire land.

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School.  This time we added a fun coloring page with the scripture:

"And the people said to Joshua we will serve the Lord our God and obey Him."

Joshua 24:24

After we colored our pages, we cut them to fit into our notebooks and glued them down. Then we added embellishment with blue glittery washi tape.

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:

Rahab hides the Spies

Rahab helps the Israelite spies to escape (freebibleimages.org)

Central Truth: Other people see what God does, so let your light shine!

Scriptures: Joshua 2

In preparation for the Israelites to invade the Promised Land, Joshua sent two spies into the city of Jericho. The spies went to the house of Rahab and, when the king of Jericho heard that there were Israelites within Jericho, he sent men to Rahab demanding the spies to be turned over to them. The men could not find the spies, however, because Rahab had hidden them in the roof of her house. 

Rahab told the spies that the people of Jericho had heard what had happened in Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea and how they had destroyed the Amalekites. The people of Jericho were afraid of the Israelites. Rahab asked the men to save her and her family when the Israelites attacked. The spies promised that no harm will come to them and to hang a scarlet thread in the window so that the Israelites would know not to harm anyone in her home.

Bible Scrapbook

Each week the children will be adding to their scrapbooks what they have learned during Sunday School. This week, we each made a scarlet cord of salvation for our scrapbooks. We took three strands of red thread and attached it to our scrapbooks. Then we braided the thread and added some beads at the bottom.