Children's Bible Study
(Lesson #9)

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

By our Bible studies together, you will learn that God has a plan:

A plan for the nation of Israel
A plan for providing man with forgiveness and eternal life.
A Plan for YOU!!!

Jesus will be YOUR VERY BEST FRIEND!

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Always BEE prepared for Bible Study by first saying a prayer asking God to help you receive what he is trying to teach you with his word.

One more thing, please e-mail me and let me know that you like our Bible Studies. We would also like to get to know you as we learn about our Heavenly Father together.

Are you ready?

Judges
(An Overview of the book of Joshua)

(If you don't have a Bible, you can open up an online Bible here. Right click with your mouse and the Bible will open up in another window. That way you can switch back and forth easily!)

Joshua is the seventh book of the Bible and the second book of the "History" section of the Bible.

Who wrote the book of Judges?
We do not know who wrote the book of Judges.

In studying the book of Judges, we notice that the Israelites are choosing NOT to obey God. God's people are NOT trusting Him and His power. The Israelites suffer defeats every time that they choose to sin. God chose judges or rulers to deliver the Israelites and then to rule over the Israelites fairly.

~~~ The Books of History ~~~

Joshua
Judges
Ruth
First Samuel
Second Samuel
First Kings
Second Kings
First Chronicles
Second Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther

What happens in the book of Joshua?

The Israelites are not in possession of all the land.
(Judges 1,2)
God sends judges (Judges 3 - 16)
*** Othniel and Ehud (Judges 3) ***
*** Deobrah (Judges 4,5) ***
*** Gideon (Judges 6 - 8) ***
*** The wickedness of Abimelech (Judges 9) ***
*** Jephthah (Judges 10 - 12) ***
*** Samson (Judges 13 - 16) ***
The Israelites choose NOT to keep God's laws.
(Judges 17-21)

In Lesson #1, we learned that the first 5 books of the Bible are called the "Books of the Law."
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

Judges is book #2 in the "History" section of the Bible.

Who are the main people that are mentioned in the book of Judges?

The judges. The chief judges were Deborah, Gideon, Samson and Samuel.

You can also listen to Judges on Real Audio right here!

Tell Me More!!!

Judges

(Chapters 1, 2)
In the first two chapters of the book of the Judges, we are reminded that the Israelites still need to finish the job that God has given them to do. Joshua is no longer alive but the Israelites still need to drive out the wicked people who lived in Canaan. God wanted His people to live in this land of Canaan and to burn all the altars where the wicked people of Canaan worshipped idols. God was judging the wicked people of Canaan for their wickedness.

God's people make a choice NOT to obey God. The Israelites decide NOT to drive out the wicked people of Canaan and instead decide to live with them as neighbors. God's people even started worshipping idols just like the people of Canaan. God's people made a decision NOT to obey God and God decided that He would not help the Israelites drive the Canaanites out of the land.

(Chapters 3-16
In Chapters 3 - 16, we see the results of the Israelites disobedience to God.

The Israelites chose to disobey God.

God allows the enemies of the Israelites to make life hard for them.

The Israelites turn back to God and pray to Him to help them and to show them mercy.

God shows mercy to His people and He sends very strong leaders to help and guide the Israelites.

As soon as a judge dies, God's people choose to disobey Him again and again and again.

Chapter 3
In chapter 3, we see that the Israelites are worshipping idols. God allows their enemies to conquer them. When God's people turn to God for mercy and pray to Him, He shows them mercy and He sends Othniel to free them.

God's people choose to disobey God again. Again, they are made slaves. Once again, when they pray for help to God, He sends them help. God sends Ehud to free them.

Chapters 4 and 5
The Israelites sin again in Chapters 4 and 5. God's people are punished by Sisera's army. Sisera and his army are destroyed through the leadership of Deborah and Barak.

Chapters 6- 8
In chapters 6 through 8, The Israelites are overcome by the Midianites. God chooses Gideon to take charge of the army even though Gideon wanted many proofs of God's faithfulness. God leads Gideon to defeat the Midianites.

Chapter 9
Abimelech becomes the ruler of Israel after murdering the sons of Gideon. Abimelech is punished by being killed trying to conquer the city of Thebez.

Chapters 10 - 12
God continues to send leaders to help His people fight their battles against the Canaanites. Jephthah led the Israelites against the Ammonites.

(Chapters 13 - 16)
The Philistines lived along the coast. The Philistines were enemies of God's people. God sends Samson to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Samson uses his great strength to defeat the Philistines but he foolishly waste his ability. Samson lets a Philistine woman put him in the power of his enemies. Samson's enemies blind him and make him a slave. God returns Samson's strength and Samsons dies when he destroys the prison that he had been a slave at. Samsons's enemies are destroyed when Samson destroys their building.

Chapters 17 - 21
God's people continue to disboey Him. We learn in verse Judges 21:25 that "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Micah worships an idol that was stolen from him by the men of the tribe of Dan.

The tribe of Benjamin does evil deeds and this causes war with the other Israelites. The Benjaminites stole wives at a festival in Shiloh.

When did all of these events take place?

1375 BC - 1050 BC

In the book of Judges, we see that each judge was a ruler and someone who protected the Israelites. By looking at the judges, we get a preview of what the promised Saviour will be like. The promised Saviour is Jesus Christ.

In the book of Judges, the people did what was right in his own eyes. What kind of trouble did this bring upon them?

I am sure that you noticed how time and time again God's people chose to disobey Him. It was a cycle of disobedience, consequences, repentance, God's forgivness, and then more disobedience. Why do you think that the Israelites repeated their acts of disobedience even after God would so graciously forgive them and rescue them?

We are all disobedient sometimes and we need to ask God to help us to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Keep God as the central focus in your life and pray that God will help you to live a life that is right in His eyes.

Related Links
The Incomplete Victory: Judges
Map: Tribal Divisions of Canaan
Bible Basics: Judges
Outline of Judges

What do you think?

God's faithfulness and mercy to the Israelites was incredible! No matter what the Israelites did, all they had to do was turn and ask God for His help and His mercy. God was always there to provide forgivness and mercy to His people. How much love do you think God must have had for His children to have been so incredibly patient with them? No matter what your sins are, God will forgive you too if you truly repent and ask God for his forgivness.

Next week when you return, you will be ready to study Lesson #9! Please tell all your friends about our Bible Study so that we can help share the "Good News" of Jesus Christ with every boy and girl in the WHOLE WORLD!