Lesson - What happened To Rehoboam

VERSES:   1 Kings 14:21-31; 2 Chronicles 12:1-16

MEMORY VERSE:   1 Kings 14:26   "And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Job.   Write "Job" on small slips of paper and pass out at the end of class.

PRAYER:   Thank God for everything we have been given.

SPECIAL SONG:   Children, Obey Your Parents (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog)

VISUAL AID:   Whiteboard or chalkboard drawing of the Egyptian hauling away all the precious valuables of Solomon's temple (see Activity below).

LESSON POINTS:

• While Jeroboam was leading all of the kingdom of Israel to worshiping idols and sin, and farther and farther away from God, Rehoboam, the King of Judah, was having a terrible time. He, too, was not following God. The people were serving idols and doing many terrible deeds. They were building special places for their idols and turning their backs on God. Remember how angry God was with the children of Israel back in Moses' time and how He wanted to destroy them all when they worshiped idols or did something terrible? The Bible says that the children of Judah were making God more jealous! Bad things were going to happen to the kingdom of Judah and all because of sin.
• God stirred up the King of Egypt and he came up to Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots, 80,000 horseman, and they could not even number the King of Egypt's  tremendous army. The Egyptians took away all the beautiful things from Solomon's temple, all the gold, and precious metals and jewels and took everything back to Egypt with them.
• God told Rehoboam that he had forsaken God and that was the reason He had left the children of Judah in the king of Egypt's hands. When Rehoboam and all the princes heard what God had said, they humbled themselves before God. God is a compassionate God and wants His people to do well and obey Him. When God saw that they had humbled themselves, He said that He would not destroy the people, rather, He would make them servants to the king of Egypt. Things were better for Judah after Rehoboam humbled himself before the LORD.
• When people sin there are always consequences. One sad consequence of Rehoboam's sin was that Solomon's beautiful temple was stripped of all the gold and valuables. Rehoboam tried to replace the King Solomon's gold shields with brass of his own, but brass is not gold, definitely not as valuable, and they were nothing like the beautiful shields in his father's time, although Rehoboam protected them like they were of great value.
• The Bible says that there were wars between Jeroboam and Rehoboam all of their days. Finally, Rehoboam died after ruling over the kingdom of Judah for seventeen years.

"Older Student: Tips:

• Lessons like this makes us think about our own country. As a nation, are we living the way that pleases God? If we are not, what conclusion can we make about the sin all around us and the hardships that visit us?

ACTIVITY:   King of Egypt takes all of the gold out of Solomon's temple.
Materials needed:   9" x 12" blue construction paper, 1" x 12" tan construction paper,4" x 4" black construction paper, 4" x 12" brown construction paper, scraps of different colored construction paper and gold paper, gold fastener, scissors, glue, marker, and crayons.

1. Hand out blue paper.
2. Hand out tan paper.
3. Glue tan paper at the bottom of the blue paper. This is the dirt.
4. Hand out brown paper.
5. Cut a chariot out of the brown paper (see picture above).
6. Glue chariot to middle of blue paper.
7. Out of scraps, cut out the back side of a horse,
8. Glue horse to right side of blue paper.
9. Cut a circle out of the black paper. This is the chariot wheel. DO NOT glue wheel.
10. Place wheel where it should go on the chariot, poking a hole through paper. Divide the fastener on the back of the paper. Make sure wheel turns around.
11. Cut an Egyptian man's clothes, arm, and head out of scraps.
12. Glue man on chariot.
13. Draw reins from man's hand to horse.
14. Cut snips of gold paper and glue anywhere on chariot.
15. Write "The King of Egypt Takes Gold From The Temple..." at the top of the blue paper/
16. Write "1 Kings 14" and "2 Chronicles 12" on the top right side of the paper.
17. Write "...all because of Judah's sin." at the bottom of the sand.
18. Draw man;s face and hair.
19. Write "Egypt" across the chariot.