“What is important to you?”...2 OT9.17 A Wise King Acts Foolishly ©Beverly Wilson 2019 At first Solomon was obedient to God. He began his reign by building a beautiful temple

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OT9.17 A Wise King Acts Foolishly ©Beverly Wilson 2019

Unit 9: King David and King Solomon OT9.17 A Wise King Acts Foolishly

Scripture: 1 Kings 9-11

Lesson Goal: Solomon was chosen by his father King David to become the third King of Israel. In this lesson we will learn how King Solomon disobeyed God. It is not enough to be wise or powerful or wealthy. God expects us to obey His Word. We will learn the importance of honoring God in all that we think, say and do.

Introduction: This lesson is found in the book of 1 Kings. This book tells the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. It is in the second group of Old Testament books called the historical books. These books begin with Joshua and go through Esther. Let's say these books--Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

Attention Getter: “What is important to you?” What are some things that children your age think are important? What do you enjoy doing? Is it being able to play all the video games that you want? Is it being on the baseball team or the soccer team and have a winning season? It is fun to win a game but would you do anything to win? How about having lots of friends or being popular? Is that important to you? Think about this for a moment. Do you ever let someone or something become more important to you than your love for God? Today we are going to learn the importance of honoring God in all that we say and think and do. Opening Prayer: "Father, we want everyone around us to know that we put You first in our lives. I pray that You will be honored and glorified in everything that we think, or say, or do. Guard our hearts from seeking after idols in our lives. And help us to never misrepresent You to anyone You bring into our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen."

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Mark 12:30 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/JcgO-ZfbzO4 One of the wisest and greatest of the Old Testament Kings was Solomon. He was greater than any other King of his world. As a young man Solomon became King when his father King David died. Before appointing Solomon as king his father told him, “Be strong, and observe all that the Lord your God requires. Walk in his way and keep his decrees and commands so that you may prosper in all that you do. If you and your descendants obey Me then you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.” One night God appeared to King Solomon in a dream and offered him anything he desired to help him rule his people--the nation of Israel. Now Solomon could have asked for a great army, or many riches, or a long life, or great power and glory but he realized that being King was very important. He needed wisdom most. So he asked for that. God was pleased with this, so pleased that He promised him no only wisdom but both riches and honor. He promised that if Solomon would walk in his ways and obey Him, God would grant him a long life as well.

https://youtu.be/JcgO-ZfbzO4

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At first Solomon was obedient to God. He began his reign by building a beautiful temple for God. It was built on a hill in Jerusalem so that everyone could see it. It was made of white stones that sparkled in the sunlight. Inside the Temple the walls and floors were covered with pure gold. Tall narrow windows along the top of the temple let in sunshine so it was a bright beautiful sparkling place! Cherubim, great angel-like statues with huge gold wings, were in a special room in the Temple. This room was called the Most Holy Place. The cherubim reminded the people of God’s power. These cherubim guarded the Ark of the Covenant which kept the Tablets of Law. On the wall between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies hung tapestries woven with gold and embroidered with silk thread dyed in rich colors. Everything was perfectly made; only the best was good enough for God. When the Temple was finally finished, Solomon led a joyful parade to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place in the Temple. Solomon stood in front of the Temple and prayed to God. He and all the children of Israel praised and thanked God for His goodness and mercy. God kept His promise to give Solomon great wisdom. Because Solomon was obedient to Him, God gave Solomon a great Kingdom also. King Solomon built many ships which were used to trade with all the other nations in the world. These ships brought back much gold, silver, and ivory. The ships even sailed to Africa where they brought back apes and baboons to show to Solomon. They gave it all to King Solomon. All this travel and trade made King Solomon very rich! He became the richest king in the world at that time! King Solomon used his gold to buy horses and chariots from Egypt for his army to use. He traded for even more chariots and sold them to the other kings of the nation. Solomon was a very wise business man and every nation on the earth wanted all the things that Solomon and his kingdom had. Solomon built many large beautiful buildings, storehouses, even cities and towns for all his horses and chariots. He built large palaces with large terraces and porches. Solomon built a huge throne inlaid with ivory and gold. It had six steps and a large rounded back with a lion on each of the arm rests. Sitting on each of the steps leading up to the throne were twelve lions for each of the twelve tribes of Israel! It was very impressive! But Solomon was best known for his wisdom in leading his people. He was just and good. He knew all about the world, he knew science and music and philosophy. He wrote books of wise sayings that we still have today, and still consider to be very wise. Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs. One of his proverbs says, "A wise son brings joy to his father; but a foolish son grief to his mother." This means that it is good when we obey and honor our parents. Another proverb says, "He who walks with the wise grows wise." This means it is important who we choose as our friends. If we choose wise good friends, they will make us wise. Another proverb says, "Bad company corrupts good morals." If we choose the wrong friends they will get us in trouble! The Proverbs have a lot to say about fools. Fools are people who know what they should do, but choose to ignore that and do as they please. One proverb says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." This means that when we give credit to ourselves rather than God we will have a great deal of trouble! Solomon was so wise, that men and women from many nations came and brought him gifts. One day the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon. The queen of Sheba had heard about King Solomon and all his wisdom and wealth. The country of Sheba was in Arabia and it was a very fertile land. It was over 1,250 miles from Jerusalem. They grew many spices and traded them with Israel, Egypt, and Syria. The queen of Sheba could not believe all the reports about how rich and wise King Solomon was so she decided to come to Jerusalem and see for herself. She took with her servants and a caravan of camels loaded with gold, precious stones, and exotic spices and crossed the hot desert to visit Solomon.

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When she arrived in Jerusalem she entered into King Solomon's palace. She began to ask Solomon difficult questions but nothing was too hard for him. The queen was so impressed by his wisdom, the buildings he had constructed, and the magnitude of his servants! She told King Solomon that what she saw around her actually exceeded the fantastic reports she had heard. She told King Solomon that his servants were very happy to serve him and hear his wisdom! She wanted to know more about the God whom King Solomon worshipped. After seeing all the abundance of his kingdom, the Queen of Sheba praised the Lord for giving Israel such a wise king. As a way of showing her respect and admiration, she gave King Solomon the gifts that she had brought. She gave him 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices and precious stones. Solomon also gave her gifts. Then she returned with her servants back to the land of Sheba. The experience that the Queen of Sheba had with Solomon was repeated by many other kings and queens who paid honor to King Solomon. God honored Solomon with everything a person could ask for! He had great wealth, power, and was the wisest man who ever lived. He had it all! But sadly, King Solomon had one weakness which led him away from God. King Solomon had a weakness for women. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Many of these women were from nations where people worshiped idols—wooden or stone statues of false gods. The Lord had clearly instructed the children of Israel not to marry anyone from those nations because He knew that if a man married a foreign woman—one that worshiped false gods—he would be tempted to start worshiping her gods. God said Not to worship other gods. Yet Solomon did it anyway. Why did Solomon marry so many foreign women? He did it to make friends with the other nations around him; they were political marriages to strengthen his foreign alliances. Solomon’s first wife was an Egyptian princess. And, there was one big problem: Egyptian people didn’t worship the true God; they worshiped idols and Solomon allowed her to keep her idols. God had given Solomon wisdom, but once Solomon had made this foolish mistake, he acted foolishly again and again. Soon he married another princess. And then he married again and again and again! All these foreign wives brought their own idols of false gods with them from their countries! Soon there were lots and lots of false gods being worshiped in Solomon’s kingdom! He even built some temples for his foreign wives to use for worshiping their false gods. And, sure enough, these women encouraged Solomon to worship along with them and he turned his heart away from the true and living God. Solomon, the wisest man in the world, started to listen to his wives! He began to think that maybe, just maybe, these idols really had some power of their own! Pretty soon, Solomon himself was praying to the false gods that his wives worshiped. Solomon did what was clearly wrong and refused to follow the Lord as his father David did. God was very angry with Solomon about this. Even though God appeared to him twice to warn him specifically against worshiping others gods, Solomon didn’t listen and now he was no longer interested in the Lord God of Israel. How Sad! The Lord told Solomon, “Since you have not kept our agreement and have not obeyed my laws, I told you not to worship other gods. I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.” Solomon wasn’t happy about that! And which of his servants would become the king? Solomon didn’t find out right away. But one day, that servant found out! Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam, was walking through the country. A prophet, a man who gave messages from God, met him. The prophet stopped. He took off his beautiful, brand-new robe and tore it into 12 pieces! One piece was for each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

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The prophet gave Jeroboam 10 of the pieces and told him that after Solomon dies, he will be king over 10 tribes of Israel. The other 2 tribes would be ruled by Solomon’s son for the sake of his father, David. This would happen after Solomon died. This meant that Israel would lose its great power. It would become a divided nation. But remember God always keeps His promises. And He had promised to bring Jesus through the family line of David. So, God couldn’t completely wipe out Solomon’s line. So Solomon's son Rehoboam would become the king of the much smaller nation of Judah. How could a king so blessed by God fail to obey the One who had lavished such love on him? All this happened because Solomon allowed his wives to worship their own gods when they came to live in his palace. As time wore on, Solomon’s heart was no longer fully devoted to God. He began to trust himself, his army, and his own wisdom. He ignored God and His Word as he grew older. The next thing that happened was that he began to worship the idols along with his wives. It is not enough to know God's Word, we must obey it! Even though Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, he did not always choose to do what was wise. We each have a choice to do what is wise. We can make a wise choice to honor God. What about you? Is your heart fully devoted to God? Do you ever choose to let someone or something become more important to you than your love for God? Let's think about some things that we could let become more important than God. What are some things that can turn your heart away from God? It could be money, clothes, toys, or games. These things can become “idols” in our lives. We honor God by showing Him, and everyone around us, that He is most important to us by the things we think, say, and do. Do your friends know that you love God with all of your heart, mind and soul? How can you use your mouth to show that God is most important in your life? You can sing songs or tell others about how great God is. You can pray to God and never tell lies or dirty jokes. How can you use your eyes to show that God is most important to you? You can read the Bible and be careful what you watch on TV or at the movies. How can you use your ears to show that God is most important to you? You can listen to others tell about God. Be careful what music you listen to. Be careful about listening to your friend’s jokes at school. Never let someone gossip to you about someone else. How can you use your hands and feet to show that God is most important to you? (Do kind things to help other people.) Remember: Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your mind, and with all your strength!

Review Questions/ Game: “Catch or Comeback” Preparation: You will need large plastic drinking cups or large Styrofoam cups and a small foam ball that will easily fit into the cup. Say: “We are going to play a game of catch but do not worry if you are not good at catch. You will have a change to make a comeback by answering a review question correctly.” Procedure: Give each child a cup and form a circle around the room. Have the students pass the ball by using the cups to both toss and catch the ball. Only cups can be used to touch the ball. If the ball drops, the pair is out unless they can correctly answer a review question and make a comeback!

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1. When King David chose Solomon to become the King of Israel what command did he give him? (“Be strong, and observe all that the Lord your God requires. Walk in his way and keep his decrees and commands so that you may prosper in all that you do. If you and your descendants obey Me then you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.”)

2. What question did God ask King Solomon in a dream? (God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”)

3. What did King Solomon ask God to do for him? (He asked God to give him the gift of wisdom.) 4. What did God give Solomon? (God was very pleased with Solomon so He gave him not only wisdom

but great wealth, much knowledge, and much power.) 5. What gift did King Solomon want to give God in thanks for all that God had done for him? (King

Solomon wanted to build a temple for God so all could come and worship Him.) 6. What did Solomon’s temple look like? (The temple was a beautiful magnificent structure made of

white stone and tall timber beams all covered in gold. It had a similar floor plan as the tabernacle with two rooms—the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. These two rooms had the same furnishings as the Tabernacle. It contained the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Show bread, the Altar of Incense, and the Lamp stand. In the courtyard of the temple were the altar of sacrifice and the large laver basin of water for the ceremonial washings.

7. How did God bless Solomon’s kingdom? (Under Solomon’s reign Israel became the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Solomon had a huge fleet of ships that brought all the riches of the world to Israel. He owned horses and chariots for the soldiers. He traded and became very rich with silver, gold, and spices. Solomon built magnificent buildings in Jerusalem.)

8. How did God bless Solomon personally? (God gave Solomon great wisdom. He was the wisest man who ever lived. He knew all about science, music, philosophy, architecture, the right way of governing people, and all the great truths for living. He was a poet, writer, musician, politician, builder, and great businessman.)

9. What book in the Bible did Solomon write that showed his great wisdom? (Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is still regarded today as the wisest sayings about how to live a righteous life.)

10. Who was the famous person who came to visit King Solomon to see all the wealth, wisdom, and power? (The Queen of Sheba came from a long distance across the desert with a huge caravan of servants to see the wisdom and magnificence of King Solomon and all his wealth and power. She was interested in the temple and wanted to know about God. She gave King Solomon many gifts and treasures of gold.)

11. What command from God did King Solomon disobey that eventually caused him to sin against God? (He disobeyed the command to marry only one wife and she should be an Israelite who worshipped God. Instead King Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Many of these women were from nations where people worshiped idols—wooden or stone statues of false gods.

12. Why did King Solomon have so many wives? (He married many for political reasons or as a way of ensuring peace with other nations of the world. But these women had many false gods and they brought their worship of idols to Israel.)

13. Eventually what did all these wives tempt King Solomon to do? (Solomon started to listen to his wives and began to think that these idols really had some power of their own! Soon Solomon himself was praying to the false gods that his wives worshiped.)

14. How did God feel about Solomon and his many wives? (God was very angry with Solomon about this. God appeared to him twice to warn him specifically against worshiping others gods, Solomon didn’t listen and now he was no longer interested in the Lord God of Israel.)

15. What judgment did God say would come to Solomon because of his sin? (The Lord told Solomon, “Since you have not kept our agreement and have not obeyed my laws, I told you not to worship other gods. I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.”)

16. When King Solomon died, what happened to the nation of Israel? (It was divided into two kingdoms. The larger northern kingdom had ten tribes and was ruled by Solomon’s servant Jeroboam. The smaller southern kingdom of Judah has two tribes was ruled by Solomon’s son Rehoboam.)

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17. What promise did God keep by allowing Solomon’s son Rehoboam to reign on the southern smaller kingdom of Judah? (God had promised King David that his Son Jesus would be born to the line of King David and inherit the throne of King David.)

18. What is the memory verse? (Mark 12:30 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.")

19. What are some ways that we can show others that we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? (You can sing songs of praise and pray to God. You can read the Bible. You can tell others about Jesus. You should never tell lies or dirty jokes and be careful what you watch on TV or at the movies. You can listen to others tell about God. Be careful what music you listen to. Be careful about listening to your friend’s jokes at school. Never let someone gossip to you about someone else. Do kind things to help other people.)

Memory Verse Activity: “Heart of Love” Our memory verse is Mark 12:30 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." Have students locate the verse in scripture and read it together several times. Say: “This verse is saying that we are to choose to serve and love God above anything else! He is to be the most important person in our lives” Preparation: Print the heart shape below on construction paper or tag board. Each student will need construction paper heart, scissors, and colored markers. Say: “Our memory verse is the repeat of Deuteronomy 6:5. Loving God completely with our whole being is honored by God. If we love God we will obey Him by reading His Word and praying. He loves us and wants us to have a heart of love toward him and others. Distribute the construction paper or tag board hearts. Have children cut out the hearts. Have the children use colored markers to draw a picture of a way to show love for God. Encourage them to draw a picture of a way they can show love to a person they love (mom, friend, or grandparent). To help the children think of what to draw ask some of these questions: “Who is someone you love? How do you show that person you love him or her? What are some ways we can show that we love God?” Optional: You can precut plain hearts from construction paper and have students write Mark 12:30 on it if desired.

Group Learning Activity: “Watch Your Choices” (Grades K-5) Purpose: The object of this activity is to show the class that sometimes we make choices a certain way for the wrong reasons. Preparation: You will need three paper bags, a few small plastic bugs, a few small prizes and some marshmallows. You will also need small prizes such as pencils, erasers, stickers for the number of children in your class. You will also need 4 or 5 blindfolds. Decorate one bag beautifully making it look very attractive, but put small plastic bugs inside. Make the next bag look ugly but put in some small prizes. Just leave the third bag plain and fill with marshmallows. Procedure: Have the children take a look at all three bags (but not inside!). Take a show of hands to indicate which bag as a whole the class wishes to choose. Choose a

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couple of volunteers to reach into the bag that was chosen at the same time (count to three and have them reach in). Continue by allowing other volunteers to reach into the other bags retrieving the prizes. Say: “What happened when we reached into the bag? Did we receive what we expected? When making decisions, we sometimes go with what looks best, but that is not always the best choice. Sometimes, the best choice may be the one that looks the worse on the outside or even the most plain on the outside. As we make important decisions, it is a good thing to seek wisdom from God and not rely on our own thoughts.” “When faced with choices, King Solomon relied on God’s wisdom at first. Later he ignored God’s wisdom and began to make bad decisions. When we get our eyes off God and disobey His Word then we begin to make bad choices.”

Group Learning Activity: “Bring the Spices” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need several different kinds of spices such as salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, chili, etc. You will also need some Kool-Aid made without sugar and some 3” X 5” plain index cards and marking pens. Say: “The Queen of Sheba brought many gifts to Solomon. Among them were different kinds of spices. In this activity we will be looking at some different spices and learn how this gift would have been a great blessing to Solomon.” Procedure: Begin by demonstrating the need for spices. Make some Kool-Aid before class that doesn’t have any sugar in it. Do not tell the children. Pour the Kool-Aid into cups and pass them out to the children. Allow them to drink and discover that their Kool-Aid is missing something pretty important. Explain that without sugar or spices food can be kind of plain. Bring some sugar to put a small amount into each of the children’s cups. Ask them about what difference the sugar makes in their Kool-Aid. On a table or the floor, sprinkle a little bit of each spice onto a napkin. Tell the children about the various spices and what types of foods that they might be used for. Open the containers of spice and allow the children to smell the spice. For help in knowing spices and their sources, taste, and uses use the Spice encyclopedia at http://www.spiceadvice.com/encyclopedia/index.html. You can make a spice chart to identify the spice and its use. Allow them to pick out a spice that they like. On 3x5 index cards, have the children write down what kind of spice they chose (write it for the younger children) and what is the primary food it is used for (fish, chicken, etc.) Then put a spot of glue about the size of a quarter on the card, sprinkle on some of the spice, and let it dry. With a marker either on the front or back of the card write, “God’s wisdom will spice up our lives.” Say: “When we live our lives without God’s wisdom then we are like eating food that is like food with no spice or Kool-Aid with no sugar. God’s wisdom adds dimension, purpose, and excitement to an otherwise dull and purposeless life!” Optional: You can work together as a class to make a “Guess the Spice” chart.

http://www.spiceadvice.com/encyclopedia/index.html

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Group Learning Activity: “Sin Spreads” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: The object is to show how sin can spread and affect others. It also shows how we can be affected by other people’s sin. Preparation: You will need some non-sticky shaving cream and paper towels. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Solomon disobeyed God by marrying foreign women who brought idol worship to the nation of Israel. We are going to learn why God did not want Solomon to have foreign wives.” Procedure: Split the class into two groups. Have the groups form two lines. For cleanliness, you will want to place a line of paper towels between the lines of children (Note: it would be best to do this activity on a non-carpeted surface.) Put a small amount of shaving cream into the palm of the hand of the first person in one of the groups. Have that person shake hands with the person across from them. Have it continue down the line until the last person has had their hand shaken. Explain to the children that this is not to be a “shaving cream” fight, so they will need to only shake hands (not try to get shaving cream on one another). Next, go to the second team and put a small amount of shaving cream into the first person’s hand. But this time, you will wipe off the shaving cream with a paper towel. Next, have the team go down the line and shake hands. No shaving cream should be transferred between children. Give paper towels to the children who have shaving cream on their hands and have them wipe it off. Have students sit to discuss what they have experienced. Say: What happened to the first team who had shaving cream on their hands and they shook hands with their partners? (Soon the shaving cream spread to everyone.) What happened to the second team who wiped off the shaving cream before they shook hands with their partners? (Their hands were clean and everyone’s hands were clean.) “In this activity the shaving cream is like sin. What happens when we do not do anything about our sin? (Other people are affected by our sin and are tempted to do it too.) How can our sin affect others like the shaving cream passing down)? How does being around someone who is sinning affect us? What happens when we confess our sin to God and receive forgiveness and cleansing? Was anyone affected by the sin? “In this lesson we learned King Solomon turned away from the Lord. At first he was a very good king, but he was affected by the sin of his wives. We need to be careful in our relationships. Remember what 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘evil company corrupts good habits.’” We need to stay close to the Lord.”

Group Learning Activity: “Decisions, Decisions!” (Grades K-5) Preparation: No supplies are needed for the discussion. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Solomon began to listen to his foreign wives and he began to worship their false idols. He listened to bad advice and made a bad decision. Every day we listen to good advice and bad advice. What happens when we listen to bad advice? We have to make choices and decisions all of the time. Our friends may not always give us good advice. We need to learn how to listen to the Lord. We are going to

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talk about some different situations in which we might get good and bad advice and see what decisions we should make.” Procedure: Read off the following questions to your class and ask for answers from the children.

1. Bobby saved some money to buy a really special video game. But, Jimmy asked Bobby to borrow some money so he could buy something he really wanted. Bobby thought about lying and saying that he spent the money already on something else. What do you think is the right thing for Bobby to do?

2. Ashley never really liked math very much so she asked her best friend Kathy if she would sit next to her during the big test and let her see her answers. What do you think is the right thing for Kathy to do?

3. Billy and Josh were really good friends. One day they were playing during recess at school. A group of boys came up to them and asked Josh to play with them, but made fun of Billy and said they didn’t want him to play. What do you think is the right thing for Josh to do?

4. Sabrina moved into a new house and met some new girls on the street. They said they would be her friend if she went and stole some candy for them. What do you think is the right thing for Sabrina to do?

After the children have given you answers go back over each question and change the last phrase to “What would Jesus do?” or “What does God say in His Word that we should do?” Emphasize that it does not matter what we think or what our friends think, what matters is what Jesus thinks about a situation or what God’s Word says we should do.

Group Learning Activity: “Who is God?” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To help students learn about words that describe who God is. Preparation: You will need Bibles, spiritual journal page, pencils or pens and a copy of the temple diagram below with scripture references. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Solomon disobeyed God by marrying foreign women and worshipping false idols. The Bible teaches us that there is only one God and that we are to worship Him. In scripture there are many words that are used to describe God. We are going to look up some Bible verses that tell us about the one true God.” Procedure: Have students look up the following scripture and find the word or words that describe Who God is. Discuss the verse and its meaning.

• Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” God describes Himself as the Shepherd

sand we are His sheep. He loves, cares, protects, and provides for us like a Shepherd cares for his sheep.

• Psalm 28:1a “To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me.” God describes himself as our Rock. He is the one who provides protection from our enemies. He is the One who answers our prayers.

• Psalm 43:2a “You are God my stronghold.” God is a stronghold. That is, He is the one who gives us strength when we are weak. He helps us overcome in difficult situations.

• Isaiah 1:24 “Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.” God is the Almighty One. He is the most powerful person that ever was or is! He has more power than anyone who comes against us!

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• 1 Timothy 6:15 “which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” No one is more powerful than God. He is the Ruler over all. He is King of kings and the Lord of lords.

• James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God is the Father of heavenly light. That is, God is Perfect and contains all wisdom. He knows and reveals all things to us like light reveals things that are in darkness. God gives good gifts to His children. He never changes and we can depend on Him.

• Psalm 42:11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” God is the one who is our Savior. He is the One who gives us the hope of heaven and spending eternity with Him. We are to praise Him for his mercy and forgiveness of sin.

• John 6:45 “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.” God is the Author of all knowledge and truth. He knows the past, present, and future. He is the one who teaches us through His Word.

• Revelation 1:8 ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus is the beginning and the end. He is eternal and is the Almighty One who is above everyone.

• Revelation 15:3b ““Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.” God is the one who performs great deeds. He is the King of all the nations and is the supreme One who gives us great gifts. He is the righteous one who does no wrong.

Have students record the names of God that they have learned in their spiritual journals. Challenge students to recite the names of the Books of the Old Testament without any assistance. Encourage them to practice saying the books of the Bible at home.

Group Learning Activity: Object Lesson: “Cups of Life” Preparation: You will need cups, a pitcher of water, and Kool-Aid mix and sugar. Procedure: Give each child a paper cup. Hold up a pitcher of water. Say: This pitcher of water represents your life. Your live is divided into several “pieces” that you give to activities and people. (Pour water into one child’s cup. Ask the child not to drink the water but just hold the cup.) “For example you give one piece of your life to a friend. (Pour water into another child’s cup and ask kids to name another peice of life. Continue pouring water into the cups as students name other pieces of life such as hobbies, sports, video games, TV, parties, other social events, computer, family, pets, sleeping, and eating. Continue until every cup has water in it.) “Pretty soon, you life is so spread out among other people and activities it may seem as if you have nothing left for God—just a few drops. (Show children the empty or nearly empty pitcher. Then walk around the room having the children dump their water back in the pitcher.) But we should be giving God our whole lives. God deserves our full devotion. And we can give God our full devotion while still giving ourselves to the parts that make up our lives.”

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(Add some Kool-Aid to the pitcher and sugar, if necessary. Stir until it is well mixed and then begin pouring back into the children’s cups.) “The Kool-Aid drink mix represents our devotion to God. When I pour the water into your cups, it doesn’t change color—the drink mix stays in the water. When our hearts are given to God, we can do all kinds of activities and show our devotion to God at the same time. God deserves our full devotion. We can have God in all the pieces of our lives, while enjoying other people and activities, too.” (Allow children to drink from their cups.) “Why does God deserve our full devotion? (He deserves our devotion because God is the greatest; because God made us; and because God loves us.) What makes it hard for you to give God your full devotion? (Because I spend more time thinking about baseball, sometimes I’m too busy to think about God; being too worried about school.) How can we become more fully devoted to God? (Think about God even when we’re with our friends; put God first; do things God wants us to do.) (Close in prayer.) Dear God, thank you for being worthy of our full devotion. Help us to trust you and love you with all our hearts. We want to give you our full devotion all day, every day, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Only One God” Banner Preparation: You will need colored markers, large sheets of newsprint or butcher paper, Bibles, and index cards. Write the following scriptures on the index cards: Psalm 23:1; Psalm 28:1; Psalm 43:2; Isaiah 1:24; 1 Timothy 6:16; James 1:17; Psalm 42:11; John 6:45; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 1:8. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Solomon disobeyed God by worshipping false idols. God is the only true God. We are going to make a banner that will help us remember who God is and why we should worship only Him.” Procedure: Have students write the title of their banner, “The Only 1.” Have students make the 1 a large outline that fills most of the paper. Have children work together to fill in the hollow “1” with words from the passages above that give the names of God. Students can summarize the scriptures with the following words and write them in the outline of the number 1. Words to use include: shepherd, rock, Savior, Stronghold, Mighty One, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End, Lord, God Almighty, Ruler, Eternal One, Righteous One, God the Father, Giver of Good Gifts, etc.

Craft Learning Activity: “Love God with All Your Heart” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need two different colors of construction paper. (Pink and red construction paper works well for this craft.) Cut one 3” X 8 ½” rectangle of each color for each child. You will also need scissors, glue, and markers. Procedure: Distribute two rectangles one of each color to each child in your class. Have students place the two rectangles together and fold in one half. Hold both pieces together and on the “non-folded” end cut a rounded arch. The top of the arch should be centered and curve equally on both sides. On the “folded” sides make two cuts (slits) approximately 1” apart and going up towards the arch approximately 4”. Cut where the fold is on ONE piece only. Open the piece that has NOT been cut. With the remaining two pieces weave them into the “non-cut” piece next to each other with the arches on top. You should have an arch on each side and two arches on top with a fold still in the middle. When you close the fold it will make a woven heart.

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Have the children (or you can help) write out the memory verse Mark 12:30 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" with a marker. They can then write their names on them. Remind the children how important it is to have God’s Word intertwined with our heart. His Word will help us to keep from sinning.

Life Application Challenge: Write a Letter Say: “Solomon made lots of trouble for himself when he didn’t make God the most important person in his life. What do you think made him decide to worship false gods? How do you think Solomon felt after he heard that his kingdom was going to be divided? Procedure: Have children pretend that they are living in Bible times and have just learned that King Solomon is worshipping idols. Have children think of questions that they would want to ask King Solomon or what advice they would give him. Print children’s ideas on a large sheet of paper. Distribute paper and pencils to children and have them write letters to King Solomon. Have them refer to the large sheet of paper for ideas. As children write letters to King Solomon, briefly tell why God is important to you. Ask the following questions. Say: “God loves us. He wants us to worship Him by showing He is the most important. He loves us so much that He want us to be part of His family. (Talk with interested children about becoming members of God’s family.) “What do you enjoy doing? How can you show that God is important to you when you play soccer? (Help other students on the team learn about God. Play fair.) “When are some other times that you can show God is important to you? “What are some ways we can show that God is the most important person in our life? (Pray to God. Memorize verses from the Bible. Show God’s love to our friends. Help other people.) Lead children in prayer, thanking God for things we enjoy and asking for His help in showing that He is the most important in their lives.

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“What is important to you?”...2 OT9.17 A Wise King Acts Foolishly ©Beverly Wilson 2019 At first Solomon was obedient to God. He began his reign by building a beautiful temple

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