This lesson teaches children that God keeps His promises even when His plan looks unusual, and that obeying Him brings victory. Children aged 5 to 11 can follow it in about 20 to 30 minutes, using the story, a memory action, and a short activity.
Big Idea
God keeps His promises, and when we obey Him, even strange-sounding instructions can lead to a great victory.
Memory Verse
Joshua 6:20
So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city.
(WEB)
Teach the children to march in place, then stop and cup their hands around their mouths as they shout together on the word “shout.” Repeat the motion three times so the verse becomes a march and a cheer.
The Story: Joshua 6 for Kids
Long ago, the people of Israel came to a big walled city called Jericho. The gates were locked tight, and no one could go in or out. God had a plan, and He spoke to Joshua, the leader of Israel. God said, “I have given you this city. Now do exactly what I tell you.”
God’s plan was strange. For six days, the army marched around the city once each day. Seven priests carried trumpets made from rams’ horns, and they walked in front of the special box called the ark, which showed that God was among His people. Nobody said a word. They just marched, quietly, once around the walls.
On the seventh day, they got up very early and marched around the city seven times. The trumpets blared, and Joshua told the people, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city!” The people obeyed, even though it sounded like an odd thing to do. They shouted with all their strength.
Then something amazing happened. The strong walls of Jericho fell flat to the ground. The Israelites walked straight into the city. God kept His promise, just as He said He would.
Rahab was a woman in Jericho who had hidden the two men Joshua sent to spy on the city. Because she helped them, Joshua made sure her family was kept safe. Her family was brought out before the city was burned. Joshua also taught the people that the silver, gold, and metal objects belonged to God and should go into His house.
Read It Together
Joshua 6:2
The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.
(WEB)
Point out that God told Joshua, “I have given Jericho into your hand” before the army ever marched. Ask the children to notice that God announced the victory first, so the people were trusting His word before they saw anything happen.
Joshua 6:15-16
15 On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. Only on this day they marched around the city seven times. 16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
(WEB)
Show how the people got up early and marched the seventh day, then Joshua called them to shout. Explain that they did exactly what God asked, even when the wall had not moved yet.
Joshua 6:25
But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
(WEB)
Point out that Rahab and her family were saved because she showed kindness and trust. Explain that God cares about people who trust Him, and that He kept a promise to her.
Talk About It
- Why do you think God gave the people such an unusual plan for the city?
- What might the Israelites have been thinking as they marched around the walls for six days?
- When God tells us to do something that seems strange, what can we do to show we trust Him?
- What did Rahab do to help the spies, and how did God take care of her?
- Can you think of a time when you waited patiently for God to do something good?
Activity Ideas
Paper Plate Walls and Trumpets
You will need paper plates, markers, construction paper, tape, and paper towel tubes. Let the children draw a city wall on a paper plate and decorate a paper towel tube as a rams’ horn trumpet. Tape the trumpets to the plates so each child has a ready-made picture of the story to take home.
March and Shout Game
Gather the children in a line behind a chair or a row of blocks that stand for the city walls. Have them march slowly around the room once each round, then stop and shout together on your signal. Repeat the march six times with no shouting, then the seventh time with a big shout, so they feel the rhythm of the story.
Take-Home Promise Card
You will need index cards, crayons, and a pen. Write “God keeps His promises” on each card and let the children color a border around it. Encourage them to place the card where they will see it during the week and say the memory verse with their family.
Teacher Notes
This passage shows that God’s victories come through obedience and trust, not through human strength or clever strategy. The walls of Jericho fell because God acted, and the Israelites were called to follow His instructions faithfully. Adults can see in Rahab’s story that God welcomes people who put their trust in Him, whatever their past.
Be careful not to suggest to children that God always rewards obedience with immediate, visible results or that they must perform a ritual to earn His help. Keep the focus on God’s faithfulness and His good character, which is steady whether or not the walls fall in our own lives.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You for keeping Your promises every day. Help us to trust You even when Your plans seem strange or hard to understand. Teach us to obey You and to speak Your truth with courage. Amen.
