Week 253 · about 45 minutes
Judges 1
Judges 1 · Memory verse Judges 1:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Judges 1), the matching word search and answer key (Judges 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Judges 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Judges 1:1: “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Judges 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Judges 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”” 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, “Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.” Judges 1 opens with these words: “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight…” The line to keep is Judges 1:1: “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”” Carry the word “death” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Judges 1:1: “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Judges 1? Then try this: Read “After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first…” 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 Judges 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Judges 1:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Judges 1 and write Judges 1:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Judges 1:1
“After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Judges 1. Help us remember Judges 1:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.