King Jehoshaphat

1. HOOK: Heavyweights

• Have you been in a situation where the odds were stacked against you so much that you cannot win?

• Demonstrate this activity. Rule: The heaviest side wins<practice at home first to ensure it works >
• You will need: 1 ruler, eight 20 sen coins (or dimes), one 10 sen coin (or nickels), one eraser, one paper weight.
• Stack the eight 20 sen coins on one side (if they slide, you may need to tape them) and one 10 sen coin on the other side. Ask: Which side is heavier? Yes, of course. Imagine you were the 10 sen coin, how can you win against eight 20 sen coins?
• But we have God’s help. Place a paperweight (labeled God’s help) on the side of the 10 sen coin. Which side wins now? With God’s help we can win even if the odds are against us, even if it looks like there is no way we can win.

2. LESSON: King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20)

• Last week, we learned about a new king of Judah. What was his name? Jehoshaphat
• In the last lesson, we learnt how God protected Jehoshaphat from being killed by enemy soldiers who mistook him for King Ahab.
• Today we will see how God saved King Jehoshaphat from a major problem!
• What are some of the problems you face? Get kids to share —Bullies? Projects you don’t know how to do? Family? Friends? Teachers? Health?
• Did you know that King Jehoshaphat had a huge problem too? He was going to be attacked by a large army of Moabites and Ammonites! They came from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir and were already close by! The odds were definitely against him! That’s a pretty big problem, even for a king!
• What do you think Jehoshaphat did?
• King Jehoshaphat called to God! He called all the people of Judah together, and they looked to God for help. King Jehoshaphat remembered how God had rescued him before.
• Jehoshaphat led the people to pray, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you”.
• Children: When you do not know what to do, fix your eyes on Jesus! When you are facing a problem, don’t look at your problem — it will cause your problem to seem bigger than it is. Focus on Jesus instead — when you focus on Him, He becomes bigger and bigger, and our problem becomes smaller and smaller! Let’s repeat what the king prayed together, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you!”
• Then God’s Spirit came on a man named Jahaziel, and he said, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not have to fight this battle. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you! Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you”.
• Children: The battle is not yours, but God’s! Whatever your problem is, you don’t have to stress or worry about it. Give it to God and let Him handle it for you. We just have to stand firm in faith, and not fear. Let’s say it together, “The battle is not mine, but God’s!” Now tell your friend!

• So what did Jehoshaphat do? He wasn’t busy training his army to fight. He wasn’t exercising his fighting men. Instead, he and the whole of Judah began worshipping God.
• Early the next morning, they set out to face the invading army. Jehoshaphat stood up and told the people, “Have faith in the Lord your God!”
• What would you normally do in such a situation? Most people would get their strongest, fiercest, toughest fighting men to charge forward, right?
• Instead, King Jehoshaphat appointed a worship team to lead the way! Their job was to sing to the Lord and to praise Him. So they sang, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
• As they were singing and praising God, God set ambushes for the invading armies. He confused the men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, and they started attacking and ended up killing one another until everyone died.
• When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground! So they went to plunder the invaders — they took away their equipment, clothing and valuables. There were so much that they needed 3 days to collect all of it!
• Did Jehoshaphat and his people have to fight their enemies? No, God fought the battle for them. When they returned, they went joyfully to the temple of God to worship Him and rejoice over what He had done!
• Children: Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever! Let’s learn to give thanks in all circumstances. We believe that God is good and that He loves us. We believe that Jesus has accomplished everything for us on the cross! We believe Jesus is the answer to all our problems. So instead of worrying and being anxious, let’s just thank Him for that and praise Him. When we are praising Him, we are telling our problems that, “My God is bigger than you! My God is more powerful than you! My God has won the victory for me!” Amen!

Conclusion:

Today, we’ve learnt that: Any of these can be the memory verse:

• When you do not know what to do, fix your eyes on Jesus! (2 Chron 20:12b)
• The battle is not yours, but God’s! (2 Chron 20:15b)
• Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever! (2 Chron 20:21b)

3. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS

• Thanksgiving box: Get kids to write down their thanksgivings to God. For those who have problems/issues, help them to thank the Lord for delivering them from that problem. E.g. “Thank you Jesus for healing me of …” etc. Get them to share their praise points if they want to. Then get them to insert the thanksgiving notes into the Thanksgiving Box. Close in prayer.
• Video: Nick Vujicic
• Remember no matter what difficulties we face, we have God with us and we can win. Even a man born without arms and legs can have a good life because he has Jesus! For the younger children who may have difficulty understanding the video, you may wish to just relate the key aspects of Nick’s testimony to them.