Solomon gives God his best
key words
biblical reference
1 Kings 5:1
lesson objective
To help the children learn the desire we should have for giving God our best
memory verse
“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 13:4, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
When God told David that one of his sons was going to build the temple in his place, he began to gather the materials for the work (1 Kings 5: 1-6; 8:1-30).
David made a trade pact with King Hiram of Tire to receive cedar wood and craftsmen. Solomon’s wisdom was recognized when he arranged everything so that 30,000 workers, 70,000 roadmen, 80,000 bricklayers and 3,300 supervisors could work together in the great work. The temple was finished after seven years. But Solomon waited eleven months, until the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, to dedicate it to God. The Ark of the Covenant was already inside, placed in its place of honor. When the priests carried it in, a cloud that symbolized the presence of God filled the whole place. They could not finish the ceremony because the glory of God filled the temple. Solomon acknowledged that the completion of the temple was the fulfillment of a promise that God had made to David.
Children are surrounded by teachers, parents, grandparents and leaders who guide them how to lead their lives. Their ability is enriched and develops rapidly. When they do something that does not work very well, they practice it until perfecting it. They enjoy making use of their new skills, and feel proud when they do something right and receive recognition for it. Through this lesson, your children will learn to give their best to the Lord using their abilities, talents, and skills. They need to understand that God gave us his best when he sent Jesus Christ into the world.
introduce the lesson
Who gave their best?
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #299-A. Have the children identify which actions are badly done or incorrect, and who is responsible for the mistake. (The person who left out some of the crayons, the one who did not clean the well, the hairdresser, the seamstress.) Ask, “Did these people do their best?” (No)
“Sometimes we make mistakes, but this was probably an act of carelessness. How do you feel when you pay for something that was done wrong, or buy something and it does not work?” (Let down and angry.) “What does it mean to give your best? Who deserves our best?”
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #299-B and #299-C.
teach the lesson
The great project
“David has crowned his son Solomon to be the king of Israel,” King Hiram of Tire said. “He and I are good friends. I’ll send a message welcoming Solomon.”
When Solomon received the message from this king, he was very happy to know that he wanted to be friends with the people of Israel. “We can help each other,” he thought.
Solomon also sent a message to Hiram. “You know that my father David could not build a house in the name of the Lord his God because of the wars in which he was wrapped up in, until the Lord put his enemies under his control. Now, the Lord my God has given me peace everywhere. I, therefore, have determined to build a house in the name of the Lord my God, according to what the Lord said to my father, David, ‘Your son, whom I’ll place on the throne after you, will build a house for my Name.’ “I want to use cedar wood from Lebanon for the temple,” continued Solomon.
“Please have your men cut the trees. I will pay whatever wages you say. My men will help, but as you know, we have no one who knows how to cut wood like your men.” Then the king of Tire answered Solomon’s message. “My men will cut down all the cedar and cypress you need,” said Hiram. “They will carry the wood to the sea, tie them together to form rafts, and then they will transport them by sailing them to the place where you want them. There you will separate them and thus you will be able to take them to your palace. In payment, you will give me food for my house.” So Hiram sent Solomon the cedar and cypress wood for the temple. As payment, he gave the king of Tire thousands of barrels of wheat and large quantities of olive oil for food. So did Solomon and Hiram for many years. Solomon also needed stones for the foundations of the temple. So, he sent 70,000 haulers, 80,000 rock cutters and 3,300 supervisors to the mountains. These men cut and removed large rocks to make the foundation; worked the wood and prepared the rocks for the construction. Other workers did the interior finishing of the temple. For seven years, these people worked to build a house for God. When at last they were finished, Solomon gathered all the leaders of Israel. “Now is the time to bring the ark of Yahweh,” he told them.
The priests carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord to a special place in the temple, the most holy place. The cherubim covered the ark with their outstretched wings. Inside the ark, there were the two tablets of the law (10 Commandments) which Moses had placed inside at Horeb, where God made a covenant with the Israelites after they had left Egypt.
When the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the temple of the Lord. They could not finish the service because the cloud prevented it. The glory of the Lord filled all with his presence. This cloud was the symbol of the Lord’s presence in his temple. Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he will dwell in the darkness, but I have built him a house to be in, a place where he can dwell forever.” Then he turned to the people and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has promised to David my father what he has done with his hand.” (From 1 Kings 5 and 8)
connect the lesson
My gift to God
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #299-D. Remind children of the list of tasks they did in the previous section. Ask, “Is the only way we can give God our best is by doing things in the church?” (No! We bring honor to him when we do our best in every activity and place.)
Ask, “Why did Solomon want to give God his best?” (To give him honor.) “How can you honor God with the best?” Tell the children to write a list of the gifts they can give to God on the boxes on the pages of this sheet. Challenge them to do the best they can during the week. Remind them that they must honor God.
The most beautiful way to show God how much we love him is to do the best we can in all the circumstances of our lives. Encourage the children to say that they want to give God their best. Recognize their abilities and talents, and encourage them to always use them in the best way to honor God. Also, challenge them to perfect them.
practice the memory verse
Write the text, word for word, on separate cards. Place the cards in the correct order on the board. Memorize the verse and review it with the group. Once it is learned, remove the cards from the board and mix them up, and then have the children, working as a team, place the words in the right order again on the board. Invite them to all belong to the Verse of the Month Club.
wrap-up
Pray
At the end of the session, ask the students to pray short prayers, promising to give God their best, according to their abilities and talents.
Encourage
Encourage the students to always use their abilities and talents in the best way to honor God. Also, thank your children for their attendance and ask them not to forget what they learned.
Invite
Announce something about the next lesson to increase the group’s interest. Remind them to welcome visitors.
* 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.™