When the walls fall down

Joshua 6:1-27

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV*).

To help the children understand that they can trust in God’s promises; that they learn to obey what God commands, even though this does not seem like a common thing to do.

When the 12 spies returned from Canaan, they all agreed that the cities were large, fortified, and walled. Joshua 6:1 says that the gates of Jericho were securely fastened. The inhabitants felt secure inside its walls; they did not know that this did not constitute an impediment that could stop God’s plan.

The instructions God gave Joshua to conquer Jericho surely sounded strange to the Israelite soldiers; however, they believed in the promise of God (v. 2) and were obedient: “I have given into thine hand Jericho.” A convoy was formed: seven priests with trumpets of rams’ horns, the Ark of the Covenant, Joshua, and soldiers; all circled the city for six days. On the seventh day, they marched seven times and at the end, and at the sound of the trumpets, they all shouted. What a strange way to break down the walls of a city, do not you think?

However, the plan worked because Joshua and the people trusted in God and obeyed, although they did not understand the reason for the orders. God did what he had promised he would do.

Learning to trust in God has a direct connection with the act of learning to trust others. Adults sometimes ask children to do something they do not understand. When they ask why, we should help them understand what is the reason for the request; doing this will help them.

However, there are occasions when children should follow instructions given to them by those who are in authority over their lives, even if they do not understand the reasons. It is then where they should trust their parents or leaders, knowing that they know what is best. When parents or leaders develop this kind of relationship of trust with children, this makes it easier to obey what they are asked to do, even if they do not understand everything.

When God asks us to do something, he does not always tell us why, and in these cases, it is more difficult to obey; however, we must always obey. Help the children understand that they can obey God without fear, confident that he knows what is best.

Today’s lesson is a good example of this type of trust. The instructions God gave Joshua might seem even a bit ridiculous. However, his obedience and that of the people allowed God to fulfill his promises, and the walls of Jericho fell.

Tell the group: “The people of Israel had crossed the Jordan River and headed to take the first and most fortified city, Jericho. This was quite a fortress and its walls were famous for their imposing size. For this task, the people were not ready physically. Because of the time that they had been in the desert and the historical context, we can affirm that they did not have much experience in military weapons and strategies. The only one who had actually been trained in this regard was Moses. He had grown up in Pharaoh’s palace as a child and thus was educated at the military school of the Egyptians.

Ask the group: “Where was Moses now?” (He was not with them. He died.)

Help the children understand that the Israelites did not have many weapons of war, but perhaps they had crafted a few while they were to wandering in the desert. They had not established a place to develop an arsenal of war. Emphasize how difficult this task was and how strange God’s instructions must have been. However, stress how important it was for the Israelites to obey.

Study Joshua 6:1-27 before the session. Prepare two of your children or two volunteers to dialogue during this session. It may be teenagers or young adults. Prepare two outfits from biblical times for use by the two characters (may be colored sheets or towels). The dialogue should be in writing. Do not forget to include the fact that the instructions were a bit strange to bring down such an imposing wall.

In this dialogue, one of the soldiers must be unconvinced and the other should give confidence; one should emphasize how difficult the task, the other should emphasize what God has provided and that we can trust him even if his instructions do not seem so logical.

Make sure that the dialogue is neither long nor short. Make it suitable to be part of the lesson, and allow the volunteers or invited guests to develop it.

At the end, tell the Bible story; emphasizing the purpose of the lesson. Repeat the words that emphasize the teaching goal, such as trust, faith, and obedience. If you can, write them in large letters and stick them on the board or on the nearest wall.

During class, carefully observe the children and see the expressions on their faces. This will give you an idea of how they are responding to your words. Emphasize that we all have walls in our lives which seem impossible to break down. But if we learn to trust and obey God, those walls will fall like those of Jericho. (Mention walls as enemies, pride, problems, family, etc.)

Finish the lesson by asking the following review questions:
What is the name of the first city that God told the Israelites to take? (Jericho)
What did God tell Joshua and the people they should do for six days? (March around Jericho once a day, without saying anything.)
What did the priests do when the people finished the seventh lap on the seventh day? (They blew their trumpets.)
What did the people do when he heard the trumpets? (They shouted.)
What happened to the walls of Jericho when the people shouted? (They fell.)
What would have happened if Joshua and the people of Israel had not obeyed God? (The walls of Jericho would not have fallen.)

Finish with this prayer: The story of Joshua and the wall of Jericho teaches us that we must obey God’s commands, even if we do not fully understand his reasons.

Conclude by repeating the objective of the lesson. Remember in each class to include songs with movements. They can sing the chorus: “The Israelites circle seven times around Jericho,” or some other similar chorus. As they sing, have them circle seven times around the classroom.

In daily life, it is the same. There are orders and rules, that even though we do not realize, they are there and we must obey. For example, although it is not written on each street, we know that there are standards for vehicles and for pedestrians. If we walk in the middle of the street, we could have problems and even be killed.

Children must recognize that we live in a world full of orders and rules to be obeyed, which they consciously or unconsciously have been obeying since birth. In most households, you eat at a certain time. We cannot come and demand to eat when that time has passed. Emphasize this in order for children to understand that obedience is part of life. Let them give some examples in this regard.

Mystery Puzzle: Trust - Obedience

You will need scissors. (Optional: crayons or markers, cardboard and glue.) Help the children cut out the puzzle and find the message from Student Activity Sheet #123. Whoever wants to can color their puzzle. To make it stronger, paste the activity sheet on cardboard before cutting it out; this will make the pieces thicker and stronger.