VERSES: 1 Kings 14:11-24; 2 Chronicles 14:1-15
MEMORY VERSE: 2 Chronicles 14:2 "And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Proverbs. Write "Proverbs" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class.
PRAYER: We thank the LORD for our families and our loved ones.
SPECIAL SONG: No, Not One (see June - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #6 on this blog)
VISUAL AID: Draw a picture of King Asa and his soldiers destroying shapeless idols.
LESSON POINTS:
- Because all of the Kings of Israel were evil and worshiped idols and not the LORD God, we will look at the first good, obedient king of Judah. This first king who followed in King David's steps was his great-grandson and his name was Asa. The Bible says that the land was quiet during his rule over the kingdom of Judah. That meant that there were no wars or battles; everyone was living in a peaceful time. Perhaps that was partly because King Asa tried to obey God and live God's way.
- As soon as Asa became king over Judah, he took away all the altars of the idols and the high places where people offered sacrifices to the idols. He broke down the statues and images and cut down the groves where they worshiped the idols. He even removed his mother from being queen because she had built an idol. He was a very strong king who believed God. King Asa commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers and to do the laws and commandments. This was something very good. That meant the people of Judah were worshiping God again. The land was quiet. That was good, too.
- Asa and the people in Judah built fences, walls, towers, and gates while all the land was quiet and there were no wars. The people built all of these things and they prospered. Asa, also, had an army of men who numbered 580,000 and they were all mighty men of valor just like Gideon.
- Then one day, a million (the Bible says "a host of a thousand thousand") Ethiopians came up from the south and made war against Asa and the kingdom of Judah. Asa cried to the LORD and asked God to help them. He said that it didn't matter how large or how little an army was, God's help was all they needed. God helped Asa and He smote the Ethiopians, so that they ran away, but King Asa and his mighty soldiers overthrew them and brought back their camels, sheep, cattle, and many treasures to Jerusalem.
- Asa was a good king for the kingdom of Judah and loved the LORD God. He ruled the Kingdom of Judah for 41 years and when he died, they buried him in the City of David.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Asa was the great-grandson of King David. David would have been very proud of him for being strong and brave and destroying all of the idols in Judah. Asa turned the people back to God and David would have loved his great-grandson very much.
ACTIVITY: King Asa loved God
Materials needed: 9" x 12" red construction paper, 3" x 4" blue construction paper, 2.5" x 3.5" white construction paper, crayons, glue, scissors.
- Hand out red paper.
- Fold paper in half.
- Cut out a large half of a heart.
- Glue white paper at the bottom of the heart.
- Fold short edges of blue paper up by 1/4" inch on each side.
- Cut blue paper up the middle.
- Glue the edges and cover white paper, like a door.
- Write "KING ASA loved God just like" on the red heart.
- Write "open" on one side of the door and "here" on the other side of the door. (see picture above.)
- Open blue door.
- Write "his great-grandfather David did."
- Draw Kind David's picture inside the blue door on white paper.
- Write "1 Kings 15:11" at the bottom of the heart.
