God Went Before His People
This week we lean in to see the Israelites cross the Jordan River to begin the conquest of the Promised Land. What will likely capture the attention of most of our kids—understandably so—is how God parted the Jordan, reminiscent of the parting of the Red Sea. It’s another impressive miracle (as if any are not impressive), that shows God’s power to a people who needed to be reminded of it. But let’s not miss how God chose to part the Jordan. He had the priests carry the ark, the symbol of His presence, into the waters. And as soon as their feet touched the river, the waters stopped and they stood in the middle of the dry riverbed as the people crossed.
God could have performed this miracle in a number of ways, but He chose this one. Why? Because He wanted to paint a vivid picture for His people: that they were not entering the Promised Land alone; God was with them—and in fact, going before them. They did not have anything to fear, not because of who they were, but because of whose they were.
Stones of Remembrance
After the people crossed, God instructed Joshua to collect stones and build an altar by the river to help the people remember what God had done. You see, God knows that we are a forgetful people, so there are times when we need to memorialize who He is and what He has done in tangible ways. We need these reminders of God’s goodness, lest we forget. And prone to forget we are. How about you? How has God gone before you? And what have you done to commemorate those times? If you have not, why not do something now? Life is full of difficulties as you know. And again, we tend to be a forgetful and even doubtful people at times. The same God who called on Israel to build an altar to remember invites you to do the same. So go construct some altars this week, whether they be physical reminders, words on paper, photos, or artistic expressions of some sort. Create something that you can return to over and over, in rough times and the good, to remember who God is and what He has done. Lest you forget.
Preschool Tip: If you have younger preschoolers, the concept of the ark representing God’s presence will be challenging for them. Focus instead on the more concrete aspects of this story—that God guided His people to the land He was giving them and that He was with them.
Kids Tip: We will see the ark again down the road—when the Israelites lost in battle in David’s day and lost the ark. The problem, as we will see, was that the Israelites mistook the presence of God with the symbol of His presence—the ark. They had come to see the ark as a sort of good luck charm. This session will help provide the groundwork for that one when you get to it—so try to be sure to explain why it was significant that the ark went before the people. But be clear to explain that God’s presence was only symbolic in the ark.
#JesusJam Have fun worshiping together to some songs!
CLICK HERE for this weeks story summary
Christ Connection: God was with Joshua and the Israelites as they went into the promised land. He showed His power to them so they would trust in Him. When Jesus came to earth, He showed His power so people would trust in Him and be saved from sin.
If you have a bible at your house, read the book of Joshua 1-4 If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
Questions from Kids
Jump the river Game
Use a folded blue sheet, blue painter’s tape, or two blue jump ropes to create a narrow river on the floor. Direct children to jump over the river, one-by-one. Gradually spread out the blanket, separate the jump ropes, or tape pieces to make the river wider. Continue widening the river until children cannot make the jump.
Remind kids that The Jordan River was too wide to jump and too deep to cross, but God had a plan. When the men carried the ark of God into the river, God stopped the waters. God led His people through the Jordan River on dry ground.
Today's Craft Activity:
Stack memorial stones CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR PRINTABLE Cut paper into 11⁄2-inch circles so each child has 12. Give a preschooler a “Memorial Stones” printable. Guide her to glue her paper stones on her paper in the blank spots. If you're feeling really fancy, go outside and gather a few stones to hot glue on top of the the stones on the paper. Remind kids that a memorial helps people remember something that happened. The people saw the 12 memorial stones and remembered that God led His people through the Jordan River on dry ground.
When you're done it might look something like this:
