Our story:
Last week we looked at Israel's first king, Saul. Now we're going to jump ahead several hundred years, to a time when God is about to punish the entire nation for how much they have sinned. He spoke through a prophet named Jeremiah (boy in prophet's mantle). Now, Israel had promised God that when they heard His commands, they would say, "Yes, Sir!" (a line from one of our songs). (ask all): Is it important to keep promises? (ask all): Did Israel keep their promise? They did not! But they kept fooling themselves, saying that God loved them, so He would never punish them. So, one day, God's word came to Jeremiah. (girl with halo "flies" in): "Go to the descendants of Rechab and invite them to come to the temple with you. There invite them to drink wine." (angel flies away. J. chooses three to be Rechabites and brings them to table. Sets out three cups. Holds up wine bottle.) J. invites them to drink wine, but they refuse. They explain, "Over 200 years ago, our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab vowed that his descendants would not drink wine. So, sorry, but we can't drink this." J. says, "Oh, don't be so polite, come on, have a drink." But the Rechabites refuse again and leave. (they leave) J. says to God, "What was that all about? I invited them like you said, but they refused, very politely too. Did I do something wrong?" (angel reappears): "Actually I wanted to show you what a good example they are for the Israelites. Here their ancestor says one time, over 200 years ago, that his descendants wouldn't drink wine, and they have been obedient to this day. They are truly loyal and pure in heart. But my people Israel in general? I have told them over and over to obey my commandments, and they don't listen!" (ask J.): Do they deserve to be punished? (ask all): Should they be punished? "They definitely will be punished. Some will die, some will be carried away as exiles to other countries. But the descendants of Rechab? I will bless them, because they have shown their hearts are pure. (angel leaves. J. finds the 3 Rechabites and shakes hands.)
As usual, I've taken some liberties with the story! There's no angel in the Biblical account, for example, but it gave one more child a chance to participate in the story, and also made for more visualization & less just talking.
That "over 200 years"? Recently in my devotions in II Kings I noticed that the name of a man who fought alongside King Jehu of Judah was Jehonadab son of Rechab. My assumption is that this is the same person as is cited in Jeremiah 35.
For a game, we searched for "pure (milk chocolate) hearts" under moving teacups—like the shell game. Funny how well the boys concentrate when there's chocolate involved! For a craft, what's purer than snow, right? So we made snow globes, which were VERY simple (thanks to the florist's clay I finally tracked down on Home Assignment in anticipation of this craft) but fun.
A friend from Hong Kong, a special ed teacher, gave a brief devotional during the regular Bible study time, on how the innocence of their children illustrates the kind of purity of heart God blesses. Then she gave time for questions as well as praying for the parents. Her talk was very well received.
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