Lesson 198 Judgment Of Nineveh Nahum
MEMORY VERSE N AHUM 1:7 The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A cassette/cd player with music, index cards, felt tip pen, a paper bag and one gardening glove. Two large bowls, three Chinese take-out food containers (if you can not locate these, smaller bowls are OK), felt tip pen, paper, and for each child a Ping-Pong ball or large marshmallow (marshmallows are easier to use for younger children) and a set of chopsticks or straws. A paper plate for each child, scissors, a pencil, green and brown construction paper, glue stick and markers or crayons. ATTENTION GETTER! Passing the Glove Use this game to introduce today s memory verse ( The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He know s those who trust in Him. N AHUM 1:7). You will need a cassette/cd player with music, index cards, felt tip pen, a paper bag and one gardening glove. To prepare before class, write each word of today s Bible verse on a separate index card. Place the index cards in order on the floor and read the verse aloud with the children. Repeat several times. Next, place the cards in a paper bag. Children form a circle. While you play music on a cassette/cd player, children pass a gardening glove from player to player. To pass the glove, each player must put it on his or her neighbor s hand, and then that player takes it off and puts it on the
next player. When you stop the music, player wearing the glove chooses a card from the bag. The player then reads the word aloud and tries to finish the verse, beginning with that word. LESSON TIME! Nahum was a prophet to Nineveh. Does anyone remember a story about Nineveh and another prophet that was sent there? That s right! Jonah was a prophet to Nineveh also. Do you remember how the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah when he told them they were to be judged? Yes, they repented. They were sorry for being so wicked and they turned to God for forgiveness. Our story today is about the prophet Nahum who came about 100 years after Jonah. A long time has gone by for the great city of Nineveh and many people have been born. They have forgotten Jonah and God and His ways. So God sent Nahum to speak of judgment to Nineveh once again. God is slow to anger, but will one day judge all sinners. N AH U M 1:1-6 T h e bu r d e n agai n s t N i n e v e h. T h e bo o k o f t h e v i s i o n o f N ah u m t h e El k o s h i t e. G o d i s j e al o u s, an d t h e L O R D av e n ge s ; T h e L O R D av e n ge s an d i s f u r i o u s. T h e L O R D w i l l t ak e v e n ge an c e o n H i s ad v e r s ar i e s, an d H e r e s e r v e s w r at h f o r H i s e n e m i e s ; T h e L O R D i s s l o w t o an ge r an d gr e at i n p o w e r, an d w i l l n o t at al l ac qu i t t h e w i c k e d. T h e L O R D h as H i s w ay i n t h e w h i r l w i n d an d i n t h e s t o r m, an d t h e c l o u d s ar e t h e d u s t o f H i s f e e t.
H e r e bu k e s t h e s e a an d m ak e s i t d r y, An d d r i e s u p al l t h e r i v e r s. B as h an an d C ar m e l w i t h e r, an d t h e f l o w e r o f L e ban o n w i l t s. T h e m o u n t ai n s qu ak e be f o r e H i m, T h e h i l l s m e l t, an d t h e e ar t h h e av e s at H i s p r e s e n c e, Y e s, t h e w o r l d an d al l w h o d w e l l i n i t. Wh o c an s t an d be f o r e H i s i n d i gn at i o n? An d w h o c an e n d u r e t h e f i e r c e n e s s o f H i s an ge r? H i s f u r y i s p o u r e d o u t l i k e f i r e, an d t h e r o c k s ar e t h r o w n d o w n by H i m. Does it seem like God is mad? It is sometimes hard for us to understand how great, holy, and righteous our God is. Remember when He made man in the beginning? Adam and Eve were without sin. If they had not disobeyed in the garden, man would not have ended up making war against one another, hating and killing, and seeking other gods. When God looks at the history of man He sees hatred, violence, idolatry and pride. These are things that must be dealt with before a person may have a relationship with God. God is perfect and holy. Sin cannot dwell in His presence. So if our sin is not dealt with then there is only judgment. The good news is that God has provided a way for our sin to be forgiven and for us to be able to stand before Him in righteousness. At the time of Nahum they would look forward to the future when the Messiah would come to remove the sins of the world (Jesus). Today, we look back to the time when Jesus came, died, and rose again for our sins. God has made a way for us to not have to be judged. Remember Nineveh had repented once but they had turned selfish again and did not want to follow after God anymore. Verse 3 says God is slow to anger; it might take a long time before God takes action, but the rest of the verse says God will not leave the guilty unpunished. He will eventually take action. He cannot ignore sin
forever because He is holy and righteous. God is very patient and allows people a long time to turn to Him. God is slow to anger, but will one day judge all sinners. What Do Turtles and Snails Have in Common? They are both slow! Use this craft for children to remember that God is SLOW TO ANGER. You will need a paper plate for each child, scissors, a pencil, green and brown construction paper, glue stick and markers or crayons. Have the children cut the paper plate in half. The children will be able to make both a turtle and a snail. One half of the paper plate can be used for the turtle shell and the other half can be used as the snail shell. Have the children draw a spiral on one of the plate halves for the snail and draw rounded squares on the other half plate to make a turtle shell. To make the turtle, draw a head, a tail, and two legs on green construction paper. Cut them out and glue onto the turtle shell. To make a snail, draw a head with two antennae and a large snail foot on brown construction paper. Cut them out and glue onto the snail shell. Draw in eyes and a smile on each head. Write God is slow to anger Nahum 1:3 on each of the shells. After completing the craft talk about how God is patient with us. Optional Cut out green squares for the turtle shell.
N AH U M 1:7-15 T h e L O R D i s go o d, a s t r o n gh o l d i n t h e d ay o f t r o u bl e ; an d H e k n o w s t h o s e w h o t r u s t i n H i m. B u t w i t h an o v e r f l o w i n g f l o o d H e w i l l m ak e an u t t e r e n d o f i t s p l ac e, an d d ar k n e s s w i l l p u r s u e H i s e n e m i e s. Wh at d o y o u c o n s p i r e agai n s t t h e L O R D? H e w i l l m ak e an u t t e r e n d o f i t. Af f l i c t i o n w i l l n o t r i s e u p a s e c o n d t i m e. F o r w h i l e t an gl e d l i k e t h o r n s, an d w h i l e d r u n k e n l i k e d r u n k ar d s, t h e y s h al l be d e v o u r e d l i k e s t u bbl e f u l l y d r i e d. F r o m y o u c o m e s f o r t h o n e w h o p l o t s e v i l agai n s t t h e L O R D, a w i c k e d c o u n s e l o r. T h u s s ay s t h e L O R D : " T h o u gh t h e y ar e s af e, an d l i k e w i s e m an y, y e t i n t h i s m an n e r t h e y w i l l be c u t d o w n w h e n h e p as s e s t h r o u gh. T h o u gh I h av e af f l i c t e d y o u, I w i l l af f l i c t y o u n o m o r e ; F o r n o w I w i l l br e ak o f f h i s y o k e f r o m y o u, an d bu r s t y o u r bo n d s ap ar t. " T h e L O R D h as gi v e n a c o m m an d c o n c e r n i n g y o u : " Y o u r n am e s h al l be p e r p e t u at e d n o l o n ge r. O u t o f t h e h o u s e o f y o u r go d s I w i l l c u t o f f t h e c ar v e d i m age an d t h e m o l d e d i m age. I w i l l d i g y o u r gr av e, f o r y o u ar e v i l e. " B e h o l d, o n t h e m o u n t ai n s t h e f e e t o f h i m w h o br i n gs go o d t i d i n gs, w h o p r o c l ai m s p e ac e! O J u d ah, k e e p y o u r ap p o i n t e d f e as t s, p e r f o r m y o u r v o w s. F o r t h e
w i c k e d o n e s h al l n o m o r e p as s t h r o u gh y o u ; H e i s u t t e r l y c u t o f f. Nahum s name means, comfort. Even though Nahum is to preach judgment against Nineveh when he speaks to God s people in Judah, he begins with a psalm of praise that reminds them of the greatness and goodness of God. Nahum tells the people of Judah that they will not let Nineveh pursue them or afflict them any more. God is always keeping His eyes on His people. He sees everything we go through. We may not always understand His timing, but we know everything God says will happen. Nahum tells the people to celebrate their festivals and fulfill their vows. He tells them to enjoy their lives and enjoy their God because God s power will protect the righteous and judge the wicked. What a great promise to comfort us in this time in history. God is slow to anger, but will one day judge all sinners. N AH U M 3:1-7 Wo e t o t h e bl o o d y c i t y! I t i s al l f u l l o f l i e s an d r o bbe r y. I t s v i c t i m n e v e r d e p ar t s. T h e n o i s e o f a w h i p an d t h e n o i s e o f r at t l i n g w h e e l s, o f gal l o p i n g h o r s e s, o f c l at t e r i n g c h ar i o t s! H o r s e m e n c h ar ge w i t h br i gh t s w o r d an d gl i t t e r i n g s p e ar. T h e r e i s a m u l t i t u d e o f s l ai n, a gr e at n u m be r o f bo d i e s, c o u n t l e s s c o r p s e s ; t h e y s t u m bl e o v e r t h e c o r p s e s ; B e c au s e o f t h e m u l t i t u d e o f h ar l o t r i e s o f t h e s e d u c t i v e h ar l o t, t h e m i s t r e s s o f s o r c e r i e s, w h o s e l l s n at i o n s t h r o u gh h e r h ar l o t r i e s, an d f am i l i e s t h r o u gh h e r s o r c e r i e s.
" B e h o l d, I am agai n s t y o u, " s ay s t h e L O R D o f h o s t s ; " I w i l l l i f t y o u r s k i r t s o v e r y o u r f ac e, I w i l l s h o w t h e n at i o n s y o u r n ak e d n e s s, an d t h e k i n gd o m s y o u r s h am e. I w i l l c as t abo m i n abl e f i l t h u p o n y o u, m ak e y o u v i l e, an d m ak e y o u a s p e c t ac l e. I t s h al l c o m e t o p as s t h at al l w h o l o o k u p o n y o u w i l l f l e e f r o m y o u, an d s ay, ' N i n e v e h i s l ai d w as t e! Wh o w i l l be m o an h e r?' Wh e r e s h al l I s e e k c o m f o r t e r s f o r y o u?" Why is God judging Nineveh? Do you remember anything about Nineveh from the story of Jonah? It was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Was this a God-fearing, righteous empire? It was not. They were cruel. They controlled and ruled over the known world at that time. They had already invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel and had carried off women and children to become their slaves. They had stolen Israel s wealth so they could become more powerful. Verses 1 and 4 say a lot about the people who were in charge. There was idolatry and witchcraft going on. There was lying a deceit in the government. The Lord will not let that go on forever. Nahum uses very colorful language to explain the way that Ninevah will be destroyed because of her cruelty (3:10-19). He taught that the judgment of God would come against those who oppose and abuse His people. Judgment for sin is part of the work He must do in order to show Himself just and holy. We know from history that not long after this message from Nahum that Babylon attacked Nineveh and destroyed it. We know from Nahum that God is slow to anger, but will one day judge all sinners.
Let us be a people who will trust in Him and His timing as we see suffering around us and even going through it ourselves. It will not last forever. We serve and love a great, holy, and just God. Chopstick Relay Use this game to reinforce today s lesson. You will need two large bowls, three Chinese take-out food containers (if you can t locate, smaller bowls are OK), felt tip pen and paper. Also, for each child a Ping-Pong ball or large marshmallow (marshmallows are easier to use for younger children) and a set of chopsticks or straws. Prior to class, list true or false statements about the Bible story that you are teaching. Make them fairly obvious depending on the skill level of your class. You should have one statement for every two students in your class. Also include some statements that do not even relate to the story. They can be very obvious and even funny. Make three labels for the three containers. They should say, True, False and Not In Story. Place the containers on a table at one end of the room. At the other end of the room place the two large bowls filled with equal amounts of either Ping-Pong balls or marshmallows. Divide the class into two equal teams. Have the teams form two lines, each line facing one of the bowls and have their backs to the containers at the opposite end of the room. Give each player a set of chopsticks. The teacher should then read aloud a statement about the Bible story and say, Go! The player at the head of each line should then use their chopsticks to pick up a Ping-Pong ball (or marshmallow). He or she should then pass the ball to the next player using only their chopsticks. The ball is best passed if it rests on top of the chopsticks instead of being pinched. The ball should continue to be passed down the line from child to child until it reaches the last player in line. That player will then transport the ball to the three containers and drop the ball into the container
with the right answer for the statement. That player will then go to the HEAD of the line and wait for the next statement. The first student to put the Ping-Pong ball in the correct container scores a point for his or her team. If the first team drops the ball into the wrong container do not tell the answer until the second team has a chance. If there is a tie, give both teams a point. Keep score and play until all players have gone through the line. PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for His great salvation. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.