Short Attention Span Sunday School: Primary 6 Lesson 23 Joshua Leads Israel

PRIMARY 6 LESSON 23 JOSHUA LEADS ISRAEL

CLASSROOM PREP

Post up some or all of these: Joshua 1:9, Joshua 24:15, John 8:12

Post up any artwork about the Jericho walls that is available

Display of edible walls of Jericho (Rice Krispie Treats, graham crackers, etc.) for them to eat later

OPENING ACTIVITY: VIDEO (7 minutes)

Pass out this quotation to everyone printed out, and talk about it:

“Think of a car driving through the night. The headlights only go a hundred or two hundred feet forward, and you can make it all the way from California to New York driving through the dark, because all you have to see is the next two hundred feet. That’s how life tends to unfold before us. If we just trust that the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, and the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, your life will keep unfolding." (From the book "The Secret")

In order to move forward without seeing everything in front of you takes what? (faith, obedience, courage, etc.)

We're going to watch a really neat video about this and I want you to pay attention to as many details as you can, as I'll have some questions for you to answer afterwards:

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-01-011-choose-the-light?lang=eng

Pass out a sheet of paper and pencil or pen to each student and have them fill these out.

1. How do you think the bicyclist felt when he saw the dark tunnel?

2. What had he brought in case of darkness? How did those items fall short? (barely any matches, batteries old, phone low on charge and no extra charger)

3. What did he do when his phone ran out? (prayed, lit a match)

4. How do you think he felt when he saw someone approach?

5. How did the other bicyclist react? Was he kind?

6. Elder Stanfill says we must act, expecting the Lord will fulfill his promise to lift us from the darkness, if we _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.


If we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing to live in the light.

Today we're going to learn about Joshua, the next big prophet that we're learning about.
Joshua was asked to be strong and courageous.

We're going to learn today how he helped the children of Israel!





LESSON

The Lord chose Joshua to be the next prophet after Moses.

Before Moses died, he ordained Joshua to be the next leader of Israel and help them get to the promised land.

The Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous four times! (Joshua 1:6, 1:7, 1:9, 1:18)

(you could print out these four verses and pass out to four kids or post them up etc.)

But there was one issue - people were already living there!

Joshua sent two spies and told them “Go view the land, even Jericho” (Joshua 2:1)

The spies entered Jericho and found somewhere to stay - a small house with a woman named Rahab.

But guess what, the King of Jericho heard about these spies!

He was told they came to spy!

The King told Rahab to bring him the men, but she hid them instead.

She lied to the King and told him she didn’t know where they were.

She told the King that when it was dark, they went out somewhere, she didn’t know where.

She said “pursue after them quickly!” So she sent them off on a wild goose chase.

But what really happened was that she’d brought them up to the roof of the house and hid them.
She told them she knew they were there to take over the land.
That they in Jericho had heard of the parting of the Red Sea.
That the people in Jericho knew God was leading them!
She said in 2:12 that she hoped they would show her and her household kindness since she is helping them, that their family wouldn’t be killed.
They agreed! “we will deal kindly and truly with thee” (2:14)

She led them down out of the house on a scarlet cord.

They said to leave the scarlet cord in the window as a sign to spare the people in that house.

That cord represented Rahab’s faith!

So the spies returned with good information about the walls, the soldiers, etc.

And that the people in Jericho are afraid of the Israelites.

The time had come to take Jericho!

Joshua said to the people “to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (3:5)

Where have we heard this before? With Moses the Lord promised to do wonders.

They came to the Jordan River, but how to get across a wide river with rough waters?

What had the Lord just helped them cross years before? (The Red Sea)

They gathered together and one man from each of the 12 tribes carried the ark of the covenant.

The water just simply stopped flowing.

The whole nation crossed!

The water started again.

What is the ark of the covenant?

(perhaps pass out a half-sheet with a bullet-point description and an illustration of the ark...this info is from the Seminary manual)

Well, after leaving Egypt, Moses was commanded to prepare a tabernacle.

A tabernacle is kind of like a small temple, and in this case it’s a portable one.

You know how you can go camping and set up a tent and stay in it, etc. and it’s kind of like a portable house?

The tabernacle was like a portable temple.

They used it until they could stay somewhere permanent.

It was divided into two rooms with a curtain called a veil.

One room was The Holy Place and the other was The Most Holy Place, which is often called the Holy of Holies.

Inside the tabernacle there were some furnishings.

The ark of the covenant was the main feature and it was in the Holy of Holies room.

It represented the Lord!

It was called the ark of the covenant because it represented the two-way promise with the Lord to obey.

It was a chest made of acacia wood and was approximately 4 feet.

It was covered with gold and they had rings on the corners so they could have poles go through to carry.

The lid was also made of gold and had two cherub angel figurines facing each other.

Inside this chest, the ark, were tables of stone, guess what those were? (Ten Commandments)

Other things were stored inside too including Moses’ writings.

Okay so now we know why it’s so important!

So they’ve crossed the river, they’re headed to Jericho!

Can you feel the suspense?

And sure enough, those walls were big and strong!

The city gates were closed so the Israelites couldn’t get in!

No one was getting in or out!

The Lord told Joshua how to capture the city.

(Read Joshua 6:3-5)

So Joshua gathered priests and told them the plan.

(Read Joshua 6:16 and 20)

Do you think the soldiers fully understood these instructions?

Why do you think they followed them?

We can show faith by choosing to obey, even when we don’t understand why.

Rahab’s house and family were spared! (verse 23 and 25)

It was a miracle and the Israelites captured Jericho!

The power of the Lord and the faith and obedience of the Israelites is what made those walls fall.

This was the land promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He tells the people that they need to “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15)

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

This is something we all need to do - to choose who we will be obedient to.

The people said (24:24) “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

The land was divided into 12 parts, one to each tribe of Israel

They would get to keep that land if they were righteous, and if they were wicked they’d lose it.

Joshua then became very old and passed away.

(Discuss what they've learned and their impressions of Joshua as a prophet)

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY IDEAS

- A reenactment involving a tower of chairs and memorizing Joshua 24:15 (or some other scripture). Try to do so in seven tries, meaning the same number of times the priests circled Jericho's walls. So start off with everyone with ram's horns and carrying a makeshift ark (see idea below this one for more details).

Have the scripture written on the board in chalk.

Say the scripture, then take away a word and recite it with one word taken away off the board as you're circling "Jericho" with two carrying the ark.

Continue on, taking away one word before each time you circle and try to say it.

The seventh time around, "shout" the whole scripture as memorized as possible and that makes the walls fall (however you decide to make it fall, just don't have the tower of chairs fall! maybe have something else leaning up against the chairs to act as walls....tall cardboard or something like that).

- Head outside with a makeshift ark of the covenant (could be 2D paper or something 3D that you create out of a mini chest you have at home) and someone in your class or your ward that has a trumpet or trombone or some sort of horn (or use paper horns you create or little kazoos). Circle around your church building's shed or some other sort of part of your church building that's safe outside. Reenact the days leading up to the fall of the walls and the day of the fall! (circle around, play the horns etc. etc.)

TESTIMONY/TAKE HOME

Sometimes we’re like Joshua, asked to do something that takes courage.

Sometimes we’re like the soldiers, asked to do something we don’t really understand.

Sometimes we’re like Rahab, inspired to help others.

We have the choice each day who we are going to serve.

Take home ideas with Joshua 1:9, Joshua 24:15, or John 8:12 scriptures:

Red rope licorice to represent the scarlet cord

Spy glasses

Glow sticks to represent choosing the light

Lego brick candies to represent the Jericho walls

Bugles snack to represent the ram's horns