This free Children’s Church lesson plan was first written for elementary aged students. It covers the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. This material could also be used as the Bible lesson for children’s Sunday school. It shows how God was the one who knocked down the wall. This story shows how God keeps his promises and provides help for his people, even when they face a dire situation. Sometimes this Bible story is called “Joshua and the Battle of Jericho.” Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed.
Bible Story: Joshua and the Wall of Jericho
Scripture: Joshua 6:1-20
Target Age Group: Age 6 – 11 (U.S. Kindergarten – 5th Grade)
Time: 20 Minutes
Learning Context: Children’s Church
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Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the story by drawing a detailed picture of the story.
Items Needed:
- Bible: Joshua 6:1-20. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
- Playing cards
Worship: Use Moses Songs (extra print out) PDF to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson. You can also browse our recommendations for children’s worship music.
Teaching Plan “The Walls of Jericho”
Welcome Activity: Welcome activities are things to have out for the children to do as they are arriving for class. These activities will get them engaged as soon as they arrive and will help the transition from their parents.
Have playing cards available for the children to play with as they arrive.
Bible Lesson Introduction: Split the children into 2 groups and give each group a stack of playing cards. Have each group try to build the biggest house of cards. The house of cards is nothing like the walls of Jericho that were torn down during the Bible story today.
Bible Lesson
- What part of the Bible is Joshua in? The Old Testament
- What book of the Old Testament is Joshua? #6
Read Joshua 6:1-20 (NIRV) aloud to the children. Have the children listen for how many times the people had to walk around the walls and for how many days.
1 The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.
2 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.
3 “March around the city once with all of your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. 4 Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.
5 “You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in.”
6 So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 He gave an order to the men. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”
8 When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. 9 Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets.
10 But Joshua had given an order to the fighting men. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”
11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.
14 On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.
16 On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets.
Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That’s because she hid the spies we sent.
18 “But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed. 19 All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the Lord’s house.”
20 The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city. 21 They set it apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. They destroyed every living thing in it with their swords. They killed men and women. They wiped out young people and old people. They destroyed cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Discuss Bible Lesson
1 The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.
2 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.
• Jericho was hard to get into. It was shut up tight.
• God told Joshua that Jericho was going to be for the people of Israel.
3 “March around the city once with all of your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. 4 Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.
5 “You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in.”
- The people are to march around the city – silently – 1 time for 6 days
- The priests were to blow their trumpets
- On the 7th day they marched around 6 times – silently
- On the 7th time around – they shouted and the walls fell down
6 So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 He gave an order to the men. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”
8 When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. 9 Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets.
10 But Joshua had given an order to the fighting men. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”
* Joshua is telling the people of Israel God’s plan of attack
11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.
14 On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.
16 On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets.
Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That’s because she hid the spies we sent.
• It talks about Rahab
• Joshua had sent in 2 spies to check out the city before they marched – Rahab hid and saved those 2 spies and so her house was the only one left standing
18 “But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed. 19 All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the Lord’s house.”
• They were not to take anything that belonged to the city.
20 The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city. 21 They set it apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. They destroyed every living thing in it with their swords. They killed men and women. They wiped out young people and old people. They destroyed cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Did the walls fall down because of some trumpets and shouting? No! The walls fell down because of God!
Bible Lesson Activities
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.
Activity: Reenacting the Story
- Have the children come up with a way to reinact the story
- Depending on how many children you have in the group, you may want to split them up into smaller groups
Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.” Joshua 24:24 (NIRV)
Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:
We will serve: take a bow (as though bowing to a master)
The Lord our God: point to the ceiling
We will obey: nod your head
Him: point to the ceiling
Joshua 24: hold 2 fingers on one hand and 4 fingers on the other hand
24: hold 2 fingers on one hand and 4 fingers on the other hand
Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.
Activity: God Says (a.k.a. Simon Says)
“Our Bible Verse means that we need to obey. To obey means to listen and follow directions. Who should we listen to? (allow for responses) When our parents and others want us to obey, they know what is best for us. They wouldn’t have us do something that would hurt us. They want us to grow up to be big girls and boys.
We are going to play God Says. Whatever God says…you need to do. If God doesn’t say it…don’t do it. Does everyone understand? Great! Let’s play!”
Evaluation:
Have the children tell the main parts of the story back to you. Make sure that they have the parts in order.
Need More Ideas? Then browse our list of Sunday School lessons for kids. We also have a growing selection of children’s sermons.
A great lesson for me to give my children on Sunday Morning. Thank You for being so good to share this text
Thank you for sharing the lesson, will use it during the lockdown for groups of children.