The Biblical Path of Life

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  • Lesson 11: Nahum: Nineveh’s Destruction Foretold

    Key Verse

    Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves … Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

    —Romans 12:19

    Key Verse Thought: After reading the key verse, understand that vengeance means “to execute justice; penal retribution; execution of right.” Think about a time that you have known someone who may have wanted to get back at someone for something that was done to them. We often call this revenge — or getting even. After learning of Israel’s captivity by Assyria last week, do you think the Israelites wanted to take revenge? They had been taken from the land God had promised them — by their enemy! As we read our memory verse today, we must remember that it is not our place to get back at anyone. God has reserved that right for Himself. He will repay — He said so!

    Emphasis: We are to know that God is a stronghold for those who trust in Him — and to live with that in mind!

    Lesson Summary: We have been studying and learning about the history of Israel, God’s chosen people. Remember that this was only ten of the twelve tribes, the Northern Kingdom. We read how after many warnings, God’s people were carried captive out of the land God had promised to them. They were carried into an enemy land and scattered (see 2 Kings 17:6). After reading of the prophets’ many cries for Israel to repent and turn back to God, we learned of God’s discipline that fell upon Israel for disregarding that call to repentance. As we enter into our study of Nahum today, we should remember back for a minute to Jonah. God sent Jonah to warn Nineveh of destruction for their wickedness. “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). In addition, he told them, “… Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4b). We also learned of the repentance that city showed. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them” (Jonah 3:5). Because of that repentance, God spared the city. “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah 3:10).

    The book of Nahum takes place over 100 years after Jonah. Nineveh was the world’s greatest city at this time in history. Although the nation repented in Jonah’s time, they had reverted back to their sin, falling even deeper. See what we will learn. “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked …” (Nahum 1:3a). (Another verse to consider is Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”)  Today we will read the words Nahum preached against the nation of Assyria — the same nation that carried God’s people, Israel, away from their homeland.

    The book of Nahum takes place about the time of 2 Kings 21. Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, was utterly destroyed around 612 B.C.

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 11 Questions

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 11 Children’s Worksheets

    If you teach this lesson to children, see the following for a craft idea:

    We decorated a frame with the verse Nahum 1:7 inside of it.

  • Humbled Before God

    “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
    2 Timothy 3:5

    Jesus told a parable in the book of Luke. Read why He told this parable to the people. “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 19:9). We can understand that Jesus was dealing with people who thought they were righteous and others were not. Thinking one is righteous, when they really are not, would be a very scary place in which to be. Jesus wanted them to understand righteousness.

    Jesus told the parable of two men who went up into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee (a very religious person – a religious leader) and the other a publican (a tax collector). Read what Jesus said about the Pharisee: “11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12). Now read what Jesus said about the publican: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

    Compare the two. The Pharisee was proud of all of his good deeds and thought he was fine in his religion. The publican on the other hand, humbled himself and asked God to forgive him – for he knew he was a sinner.

    What did Jesus say about the two men? He began by telling of the publican. “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

    Read what Jesus had previously said to the Pharisees: “14. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15. And he [Jesus] said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:14-15). They did not understand that God looks upon the heart.

    See the following verses:

    • Understand the wicked: “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4).
    • Understand the religious: “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain” (James 1:26).
    • How is one justified? “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
    • Can “good works” make anyone righteous? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
    • What does this help us understand? “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6).
    • How can one be righteous in God’s eyes? “8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
    • Understanding all of the above, what is a Christian to do when faced with one who thinks he is righteous? “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5).

    The Pharisee (who had a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”) will one day be abased. The publican, who humbled his heart, will one day be exalted. 

    Have you exalted yourself, or have you humbled your heart before God?

    How to be Saved

  • Lesson 10: 2 Kings 15:14-31; and 16-17 Shallum — Hoshea

    Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
    —1 Corinthians 10:12

    Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

    —1 Corinthians 10:12

    Key Verse Thought: Read the key verse. Can you think of a time when you have bragged about doing something, only to mess up the next time you tried to do it? Sometimes we think too highly of ourselves. It is then that we should watch out — because we are probably about to fall flat on our face. We claim that keeps us humble, but it is a Biblical principle. God wants us to be humble — not proud. When we get too proud, He will remind us just who we are, His servants here on this earth. In our lesson today, see what happens to the nation that forsakes God.

    Emphasis: In today’s lesson, we will learn to recognize the progression of sin, and not allow it to destroy our life.

    Lesson Summary: In today’s lesson, we will end our study of Israel’s history. We have learned that God is merciful — He does not want any to perish. We have read the prophets words of warning as to what would happen if they did not seek God, repent, and turn back to Him. We even read an invitation extended by God at the end of Hosea that we studied in our last lesson. Nevertheless, as we will learn today, Israel did not heed the warnings they were given. They did not respond to God’s call for repentance. Instead, the kings continue to be wicked and continually “… did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin” (2 Kings 15:18). These wicked kings led the people to sin against God.

    Israel never had a good king. Keeping that in mind, we will learn about the last four kings of Israel:  Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea.

    Take note of the listing of things we find in 2 Kings 17. This list tells of what Israel was guilty of in their sin, their idolatry, and the refusal to turn back to God. Especially notice the turning place that led to the rejection of God’s Word. Be sure that you recognize the parallel of the nation Israel’s refusal to obey God’s Word, and the fact that most people today know the right thing to do after hearing God’s Word, yet people often choose to do wrong instead.

    As we study this lesson, realize that God did not allow His people to be taken into captivity without first telling them how they had failed Him. After many attempts to draw Israel back to Himself, God had no choice but to discipline His people.

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 10 Questions

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 10 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to children, see the idea for a craft to go with the lesson:

    We made a journal to remember the importance of God’s Word, our daily bread. We added sticker scriptures and wrote a few inside.

  • Lesson 9: Hosea: God’s Enduring Love

    As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
    —Romans 9:25

    Key Verse Thought: After reading the key verse, understand that Osee in today’s memory verse is “Hosea.” As we will learn in our lesson today, God revealed to Hosea that one day the Gentiles would be included as His people. Understand that Gentiles are any peoples who are not Jews (Israelites.) This verse is in reference to Hosea 2:23: “And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” Today, we can be the beloved of God. The word beloved in this verse means “to love or delight in.”

    Emphasis: In today’s lesson, we are to recognize the call of the Lord and respond. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

    Lesson Summary: In today’s lesson as we study the book of Hosea, we will learn that he suffered personal tragedy that God paralleled to Israel’s sin against God. But even with the great tragedy in his own life, we find that he understood God’s message to Israel — and he was willing to preach that truth.

    The book of Hosea begins with “The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea … in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). We will find that God gave Hosea a very unusual command — to go and take a wife of the land, knowing she would be unfaithful to him. The wife he took and the relationship (including his children) that ensued was a perfect picture of the relationship that Israel had become to God — unfaithful at best. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, bore three children. The first was definitely Hosea’s child. We are not sure if the second child born to Gomer belonged to Hosea. The third child born was definitely not Hosea’s son. This was to be a picture of the gradual desertion of God’s people from the God who had chosen and set them apart as His own.

    When Hosea understood that Israel had turned from God, he cried for the people to return to the Lord. Hosea’s life was a message for God’s people. In that message was a revealing of the nation’s sin. It continued with a promise of punishment of that sin. However, God never left His people without hope. If they would only seek God, and reject the idolatrous practices they had established, God would return to them. Once it is revealed that Israel will not return, Hosea tells of the judgment that will fall. Nevertheless, God did not leave His people without one final invitation to return to Him. It was man’s choice whether to receive correction, or reject God’s Word.

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 9 Questions

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are doing these lessons with children and would like a craft idea, see the following:

    We decorated a frame and included the verse from Hosea 1:1a, and Hosea 14:1a.

  • Do You Love the Wages of Unrighteousness?

    “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
    Matthew 6:21

    Have you ever encountered one called a Christian, who chooses the ways and riches of this present world instead of walking a Christ-like life? This brings to mind a very real man named Balaam from the book of Numbers in the Old Testament.

    Balak, king of Moab, (along with all of the Moabites) were afraid of the Israelites, God’s people. Balak sent for Balaam. He wanted Balaam to curse God’s people. Balak had heard that whomever Balaam cursed was cursed, and whomever he blessed was blessed. Balak sent money with men to give Balaam as payment to come to him and curse the Israelites. God spoke to Balaam and told him not to go with the men and not to curse God’s people, for they were a blessed people. Balaam told the princes of Balak to go home. God would not allow him to go with them.

    Balak sent more men to tell him not to let anything keep him from coming to him – even giving promises of great honor. “And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more” (Numbers 22:18). Yet Balaam told the men to stay the night, and wait to see what God would tell him that night. “And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do” (Numbers 22:20).

    God had already told Balaam not to go. God’s people were only to be blessed, for they were a blessed people. Yet when Balaam was offered honor, a house full of silver and gold, he told the men to wait. Why is that? Do you think he was hoping God would let him go so he could have all of that honor and gold? That night, God told him to go. Do you think that maybe this could have been a test to see what was in Balaam’s heart? Balaam went. “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him …” (Numbers 22:22a). Balaam heard what God said, but he was not listening to what God had told him. God was angry with him for going.

    Balaam rode his donkey, heading to see Balak, king of Moab. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, but Balaam did not. The donkey understood that he was not to continue forward. Balaam was angry at his donkey, and began to hit the donkey when it sat down (Numbers 22:23). The donkey was trying to save his master’s life. God opened the mouth of that donkey, and he spoke to Balaam. And Balaam answered the donkey. He told the donkey that if he had a sword in his hand, he would kill him. “Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face” (Numbers 22:31). The angel told Balaam that if it hadn’t been for the donkey, he would have been killed. Why? “…behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me” (Numbers 22: 32b). Balaam was not supposed to go to speak with King Balak. The angel of the Lord told Balaam to go on to see King Balak, but only speak the words God gave him to speak. Balaam went, told King Balak God’s Words, and blessed God’s people.

    If the events ended here, it might have seemed good. Nevertheless, at some point, Balaam gave King Balak counsel of the way to cause the Israelites to trespass against the Lord (Numbers 31:16). Balaam had not obeyed God. He was to have only spoken the words God gave him to King Balak. He chose to do disobey God, apparently greedy for reward and wages.

    Read the insight about the life of Balaam in the New Testament: “15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16. But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17. … to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness … 19. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Peter 2:15-19). He loved the wages of unrighteousness, and people like him allure through the lusts of the flesh, wantonness, promising liberty, but they are servants of corruption. They end up in bondage. 

    Another insight we read in the New Testament about Balaam: “10. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:10-12). It declares that Balaam was in error and went after reward. His end was described as “twice dead, plucked up by the roots.”

    Would you want to be remembered as one who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ending up twice dead?

    How to be Saved

  • Lesson 8: 2 Kings 13:9 – 15:15: Jehoash – Shallum: Wickedness Punished

    For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

    —Psalm 86:5

    Key Verse Thought: Have you ever thought about how good God really is? He is always ready to forgive — any who will call upon Him (remember Romans 10:13). In our Key Verse see that mercy means “kindness, love, or mercy shown. Even when men may prove unfaithful to this relationship, God’s mercy to His people is everlasting.”

    Emphasis: We are to understand God’s faithfulness and mercy to His people — even when they forget Him.

    Lesson Summary: As we continue with our study today, do not get confused by the king’s name; Jehoash is often called Joash. Keep in mind that they are the same person as you read through 2 Kings 13–15. We also will learn of the Prophet Elisha’s death.

    While Jehoash is king, he is challenged by the king of Judah (after he won a great victory against the Edomites) which led to the defeat of Judah. After King Jehoash died, Jeroboam II became king and reigned for 41 years. Because the kings had continually allowed the worship of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan, God permitted the enemies around to oppress Israel. God revealed to them that they had used all of their resources, tried everything they could, and still needed help. God never left them; they left God. One continual theme we can see as we study our lesson today is the same as our memory verse: “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5). In spite of Israel’s continual state of sin, because they were God’s people, He continually saved them from their enemies. Even though King Jeroboam II continued in the same sin of the previous kings, God allowed him to restore much of Israel’s land that had been lost to enemies around. We also remember back to Amos as he delivered God’s warning to Israel. Especially recognize Amos’ tenacity to continue preaching God’s Words to Israel even after being confronted by a priest of Bethel named Amaziah.

    After King Jeroboam II died, his son Zachariah reigned. We conclude our lesson today with God’s promise to King Jehu being fulfilled. If you remember, God promised that King Jehu’s children to the fourth generation would sit upon the throne of Israel because he destroyed Ahab’s family as God had commanded him. Remember the generations after Jehu: Jehoahaz, Jehoash (Joash), Jeroboam II, and Zachariah. Zachariah was the fourth generation to sit upon the throne after King Jehu. We conclude our history today with Shallum, the son of Jabesh, who conspired against Zachariah and killed him to reign in his stead.

    Y2Q1 Lesson 8 Questions

    Y2Q1 Lesson 8 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are doing these lessons and would like a craft idea, see the following:

    For this lesson we used a frame we decorated to look like a Bible Times house to hold the verse: “And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.” 2 Kings 14:27

  • Faith and Hope

    “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
    Romans 15:4

    Watching events in the world today, do you ever wonder why God allows some things to happen? Have you noticed the crime, injustices, wickedness, violence, strife, and so much more that happens continually? Does it seem like ungodliness is constantly in your face, yet there is nowhere to turn and hide from it? Believe it or not, this is nothing new. This has all happened before.

    Remember back for a minute to a small book in the Old Testament named after a prophet who had much of the same question for God. He asked God, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!” (Habakkuk 1:2). He wanted to know why he could see so many living in such sin and wickedness, knowing that God was displeased, and why God was allowing it to continue without doing anything about it.

    God answered Habakkuk. “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Habakkuk 1:5). God proceeded to tell Habakkuk that He was about to do something so mighty that it would be hard to believe such a thing could happen. God’s people had been living contrary to God for so long, and they had chosen instead to involve themselves wholly in idolatry. Because of their rejection of God and His ways, God was going to allow the enemy to come into the country, steal a select group away, and destroy the rest of the people and nation. The enemy that was coming to destroy was a “terrible and dreadful” people. God was going to use this wicked people to come into Judah and destroy. However, because God knows the heart of all people, He knew whom he would allow to be spared from the wrath of His judgment upon His people. This group of people would be taken into the enemy’s land that was wholly given over to idolatry. Hearing this, Habakkuk was greatly trouble. He did not know or understand that in that place, this group of people would be cured of idolatry forever. It would be then that God would allow them to go back to their homeland and rebuild.

    When Habakkuk did not understand, he still waited to hear from God. Once again, God answered him. God wanted him to write it down for all to know and understand, because if God says something is going to happen, be assured it will happen! The greatest verse in this book, the verse that is the most instructive is found next. “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). No one who places faith in anyone or anything besides God is “upright” in God. Remember: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The most important faith a person can have is the saving faith in Jesus. “8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Once one has the saving faith of Jesus, that person is able to “live by his faith.” “16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth … 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17). In the world, people think seeing is believing. God wants us to understand that believing is seeing.

    How did Habakkuk respond to this thought of living by his faith in God and His Word? The entirety of chapter three in Habakkuk is a prayer that turns into a song. Habakkuk remembered what God had done for His people in the past, and the hope God gave for the future. God had never left them. This comforted Habakkuk and gave him hope. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

    Habakkuk put into practice what we should know to do: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). When Habakkuk sought God, God answered and encouraged Habakkuk.

    Does God’s Word comfort you, encouraging you to live a life of faith in this world?

  • Lesson 7: Amos: The Prophet from the Country

    Key Verse

    And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

    —Jeremiah 29:13

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s key verse. Do you know what it is to seek for God? Use the following definitions to help you understand this verse:

    • seek: to search out – specifically in prayer or worship; to enquire, ask, beseech
    • search: to follow in pursuit; to search; to worship; make inquisition
    • find: to find or acquire; to meet
    • heart: the mind; understanding

    God promises that if we will actively pursue Him in prayer or worship, we will meet Him. But only if we will follow in pursuit until we find Him with our mind and understanding. It obviously takes work. In this lesson, we will see that the people of Israel did not seek God – even when God told them to seek Him.

    Emphasis: We should consider Amos’ question. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). We cannot live as the Israelites lived, disregarding God’s commands. We should then heed Amos’s warning to “Seek the LORD, and ye shall live…” (Amos 5:6).

    Lesson Summary: Amos was a contemporary of Jonah, whom we studied in our last lesson. Although they spoke around the same time, they spoke God’s Word to different groups of people. If you remember, God sent Jonah to a city, Nineveh, in a Gentile nation, Assyria. Amos was from an area just south of Jerusalem, in Judah. But God sent him to speak – mostly to Israel. He spoke during the reign of King Jeroboam II.

    Amos was known as a prophet from the country. He was only a herdsman, yet when God called him, he obeyed God (Amos 7:14–15). Amos told of the impending judgment on the nations around, ending with the judgment that would fall upon Israel for their sin against God. He asked a pertinent question. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

    After many warnings to “[s]eek the LORD, and ye shall live …”, Amos warned of the discipline God would allow upon the people of Israel if they refused to turn back to Him. When the people refused to heed correction, God showed Amos several things that revealed the judgment that would come to God’s people. He saw: grasshoppers, a plumb line, a basket of summer fruit, and finally God standing at the altar. Nevertheless, even with the impending doom, God left His people with words of hope and restoration.

    Year Two Quarter One – Lesson 7 Questions

    Year Two Quarter One – Lesson 7 Children’s Worksheets

    If you teach this to children, here is a craft idea:

    You could have your students make a picture of a sheep to remember Amos was a herdsman. Have them glue cotton, draw a face on the sheep, and add the verse Amos 1:1a.

  • Lesson 6: Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet

    For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. —Titus 2:11

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s key verse. Use the following definitions help you understand it:

    • grace: the divine influence upon the heart;
    • appeared: become visible; able to be known.

     Today we are going to study a prophet that God sent to a Gentile nation (they were not Israelites, God’s chosen people). God makes His salvation known to all who need it.

    Emphasis: Be encouraged to know where God wants you to be, and to be where God wants you to be. Also, to be a faithful witness wherever you may be. 

    Lesson Summary: As we continue studying the Historical Books, we will intermittently study a book of the Prophets as close to the timeframe in history we are studying as we can. We have learned of the deplorable condition of the nation Israel as they only had bad kings. None of them led the nation in reformation back to the one, true God. We have remembered two very influential prophets of the Lord, Elijah and Elisha. Today we will look at another prophet, Jonah. Unlike Elijah and Elisha who spoke the Word of the Lord to the people of Israel, God sent Jonah to a nation that was the enemy of Israel. King Joash (Jehoash) was the last king in Israel of which we read (we will continue with his reign in Lesson 8). Jonah came upon the scene after King Joash (Jehoash) and during the reign of the next king of Israel, Jeroboam II (who we will study in Lesson 8 — see 2 Kings 14:23, 25).

    Jonah is a book in the Bible that is very familiar. One in which many people could probably relate without even having to go back and reread the book of Jonah. With that thought in mind if you are teaching a group, prepare to teach your students something about Jonah they may have never considered before. Be encouraged to never become so familiar with an account in the Bible that you don’t want to “hear it again.”

    Understand and know that the events that transpired in Jonah really happened. Jesus even compared Himself to the prophet Jonah (called Jonas in the Greek). “39. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here” (Matthew 12:39–41). Proof enough to anyone that Jonah was a real prophet who spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale.

    Year Two Quarter One – Lesson 6 Questions

    Year Two Quarter One – Lesson 6 Children’s Worksheets

    There are many options to show the events from the book of Jonah. I had extra stickers from other projects and made my own picture to remember what happened to Jonah.

  • Faithful Stewards

    “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
    1 Corinthians 4:2

    There are many people in our lives with whom we become acquainted. However, one must be cautious that those we spend the most time with have a true knowledge of Jesus and a love for God’s Word. We are to understand that words alone do not make one a child of God. A very dangerous position in which to be is to be one who does not hold the truth of salvation. What is the condition of those who do not have a true knowledge of Jesus? “12. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13. Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 1:12-13). When one does not hold the truth of salvation, they might just look and sound like a Christian, yet they have never known the truth of the Gospel message. What a sad place to be! Remember the warning Jesus gave: “21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

    Remember an event in the New Testament to help one understand this better.

    Paul had met a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, while on his second missionary journey in the city of Corinth. Paul taught in the synagogue every Sabbath, teaching the people that Jesus was the Christ (the Messiah that had come to take away the sin of anyone who would believe). Eventually, the chief ruler of the synagogue “believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed” (see Acts 18:8). Paul stayed there for a time, teaching the Word of God to the people. When he left Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila went with him until he reached Ephesus where they stayed while Paul continued on his journey.

    While Priscilla and Aquila were there, a man came. “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus” (Acts 18:24). See what else God’s Word says of Apollos. “This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). One has to stop for a minute to remember what it means by the “baptism of John.” John (also known as John the Baptist) was preaching repentance, calling for people to be baptized, preparing them to receive Jesus when He came. John the Baptist’s job was to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (see Luke 1:17b). This meant that he was to introduce Jesus to the people as the Messiah (the Christ) for whom they had been waiting. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Somehow, Apollos missed that part of the message. He only knew of the baptism to repentance, but missed that Jesus was the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. He had knowledge of much of the Scripture, but he was missing the key part – Jesus. Repentance of sin was important, but it was meaningless unless one understood that Jesus was the One who took the sin from the individual, giving salvation.

    What was Apollos doing with the information of the baptism to repentance that was taught by John the Baptist? “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26). When Aquila and Priscilla heard that what Apollos was teaching was missing the most important part (Jesus), they went to him and “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” What does that mean? They explained to Apollos that Jesus was the Christ. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). They had to tell Apollos about Jesus. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). That was the key part of the message that Apollos had not yet heard. However, when Apollos heard, he believed in Jesus. How do we know that he received the message and believed in Jesus? “For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ” (Acts 18:28). Because Aquila and Priscilla were faithful stewards of God’s Word, not only did Apollos believe, but he proceeded to tell others that Jesus was the Christ, too.

    Have you told others that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing they can have life through His name?

    How to be Saved