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Judges Rule Over Israel

f you recall from the lastLesson, the nation of Israel

had crossed over many landson their way to the PromisedLand. They had to fight manypeople too. But they hadfinally reached the JordanRiver—with the PromisedLand just on the other side.

The time had finally cometo enter the Promised Land.In this Lesson, we will learnhow God divided the landbetween the tribes. We willalso cover different judgeswhom God used when Israelwould fall back into sin. Thehistory of this forming nationis very exciting—and there is much to tell!

Be sure to have a pencil, paper and yourBible ready. Do not forget to look eachscripture up in your Bible and fill in theblanks if they are provided.

Only Israel in the Land

As they were about to cross the Jordan River,God told the Israelites that they must makesure they put to death all the people whowere living in the land promised to them.God in His wisdom knew that if the othernations were living among the Israelites, Hispeople would begin to take on their customs,traditions and religion!

Notice God’s command in Numbers33:55 and fill in the blank spaces: “But if

you do not _______________________________ of theland from before you, then itshall be that those whomyou let remain _________________________ and _____in your sides, and they shall__________ in the landwhere you dwell.”

God knew that the exam-ple of the other nationswould eventually lead Israelto false gods.

Land for Each Tribe

When they had first arrivedat the Promised Land,

Moses divided the lands according to God’scommand.

Certain cities called “cities of refuge”were created. These were towns that thosewho had accidentally killed someone couldflee to for safety. God was setting up gov-ernment for the people of Israel. He wantedto set up a system by which the peoplecould be properly governed.

However, even though Moses wasdescribing the borders for each tribe, howspecial cities would function and manyother things, he was not allowed to enter thePromised Land. Remember the previousLesson. Angry against the Israelite’s badattitude, Moses disobeyed God’s commandto simply touch the rock instead of strikingit. In dealing strictly with Moses, God want-

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JudgesRule Over Israel

1 CHILDREN’S BIBLE LESSONIllustrations by Paula Rondeau

ed to teach His new nation that it wasimportant to never disobey God.

If Israel obeyed God, wonderful bless-ings would flow! On the other hand, Godwould deal sternly with Israel if the peopledisobeyed!

All of the Israelites were to live underthe laws of God. Instead of each individualchoosing to obey God, the entire nation wasto live God’s Way! They were to keep theSabbath, including the annual Sabbaths—the Holy Days.

With the help of your parents, write outthe seven annual Holy Days listed inLeviticus 23._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A New Leader

By this time, Moses was becoming very old.He also knew that he would not be allowedto enter the Promised Land. Understandingthis, he called his servant Joshua to his sideand told him that he would now become thehuman leader of Israel.

Joshua was humbled that he was chosento lead the people into the Promised Land—but at the same time, he may have also felta little overwhelmed. But Moses reassuredhim in front of the congregation. Noticewhat Moses said in Deuteronomy 31:7 andfill in the words:

“Be _______________________________________________, for you must gowith this people to the land which the LORDhas sworn to their fathers to give them, and ______________________________________________.”

God later told Moses what would hap-pen after he died. He said that the peoplewould turn from Him and be punished for it.Moses was then commanded to write a songfor the people to learn, so they would knowthat turning away from God was foretold!

Shortly after, Moses was told by God togo up to a high mountain to see thePromised Land. This was the last thingMoses would see before he died. He lived along life of 120 years.

Strengthened and inspired by all that hehad learned from Moses, Joshua was readyto lead the people.

Test Your Memory:

1) Why did God want Israel to drive outthe people from the Promised Land? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________2) What would Israel receive if they obeyedGod?______________________________3) Who was the new leader of Israel? ________________________________________

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3 CHILDREN’S BIBLE LESSON

Joshua Leads Israel

Right before going into the Promised Land,God spoke with Joshua. He wanted toencourage him and give him direction onhow to take the new land.

Of course, this excited Joshua. He spokedirectly with God. Can you imagine whatthat experience would be like? Write downwhat God said in Joshua 1:5: “_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”

These words greatly encouraged Joshua,and he prepared the people to take thePromised Land. Before leaving, Joshuareminded the Reubenites, Gadites and halfthe tribe of Manasseh that they had prom-ised to help their people take the land. Onlythen would they settle on the east side of theJordan (Joshua 1:12-15).

The tribes stayed true to their promise.

Spies Into the Land

In order to understand what they were upagainst, Joshua ordered two men to enterthe land as spies. However, the King ofJericho received word that these men weresent!

As the spies looked around the city ofJericho, they did not realize that soldierswere looking for them—and wanted toarrest them! The two men came to the houseof Rahab, and she allowed them to rest there.

The soldiers saw them enter her houseand reported this to the King. The King dis-patched his soldiers to her house to collectthe two spies. Rahab had recognized thatthese men were sent by God, so she protect-ed them from the soldiers. She told the

guards that they came to her house, but hadsince left toward the Jordan River. Quickly,the guards followed after the Israelite spies.

But Rahab had hidden the men in herstraw roof. Once the soldiers left, she wentto get the men. She told them that she pro-tected them because she knew they were

sent by God. She then asked that, when theIsraelites came and destroyed the city ofJericho, her family be protected because ofthe kindness she showed the spies.

They agreed that her family would bespared. Relieved, she then let them downthe city wall, as her house was positionedalong the wall. The Israelite spies madetheir way back to the camp.

A Mighty Miracle

When the people were ready to cross theJordan River, God told Joshua to have oneman from each tribe take a rock from theJordan and carry it upon their shoulder asthey crossed. They would cross togetherwith the Ark of the Covenant.

As they approached the river’s edge, theriver stopped flowing! As the Arkapproached the river, it completely dried.This allowed the men to cross the river as ifit were dry land. The people were amazed atthis mighty miracle. The armies were able

to cross the river with ease because Godperformed a miracle to prove that He waswith the people.

God is still performing miracles todayfor those who obey Him! When you are inChurch services, you will sometimes hearannouncements of brethren healed of dis-eases, or exciting new opportunities forGod’s Work. Realize that those are mira-cles!

The carrying of the stones through theriver was so that the people of Israel wouldremember this day and tell the story totheir children, and that the story wouldcontinue for all time. And it has. You haveheard that story after several thousands ofyears!

Test Your Memory:

1) Name the three tribes who promised tohelp Israel. ____________________________________________________________2) Who helped the Israelite spies? _______3) What did God do to theJordan River so Israel couldcross?____________________________________________

Meeting His Creator

When camping one eveningright before the Passover,Joshua saw a man standing inthe distance with a sword in hishand. Joshua bravelyapproached him and asked if hewere a friend or an enemy.

It was not just a man—butGod was standing beforeJoshua. Joshua fell to his faceand worshiped Him. He askedGod what we wanted him todo. God commanded that the

Israelite army completely destroy the cityof Jericho.

The March to Jericho

As God talked with Joshua, He gave specif-ic instructions regarding how Israel was toattack Jericho. Joshua passed these instruc-tions on to the people. He also told themthat were not allowed to take anything outof the city except for the gold, silver, bronzeand iron. The armies were to spare onlyRahab, her family and her belongings.

The army circled the city of Jericho.Then, each day for six days, the priestsmarched around the city with trumpetsmade of rams’ horns, carrying with them theArk. As they marched around the city, theyblew the trumpets, but made no othersounds. The entire army kept silent.Imagine the confusion of those in the city!This was repeated each day.

Then, on the seventh day, when thepriests went around the city and began to

blow their trumpets,Joshua commandedthe people to shout!

The noise wasintense! While theywere shouting thewall surroundingJericho crumbled tothe ground, leavingthe city defenseless.The army quicklyovertook the city anddestroyed everything.They burned it to theground and took onlywhat they were sup-posed to take, destroy-ing everything else.

Only Rahab wasspared, because of the

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kindness she showed to the spies (Hebrews11:31). Her family lived among theIsraelites for many more generations.

God delivered Jericho into the hands ofIsrael. They obeyed Him, and He gave thema great victory!

Disobedience Brings Disaster

Not all of the Israelites obeyed what Godsaid. The Israelites next battle was againstthe people of Ai. Since there were far lesspeople in Ai, only 3,000 of the Israelitearmy went against the city.

However, the men of Ai killed 36 of theIsraelite army. The men became afraid andfled from the battle. Joshua was shockedthat the Israelites were defeated!

Notice his reaction in Joshua 7:6 and fillin the blanks: “Then Joshua ___________,and _____________________ before the arkof the LORD until evening, he and the eldersof Israel; and they put dust on their heads.”

Joshua did the correct thing—he imme-diately sought God when he encountered aproblem. He did not try to solve it on hisown; he looked to God for a solution!

God answered, and said, “Get up! Whydo you lie thus on your face? Israel hassinned, and they have also transgressed Mycovenant which I commanded them. Forthey have even taken some of the accursedthings, and have both stolen and deceived;and they have also put it among their ownstuff” (Joshua 7:10-11).

The next day, Joshua gathered the peopleto find out who had stolen the items. Theycast lots before each tribe, then each house-hold, and finally before each man to appealto God to reveal who had stolen the items.When the man was found, he was stoned forthe sin he committed against God. All of hispossessions and his entire household weredestroyed and burned with fire.

When someone commits a sin, he iscommitting it directly against God. He takesit personally—but He is also merciful if yourepent and confess to Him what you havedone.

Israel had repented for the sin that wasdone, and once again, God was with them.

Test Your Memory:

1) What items were the Israelite army totake from Jericho? ______________________________________________________2) What caused the walls of Jericho to fall? ___________________________________3) Who was the real source of that miracle? ___________________________________

God on Their Side

Joshua gathered 30,000 men and went totake the city of Ai. He told his men thatmost of them would go up behind the city

and wait. Then a small band of men, similarto the number that had been defeated in thefirst battle, would approach the city fromthe front.

When the men of Ai saw the smallIsraelite army, they quickly went out to bat-tle with them. Pretending to be defeated,Joshua and his men pulled back and lookedlike they were fleeing. As Israel was beingchased, the armies of Ai traveled farther andfarther away from the city. In fact, everyman in the city of Ai and even nearbyBethel chased the small army.

Joshua was then commanded by God tothrow the javelin toward the city of Ai—signaling the other Israelites to attack!

The city was quickly overrun andburned. When the army of Ai saw their citybeing burned, they realized they had beenfooled. But it was too late. Joshua and hismen stopped fleeing and attacked the armychasing them.

All their enemies were quickly destroyed,and victory was given to the people of Israel.This time the people obeyed God, and Hedelivered their enemies into their hand!

When we obey God, He helps us in allareas of our life.

Joshua’s Mistake

Some time later, a group of men approachedthe Israelite camp. They told Joshua thatthey had come in peace and wished tobecome servants of Israel. They looked likethey had traveled from a far land, and theyseemed sincere to the men of Israel andtheir leader, Joshua.

So Joshua and the leaders of Israel sworean oath with these men that they would notattack their cities. In return, the people inthose cities would be servants to Israel.After the matter was settled, the menreturned to their cities.

After a few days, Israel approached fourcities. The leaders of Israel realized that themen had lied to them—these were the citiesfrom which they came! Because of the oath,Israel did not attack the cities (Joshua 9:1-27).

If Joshua and his men had first soughtGod, they would have known that the mendeceived them. Instead, they trusted in theirown abilities and were prevented, becauseof their oath, from taking these cities.

You must always look to God firstbefore you decide any important matter.When you want to do something, youshould also go to your parents and ask whatthey think. They know much more than you,and can help you make a good decision—just like God would have helped Joshuafrom taking a foolish oath!

A Long Day

When word reached the nearby cities thatIsrael had completely destroyed Jericho andAi, great fear swept across the land. Also, itbecame known that the great city of Gibeonmade peace with the Israelites.

This greatly angered the kings ofJerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish andEglon, who conspired together to attackGibeon for making peace with the Israeliteinvaders. These cities gathered their armiesand attacked Gibeon.

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The Gibeonites sent word to Israel andasked that they please protect their servantsand assist them in battle (Joshua 10:4-6).

This time, Joshua first sought counselfrom God before he went to battle. Writedown what God said in Joshua 10:8: “____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”

So the men went into battle and contin-ued to fight the armies that fought againstGibeon. The battle took a very long time,and Joshua realized they would not havedefeated the armies before the sun was toset. So he prayed to God that the sun wouldstay in its position until the battle ended.(Joshua 10:12).

Again, God performed another miracle.The sun stopped moving through the sky. Itfroze in position until all of Israel’s ene-mies were destroyed. Since Joshua firstsought God’s will in the matter, God foughtwith Israel and performed this mighty mir-acle!

Death of a Leader

After many more years of battle, theIsraelites had finally taken over the entirePromised Land. Finally, they were able torest from war. They fought as God had com-manded, and now they were able to enjoypeace.

By this time, Joshua had become veryold. When nearing death, he reminded theIsraelites that they would prosper only ifthey stayed close to and obeyed God. Hewarned them of what would happen if theydisobeyed. He also reminded them of themighty miracles God performed from thetime they left Egypt to each of the great bat-tles He fought with them.

The Israelites were inspired and hum-bled by all that Joshua said to them. A short

while later, Joshua died. He lived to be 110years old.

Test Your Memory:

1) What mistake did Joshua make? _____________________________________________________________________________2) What did God do to the sun during thebattle? _____________________________3) How old was Joshua when he died?___________________________________

Slipping Into Idolatry

Israel continued to follow God while thegeneration that was alive during Joshua’stime was still around. However, anothergeneration came that did not directly expe-rience God’s power and miracles. Instead ofobeying God, they started to copy thenations around them.

Israel began to serve other gods, and thisgreatly angered the true God! They quickly

forgot the warnings of what would happenif they disobeyed Him.

With God no longer protecting them,they were overtaken by their enemies andsold into slavery. The nation that God tookout of slavery hundreds of years ago hadnow placed themselves right back intochains!

God felt compassion for the afflictionsthat His people suffered as slaves and raisedup a judge to lead the people back to theirlands. When the judge was alive, the peoplewould obey God and seek after His will.

When the judge died, the people wouldquickly turn back to worshipping false godsand breaking the Sabbath. This meant thatGod had to punish them again.

This cycle was repeated over and overagain throughout Israel’s history. God wasvery patient with Israel, just as He is withyou. Even though you make mistakes, Godwill always forgive you if you try not tomake the same mistakes again.

You may have noticed that OldTestament times were very bloody. Therewere many battles and lessons God hadIsrael go through. Since God is the one whogives life, He has the right to take it away.He knows that the people who died duringthe Old Testament times would be broughtback to life in the future and be taughtGod’s Way.

God is so merciful that he gives every-one a chance to live His Way!

Bravery of Ehud

When Israel’s punishment had ended, Godraised up a man named Ehud to lead themfrom slavery. Ehud was a very brave man.As was the custom, the people of Israel sentEhud to pay tribute to the king of theAmorites. Ehud saw an opportunity andstrapped a sword to the inside of his thigh.

Afterthe tributehad beengiven, Ehud toldthe king that he has asecret message to tell him. The king toldhim to keep silent until everyone had leftthe room. Ehud realized God had deliveredthe king into his hands.

When he drew close, he told the kingthat it was a message directly from God andplunged the sword into the king’s belly. Theking died, and Ehud escaped unseen(Judges 3:16-22).

When Ehud returned to the camp ofIsrael, he led all the strong men to fightagainst the Amorites. With God on theirside, they easily beat the armies of their ene-mies. The Israelites killed 10,000 Amoritesthat day. Not a single man escaped.

Truly, God delivered Israel from theirenemies.

God Raises Up Deborah

Under Ehud’s leadership, the Israelitesobeyed God and did things that were pleas-ing to Him. But it did not take long after

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Ehud’s death that the people slipped backinto Sabbath breaking and idolatry. Thisgreatly angered God.

This time, Jabin, king of Canaan, wasused to punish Israel. They served underthis king for 20 years. God then raised up awoman—Deborah—to judge Israel.

God commanded the prophetessDeborah to summon a man named Barak tolead the Israelites in defeating Jabin’s army.But Barak did not show courage. He wouldonly fight the Canaanites if Deborah camewith him! So she accompanied Barak andan army of 10,000 men to Mt. Tabor, wherethey camped.

Word had reachedSisera, the commanderof Jabin’s army, thatBarak and his men hadcamped on Mt. Tabor. Hequickly gathered hisarmy and 900 chariots tofight the Israelites.

Notice what fearlessDeborah said to Barak inJudges 4:14: “Up! Forthis is the day in whichthe LORD has________________________________________________.Has not the LORD goneout before you?”

With God on Israel’s side, theCanaanites were no match for the Israelitearmy. They were victorious! Because ofthe fearlessness that Deborah showed, theIsraelites were once again free from slav-ery.

Girls should take note of Deborah’sactions. Ask your parents to discuss withyou the events of Deborah’s life. She was abrave woman and obedient to God. If youstrive to obey God, you never know how Hemay use you.

Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace whileDeborah judged over them. But after herdeath, a familiar pattern emerged.

Test Your Memory:

1) What did God raise up to free Israelitesfrom captivity? ______________________2) Why were Israelites put into captivity?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________3) What was the name of the woman Godused to judge Israel? __________________

Gideon Delivers Israel

Again, the Israelites beganto disobey God. They didwhat they thought wasright. Just like Israel, youmust be careful not toassume you know rightfrom wrong. You shouldalways ask your parentswhen you are not sure.

As punishment, Godallowed the Midianites toinvade. Israelites served asslaves under theMidianites for seven years.Then, God raised up

another judge to lead them out of bondage.Gideon was the man whom God chose to

judge Israel. However, Gideon was not surethat God was with him. He asked God toshow him signs. After the harsh punishmentof the Midianites, Gideon had a hard timebelieving that the bondage would come toan end. It took a miracle from God to makeGideon understand that the man with whomhe was speaking was God!

Gideon’s first job was to tear down thealtars to false gods that the people had built.

The morning after he did this, the people ofthe city found out that it was Gideon. Theywent to his father’s house and demandedthat Gideon be brought out to them.

But Joash, Gideon’s father, wiselyanswered the crowd. Read his answer inJudges 6:31 and fill in any missing words:“Would you plead for Baal?___________________? Let the one whowould plead for him be put to death bymorning! _______________, let him__________________, because his altar hasbeen torn down!”

Joash told them that, if he were a truegod, Baal would be able to defend himself.The men were speechless and left.

Gideon was still not convinced that Godwas with him. Before he was willing toattack the Midianites, he required even moresigns from God. God had to perform twomore miracles for Gideon to believe he wasable to battle the army of the Midianites.

But God had a surprise for Gideon. Asurprise that would greatly build Gideon’sfaith.

Gideon’s Shrinking Army

God wanted theIsraelites to understandit was HIS power thatsaved them from theMidianites. Read what Hesaid in Judges 7:2: “The peo-ple who are with you are________________________ ______________________ theirhands…”

God told Gideon to send homeany man who was afraid to go tobattle. To Gideon’s surprise,20,000 of his men went home.This left only 10,000 to fightagainst the coming army.

God told him that there were still toomany men! He told Gideon to have the menfollow him down to the river to drink. Hewas to separate to one side those whokneeled down and drank from the river. Hewas to separate to the other side those wholapped the water out of their cupped hand.

God wanted men who would always beready for battle. Those who kneeled downwere not the mighty men that God sought.He told Gideon to send them home.

This left only 300 men to fight againstthe huge Midianite army. But God was onthe side of the Israelites. Each of Gideon’smen was to go down to the camp with atrumpet in their right hand, and a pitcherand torch in the left. On Gideon’s signal,they were to blow the trumpets and smashthe pitcher.

All the noise scared and confused thesleeping Midianite army. In the mass confu-sion, they began to attack each other. Muchof the army died by their own swords.Those who survived were afraid, so they

fled.Without sleep and only few

in number, the rest of theMidianites were easilydefeated. With God on theirside, only 300 Israelitesdestroyed a vast army ofMidianites!

Israel enjoyed 40 yearsof peace when Gideon judged

Israel.In the next Lesson, we will

learn about two special judges inIsrael and the amazing experi-ences they had.

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BIBLE MEMORY: Deuteronomy 31:7

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2006

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Find These Words: GOD STOPPED JORDAN SUN AISIN DISOBEDIENCE DISASTER OBEDIENCE PROMISED LAND

JERICHO JOSHUA JOASH DEBORAH GIDEON JUDGES EHUD RAHAB

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