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Jerusalem's Walls Rebuilt 1st-3rd Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 22, Session 2: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt TEACHER BIBLE STUDY When the Babylonians took God’s people to Babylon, they destroyed Jerusalem. God’s people returned years later to rebuild the temple, but when they faced opposition in rebuilding the rest of Jerusalem, they stopped. Some 70 years passed, and the walls and gates around the city were still ruined. City walls and gates were very important in Bible times. Walls were built to be several feet thick. They protected a city from its enemies and provided a sense of safety and security. Gates were the center of city life, the meeting place for commercial and social transactions. Without these structures, the surviving remnant of God’s people struggled and was vulnerable to attack. Nehemiah traveled from Persia to Jerusalem to lead the effort in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah’s leadership was effective. Nehemiah 3 describes all the people working together to rebuild the gates and walls. But it wasn’t long before Nehemiah met opposition. Sanballat and Tobiah were local governors who strongly opposed Nehemiah’s helping the Jews. The two mocked God’s people and tried to discourage them. Sanballat and Tobiah planned a surprise attack against God’s people, but God’s people found out. They kept working—with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. God’s people completed the wall in just 52 days. Note how their enemies reacted: “All the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God” (Nehemiah 6:16). Now God’s people were protected from their enemies. God provided the way for us to be protected from our enemies, sin and death. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. When we repent and trust in Jesus, He frees us from sin and death. We still sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin. (See Romans 6:17-18.) We will die a physical death as a result of sin, but we have eternal life. (See John 11:25-26; Romans 6:23.) LESSON OVERVIEW/SCHEDULE Session Title: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt Bible Passage: Nehemiah 3:1–6:16 Big Picture Question: How did God protect His people? God used Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the city walls. Key Passage: Malachi 4:2 Unit Christ Connection: God restored a faithful remnant and reminded them of His promise of a new covenant through Jesus Christ. 1 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 1st-3rd Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 22, Session 2: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt Transition Time Welcome time Activity sheet/Table Centers Session starter (10 minutes) Lesson Countdown Introduce the session (1 minute) Timeline Map (1 minute) Big picture question (1 minute) Sing (5 minutes) Key passage (4 minutes) Tell the Bible story (10 minutes) Discussion starter video (3 minutes) The Gospel: God’s Plan for Me (optional) Prayer (5 minutes) Table Time Timeline map (1 minute) Bible story review (10 minutes) Large Group Review / Activities Key passage activity (5 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) THE BIBLE STORY/OVERVIEW Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt Nehemiah 3:1–6:16 Nehemiah (NEE huh MIGH uh) was in Jerusalem to help the people rebuild the city walls. The people started working together to fix the walls and the burned-down gates. The walls and gates had special names. Some of the people worked on the Fish Gate. The Fish Gate was the entrance to the fish market. Some people worked on the Sheep Gate; this gate led to the place men gathered to sell sheep. Others worked on the Valley Gate, the Old Gate, and the Horse Gate. The people worked on the walls, and other workers repaired the towers along the walls. The workers put in doors, bolts, and bars. They cut stones and lifted them into place on the wall, and they filled in gaps and holes. All around the city, people worked side by side. Soon the wall was half as tall as it had once been! Not everyone was happy that Jerusalem’s walls were being rebuilt. Some men who lived nearby were angry. Sanballat (san BAL uht) and Tobiah (toh BIGH uh) mocked the people. 2 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 1st-3rd Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 22, Session 2: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt Sanballat said, “What do these people think they are doing? These walls are just piles of trash and dirt. They can’t be rebuilt!” Nehemiah prayed. God’s people kept working on the walls, but their enemies made a plan to attack them and stop their work. God’s people prayed and assigned men to guard the walls all day and all night, but they were discouraged. “Our enemies are everywhere,” they said. Nehemiah reminded the people that God was with them. “Do not be afraid. God is great and powerful!” Nehemiah said. “Be ready. If our enemies attack us, God will fight for us!” Sanballat and Tobiah could threaten God’s people, but they couldn’t make God’s people stop building. Sanballat and Tobiah were not in charge of rebuilding the wall; God was! So God’s people went back to work. Some stood guard with weapons, and others worked on the wall. Some men worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other. They were always ready to fight, just in case. Nehemiah was a wise and good leader of God’s people while they worked. He helped them solve any problems they had, and he did not give in to their enemies. The people kept working very hard. In just 52 days, the wall was complete! The gates were repaired, and the wall was restored. When all of Jerusalem’s enemies heard that the wall had been rebuilt, they were afraid because they knew God was with His people. Christ Connection: Nehemiah led the people to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem to protect them from their enemies. Jesus came to protect us from our enemies. He died on the cross and rose from the dead to rescue people from sin and death. TRANSITION TIME Session Title: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt Bible Passage: Nehemiah 3:1–6:16 Big Picture Question: How did God protect His people? God used Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the city walls. Key Passage: Malachi 4:2 Unit Christ Connection: God restored a faithful remnant and reminded them of His promise of a new covenant through Jesus Christ. Welcome time Tip: As kids arrive this is a great time to collect the offering, fill out attendance sheets, and help new kids connect to your group. Arriving Activity: Through The Gate Invite two volunteers to form a gate by holding hands. Give the “gatekeepers” a secret word. If given the secret word, they must open the gate and let the kid who said it through. Give the other kids a hint about the password. Choose a kid to walk to the gate and say her 3 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 1st-3rd Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 22, Session 2: Jerusalem’s Walls Rebuilt guess. If she fails, provide another hint and let another kid try. Once a kid passes through the gate, play again. Say • Nehemiah continued his work on the wall in today’s Bible story, including several gates. We’ll see if he and the Jews were able to finish the wall. Activities/Table Centers (5 minutes) Table centers (Miscellaneous Activities) “Word Wall” activity sheet / Bible Story Coloring Sheet, 1 per kid pencils, markers or crayons Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say • Walls were very important in Bible times for protection. What are some things we use to protect ourselves? If time remains, allow kids to complete the coloring page provided with this session. Session Starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Crack in the Wall paperwads, 6 Choose two volunteers. Invite the other kids to form a large circle with space between each kid. Position the volunteers outside the circle on opposite sides. Provide each volunteer with three paper wads each. Explain that the two volunteers will attempt to get their paper wads to land inside the circle. The kids in the circle should face them and try to block the paper wads without moving their feet. Remind the kids only to throw underhand. If a paper wad goes through the circle and out the other side, it does not count. The volunteer with the most paper wads in the circle wins. Choose new volunteers and play again. Say • Those in the circle had to form a wall to keep out the paper wads. Nehemiah and the Jews had problems building the walls to keep enemies out of Jerusalem. We will find out what they did about those problems. Option 2: Two Things at Once tape balloons, 2 per team Allergy Allert Form two or more teams. Tape a start and finish line several feet apart. Provide each team with one inflated balloon. Instruct the teams to line up single file at the start line. The first kid in line will race to the finish line and back while tapping the balloon into the air. If the balloon touches the ground, he must start over. Play another round. This time each kid must try to play keeping two balloons in the air at the same time. Say • Was it harder to keep two balloons in the air? It is usually harder to do two things at once.
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