VERSES: 1 Kings 16:29-34
MEMORY VERSE: 1 Kings 16:30 "And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Ecclesiastes. Write "Ecclesiastes" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class.
PRAYER: We pray for strong, Christian families who are raising their children in God's ways.
SPECIAL SONG: The Family In God's Plan (see March - Songs We Sing in Bible Class #4 on this blog)
VISUAL AID: Draw a large Activity (see Activity below) on the chalkboard or whiteboard
LESSON POINTS:
- After many evil kings had ruled the Kingdom of Israel, some for longer periods than others, they were still doing wickedly and worshiping idols which displeased the LORD greatly. When the Bible says something, it is always important. God does not say things lightly or "just for fun." There was a king of Israel named Ahab that the Bible says in 1 Kings 16:30 "did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him," meaning of all the kings that had ever ruled Israel, Ahab was the most evil one. God always gives men choices and Ahab made very poor choices in God's eyes.
- To makes things even worse, Ahab married a woman named Jezebel who brought the idol named Baal for the children of Israel to worship. This idol, Baal, was even worse than the two golden calves that Jeroboam made for the people to worship at Bethel and Dan. Sometimes the women who the kings married brought idols to God's people from their countries and that's what happened in Ahab's case. There was nothing good about Jezebel. Ahab made an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he had built in Samaria and he also made a grove which was also a wicked thing to do. Ahab did more to make God angry than all the kings of Israel that ruled before him. Ahab was very wicked indeed.
- We will study more about this wicked king, so that we can learn lessons that will help us in our lives.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Before marrying someone, always make sure that the person you are marrying loves the LORD. Two people working together for the LORD can do much good. It will be and is very difficult for a Christian to remain a strong, faithful Christian if they marry someone who is not a Christian. The LORD needs men and women who love Him with their whole hearts.
Materials needed: 9" x 12" white construction paper, crayons.
- Hand out white paper.
- Fold paper with two edges meeting in the middle.
- On the outside flaps, draw Ahab and Jezebel. Explain that we REALLY don't know what they looked like, so they can be creative. They should not look too kindly.
- Write "Ahab" above Ahab's picture and "Jezebel" above Jezebel's picture.
- Open paper.
- On the left side, write "Ahab did evil in the sight of the LORD."
- In the middle, draw Baal's altar with an unhappy face above it and write "House of Baal' below it.
- Write "1 Kings 16:30" at the bottom of the middle.
- Draw a picture of trees on the right side.
- On the right side, write "grove" at the bottom.