The Bible is God’s special book
key words
biblical reference
Jeremiah 36
lesson objective
To help the children know that the Bible is special because it contains God’s message for us.
memory verse
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
This stage of your children’s development is ideal for them to become familiar with the stories of the Bible and the message of God they contain.
Most elementary children know how to read, so you can encourage them to enrich their minds with the Word of God.
In today’s session, your children will learn that God inspired the Bible so we can know his will. It is important that they understand that God speaks to us through biblical stories and gives us guidelines for living correctly.
biblical commentary
Read Jeremiah 36. When Jeremiah was very young, God called him to be his prophet. He loved God, listened to him and obeyed with all his heart for more than 40 years. He told the people what God wanted them to do, and also what the consequences (good and bad) of their actions would be, even at the cost of his own life.
One day, the Lord asked Jeremiah to write down all the messages he had given to His people during the time of his ministry. Soon God’s prophecy for the people of Israel, in which he said they would be taken captive, would be fulfilled; and even at that moment, God wanted them to repent. He hoped that by listening to his Word, people would stop their bad behavior and ask for forgiveness.
By making known the message of the Lord, Jeremiah suffered abuse and persecution. Many times, he had to hide to protect himself from attacks. The people did not want to leave their sin, and ignored the Lord’s calls for attention. However, this lesson reminds us that the Word of God cannot be silenced. It will always be truthful and effective. As a teacher, you have a very important ministry: to convey to your children the message of love and hope that God has for humanity.
introduce the lesson
Attendance sheet
Record the attendance of your children during this unit using the attendance sheet found as Student Activity Sheet #194-A and #194-B. Make sure SAS #194-A and #194-B are printed back to back. Tell them that the Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. In this unit, they will study stories from both sections.
Help the children cut out the Week 1 figure (world) corresponding to this session found in Student Activity Sheet #194-E. Have them paste it in the place marked on Student Activity Sheet #194-A. Encourage them to attend regularly to complete their project.
teach the lesson
God gives a message to Jeremiah
“Leave us alone!” shouted the enraged Hebrews at the prophet Jeremiah. “We’ll do what seems best to us. We do not need your advice.”
Jeremiah was a prophet of God. This meant that he was someone to whom God gave messages to be communicated to people.
The Hebrew people did not want to hear the message that God wanted to give them through the prophet. However, Jeremiah knew that he must obey God and continue proclaiming His messages.
“Why do you worship these idols?” Jeremiah asked. “If you continue to disobey God, the enemy army will come to fight against you and take you to a distant place where you will be enslaved. Leave your sin and ask God for forgiveness!”
However, the people and King Jehoiakim refused to listen to the prophet’s warnings, and continued to disobey God.
After the fourth year of Jehoiakim as king of Judah, God told Jeremiah, “I want you to write down all the messages I have given you. Maybe when they hear the punishments that I plan to send upon them, they will stop disobeying me. If they do, I will forgive all their sins.”
God did not want to punish his people. He loved them and wanted them to listen to his warnings and obey him.
Writing all the messages was going to be an difficult job, so the prophet asked his friend Baruch to help him. Baruch got animal skins, because in biblical times, skins were used to write on instead of sheets of paper.
“Baruch, please come here,” Jeremiah called him, “and write down all the messages I’m going to dictate to you.” For more than a year, Jeremiah dictated God’s messages to Baruch to write on parchments.
Do you know what a parchment is? It is a roll of animal skin that people used to write on, just like we use paper now. Jeremiah and Baruch finally finished their work.
“You know I am forbidden to enter the temple,” Jeremiah told Baruch. “So you will have to do it. Go to the house of God and read to the people everything I have dictated to you. “
Baruch obeyed, and went to the temple to read the contents of the scroll.
Micah, one of the king’s officers, heard what Baruch was reading and went to tell the other officers.
“I just heard the message that God gave to the prophet Jeremiah,” Micah said. “God says we will be punished if we keep disobeying his commandments.”
When they heard that, they sent to tell Baruch to bring the parchment and read it.
Then Baruch read to them. When he finished reading, the officers looked at each other, and with great fear said, “The king must hear this. But you and Jeremiah must hide or the king will kill you.”
So the officers went before the king to tell him what had happened. One of the officers, named Jehudi, read the scroll to the king and to all the leaders who were with him.
Since it was winter and very cold, the king was sitting near the fire to warm up. When Jehudi read three or four sections of the parchment, the king cut them with a knife and threw them into the fire. He continued doing that until he had burned up the whole roll. Some officers begged him not to burn it, but the king paid no attention.
Then he ordered Baruch and Jeremiah to be arrested, but the officers who went to look for them could not find them because God had hidden them and kept them safe.
God spoke again to Jeremiah and said, “Find another parchment and rewrite everything that I dictated to you before.
Also, add these new messages for King Jehoiakim and for the people. Tell them I will take their land because they did not listen to my words. Also, no member of King Jehoiakim’s family will reign in Israel.”
Jeremiah and Baruch obeyed God and wrote all the messages again. We can read them in our Bible. These messages remind us that God loves us and wants us to be obedient to His Word.
connect the lesson
Phylacteries
For this activity, you will need scissors, glue, pencils and a piece of yarn or wool for each child.
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #194-C and #194-D. Then, guide the children to make their phylacteries by following the instructions.
Explain the meaning of the phylacteries by saying: “The phylactery is a small box containing biblical verses. The Hebrews put them on their foreheads or on their arms as a permanent reminder of the commandments and the promises of the Word of God.”
practice the memory verse
Hand out the Verse of the Month Club card corresponding to this unit, and read the biblical text together. Then, ask the girls to read the verse, then all the boys, then by those who are 8 years old, etc. Remind them that the card will help them review the verse of the unit during the week.
wrap-up
Pray
Give thanks to God in prayer for having given us his Word to learn more about him.
Encourage
Sing joyful songs about the Bible.
Invite
Invite the children to the next session. Do not forget to tell them that it is very important that they bring their Bibles if they have them.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™