Early Judges including Deborah To Remember: God is our ruler
Vocabulary:
judge: (in lesson context) a leader God
provided to free Israel from danger and keep the peace
repent: to turn back, to change your mind and behavior
Lesson
Judges 1-5"God raised up Deborah to be judge after the people had been treated harshly
by King Jabin of Hazor. God spoke to Deborah under her palm tree between
Bethel and Ramah. She was to send for a man named Barak in Naphtali and tell
him to take ten thousand soldiers to Mount Tabor. There he would fight
against King Jabin’s army..." Read the Full
Lesson Text
-
Describe Israel's government: tribal elders and national
priests. No king, no governor, just obedience to the laws of God.
-
Because God was Israel's ruler, he punished them when
they disobeyed. He allowed other countries to rule over them.
-
When Israel repented and called on the Lord, He sent
leaders (judges) to free them and help them remain true to God.
-
The judges were from different tribes in Israel. Some
were prophets as well. Not all the judges were good people - sometimes
they were strong political and military leaders used by God to
accomplish a purpose.
|
Judge |
Enemy |
Scripture |
| Othniel |
(Caleb's
nephew) |
40 |
Canaanites &
Mesopotamians |
Judges 1:11-13; 3:7-11 |
| Ehud |
(used a dagger to kill Ehud) |
80 |
Moabites (King Eglon) |
Judges 3:12-30 |
| Shamgar |
(used an
oxgoad to kill 600) |
? |
Philistines |
Judges 3:31;5:6 |
| Deborah |
(prophesied re: Barak and Jael) |
40 |
King Jabin of Hazor |
Judges 4-5 |
| Gideon |
(used 300
men with torches) |
40 |
Mididanites |
Judges 6-8 |
| Abimelech |
(Gideon's corrupt son) |
3 |
(civil war in Israel) |
Judges 8:33-9:57 |
| Tola |
(from tribe
of Issachar) |
23 |
|
Judges 10:1-2 |
| Jair |
(had 30 sons and 30 towns) |
22 |
|
Judges 10:3-5 |
| Jephthah |
(promised
his daughter's life) |
6 |
Ammonites |
Judges 11:1-12:7 |
| Ibzan |
(from Bethlehem) |
7 |
|
Judges 12:8-10 |
| Elon |
(from
Zebulun) |
10 |
|
Judges 12:11-12 |
| Abdon |
(had 40 sons, 30 grandsons) |
8 |
|
Judges 12:13-15 |
| Samson |
(strong
Nazarite) |
40 |
Philistines |
Judges 13-16 |
| Eli |
(high
priest) |
? |
Philistines |
1 Samuel 1:1-4:1 |
| Samuel |
(prophet and
priest, anoints kings) |
? |
Philistines |
1 Samuel 4:1-7:17 |
Object Lesson: Show the class pictures of a chariot.
Describe how the Israelites didn't have chariots, and went to war ontheir feet.
Compare it to fighting someone in a car - how difficult it would be. But over
and over, God defeated the armies with their chariots for Israel.
Craft: Bring in paper towel rolls and green &
brown construction paper to make palm trees. Have the students cover the roll in
brown paper. Then cut leafs of green paper, cutting fronds out (see
template of palm leaf). Glue
the end of the branch to the truck (roll). Now everyone has their own palm tree.
Bring in a scarf for the girls to wrap around their heads to pretend to be
Deborah.
Discussion: When we disobey the laws of
the United States, we can be arrested, sent to jail and punished. When Israel
disobeyed God's law, He (as their ruler) rightfully punished them. But He was
also there to save them when they repented (turned back to him). Our law does
not have a lot of ways to handle repentance (maybe time off for good behavior).
But God loves us so much He sent His own son to pay for our wrongs and provide
us with forgiveness.
Memory
Work: Judges 5:2
"Praise ye
the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered
themselves."
Sing:
Deborah and Barak sang praise to God after the battle. Let's sing "He's
got the whole world in His hands"
True or
False
-
God appointed rulers for every tribe in Israel.
F
-
The judges of Israel were all from the tribe of Judah.
F
-
God used judges to rescue Israel from their enemies.
T
-
Deborah was a prophetess, but not a judge.
F
-
Some of the judges made terrible mistakes. T
Right or Wrong: Judges decided what was the right
thing to do. We also have to decide between right and wrong. Choose between
the two possibilities to decide which is right or wrong.
| Question |
Right |
Wrong |
| Who or what will solve all my problems? |
God |
money |
| Who gives me the best advice? |
Jesus |
friends |
| Where's the best place to learn right
from wrong? |
Bible |
tv shows |
| Who should I follow? |
parents |
friends |
| What more important in my schedule? |
my chores |
my tv show |
| Who should I treat kindly? |
everyone |
people who are nice to me |
| who should I try to be like? |
Jesus |
my favorite music star |
Activity: Bring a puppet to class for younger groups. For
older kids, make up a person their age. Tell the students that this person tends
to be fearful and untrusting, like Barak. Talk about how Barak disappointed God
and gave up rewarding things because of his fear. Tell the students that this
person gets afraid when: 1) his friends make fun of him for being a
"goody-two-shoes", 2) when he might get in trouble for being honest, 3) when he
doesn't know how to handle a problem alone. Ask the students how they would
advise this person to handle these situations. If they have trouble, ask them to
remember: 1) Jesus loves them, 2) Jesus went through the same trials, 3) he can
pray for strength, 4) he can remember God rewards the faithful, 5) and we know
that God's plans are for our best - if we see them through.Review
Questions for gameboard
 |
linguistic questions
|
- What was a judge in Israel's time? a person God provided
to lead Israel out of trouble
- Name as many judges as you can remember from today's
lesson.
- Name as many tribes of Israel as you can remember.
|
 |
activity questions |
- Locate Moab on a map.
- Draw a palm tree.
- Act out Barak asking Deborah to go to war
with him.
|
 |
emotion questions |
- How do you think God felt when the Israelites
so quickly disobeyed him?
- How did the Israelites feel when they
realized they had left God's ways?
- How did the Israelites feel when God
delivered them from their enemies?
|
 |
application questions
|
-
How does God deliver us from disobedience?
through His son
-
In what ways can we stray from God today?
abandon prayer, worship, and obedience to His laws; seek after
physical things
-
How can we be like judges? be ready to do God's
work, not be afraid of the enemy, and help others return to God
|
 |
fact questions
|
- Did Deborah lead the army of Isreal? no
-
What did Barak insist upon? that Deborah go to battle with
him
- How did Deborah praise God after the battle? in song
|
 |
review questions
|
- Why did God allow other nations to rule Israel? Israel
left God
- How did the small armies of the judges defeat their
powerful enemies? because God was with them
- Why didn't Barak get the glory for defeating Sisera?
Sisera was killed by a woman; it's implied that Barak's fear (lack of trust
in God) caused God to give that reknown to another.
|
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