VERSES: 2 Samuel 5:1-25
MEMORY VERSE: 2 Samuel 5:4 "David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Numbers. Write "Numbers" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class.
PRAYER: Thank God that He knows the future and He is always in control. Thank Him for not having to worry and we can cast all of cares upon Him.
SPECIAL SONG: Read, Read Every Day (see February - Song We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog)
VISUAL AID: If you happen to have some cedar chips, show them to the students, letting them smell the nice aroma. This is what David's house was made of. Also, draw a picture much like the Activity below on the whiteboard or chalkboard. After you tell the story, you may erase the word "JERUSALEM" off the board and choose a student to come up and write one letter of the word "Jerusalem" until the word is written.
LESSON POINTS:
- After King Ishbosheth was buried, all the people of Israel came to David and told him that he should be the king over all of Israel because the LORD was with David. All of the elders of Israel came to Hebron where David was living and anointed him king over Israel, so now there was not two kings, but only one king and that king was David, the son of Jesse.
- David was 30 years old when he began to rule over Israel and, all together, he ruled forty years. He ruled over Judah seven and a half years in Hebron and he ruled over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years in Jerusalem. They called Jerusalem "the city of David" and David became greater and greater because the LORD was with him.
- There was a king of Tyre named Hiram and he sent David messengers with good, strong cedar trees, and carpenters who knew how to build with wood and masons who knew how to build with stones. That is when David knew that God had made him king over Israel and he had built up David's kingdom for the sake of the people of Israel. David made a home in Jerusalem and had many wives and children.
- When the Philistines had heard that David had been anointed King over Israel, they searched for David, but he had gone down into the stronghold which was a very safe place because it was fortified to protect the king. The Philistines camped out in the valley, searching for David. David asked God if he should fight the Philistines and God said yes. David fought the Philistines and won the battle. The Philistines had left their idols in the camp and David had his soldiers burn them.
- A second time, the Philistines came up against David and wanted to fight him. Again, David asked the LORD if he should fight, but this time God said no. God said to circle around them to the back of the Philistines by the mulberry trees. God said when David heard a sound of marching in the tree tops, then David was to get up and fight the Philistines and that''s what David did. David won another battle with the Philistines! Maybe the Philistines were used to winning battles against King Saul, but with David, it was another story. David had the LORD on his side and conquered many wicked Philistines.
"Older Student" Tips:
- King Saul fought the Philistine army all of his life and died, fighting them. God was not with King Saul, but God was with David. David fought and won which was something the King Saul did not do often. When you are obedient to God, then God is on your side.
ACTIVITY: The City Of David
Materials needed: 9' x 12" yellow piece of construction paper, 6" x 12" black piece of construction paper, scissors, white crayon, marker, glue, crayons.
- Hand out yellow paper to students,
- Hand out black paper to students.
- With white crayon, let students draw a city out of the black paper.
- Cut top edge of the city.
- Glue to yellow paper.
- Draw windows and doors on black paper.
- Write "JERUSALEM" at the top of the yellow paper.
- Write "2 Samuel 5" and "The City Of David" under the word "Jerusalem."