Unit 7: Judges OT7.1 God Sends Judges Lesson...help. They would repent of their sin and ask God to save them from their enemies. God would hear their cry for help and would send a

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OT7.1 God Sends Judges ©Beverly Wilson 2018

Unit 7: Judges OT7.1 God Sends Judges Lesson

Scripture: Judges 1-4

Lesson Goal: The book of Judges tells about the time after Joshua led the people of Israel into

the Promised Land. During this time God used judges to be the leaders of his people. In this lesson we will talk about the first three judges--Othneil, Ehud, and Shamgar. Students will learn that being faithful or loyal to God is important to their Christian life.

Introduction: This lesson about the first Judges of Israel is found in the book of Judges. Judges is in the second group of books in the Old Testament called the historical books. These books begin with Joshua and go through Esther. Let’s say the Old Testament Books of history together—Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, I Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Attention Getter: “Good Leader” What makes a good leader? A good leader shows people the right way to go. But a good leader has to have good followers! How would it be if you were trying to lead some people who suddenly decided to follow their own way? Good followers always listen and obey their leaders; they show their love and respect by always following the rules! They don’t go off and do their own thing.

During the time Israel first lived in the Promised Land God used judges to be the leaders of his people. In this lesson we will talk about the first three judges--Othneil, Ehud, and Shamgar.

Optional Attention Getting Activity:”Sing an Action Song Repeatedly” such as “Hallel, Hallel, Hallelujah” or “I’m in the Lord’s Army” Say: “What things do you like to do over and over again? Do you have a favorite video game that you like to play over and over? Perhaps you have a favorite song that you like to sing or hum over and over again. Sometimes people like to shoot baskets and see how many times they can make a basket in a row. What is your favorite thing to do repeatedly?” (Let students respond.) Say: “Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is fun. Sometimes it is boring. Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is wrong. In our Bible stories for the next few weeks, the Israelites did the same thing over and over again. They forgot about God! Forgetting about God is a wrong thing! God had a plan to turn His people’s hearts back to Him each time. Let’s find out what it was.

Opening Prayer: “Dear Father in heaven, Thank you for being loyal to us even when we are not loyal to You. You deserve our total complete love. Help us to always put you first by trusting in You and loving you with all our heart, soul, and mind. Forgive us when we fail to show our love for you. Thank you for giving to us the gift of salvation and strength to live the Christian life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/JIX7eBhKNxw Good leaders are very important to their people. God had chosen Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land and to conquer the people who lived there. God had told Joshua to destroy all the people because they worshipped false gods and had a heart that was hardened toward the one true God. God knew that these people would cause Israel a lot of trouble if they were not killed.

https://youtu.be/JIX7eBhKNxw

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Before his death Joshua had warned the people of Israel to teach their children about all the mighty deeds that God had done to bring them into the land. He wanted them to remember that obeying God was necessary in order to have God’s blessing.

While Joshua was the leader, the people of Israel were mostly obedient to God and followed after His commandments. They obeyed the Lord and broke down the altars of the false gods and destroyed the wicked Canaanites but then they stopped! After Joshua’s death they started making treaties with the wicked people. They did not finish driving out the wicked Canaanites even though Moses and Joshua had warned them against this idea.

Just as God had warned, their children began to make friends and even began to marry these idol-worshipping people! The Israelites began to forget about God and all He had done for Israel. Their children were even rebellious toward God. They fell into a cycle of sin that can be marked with an A-B-C-D-E pattern.

A- Abandon God. First the Israelites began to do evil things. They forgot who God was and how He had brought them out of Egypt. They began to worship the false god Baal and this made God very angry.

Next they were caught in B-Bondage. Their enemies were the Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites who were nomadic tribes. These people possessed great military skill and had horses and chariots. They would raid the land of Israel and take their crops and herds.

When the people of Israel were suffering from the invading armies they would C-Cry out to God for help. They would repent of their sin and ask God to save them from their enemies.

God would hear their cry for help and would send a D-Deliverer. The Deliverer was a man or woman whom God would choose to be the Judge or Leader. The Spirit of God would come upon him and he would lead an attack against their enemies. God would then deliver the people of Israel out of bondage.

At last the people would have a time of E-ease or peace in the land. The Judge whom God had raised up would lead the people of Israel in worship of Him and God would give them peace in the land of Israel for many years. After the death of the judge the people would begin to be influenced again by the false worship of the Canaanite people.

They would again A- Abandon God and find themselves in B-Bondage. Only then would they C-Cry out to God for help. God would raise up another D-Deliverer and then they would again live in E- ease. This cycle of events would go around and around because the people wanted to do what they thought was right in their own eyes. This cycle did not happen just once but over and over for about 300 years! The book of Judges tells about these sad times for God’s people.

Finally God sent an angel to a place called Bokim. The angel told the Israelites God's message, "I have brought you up from the land of Egypt and have given you this land but now you are breaking your promise to me! You are not worshipping me! You are worshipping the false gods so I am not going to give you victory in battle. I will use these enemies to test you."

When the Israelites head this they began to cry and weep because they knew that because they had disobeyed they would be defeated. They called the place Bokim and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

And so it was--when Israel A—Abandoned God and disobeyed and worshipped idols, God allowed other nations to rule over the Israelites and treat them very badly. They would live in B-Bondage. Finally it would get so bad that Israel would tell God how sorry they were and C- Call out to Him for help. God would hear their prayers and raise up D- Deliverers or judges to deliver them from their

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enemies. As long as the judge was alive Israel would obey God and have a time of E- Ease. But when the judge died the people would return to their evil ways. This happened over and over again. But each time they turned away from God they would do more and more evil things.

The first judge of Israel was Othniel. He was Caleb's nephew and he was a great warrior. He delivered the Israelites from the King of Aram. The Israelites had served him for eight long toilsome years. Because Othneil was so strong and brave, he led the Israelites for forty years.

After Othniel died, the Israelites soon forgot about the Lord. They began to worship idols. The Lord was very angry with the Israelites and he let King Eglon of Moab defeat and conquer Israel. King Eglon attacked Israel and took possession of Jericho the city of Palms. He made the Israelites serve him for 18 years.

The Israelites were sorry that they had disobeyed the Lord by worshiping idols. They cried out to the Lord and asked Him to free them from King Eglon. The Lord heard their prayers, and he chose Ehud to kill King Eglon.

Ehud who was a left-handed man was responsible for paying the taxes to King Eglon for the Israelites. Before Ehud went to see King Eglon, he made a double edge dagger and strapped it to his right leg.

After Ehud had finished giving the taxes to King Eglon, he said to him, “I have a secret message from God to you, King Eglon.” King Eglon who was a very fat man was sitting in the upper room of his summer palace. He told every servant to go out from his presence. Then King Eglon stood up.

With his left hand Ehud took the dagger strapped on his right thigh and stabbed into King Eglon’s stomach. The dagger went right into King Eglon’s fat belly. The king was so fat that Ehud could not get the sword out of his stomach so he just left it sticking out his back!

Ehud then snuck out of the upper room and locked the doors behind him. Then he escaped through the porch without being seen. When the servants of King Eglon came by they found that the doors of the upper room were locked so they thought that King Eglon was resting in his chamber. They waited for a long while and finally they became curious. They broke open the door and found that their master was dead.

By that time, Ehud was already a long way off. When Ehud arrived home, he went to the mountains of Ephraim and blew a loud trumpet blast to lead the people of Israel down the hill. Ehud said to them, “Today, the Lord gives our enemies, the Moabites into our hand.” The people of Israel went down the mountain with Ehud and killed 10,000 men. So Israel overcame Moab and they had peace for 80 years.

After Ehud had passed away, the Israelites disobeyed the Lord again by worshiping idols. We don't know much about the third judge of Israel who was Shamgar. The important thing is that he slew 600 Philistines with only an ox goad. An ox goad is a long pole with a sharp metal point that farmers and herdsmen used to jab the oxen to keep them moving along.

The Philistines were panic stricken! If one man with only an ox goad for a weapon was able to slay 600 Philistines, what could not a whole army do? So the Philistines were very wise to leave Israel without any further fighting.

Three times Israel had repented and three times God had sent a judge to deliver them. First Othniel, then Ehud, and next Shamgar. You would think that all these experiences would be enough to teach the Israelites their lesson about NOT worshipping idols but it didn't!

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Often you and I are just like those Israelites. When we first became God’s children, we wanted to love and serve Him with all our hearts. But after awhile, we let other people and things become more important until He no longer has first place.

Our idols are not made of wood or stone, but they are every bit as sinful. What are some things that take the place of God in our lives? What are some other activities, hobbies, or priorities we can have in our lives besides God?

We may watch too much TV; we may become too busy to help people in need. We may want to play with our friends more that spending time reading our Bibles or praying. If you become close friends with someone that doesn’t know and love God, you will find that it may be very tempting to do things that displease God. For example, you may desire to be accepted by your friends at school, but remember, it’s important for you to choose good friends – ones that love God, too.

Our memory verse is Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus is saying that if we truly love God it will be natural for us to obey Him. We should concentrate on all the ways we can show our love for Him. This is our memory verse. Let's say it again together. Matthew 22:37. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

If you are His child, you should be loyal to God, giving Him first place in your life. To be loyal means that you are true and faithful to the one who deserves your love and obedience. Why does God deserve your loyalty?

God deserves our loyalty because of all that He had done for us. If you are God’s child, He desires your loyalty because He loves you and wants only what’s best for you. That’s why it’s so important to be loyal to God. You need to always give Him first place in your life.

How do you stay loyal to God? Stay close to God; spend time alone with Him each day reading His Word and praying to Him. Nothing should be more important than the time you spend with God. Do what God says in His Word. Find out what God wants you to do, then serve Him by helping others with all your heart. Remember be loyal to God.

Review Questions: “Popcorn” Purpose: To review the events in the lesson by playing a game. Procedure: Have students sit in a circle. The leader asks a question and students that want to answer the question “pop” up, share their answer, and then sit down. Set a limit of pops per person.

1. Why was the Lord’s anger kindled against Israel? (Israel served other gods) 2. As judgment, the Lord gave Israel into the hand of enemy nations until Israel did what? (Cried

out to the Lord) 3. To save Israel, the Lord raised judges. What were the names of the three judges in this

lesson? (Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar) 4. Who came upon Othniel so he could judge Israel? (The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel.) 5. How long did Israel serve King Eglon of Moab before he was given into the hand of Othniel?

(Israel served King Eglon for eight years) 6. How long did Israel have peace before Othniel died? (40 years) 7. The people again did evil in the sight of the Lord. How long did the people serve the king of

Moab before they cried out to the Lord? (18 years) 8. Who did God choose to kill King Eglon and free Israel? (God chose Ehud.) 9. How did Ehud get King Eglon to be alone with him? (He told him that he had a secret

message from God to tell him and King Eglon took him to the upper room of his summer palace. He told every servant to go out from his presence.)

10. How did Ehud kill King Eglon? (He stabbed him with a dagger.)

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11. How long did Israel have peace after God gave the Moabites into their hand through Ehud? (80 years)

12. How many Philistines did Shamgar kill? (600) 13. What did Shamgar use to kill the Philistines? (An Ox goad) 14. What is an ox goad? (An ox goad is a long pole with a sharp metal point that farmers and

herdsmen used to jab the oxen to keep them moving along 15. What cycle did the Israelites follow during the period of the Judges? (A- Abandoned God, B-

Bondage to their enemies; C-Cry out to God for help; D- Deliverer sent by God; E-Ease or peace period under the judges’ rule)

16. Why did the people keep following into this cycle? (Everyone did what they thought was right instead of following God’s Law.)

17. What does our memory verse say about how we are to be faithful to God? Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”)

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Smack the Bug” Our memory verse is Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Have students locate the verse in scripture and read aloud several times. Say: “God sent judges to help His people. The judges helped the Israelites obey God again. We sin and disobey God like the Israelites did, but God sent us the best help of all—His very own Son. Jesus changes our hearts and saves us from sin forever. In this verse Jesus is saying that if we truly love God it will be natural for us to obey Him. We should concentrate on all the ways we can show our love for Him.” Repeat verse together. Preparation: You will need a large sheet of poster board. On the poster board draw simple two dimensional bugs on the paper. Draw 22 bugs—one for each of the words of the verse plus the one for the scripture location. (See sample drawing of a bug.) Write one word from the Memory Verse randomly in the bugs on the paper. You will need two flyswatters. Procedure: Say: “We are going to play a game to help us remember our verse. Each word of the Memory Verse is written on a bug. I’m going to give two of you a flyswatter and you will try to smack the bug with the word that comes next in order. As they smack the bugs the rest of us will say the words aloud.” Repeat saying the verse until all students have had a turn or as time allows. Optional: You can allow the students to tap the words with their hands if you do not want to use flyswatters but that is clearly not as much fun!

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Double Edge Sword” Our memory verse is Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Have students locate the verse in scripture and read aloud several times. Preparation: You will need a paper towel tube or a toy sword. Procedure: Say: “The Bible tells us Ehud was left handed. Today we are going to play a Memory Verse game using only our left hands. I have a “double-edged sword” for us to pass. As the sword is passed to you and you take it with your left hand, say the next word of the passage. Lead the students to say the key passage while passing the sword around the circle. To help students put the words to the memory verse on the white board in front of the circle. After passing the sword around the circle have students find a new spot in the circle and repeat the activity.

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Group Learning Activity: “I Have Never” (Grades K-3) Preparation: No advance preparation needed. Procedure: Have children stand in a circle. Explain that students will take turns being in the middle of the circle. The person standing in the center of the circle will say, “I have never…..” and complete the statement with something they have never done before. Examples: “I have never ridden a school bus. I have never been to Disney World. I have never eaten a worm.” If a student in the circle has done that activity then they must step out of the circle. The person in the center will try to run to take that person’s spot in the circle. (Children who have previously had to leave the circle may also run to secure a spot in the circle.) If a child has done that activity then they will be left to become the new person in the center of the circle. Play until everyone has had a chance to be in the middle or until time runs out. Say: “Can any of us say, “I have never sinned?” (No) Romans 3:23 tells us that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Who is the only person to live on earth and never sin? (Jesus) Say: “In our lesson we learned that when the children of Israel sinned they broke their relationship with the world and with God. The Israelites had a problem. We have a problem, don’t we? We sin. We break God’s law. Thankfully God sent Jesus His Son to rescue us from our sin. Jesus lived and never sinned. He obeyed God’s law perfectly. Then He paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross.” Close activity in prayer asking God to forgive us of the wrong things we have done.

Group Learning Activity: “Sin and Repentance” (Grades K-3) Preparation: None needed Procedure: Say: “Today we learned a lesson from the book of Judges about the first leaders of the Israel when they first lived in the Promised Land. We are going to play a game called “Sin and Repentance.” This game is like “Red light, Green light” except of saying those words I am going to say “Sin” and “Repentance.” When you hear the word “Sin” you are to walk around the room shaking your fists, but when I say the word “Repentance”, you are to kneel and pray. Play the game for several minutes until you feel the children might start to get bored. Say: “This game reminds us of the cycle of sin and repentance that the Israelites fell into in the Book of Judges. Remember sin breaks our relationship with God.”

Group Learning Activity: “Wordle Poster of God” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: Print the Wordle Poster of the Attributes of God on poster paper. Display in the classroom. Print a copy of the “Cycle of Sin” for each student. Procedure: Show students the word poster and have them act out the words: God is…Creator, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Merciful, Righteous, Just, Creator of Nations, God is in control, Long-suffering, Glorious, Deliverer, Savior, All-seeing, Faithful, Judge, Provider, Prayer Answerer, Sovereign, Gracious, Way to Heaven, Protector, Promise Keeper, Success maker, King of kings, Holy, Law maker, Guide, Victory giver, Truth, Rest provider; Redeemer, Faithful; etc. Say: “Which words on the poster describe God in this lesson?” (Judge, Righteous, Merciful, Redeemer, Deliverer) Say: “God acted as a judge in showing the people that their worship of idols was wrong and had to be punished. God was Righteous by allowing their enemies to overcome them. God was Merciful when He heard the cry of His people for help. God was the Protector of the people in sending them a Deliverer to lead them out of bondage to their enemies. God was their Redeemer by forgiving them of their sin and restoring

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them to a place of peace. God demonstrated that He is in control of all the situations that come into our lives.” Review the Cycle of Sin that the Israelites Committed: A- Abandoned God, B- Bondage to their enemies; C-Cry out to God for help; D- Deliverer sent by God; E-Ease or peace period under the judges’ rule. Say: “Who tells you what is right and wrong? Who helps you know what do? Does your mom and dad help you follow God? How could your teachers help you? What other grown-ups in your life help you serve God? Do you have other Christian friends who encourage you to obey God? In today’s Bible story, God’s people kept doing the wrong things, but God sent people to help them know what to do. These people were called judges. The Israelites forgot about the one true God. They disobeyed God, and bad things happened. They cried out to God. God sent judges to help them. When the judge died, the people would do it all over again. Say: “Because God is holy and righteous He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. So, God judged the Israelites for their sin when they served other gods. However, God is also merciful; so He showed His love to the Israelites and sent judges to save them. We also deserve judgment for our sin. However, God is merciful to us and showed His love to us when He sent Christ to take our punishment so that we can be saved through faith in Him.” Say: “How does the work of Christ save sinners? A sinner is saved through faith in the work of Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Say: “What is regeneration? Regeneration is the act of God working in the sinner’s heart that leads us to faith in Jesus. Ephesians 2:5 “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Say: “What is righteousness? Righteousness is God’s goodness and holiness. Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

Group Learning Activity: “Cycle of Sin” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To help students learn Israel’s Cycle of Sin.

Preparation: You will need one copy of the “Cycle of Sin” chart for each student, Bibles, index cards, pencils, paper, and spiritual notebooks. Procedure: Review the Bible lesson covering the first three judges of Israel— Othneil, Ehud, and Shamgar. If desired, read Judges 3:7-16, 20-21, 23, 26-31. Summarize or use review questions. Give students a copy of the “Cycle of Sin” chart. Have students locate the following scripture and read the passage aloud. Leader should mark passage ahead of time.

Read Psalm 106:34-36, 40-46; “They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,

but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.” “Therefore the LORD was

angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. He gave them into the hands of the nations,

and their foes ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their

power. Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in

their sin. Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry for their sake he remembered

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his covenant and out of his great love he relented. He caused all who held them captive to show

them mercy.”

Using the “Cycle of Sin” chart help students identify each of the verses and where they are found on the cycle of sin.

Say: “This psalm is a picture of God’s great love for his people who deserved only judgment. Fortunately God’s compassion and mercy are not limited by our faithfulness to him. God was merciful to us in sending his Son to die for our sins. If he did this while we were captive to sin, how much more the merciful will he be now that we are His children! Say: “God allowed trouble to come to the Israelites in order to help them. Our troubles can be helpful because they humble us, wean us back to from the allurements of the world, and drive us back to God. Troubles often revitalize our prayers, and allow us to experience more of God’s faithfulness. Difficulties often make us more dependent upon God. We become more dependent upon God and are more willing to submit to God’s purpose for our lives. Trials also make us more compassionate toward others in trouble.” Procedure: Have students name some situations in which they got in trouble but learned some valuable lessons. Do they remember those lessons more now than they would have if they had not had the trouble? Often we learn best from our mistakes. Have students summarize what they have learned in their spiritual journals.

Group Learning Activity: “Don’t Break the Circle” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need one or two large hula hoops for your group depending upon whether you divide the group into teams. Say: “In our lesson today Israel broke their relationship with God by turning to idol worship. The consequence of their sin was that their relationship with God was broken. God does not want us to break our relationship with Him by doing things that are disobedient to Him. What are some things that we might do that break our relationship with God? (Lie, steal, disobey parents, fail to read His Word, fail to tell others about Jesus, fail to attend church, etc.) Today we are going to play a game that will help us remember to not break our relationship with God. Remember the consequence of sin is that world and our relationship with God is broken.” Procedure: Have students form a large circle and join hands. (Each circle should consist of no more than 5 or 6 students.) Ask two of the students to let go of their hands. Put a large plastic hula hoop on one student’s arm, and then have them rejoin hands. Have students see how fast they can get the large plastic hoop around the circle without letting their hands break apart. (Students will need to let the hoop slide over the heads and down their bodies and then step over the hoop to move it to the next person in the circle.) If the circle breaks, have the two children at the “break” name something that we do that breaks our relationship with God. Continue as time allows. Conclusion: Say: “Do we have a problem with sin too? Or are we different from the Israelites? (No, we sin too!) Why did Jesus come? (He came to deliver us from our sin.) Optional: For a more competitive version form two groups and see who can get the large plastic hoop around the circle first.

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Group Learning Activity: “My Life Bucket Toss” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need three bean bags and 3 buckets or pails labeled with “Home, School, or Other.” Procedure: Say: “God’s plan of redemption was to send Jesus to rescue people from sin. God can work in your life to bring about His plan of redemption in the lives of others. In our game today, we are going to think of ways God can use us to accomplish His plan. God wants us to share His plan of redemption with other people. Think of ways God can use you to share His plan of redemption in the places listed on the buckets.” Divide the class into two teams. Teams will take turns tossing a beanbag into one of the buckets. The other team will respond with one way God could use a person to accomplish His plan in that place. If the bean bag lands in the “Other” bucket, students can choose any location they might go (sports field, friend’s house, grandparents’ house, and so forth.) Say: “How does God accomplish His plan? God works in the lives of people to bring about His plan for redemption. God can work in your life to bring His plan of redemption to other people.”

Group Learning Activity: “Books of the Bible” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need 66 pinch clothespins; two large pizza tin pans, and a black marker. Write each book of the Bible on a clothespin. On one of the large pizza pans write “Old Testament” and “New Testament” on the other. Procedure: Say: “Today our lesson is the start of a new study in the Book of Judges. (Find the clothespin with the name “Judges” written on it.) The book of Judges is the second book of history in the Old Testament. Judges is about twelve leaders whom God chose to deliver Israel from its enemies after they first settled in the Promised Land. The book of Judges shows us the “Cycle of Rebellion and Sin, and God’s deliverance, and forgiveness of sin. Judges was probably written by the last judge—Samuel.” “We are going to see how well we know the book of the Bible. When I say “Go” you are to clip the Books of the Bible clothespins to the appropriate paper plate—Old Testament or New Testament.” Use a stopwatch to time the students. Repeat activity to see if students can complete the task in less and less time.

Group Learning Activity: “Judges Game Board” (Grades K-3) Purpose: Students will make a game board to remind them of how the Israelites moved forward and backward in their obedience and worship of God. Preparation: You will need one copy of the game board pattern printed on heavy cardstock for each set of two or three students. You may want each student to make their own game board to take home. Students will need markers, crayons or colored markers. You will also need a paper clip and a small paper brad for each game board. Have students use plastic checkers for game markers. Procedure: Pass out the game board patterns to each group of 2 or 3 students or to each student individually. Have each child or group color each of the boxes on their game board a different color. Pass out one paper clip and one brad to each group. Push the paper brad through the small end of the paper clip and through the black hole of the spinner game. Pass out checkers to use

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as markers. Have students play the game with a partner by spinning the spinner (paper clip). If the paper clip lands of 2 then that player moves ahead two spaces. If the students lands on a box with directions, then the directions must be followed. The first player to make it to the last box wins. Students take turns using each other’s game boards. As the students are coloring their game boards, remind them of how the Israelites were warned to obey the words of the Lord and to worship Him only. Once Joshua died, the Israelites began worshipping other gods. When the Israelites stopped worshipping the one true God, the Lord’s favor was not with them. Help students realize that we are the children of God and we need to worship God and no other.

Craft Learning Activity: “Circles of Sin” (Grades K-3) Preparation: Each student will need a large white sheet of drawing paper; access to plastic cups of various sizes (small medium large and very large); black markers; washable tempera paint markers or watercolors; and paintbrushes. Say: “In the book of Judges, the Israelites lived in a repetitive cycle of sin. They sinned. They begged God for help. God rescued them. They served God for a period of time. They sinned again and the cycle continued. The consequence of sin is that we live in a broken world and our relationship with God is broken. Today we are going to make a painting that will remind us of the “cycle or circle of sin.” Procedure: Give each student a piece of white paper and a black marker. Distribute plastic cups of various sizes to the class. Guide the students to trace the rim of their cup onto their papers. Help students continue tracing using various size cups and overlapping the circles as desired. When students are finished tracing, allow them to paint inside the circles. Display the “Cycle of Sin” poster below. Say: “As we learned in our lesson Israel committed sin and fell into a cycle of rebellion. Look at the poster: A- Abandoned God, B- Bondage to their enemies; C-Cry out to God for help; D- Deliverer sent by God; E-Ease or peace period under the judges’ rule. As believers we know what God says we should do. When we disobey and do not immediately confess our sin, we are enslaved to whatever sin that is causing us to abandon God’s truth. We are just like the Israelites. Abandoning God and living enslaved to any sin makes us miserable and eventually we will cry out to God to forgive us and help us not to sin. Jesus has rescued us from sin and the punishment we deserve. He is our righteous Judge. When we walk in obedience to Him we will have peace from the stress that sin brings to us and those around us.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Judges” Wheel (Grades 2-5) Preparation: Each child will need two large paper plates, crayons, colored markers, gold craft brads, scissors, pens or pencils. Procedure: Demonstrate to children how to divide the first plate up into five equal sections with a pen or pencil. (It should look like a sliced pizza.) Instruct children to write one of the following sentences in each section:

A. Israel abandoned God. B. Israel was in bondage. C. Israel cried out to God. D. God sent a deliverer. E. Israel had ease or peace in the land.

Divide the second plate divide into five equal parts again. Demonstrate to the children how to cut out one of the sections using scissors. On the

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remainder of the second plate write “God is patient.” Stack the two plates on top of each other with the “God is Patient” plate on top. Stick the gold brad through the center of the plate and lock it into place. Have children decorate their spinning wheel with crayons or stickers. Say: “This spinning wheel show the cycle of sin the Israelites fell into in the Book of Judges. Their sin broke their relationship with God, but He was always patient and delivered them when they cried out to Him. Sin breaks our relationship with God.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Judges Timeline” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need one copy of each of the first judges—Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar for each of the students; scissors, glue, crayons, and colored markers. Procedure: Have students color each of the pictures of the Judges of Israel using crayons or colored markers. When finished, have students cut along the outside edge making sure to leave a flap along the right side of the picture. Attach the first three judge pictures together in a long horizontal timeline using the flap edge for gluing on the next picture in the timeline. The picture of Othniel should be first, Ehud is second, and Shamgar is third on the time line. When finished, be sure to collect the time line for students to add the other judges in the following sessions.

Snack Learning Activity: “Layered Snack” (Grades K-4) Preparation: You will need crushed cookies, pudding, cereal, whipped cream, cherries or candy sprinkles, clear cups, spoons, napkins. Say: “The Israelites had a cycle of disobeying God, facing the consequences, crying out to god for help, being delivered by a judge, and living in peace. Today we are going to make a snack to remind us of the cycle the Israelites continued to follow throughout the Book of Judges.” Procedure: Lead students to create a layered snack and discuss what each of layer represents:

Cookie layer—sin of the Israelites

Pudding layer—consequences of sin

Cereal layer—crying out to God for help

Cream layer—delivered by a judge

Cherry topper or Candy layer—Living in peace.

After all the students have assembled the layered snack, review the cycle again. Say: “Your layered snack is good. Was the cycle the Israelites practiced good? Why not? What was wrong with it? (They sinned against God.) How did God accomplish His plan of bringing the people to redemption? God used each of the three judges to deliver the Israelites. God can use us in His plan too!”

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Ask each kid to voice a sentence prayer to God. It may be a prayer request, a thanksgiving, or praise. Close in prayer after kids have prayed. Life Application Challenge: Using scripture and the guide provided below share with boys and girls how to become a Christian. Provide students and opportunity to respond by having teachers available to speak with kids one on one.

God rules. God created and is charge of everything. (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11; Colossians 1:16-17)

We sinned. Since Adam and Eve, everyone has chosen to disobey god ( Romans 3:23; 6:23)

God provided. God sent His Son Jesus to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Jesus gives. Jesus lived a perfect life; died on the cross for our sins, and rose again so we can be welcomed into God’s family. (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21’ 1 Peter 3:18)

We respond. Believe that Jesus alone saves you. Repent. Tell God that your faith is in Jesus. (Romans 10:9-10. 13)

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God Sends Judges--Ehud

Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

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Documents

Unit 7: Judges OT7.1 God Sends Judges Lesson...help. They would repent of their sin and ask God to save them from their enemies. God would hear their cry for help and would send a