The power of God in Jericho
key words
biblical reference
Joshua 6:1-25
lesson objective
To help the children learn that God uses his power to care for his people.
memory verse
“Great is our Lord and mighty in power” (Psalm 147:5a, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
When the 12 spies returned from Canaan, everyone agreed that the cities were large, fortified, and secured. In Joshua 6:1, it says that the gates of Jericho were well secured. The inhabitants felt secure in their walls.
The instructions that God gave to Joshua for the conquest of Jericho surely sounded very strange to the Israelite soldiers, yet they believed in the promise of God (v. 2) and were obedient:
“I have delivered Jericho into their hands,” said the Lord.
Joshua formed a caravan of seven priests with rams’ horns, the Ark of the Covenant, and the soldiers. They were to go around the city for six days; on the seventh day, they were to march seven times, and at the end, at the sound of the trumpets, everyone should yell. What a strange way to tear down the walls of a city!
However, the plan worked because Joshua and the people trusted and obeyed God, even though they did not understand his reasons. The Lord did what he promised.
The faith of Joshua resulted in a complete victory for the Israelites. The Canaanites thought Jericho was invincible. God showed his power and his faithfulness, and affirmed that he is the only true God, and that he is always ready and willing to help his people.
Learning to trust in God has a direct connection to learning to trust in others. As adults, we sometimes ask a child to do something he does not understand. But that’s not good. We must give an explanation of the reason for the request. This way, we will help. However, there are times when children should follow instructions from people of authority in their lives, even if they do not understand the reasons. At that point, you should trust your parents or leaders. Children will understand that adults know what is best. When God asks us to do something, he does not always tell us why. In those cases, it is more difficult to obey. However, we must always be obedient. Help children understand that they can obey God without fear, with the assurance that he knows what is best for us.
Today’s lesson is a good example of this kind of trust. The instructions God gave Joshua might seem a little ridiculous, yet his obedience, and that of the people, allowed God to fulfil his promise, and to overthrow the walls of Jericho.
introduce the lesson
Count to seven
Put seven objects in a container, and on a large paper write the number seven with a dark marker. Tell the children to help you count how many objects are in the container. Then, show them number seven so that they relate to the number of objects.
Tell them: Seven is a very nice number. God made the numbers so we can count objects. Today we will talk about people who took seven laps around a city.
teach the lesson
Trumpets
Get some paper cones. You can make them with recycled paper by bending the paper to form a cone. Then cut the thin end to make a nozzle. This way you will have trumpets for your children. If time allows, give the children the papers before turning them into a cone, so they decorate and use them during the lesson.
Let’s march!
March around the classroom seven times with the children. Count aloud each time you complete a turn, and play your trumpets. When they are finished, let them sit to hear the Bible story. Tell them to pay close attention to the story.
The walls fall down
Joshua loved God, and he knew God was powerful. The Lord entrusted him with a very great task: to conquer the city of Jericho for the people of God. But first, they had to break down the great wall that surrounded the city. God told Joshua what to do to get the wall to fall, and Joshua told his people: “God wants us to march around the city for seven days. Not six, not five, not four, but seven! The first six days we will go only one lap in silence, without anyone saying a single word. As we march, seven priests will blow the trumpets.”
On the first day, Joshua, the people and the priests marched around the city only once. The priests played their trumpets very loudly! (Ask the children to play their trumpets.)
On the second day, they marched again, and the priests again blew the trumpets. (Ask the children to play their trumpets again.)
They did it during the six days that God commanded them. Finally, on the seventh day, they all lined up and marched around Jericho seven times. The priests blew trumpets louder than ever. (Ask the children to play their trumpets.)
Joshua asked the people to shout with great force. “Shout, for God has given us the city!” he told them.
Do you know what happened next? One brick fell, then another, then many, and so they all fell until the entire wall had collapsed! Then the city was left unprotected, and was conquered by Joshua and the people of God.
The power of God is great. Not only can he make a wall collapse, but he can do even more than what we think.
connect the lesson
The walls fall down
Remember the Word of Faith “Power.” Distribute Student Activity Sheet #40-A and #40-B. Help them carefully cut with round-tipped scissors, the outline of the biblical scene in Student Activity Sheet #40-A. Instruct them to follow the dotted lines and the four strips of illustrations. Show them how to attach strips to each other, using adhesive tape or glue, following numbering, to form a circle. See the example in Student Activity Sheet #40-B.
Help them to fold the strip of the walls along the dotted lines and join them to the back where they are indicated. This will leave a square representing the city.
Let children use their pictures to review the Bible story. Encourage the children to take home the activity sheets to share the lesson with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
Write the text on the board, and repeat it three times. Erase some words, and repeat them two more times. Then erase other words, and repeat them twice. Then erase other words and do the same. Follow this process until there are no more words left on the board. Then have the children turn around slowly seven times. At the end, have them sit to simulate the fall of the walls while repeating the text again.
wrap-up
Pray
Conclude with a prayer. Do not forget to ask the group for prayer requests and include them. Help the children pray: “Dear Lord thank you for your help and provision.”
Encourage
Emphasize that we can trust the power of God when we are afraid. Encourage the children to seek God’s blessings during the week and help each day.
Invite
Challenge the children to seek God’s help to share this story to their school friends and invite them to the sessions. Thank each child for attending and announce something about the next lesson that will arouse interest so that they do not miss the next session.
* 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.™