Into the Promised Land

BIG IDEA: God keeps His promises.

This free Bible lesson, Into the Promised Land, will teach preschool and elementary students about the true story of the Israelites being led into the Promised Land of Israel by Joshua after the Exodus. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can have a relationship with God and trust Him to lead us.

FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Joshua 1-6

All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.

Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.

PREP & SUPPLIES

• 7 horns for students to symbolize the trumpets
• a box to symbolize the Ark of the Covenant
• building blocks to represent Jericho
• printed & trimmed “TRUST” acrostic poems for each student
• pencils/pens
• coloring supplies
• extra blank paper

LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY

(SLIDE) Can anyone tell me what a “monument” or a “memorial” is? (allow responses)

A “monument” or a “memorial” is a special statue or structure that is built to help us remember a significant event, or a special part of history.

I am going to show you several monuments and memorials that you will probably recognize. I want you to think about what event or special part of history each of these monuments and memorials were created to remind us of.

Show each slide and allow students to discuss and recall what each monument or memorial helps us to remember from history.

(SLIDE) Statue of Liberty (symbol of freedom; gifted to U.S. by France; in New York Harbor)

(SLIDE) Gateway Arch (symbol of the westward expansion of the U.S.; in St. Louis, MO)

(SLIDE) 9/11 Memorial (tribute and remembrance of the victims of 9-11 terror attacks; in New York, NY)

(SLIDE) Mount Rushmore National Memorial (the birth and growth of America; in Keystone, SD)

(SLIDE) Lincoln Memorial (honors President Abraham Lincoln; in Washington D.C.)

(SLIDE) Liberty Bell (American independence; in Philadelphia, PA)

(SLIDE) Washington Monument (honors President George Washington; in Washington D.C.)

Our true story from The Bible today teaches about the time when the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River to enter into the Promised Land, a very special time in history.

BIBLE LESSON

(SLIDE) Last week, we learned about how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness after God led them out of slavery from Egypt. How long did the Israelites live in the wilderness? (40 years)

Why did they live in the wilderness for 40 years? Did it take them that long to travel from Egypt to the Promised Land? (allow responses)

The Israelites lived in the wilderness for 40 years because they chose to disobey God. God told Moses to send one man from each of the Twelve Tribes Of Israel to check out the land. Who remembers what happened? (allow responses)

Ten of the men came back to report to the people that there were giants living in the land and they thought they were not strong enough to defeat the giants and take over the land God had promised them. But Caleb and Joshua said that they should go and take over the land because God was with them. Who was right? (Caleb and Joshua)

Caleb and Joshua knew that God was with them and that God would lead the Israelites into the land He had promised them. But the other 10 men had put so much fear into the hearts of the Israelites that they rebelled against God and refused to enter the land.

The people refused to take over the land because they were afraid and didn’t trust that God would take care of them even though He always took care of them. So God told them that all of the people 20 years old and older would die in the desert and would not get to enter into the Promised Land.

Why were the Israelites going to the Promised Land? (allow responses)

God was leading the Israelites to the land that He had promised to Abraham over 400 years earlier.

(SLIDE) Genesis 12:1-3 NIrV

[“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.’”]

The Israelites lived in the wilderness for a total of 40 years after they were led out of Egypt.

God was still with them and He took care of them, but He did not allow any of the people who were 20 years old or older to enter into the Promised Land except for Caleb and Joshua. All of those people died in the desert as God said they would.

(SLIDE) BIG IDEA: God keeps His promises.

He still gave the land to the Israelites as a nation after this generation of people died in the desert.

After Moses died, Joshua became the new leader. God said to Joshua:

(SLIDE) Joshua 1:2-3

[“I want you and all these people to get ready to go across the Jordan River. I want all of you to go into the land I am about to give to the Israelites. I will give all of you every place you walk on, just as I promised Moses.”]

Joshua followed God’s commands and the Israelites respected Joshua as their new leader.

Before Joshua led the people into the land, he sent two spies into the city of Jericho so they could check out the land just like the twelve spies had done about 38 years earlier. Jericho was a city in the land that God had promised to the Israelites.

The two Israelite spies made a plan with a woman named Rahab who lived in Jericho. The king of Jericho learned that the two men were spying and checking out his land, so he told Rahab to help him capture the men.

(SLIDE) Rahab helped the two Israelite men escape unharmed, and they promised Rahab that they would keep her and her family safe when the Israelites came in to take over the city of Jericho. The two Israelite spies told Rahab to tie a bright red rope in the window that she let them down through to escape, as a signal to their armies not to harm her and her family who lived in that home. (Joshua 2)

The two Israelite spies returned to tell Joshua all that had happened, and said to him:

(SLIDE) Joshua 2:24 NIrV

[“We’re sure the LORD has given the whole land over to us. All the people there were weak with fear because of us.”]

This time, the spies were confident that God was with them and that they could take over the land God had promised to give them. The people who lived in the land had heard all that God had done for the Israelites and they were afraid.

God had performed signs and miracles to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He had sent plagues onto the land of Egypt, He had parted the waters of the Red Sea so they could walk through on dry ground, He had provided food and water for them in the desert wilderness, and He had been with them as they had defeated other kings and armies. All of these things made the people in Jericho afraid of the Israelites.

After the spies returned to Joshua, all of the Israelites set out to cross the Jordan River and enter into the Promised Land. They camped for three days by the river and then the leaders of the tribes told the people to watch for the Ark of the Covenant. This would be the signal for them to move out from their camp and follow.

(SLIDE) What is the Ark of the Covenant? (allow responses)

An “ark” is a “safe place”. Noah’s Ark was a boat that kept Noah and his family and all of the animals and birds safe from the flood waters.

The Ark of the Covenant was the special chest where the Israelites kept safe the two stone tablets of The Law that God had written and given to Moses.

(SLIDE) The Ark of the Covenant was also a symbol of God’s presence with the people. When the people were told to follow the Ark of the Covenant, this meant that they were following God as He went before them.

Joshua told the priests to get the Ark of the Covenant and carry it ahead of the people. The priests were the men who were called by God to speak to God for the people in that time.

We no longer need to speak to God through a priest because when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, a way was made for us to have a relationship with God through trusting in Jesus. But at the time of Joshua, Jesus had not yet come to die on the cross for the sins of the people, so they spoke to God through priests.

God told Joshua:

(SLIDE) Joshua 3:8 NIrV

[“Speak to the priests who carry the ark of the covenant. Tell them, ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan River, go into the water and stand there.’”]

How do you think the people were able to cross the water in the Jordan River? (allow responses)

Joshua told the Israelites:

(SLIDE) Joshua 3:11-13 NIrV

[The ark will go into the Jordan River ahead of you. It’s the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth…The priests will carry the ark of the LORD…As soon as the priests step into the Jordan, it will stop flowing. The water that’s coming down the river will pile up in one place. That’s how you will know that the living God is among you.]

Joshua was telling the people that God was going to stop the waters of the Jordan River so that they could pass through on dry ground. When else have we heard of something like this happening before for the Israelites? (God parted the waters of the Red Sea to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.)

What do you think happened when the priests stepped into the Jordan River carrying the Ark of the Covenant? (allow responses)

The Bible says:

(SLIDE) Joshua 3:15-17 NIrV

[…The priests came to the river. Their feet touched the water’s edge. Right away the water coming down the river stopped flowing…So the people went across the Jordan River opposite Jericho. The priests carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD. They stopped in the middle of the river and stood on dry ground. They stayed there until the whole nation of Israel had gone across on dry ground.]

God had stopped the flowing waters of the Jordan River so that the Israelites could pass through safely into the Promised Land.

Remember at the beginning of our lesson today when we talked about monuments and memorials and how they help us to remember special times in history? This was a special time in history when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River!

After all of the Israelites cross the Jordan River, God spoke to Joshua and said:

(SLIDE) Joshua 4:2-3 NIrV

[“Choose 12 men from among the people. Choose one from each tribe. Tell them to get 12 stones from the middle of the river. They must pick them up from right where the priests stood. They must carry the stones over with all of you. And they must put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”]

God told Joshua and the people to build a monument, or a memorial, right there on the banks of the Jordan River. We don’t know exactly what the monument looked like, but we know that the people did as God said so that they could remember this special time.

Joshua told the people:

(SLIDE) Joshua 4:6-7 NIrV

[The stones will serve as a reminder to you. In days to come, your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?” Tell them that the LORD cut off the flow of water in the Jordan River. Tell them its water stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant of the LORD went across. The stones will always remind the Israelites of what happened here.]

The Bible also tells us:

(SLIDE) Joshua 4:9 NIrV

[Joshua also piled up 12 stones in the middle of the river. He piled them up right where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are still there to this very day.]

We know that at the time that the Book of Joshua was written, those stones were still in the same place. That was a long time ago, so they probably are not still there.

The Israelites had successfully entered into the land that God had promised them. Who was born into the special family many years after they entered into the Promised Land? (Jesus)

The remainder of this lesson will be combined with the Large Group Activity.

We are going to review the story up to this point, and then we are going to learn about how the Israelites defeated the people living in Jericho, which was the first city that they conquered.

LEADER NOTE: There are many ways that you can review with the students.

• split students into teams and give them buzzers
• give students a whiteboard/marker so they can each answer the questions
• ask questions to the whole group and call on students to answer

Each question has a corresponding slide. The answers are underlined below.

Review Questions:

(SLIDE) The Israelites lived in the desert wilderness for 40 years.

(SLIDE) The Israelites lived in the wilderness for 40 years because they chose to disobey God.

(SLIDE) Caleb and Joshua believed that God was with them and that they could go and take over the land.

(SLIDE) God had promised Abraham that He would give his family many people and a new land to live in.

(SLIDE) After Moses died, Joshua became the new leader for the Israelites.

(SLIDE) Before Joshua led the people into the land, he sent 2 spies into the city of Jericho.

(SLIDE) The Israelite spies made a plan with a woman named Rahab who lived in Jericho.

(SLIDE) The Israelite spies told Rahab to tie a bright red rope in the window that she let them down through to escape.

(SLIDE) The people of Jericho were afraid/scared of the Israelites because they had heard all that God had done.

(SLIDE) The Ark of the Covenant was the special chest where the Israelites kept safe the two stone tablets of The Law.

(SLIDE) The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s presence with the people.

(SLIDE) The people followed the Ark of the Covenant which was carried by the priests.

(SLIDE) When the priest’s feet touched the water’s edge the water stopped flowing.

(SLIDE) The people went across the Jordan River while the priests stood in the middle holding the Ark of the Covenant.

(SLIDE) God spoke to Joshua and told him to have the people get 12 stones from the river and put them at the camp site.

(SLIDE) God keeps His promises.

(SLIDE) Jesus was born into the family of the Israelites many years after they entered into the Promised Land.

At this point in the story, the Israelites have just crossed the Jordan River and they are in the Promised Land. But there are many other people who have already been living in the land that they will have to defeat so that they can have rest in the land that God promised to them.

(SLIDE) The first city that the Israelites took over was the city of Jericho. We talked a little bit about Jericho already. Joshua sent 2 spies to check out the city. A woman named Rahab helped the 2 men escape the city unharmed after they learned the king was trying to capture them. Who remembers what the spies told Rahab to do? (allow responses)

The men told Rahab to tie a bright red rope in the window where she let them down to escape safely. This was the signal to the Israelite army not to harm Rahab or anyone in her house.

Joshua got a special visit outside the city of Jericho. A Man holding a sword appeared in front of Joshua ready for battle. When Joshua asked the Man whose side He was on, the Man replied:

(SLIDE) Joshua 5:14 NIrV

[“I am not on either side. I have come as the commander of the LORD’s army.”]

This was a New Testament appearance of Jesus! Jesus came as a messenger of God to show Joshua how to fight the battle at Jericho.

God told Joshua what he needed to do to take over the city of Jericho. He said:

(SLIDE) Joshua 6:3-5 NIrV

[“March around the city once with all your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. Have seven priests get trumpets made of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Tell the priests to blow the trumpets as you march. You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, tell the whole army to give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will march up to the city. Everyone will go straight in.”]

In that time, the wall of a city was its protection. Without the wall, the city was in danger of being taken over by enemy armies. So God told Joshua how to make the city wall come down!

LEADER NOTE: Students will be acting out the Battle of Jericho. (Joshua 6)

• choose 7 students to be priests and have the “trumpets” (if no horns are available, they can make trumpet sounds with their mouths)
• choose a few (maybe 4–> 1 for each corner) students to be priests and carry the Ark of the Covenant BEHIND the priests blowing the trumpets
• the rest of the students will be part of the army surrounding the priests on all sides
• you will be Joshua (giving the commands)
• use building blocks of some kind to symbolize the “city wall” that will be knocked down after the shout.

For this part of our Bible Story, I am going to play the part of Joshua, and you all are going to play the parts of the Israelite army and the priests.

We are going to pretend that we are marching around the city of Jericho just like God told Joshua.

Show students where the pretend “city” is they will march around, and where the pretend “camp” is where they will rest.

When I tell you to march on “days 1 through 6”, we will march around the city one time WITHOUT SPEAKING, and then return to “camp” to rest.

As we are marching, the “priests” carrying the Ark of the Covenant should be marching behind the “priests” blowing the trumpets. The rest of the “army” should be marching on all sides of the priests guarding them.

Then on day 7, we will march around the city seven times just like the other “days”. After we have marched around the city seven times, the “priests” blowing the trumpets will blow a long blast. Then, I will tell you all to shout at the same time. When we shout, the wall will fall down.

Lead the students through the re-enactment being sure that:

• the “priests” are protected on all sides by the “army”
• the Ark of the Covenant is BEHIND the trumpets
• the trumpets are blown while students are marching
• students march one time around for days 1-6 WITHOUT SPEAKING
• students march seven times around for day 7 WITHOUT SPEAKING
• there is a long blast after students march seven times around
• you give a command to shout after the long blast
• the wall falls after the shout

(SLIDE) The walls of Jericho fell down that day and the Israelites were able to go in and defeat the people and take over the city. Who was NOT harmed that day in the battle? (Rahab and her family)

(SLIDE) As promised, the Israelites kept Rahab and her family safe. Rahab and her family came to live with the Israelites, and eventually Rahab married a man and had a baby boy named Boaz.

In the Book of Matthew in The New Testament, we can learn about the family line of Jesus. This means that all of the people who lived before Him who were part of His family are listed out for us. What is the name of the well-known king of Israel who was a relative of Jesus? (King David)

(SLIDE) Boaz is the Great-Grandfather of King David.

Rahab, the woman who helped the Israelite spies escape unharmed so that God’s Will could be carried out, ended up being part of the family line of Jesus!

God was with the Israelites as they continued to conquer the land that He had promised to give them. Joshua divided up the land among the tribes, and this was the beginning of the time of Israel living in the Promised Land.

Many years later, Jesus was born into this special family. He came to Earth to live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, raise back to life, and be The Savior to all people who choose to accept Him. People who accept Jesus will live with Him forever!

Dear God,

Thank You for the true story of the Israelites entering into the Promised Land. Thank You that You always keep Your promises and that through the Jewish people Jesus came to save us from our sins. Please help us to continue to learn more about You every day by reading our Bibles and asking questions when we don’t understand something that we read.

We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY

Today to help us remember to trust God’s promises, you are going to write a poem. An “acrostic poem” is a type of poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word when you read it vertically (up and down).

(SLIDE) For example, look at these acrostic poems.

The word we are all going to use is TRUST. If you finish early, you can choose another word or phrase and write another one if you like. You can also color your paper and add pictures after you write your poem.

You may choose to allow younger students to draw a picture rather than write a poem.

BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.

Discussion Prompts for Leaders:

• What was the name of the new leader after Moses died? (Joshua)
• What did the 12 stones help the Israelites to remember? (God made the waters of the Jordan River stop so they could cross on dry ground)
• What was different about the 2 spies Joshua sent into Jericho from the 12 spies Moses sent into Canaan? (the 2 spies believed that God was with them)
• Why were the people in Jericho afraid of the Israelites? (they had heard all of the amazing things God had done for the Israelites)
• What is the Ark of the Covenant? (the special chest where the Israelites kept the two tablets of The Law safe; a symbol of God’s presence)
• Why do we no longer need priests? (when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, a way was made for us to have a relationship with God through trusting in Jesus; anyone who accepts Jesus can speak to God through Jesus so there is no need for a priest to speak to God for us)
• Explain how the Israelites took over the city of Jericho. (God told them to march around the city one time for six days, and seven times on the seventh day while priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and blowing trumpets – on the 7th day after the long blast, the wall came down)
• Who was born into the special Israelite family? (Jesus)
• What did Jesus do for us? (died on the cross to take away our sins and rose back to life to offer us eternal life with Him)
• Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
• Use any extra time to discuss the lesson and/or the memory verse.

CLOSING REFLECTION

We learned that Jesus was born into the special family of Israelites who were led out of Egypt and into the Promised Land by God. Their leader, Joshua, took them across the Jordan River after God dried up the water. Then, they conquered the city of Jericho by following God’s commands and trusting Him to keep His promises. God continued to lead the Israelites until they took over and owned the land He promised them. Through that family, Jesus was born so that He could live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, and be raised back to life. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can have eternal life with Him.

Reflection Questions:

• What promise did God keep when He led the Israelites into the land? (He kept His promise to Abraham; God promised Abraham that his family would be blessed with a new land to call home)
• Why is the story of the Israelites going into the Promised Land important for us as people who love Jesus? (the Israelites were Jesus’s family/relatives – they are blessed people)
• Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?

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