Sunday School Lessons on the Good Kings of the Old Testament

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The Hide-And-Seek Prince: 2 Kings 11:1-12:16 (Joash)
By Mary Manz Simon Encourage your child's reading skills-and bring the Bible to life - with colorful, action-packed Hear Me Reads. Children love them for the easy-to-read Bible stories. Parents love them for the way they build reading skills and Bible knowledge.

Children of Bible
By C. MacKenzie Children of all ages have been used by God. Learn from this book how many were used in exciting ways to serve God. Read about Samuel, who was called to be a prophet. Joash, who became the king of a nation, and David who was told to fight a giant. There are lots of others - all of them were very special to God. Jesus came into the world as a little child, to show just how much he loves us.

Good Kings of Israel and Judah: Josiah & Joash

To Remember: Good rulers honor God

Lesson Handout Pages (.pdf) or use as lesson text

Lesson Focus: Josiah

Josiah was a young man who was King of Judah. He honored God and repaired His temple. during the repairs, workers found an old book of the law of Moses. No one had read this book in a very long time. Josiah was eager to hear God's law, but when he heard it, he was scared. He realized that Judah had not obeyed many laws! He directed that the whole country begin obeying the laws at once. God was pleased with Josiah's eagerness to do all that God had said.

Discussion: Was it Josiah's fault that the law had been ignored so long? No. Did he use that as an excuse to keep ignoring the law? No. He realized his responsibility to act upon what he learned. We, too, should act upon what we learn, when we learn it. We cannot blame others for not teaching us, or say that since our parents did not know it, we are not responsible. Josiah knew he was guilty of breaking God's law, even though he did not intentionally do it. And his response was repentence and obedience.

Worksheet:

Josiah True or False

Memory Work:

2 Kings 23:25 "Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul and might...nor did any like him arise after him."

Craft: Making Scrolls

Cut a piece of paper in half length-wise. Have students write in the middle. Make a scroll from the paper by wrapping the ends around craft sticks and rolling towards the center. Discuss how books were very different then.

Lesson Focus: Joash

Joash's family was killed in an attempt to take over the kingdom, but he was hidden in the Temple until he was seven years old. Then he became king. Joash led an effort to rebuild God's Temple in Jerusalem. He placed a large chest outside for people to donate money for the work. He himself donated a large amount to start the work. People would add more money as they had it available. God has always expected His people to use their resources to accomplish spiritual work. And He expects it to be a regular, on-going part of our life. Not just a once-in-a-while, large donation. Everyone can help, even this seven year old boy.
Note: Joash could have taxed the people to raise the money, but he didn't. His heart was like God's - in that he wanted voluntary donations - sincere contributions.

Worksheet:

Joash True or False

Craft: Print on stiff paper and have students assemble to act out the donations made at the Temple.

	linguistic questions
	What was the Temple? the building where Jews worshipped God What is a scroll? a rolled up piece of parchment with words written on it What is a King? a ruler or leader of a country
	activity questions
	Act out Joash hearing the law the first time. Quickly sketch a scroll. Locate Jerusalem on a map.
	emotion questions
	How did Josiah feel when he heard that God's law had been ignored? scared, sad, repentant How do you think Joash felt when he no longer had to live hidden in the Temple? excited, scared What feelings led people to donate to the Temple? respect for God, desire to see his Temple restored, generosity
	application questions
	In what ways can I help God? obey new commands as I learn them, be a good example to others Give two examples of young people whom God used? Josiah, Joash, Miriam, the boy with loaves and fishes... How should I respond when I learn that something I've been doing is wrong? I should stop doing it, ask God for forgiveness, and restore any damage I've done
	fact questions
	Why did Joash live in the Temple? because the queen would have killed him Where did the workers find the law of God? buried in the Temple How did Joash raise money to rebuild the temple? He placed a box outside and asked the people to give.
	review questions
	Why was Josiah eager to hear the law read? because it was the very words and will of God revealed to man Why was Josiah scared when he learned that they had broken God's law? because disobedience is punished (God's covenant to protect his people was contingent upon their obedience). Why did Joash donate to the rebuilding of the Temple? because it was important to him and he had the resources to do it.