for Sunday, March 2: Daniel and His Friends Obeyed God

Daniel 1


Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Over the next four weeks, we will take a look at the exile through the eyes of Daniel and his friends. Before the exile, prophets had warned God’s people to stop sinning, but the people did not listen. The nation of Judah was consumed by idol worship and the kings did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So God kept His word—He allowed His people to be taken from their land. They became captives in the enemy nation of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, called for the best young men from Judah to be trained for service in the palace—among them, Daniel and his three friends. The boys were given new identities—new names, new education, new culture. They were indoctrinated to be good Babylonians. But Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah stayed faithful to the one true God and did not make themselves unclean by eating the king’s food.

Daniel and his friends chose to obey God no matter what. God blessed Daniel and his friends. They were smarter than all the other young men in Babylon, and the king recognized their gifts. Daniel wasn't perfect, but he reminds us of someone who was. Jesus always obeyed God perfectly and He always pleases God. We please God when we trust in Jesus.

for Sunday, February 23: Ezekiel Told About A Future Hope

Ezekiel 37

Last week we learned that Ezekiel, in a vision, saw God’s glory leave the temple. It seemed like all hope was lost; God had removed the people of Judah from His presence. The exiled people of Judah were eager to blame God for their circumstances. “It’s not fair!” they argued. (See Ezekiel 18:25.) Ezekiel told the people that they were at fault for their exile; their faithlessness had provoked God’s wrath. The people were getting what they deserved. “I take no pleasure in anyone’s death,” God said. “So repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32).

God gave Ezekiel a vision of hope. In this vision, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones represented Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that God would put tendons, flesh, and skin on the bones. He would put breath in them so they would come to life. Ezekiel encouraged the exiles: apart from God, they were dead, but God was offering them life. He would restore their future. “My dwelling place will be with them,” God said. “I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Ezekiel 37:27).

We too are dead in our sin. (Ephesians 2:1) Sin separates us from God because He is holy. We are apart from God’s presence. But God does not delight in our death, He is patient and wants us to repent and live! The dry bones of Ezekiel’s vision remind us what we are like when we sin. God had a plan for people who sin. Because Jesus came to earth, died, and was raised to life, He has the power to give us eternal life.

Sunday, February 16: Ezekiel Prophesied to the Exiles

Ezekiel 10

Sunday in The Gospel Project^® for Kids, your preschooler will learn that Ezekiel brought God’s message to the exiles in Babylon. God’s messages to Ezekiel came in the form of visions, full of symbols and signs. The prophecies shared by Ezekiel include details of God’s judgment on Jerusalem: the people would lack bread and water (Ezekiel 4:17), die by plague and famine (Ezekiel 5:12), and be ruined and disgraced (Ezekiel 5:14).

In Ezekiel 10, God told a man in linen to scatter coals over Jerusalem—a symbol of both punishment and purification. God had used fire to cleanse the lips of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:6) and to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24). In those days, when something was too dirty to be cleaned with water, it was burned up.

God’s judgment also came to Jerusalem through His departure from the temple. We must not think God was confined to the temple; He is omnipresent. (1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:24) But the temple was the place God’s people went to worship Him. (See 1 Kings 8:33-34.) When the people refused to be righteous before God, God’s glory left the temple.

God left the temple because He was unhappy with His people's sin. Sin separates us from God. But we do not have to stay separated from God. Jesus came to earth to fix our relationship with God by taking the punishment of our sin for us. Because of Christ, we can enjoy God's presence.

Judah Was Taken into Captivity

2 Chronicles 36:1-21

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Last Sunday preschoolers learned that even though Jehoiakim had burned Jeremiah’s warnings from God, the people of Judah would still be punished and exiled because of their sins. Warnings had come from the prophets for decades and God patiently waited for His people to turn from their sin. The prophet Jeremiah spared few details when he warned Judah what would happen if they did not turn from their evil ways. (See Jeremiah 25:1-14.)

The people of Judah did not change their ways and the time of judgment had come. As God had warned through Jeremiah, He used the king of Babylon—King Nebuchadnezzar—to deport the people from Judah to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar went to Judah when Jehoiakim was king. He put Jehoiakim in chains and took him to Babylon. His son Jehoiachin became king, and Nebuchadnezzar came back for him too. Many of the people in Judah were taken, along with treasures from the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar put Jehoiakim’s brother Zedekiah on the throne in Jerusalem.

The people of Judah were unfaithful to God. Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, and God poured out His wrath on Judah. Nebuchadnezzar showed no mercy to the people of Jerusalem. The Babylonians set fire to the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace. They destroyed the wall around Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies carried most of the people away to Babylon as prisoners; only poor farmers were allowed to stay and work the land. The people were held captive in Babylon, serving the king for the next 70 years.

God did not abandon His people, though. The prophet Jeremiah told what would happen next: “The days are certainly coming … when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah” (Jeremiah 30:3). God righteously punished His people for their sin but remained faithful to them, keeping the promise He made to David to provide a king. Ultimately, God punished our sin through His Son, Jesus, and made Him our King forever.

Jeremiah Warned of God's Judgment

Jeremiah 36

What do you do when you need to remember something? Do you write it down? This Sunday in The Gospel Project^® for Kids, preschoolers will learn that the people of Judah had forgotten God’s Word. Jehoiakim was king, and “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done” (2 Kings 23:37). The people of Judah were facing God’s judgment for their sin.

God told Jeremiah to write on a scroll all the words God had spoken about Israel, Judah, and all the nations. God was patient. He gave the people a chance to heed a warning and to turn from their sin and be forgiven. Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, wrote the words Jeremiah received from God. Then Baruch read the scroll. But the people did not heed the warning. King Jehoiakim’s officials brought Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, to the king. Jehoiakim rejected God’s Word, cutting it up and throwing it into the fire.

God told Jeremiah to write another scroll. God said He would punish Jehoiakim for rejecting God’s word about the coming judgment. He would punish Jehoiakim’s descendants too. The disaster God warned about would come to the people who did not listen.

Jeremiah told God’s people that God was displeased, that they needed to stop sinning, and that they should turn back to God and obey His Word. John 1 says that Jesus is the Word. Jesus brought the same message that Jeremiah gave to the people of Judah. Jesus came to live among the people, to explain their need to turn back to God, and to sacrifice His life to make a way for people to turn from sin and to know and love God.

God Called Jeremiah

Jeremiah 1

 

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids as we look at the exile of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah the priest. He lived just north of Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s ministry began when God called him: “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Who else did God call in the Old Testament? God called Noah to build an ark (Genesis 6); He called Abram to leave his home (Gen. 12:1-4); He called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3). Each time God calls someone, He equips them to do His work. Like Moses, Jeremiah was hesitant: “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth” (Jeremiah 1:6). God assured Jeremiah: “I will be with you” (Jeremiah 1:8).

God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to Judah. Judah was deep in idol worship and other sins and God’s judgment was coming. Jeremiah’s job was to warn them. God gave Jeremiah two visions. The first—a branch of an almond tree—was a sign that God would keep His promise to send judgment, and He would do it soon. The second vision—a boiling pot—meant that God’s judgment was coming from the north. God would bring the Babylonians from the north as judgment on His people. Then God sent Jeremiah out to announce God’s declaration.

Jeremiah challenged the way people lived in Judah and led them to turn away from their idol worship and other sins. Christ did more than challenge how people lived; He called people to turn from their sins, and He provided the way for people to have a relationship with God.

Nahum, Prophet to Nineveh

Nahum 1 - 3

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Nahum was a prophet to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. He wasn’t the first. Remember Jonah? Jonah reluctantly went to Nineveh, saying, “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” (Jonah 3:4). The Ninevites immediately repented, and God spared them. So what was Nahum doing in Nineveh?

Well, it wasn’t long after Jonah’s visit that the people went back to their old ways. Assyria had defeated Israel and was a constant threat to Judah. Nahum described Nineveh as “the city of blood, totally deceitful, full of plunder, never without prey” (Nahum 3:1). Nahum went to Nineveh to say that God’s judgment was coming. “The Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:3).

God had shown grace to the people of Nineveh in the time of Jonah, but their sin made them guilty. Nahum echoed parts of Exodus 34:6-7: “Yahweh is … slow to anger … But He will not leave the guilty unpunished.” God was going to judge Nineveh. (See Nahum 1:2.) He would make war against them and defeat them. (Nahum 1:6) When God’s judgment came upon Nineveh, His people would be safe. (Nahum 1:7)

Nahum brought a message of comfort to God’s people, reminding them that God loves His people and will protect them from their enemies. Jesus also brought a message of comfort to His people. Jesus assured us of salvation and peace. All of the enemies of God and His children—sin, Satan, and death—were defeated at the cross. In the end, all evil will be finally punished.