Intermediate Level, Block 5, Week 45: The Destruction of Jericho

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Intermediate Level, Block 5—Occupying the Land

Week 45
The Destruction of Jericho

Point to Emphasize: Even if we don’t always understand, we can always trust that God’s word is true and that our parent’s instructions are the best for us.

Reference Reading: Joshua 6

Memory Verse: Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, / And do not rely on your own understanding; / In all your ways acknowledge Him, / And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Story Sample

The children of Israel have now crossed the River Jordan! Two million people had completely crossed over the Jordan on dry ground! What a miracle, right? So we learned last week that even though no one could explain what happened, that’s what a miracle is, we believe that God is real. The same goes for His word.

Now the children of Israel were ready to fight to get into the good land. The first city they came to was called Jericho. Remember, this was the city the spies went to before they crossed the Jordan. Jericho was a strongly fortified city—that means that the walls were strong and high. The city also had gates for protection, built to shut out people who wanted to get inside. The king of Jericho had heard what God had done for the children of Israel and he was afraid of them. So he locked up the gates and trusted that his walls could keep the children of Israel out. He knew that the children of Israel did not have weapons to take down his walls. Even though the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, he did not think that they would be able to conquer the wall.

God’s word to Joshua was that He had given Jericho, its king, and the mighty men of war into Joshua’s hand. God gave Joshua instructions on what to do. Now, these were VERY unusual instructions. What were they?

Joshua was told by God to have the men of valor (courage) carry the ark with the priests and they were to circle the city one time a day. They had to do this for six days. [Storyteller, draw a square on the board, and put a “J” for Jericho in the center. As you tell the story, draw circles around the square, one for each day. On the seventh day, draw seven circles.] Seven other priests were charged to carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Jehovah and they couldn’t just blow them anytime they liked. They had to blow them when they were instructed.

For the first six days, the army of Israel just walked around the city with the ark. If you were someone who lived in the city of Jericho watching, wouldn’t you wonder what they were doing? Those people didn’t have weapons; they just walked around the city carrying an ark, and no one said a word, they just walked silently.

Then on the seventh day, they were instructed to do something different. Instead of just walking around Jericho one time, they walked around the city seven times. At the seventh time the priests blew their trumpets. The captain of the army commanded: “Shout!” [Storyteller, draw lines going out and away from your drawing, to represent all the noise.] As the priests trumpeted, the people shouted, and…can you guess what happened? The wall fell down! The city was utterly destroyed. Wow! God, the one true and living God, was with Israel. Who else could have taken down a city like that? And His word is always true! Well, there was only one household that was not destroyed. Whose house was it? Yes, Rahab and her household were not destroyed as promised by the two spies. But the rest of the city was completely destroyed.

This whole plan sounds kind of crazy, doesn’t it? Think about it—no talking, no weapons, shouting only when told. Even hearing the instructions you’d say it doesn’t make sense. Now that I think about it, that has happened to me before. Mom would tell me things that didn’t make sense to me. One time she told me keep a pair of shoes by my bed at night. I thought that was crazy. Why would I need shoes when I was going to bed? Who needs shoes during the night? But a short time later, there was an earthquake and we had to get out of the house quickly. I was so glad my shoes were right there. Then I knew that mom knew what was best for me. [Storyteller, use a personal example of a verse or special instruction that seemed to make no sense to you.]

In the same way, Israel followed the instructions given by God through Joshua. Like the children of Israel, we can be those who trust older ones’ instructions and also trust what God says in the Bible. We can always believe that God’s word is true. Even though sometimes some things may not make sense to us, God’s word is always true. We just need to learn to trust in Him and to follow His command.

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