Joshua and the Walls of Jericho
Cooking Workshop
Grades 4-7
Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children use crushed wafers to build the wall of Jericho and learn the story.
Scripture Reference:
Joshua 5:13- 6:2
Memory Verse:
“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10 NIV
Supplies List:
- 1 ziploc bag for every students
- 1 teaspoon for every student
- 2-3 rolling pins, wax paper
- large bowl
- 1 box of vanilla wafers
- 1 box of powdered sugar
- 1small can of frozen
- cherry juice, thawed
Leader Preparation:
- Gather the materials.
- Read the scripture ahead of time.
- Fill Ziploc bags (one for each student) with the vanilla wafers, using up the entire box.
Presentation
Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Greet each student and hand him/her a bag of vanilla wafers. Have each student takes turns crushing their bag of wafers with a rolling pin on the table. When they are finished, each student can empty the contents of his/her bag into the large bowl. Next add the powdered sugar and cherry juice. Have the students take turns stirring to mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Dig-Main Content and Reflection:
Read:
Instruct the students to sit on the floor as you read them the story of Joshua and the Fall of Jericho.
(Joshua 5:13-6:2) If possible, read from a Children’s Bible.
Ask:
Who do you have to obey? Who do your parents have to obey?
Say:
Using what you learned from the Bible story we just read, help me fill in the blanks of the statements I read.
Say:
Say:
Let’s build a wall like the one that surrounded Jericho.
Working as a group around a table or desk, cover the surface with wax paper. Give each student a teaspoon. Use the spoon to scoop out a little of the mixture, and then instruct the children to flatten it slightly to resemble a rock. Repeat the process until the mixture is used up. On top of the waxed paper, on the table, instruct the students to stack a layer of rocks in a circle, and then build it several layers high.
As the students work-
Say:
Remember that the wall went all around the city of Jericho. It made the people who lived there feel safe. But the people didn’t know that God had sent a message to Joshua that the Israelites were supposed to live in the city of Jericho. God wanted Joshua and his soldiers to march around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days.
On the seventh day, Joshua and his army were to march around the city seven times. The seventh time they circled the city, the priests were to blow their horns, and the people were to shout. When they did these things, God would make the walls of Jericho fall to the ground.
Say:
first day Joshua and his men walked around the city of Jericho.
(Have the children march around the table one time.)
Say:
The second day Joshua and his men walked around the city of Jericho.
(Have them walked around for each day you mention.)
Say:
[list
- The third day Joshua and his men walked around the city.
- The fourth day they did it again.
- The fifth day they did it again.
- The sixth day they did it again.
- The seventh day was an exciting one for Joshua and the people of Israel. They marched around the city seven times. (As a group, walk around the table 7 times.)
- The seventh time they walked, the priests blew their horns, and the people shouted. (Have the children shout and pretend to blow horns.)
- AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN!
(Shake the table until your “stones” fall down.
Ask:
Who did Joshua obey? Who did the Israelites obey?
What might of happened if they didn’t obey?
Journal:
Write about one time that you didn’t obey your parents. What happened as a consequence? What may happen if we don’t obey God?
Closing:
Pray:
Dear God, we thank you for being in charge of our world. Help us to obey you, and help us to obey those you have chosen to lead us. May they look to you for their guidance, and may we obey the instructions they give us.
A lesson from: Augustana Lutheran Church
Saint James, Minnesota
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.
