Week 272 · about 45 minutes
Judges 20
Judges 20 · Memory verse Judges 20:27
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Judges 20), the matching word search and answer key (Judges 20 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold a paper crown. Read Judges 20 in about four minutes, stopping at Judges 20:27: “The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Judges 20?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Judges 20 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah.” 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, “Benjamin went out against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword.” Judges 20 opens with these words: “Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of…” The line to keep is Judges 20:27: “The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,” Carry the word “children” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Judges 20:27: “The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Judges 20? Then try this: Read “The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,” 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 20. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Judges 20:27. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Judges 20 and write Judges 20:27 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Judges 20:27
“The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Judges 20. Help us remember Judges 20:27 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.