Week 239 · about 45 minutes
Joshua 11
Joshua 11 · Memory verse Joshua 11:19
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Joshua 11), the matching word search and answer key (Joshua 11 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a key
Hold a key. Read Joshua 11 in about four minutes, stopping at Joshua 11:19: “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Joshua 11?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Joshua 11 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “When Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “Joshua captured all the cities of those kings, with their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded.” Joshua 11 opens with these words: “When Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,” The line to keep is Joshua 11:19: “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle.” Carry the word “city” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Joshua 11:19: “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Joshua 11? Then try this: Read “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Joshua 11. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Joshua 11:19. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Joshua 11 and write Joshua 11:19 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Joshua 11:19
“There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Joshua 11. Help us remember Joshua 11:19 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.