Week 273 · about 45 minutes
Judges 21
Judges 21 · Memory verse Judges 21:13
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Judges 21), the matching word search and answer key (Judges 21 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Judges 21 in about four minutes, stopping at Judges 21:13: “The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Judges 21?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Judges 21 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”” 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, “The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.” Judges 21 opens with these words: “Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”” The line to keep is Judges 21:13: “The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.” Carry the word “whole” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Judges 21:13: “The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Judges 21? Then try this: Read “The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and…” 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 21. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Judges 21:13. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Judges 21 and write Judges 21:13 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Judges 21:13
“The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Judges 21. Help us remember Judges 21:13 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.