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FOR THE LEADER

The Temple Was RebuiltEzra 4–6

The foundation of the temple had been laid and the Israelites were offering sacrifices. The people living around Jerusalem did not want the temple, or the city for that matter, rebuilt because they feared the people of Israel would again become too strong and successfully defend themselves against their neighbors. These neighboring people were not God-followers and as such, Zerubbabel and the other Israelite leaders refused their offer of “help.” Instead of dropping the matter, their neighbors decided to try and discourage the workers. They also sent letters to King Darius asking that he command work be stopped.

For almost 20 years following the foundation construction, no work was done to rebuild the structure of the temple. God eventually sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to re-energize Israel to start rebuilding the temple. Instead of building God’s house, the Israelites had been building their own houses. Watching the renewed excitement of the Israelites to rebuild the temple, their neighbors again became worried and tried to stop the rebuilding of the temple and the wall that surrounded the city.

A man named Tattenai was the governor of the region defined as “west of the Euphrates River.” This area was of significant size, but when Tattenai heard that rebuilding had started, he sent a quick note to the Persian king, Darius, to determine if this building project was allowed. Unlike before in the face of opposition, the Israelites refused to stop building while they waited on the king’s reply. After a thorough investigation, Darius determined that not only had Cyrus decreed the rebuilding of the temple, Cyrus had further ordered that the temple be rebuilt using funds provided from taxes levied against other cities in the land west of the Euphrates. Darius commanded the temple to be completed and he threatened death to anyone who stood in the way of its completion. God’s people built a new temple in the sixth year of Darius, and they dedicated the temple by celebrating the Passover.

Session 2Session 2: The Temple Was Rebuilt

13Session 2: The Temple Was Rebuilt© 2020 LifeWay© 2020 LifeWay

OVERVIEW

GET STARTED TOOLS (10 MINUTES)

¨ Bible Skills: plastic cup, coins, painter’s tape, “Bible Book Cards” (Printables), Bible

BIBLE STUDY TOOLS (35 MINUTES)

¨ Jump In: bright colored paper or coin, Bible Timeline for Kids, “Ezra” (Books of the Bible Posters), “Zerubbabel’s Temple” (Slides)

¨ Examine the Text: Bibles, “Text Truth Strips” (Poster Pack)

¨ Play the Video: Explore the Bible on Location video

¨ Memory Verse: dry erase board, four different colored dry erase markers, “Psalm 27:4” (Poster Pack)

¨ Prayer: Family Cards

SMALL GROUP TOOLS (30 MINUTES)

¨ Move: no supplies needed ¨ Make: “Allergy Alert” (Printables), different size marshmallows, toothpicks, Optional: liquid glue, sturdy paper

¨ Explore: Bibles

SESSION FOCUSBIBLE PASSAGE: Ezra 4–6MEMORY VERSE: Psalm 27:4TEXT TRUTH: We can boldly obey God.CHRIST IN CONTEXT: The Book of Ezra reflects God’s desire for the restoration and obedience of His people. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, He restores our relationship with God.

14 Explore the Bible: Younger Kids© 2020 LifeWay© 2020 LifeWay

BIBLE STORY

EXPLORE THE BIBLE AT HOMESee the Printables for additional family resources.

THE TEMPLE WAS REBUILTEzra 4–6

The Persian king, Cyrus, issued an order allowing the Jews to return home and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. After returning to their homeland, the people began building the temple. Some of their neighbors did not want the temple to be rebuilt. They created trouble for the Jews. So the people stopped building.

Years went by. Darius became the new ruler in Persia. God sent prophets to tell the Jews to finish building the temple. The people obeyed and began to build the temple again.

Again, the Jewish people faced troublemakers. Tattenai (TAT ih nigh), the governor of the region, and some others asked the Jewish people, “Who told you that you could finish the temple?” The Israelites knew King Cyrus had said they could rebuild the temple. God was with His people. This time, the Jewish leaders did not listen to the troublemakers. Tattenai and the other troublemakers agreed the Jews could continue building the temple while a letter was sent to King Darius.

King Darius ordered that the library be searched. A scroll was eventually found that recorded King Cyrus’ decision to allow the Jewish people to return home and rebuild the temple. Darius sent word to Tattenai that the Jews could continue the work on the temple.

Finally, the new temple was completed. The Israelites celebrated Passover in their new place of worship.

KEY POINTS • God will help us obey Him if we ask Him.• No one can stop God’s plan.


GET STARTED

BIBLE SKILLS SPOTLIGHT• Becomes familiar with the contents of specific books.

• Reads and locates Bible references.• Locates many books in the Bible without assistance.

• Knows the Bible teaches people how God wants them to live.

TOOLS:• Bible Skills: plastic cup,

coins, painter’s tape, “Bible Book Cards” (Printables), Bible

GET STARTED (10 MINUTES)

BIBLE SKILLS ¨ Place the cup at one end of the room. Place a piece of tape a few feet away from the cup. Make two stacks with the “Bible Book Cards.”

• Encourage a child to toss a coin into the cup. If the coin goes into the cup, ask him to draw from the first pile and find that book in his Bible.

• If the coin does not land in the cup, ask him to choose from the second pile.

• Allow each child a turn to play. Continue to play as time allows.


BIBLE STUDY

TOOLS:• Jump In: bright colored

paper or coin, Bible Timeline for Kids, “Ezra” (Books of the Bible Posters), “Zerubbabel’s Temple” (Slides)

• Examine the Text: Bibles, “Text Truth Strips” (Poster Pack)

• Play the Video: Explore the Bible on Location video

• Memory Verse: dry erase board, four different colored dry erase markers, “Psalm 27:4” (Poster Pack)

• Prayer: Family Cards

BIBLE STUDY (35 MINUTES)

JUMP IN ¨ Fold a paper football with bright colored paper or use a large coin to play table hockey. Search online for directions, if needed.

• Say: “Who can remember which book of the Bible we began to explore last week? We are studying the Book of Ezra. Let’s look on our timeline and see where we can find the Book of Ezra.”

• Display the timeline and help kids locate Ezra.• Explain: “Last week we learned that God used King Cyrus to send the

Israelites back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. We learned that God keeps His promises and that He can use anyone to accomplish His plans. This week, we are going to learn that the people had a little trouble rebuilding the temple.

• Display the “Ezra” poster.• Continue: “In fact, our ‘Ezra’ poster tells us that ‘The rebuilding of the

Temple took 21 years. Opposition stopped the work for several years.’ What does opposition mean? Opposition means there is another side or opposing side. (Show the paper football.) In sports, you play another team. That team is the opposition. Who has ever played paper football? I need a volunteer to play football with me.” (Also consider allowing each child to play with a partner.)

• Play a round of paper football.• Display the “Zerubbabel’s Temple” image on a focal wall.• Continue: “The goal in our game was to keep the other person from

scoring. It was hard sometimes to get a point, right? This is a picture of Zerubbabel’s Temple. We are going to learn how obeying God can sometimes be difficult, but no one can stop God’s plan. We can boldly obey God. Let’s learn more!”

EXAMINE THE TEXT• Begin: “Who remembers where we find the Book of Ezra? It is found

in the Old Testament. Let’s take our Bibles and find Ezra 4.” Assist as needed. “I need some girls and boys to read some verses for me. Who would like to read a verse?”

• Allow kids to read Ezra 4:4-5,21; Ezra 5:1-5,11.• Continue: “Some of the men living in the area did not want to see God’s

people succeed. No one can stop God’s plan, but obeying God can be difficult.”

• Ask: “Were the men successful in stopping the Israelites?” (Yes at first. An order was made telling the men to stop building.) “But God sent prophets to tell the people to continue to build. Did God’s people begin to rebuild the temple again?” (Yes, Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to rebuild God’s house.)

• Continue: “When asked who told them to rebuild the temple, how did the men respond?” (We are servants of God and we are rebuilding this temple.)


BIBLE STUDY

“These men were bold. They told the governor that they were rebuilding the temple. Obeying God can be difficult at times, but He will help us if we ask Him.”

• Tell the remainder of the Bible story in your own words, using the Bible story page as a guide.

• Display the “Text Truth Strip.”• Finish: “In chapter 6, we find out that King Darius ordered the men to

leave the people alone so they could complete the temple. He even gave the Israelites everything they needed to do the work. He commanded that no man was to stop the rebuild. Our Text Truth says that we can boldly obey God. The men in our story were bold. God was with them and protected them.”

PLAY THE VIDEO• Play the Session 2 video.• Ask: “Where did Joel visit in today’s episode? What did he learn about

the Book of Ezra? Who created a way for us to be together with God?”

MEMORY VERSE ¨ Divide the verse into four phrases. Write each phrase in a different colored marker on a dry erase board.

• Display the “Psalm 27:4” poster on a focal wall. • Say the verse in short segments and ask girls and boys to repeat it after

you. • Form 4 groups and assign each group one of the colors.• Guide each group to stand up, say their phrase, then sit back down.

Repeat this pattern three times, each time guiding kids to share their phrase a little faster.

• Close by saying the entire verse as a group.

PRAYER• Distribute a Family Card to each kid.• Say: “Today we learned that not everyone wanted to have God’s temple

rebuilt. There was opposition. At first, the opposition was successful. But God sent prophets to encourage the people. God also protected the Israelites while they finished building the temple. This is a picture of Zerubbabel’s temple. It is a great reminder that it is not always easy to obey God. It can be hard. But, no one can stop God’s plan. We can boldly obey God. This week, if you are faced with a hard choice. Don’t forget that God is always with you and you can boldly make the right choice.”

• Pray.• Dismiss to Small Group.


SMALL GROUP

STOP AND GOTools: no supplies needed

• Guide girls and boys to line up on one side of the room. Explain that you are going to say “go” and they are to

try and get to you as fast as possible. However, if you say “stop” they are to STOP immediately. Anyone who

doesn’t stop has to go back and start over. Play as time allows.

• Say: “In our story today, the men were asked to stop building the temple. Sometimes obeying God can be

difficult. Sometimes, like the Israelites, we stop obeying. And like the Israelites, God has to remind us to

continue obeying Him. He doesn’t use prophets for us, but He will remind us through the Bible, prayers, our

parents, other followers of God, and the Holy Spirit.”

• Conclude by reviewing the Text Truth: We can boldly obey God.

TOOLS:• Explorer Guides: Bibles,

Explorer Guides, pens

SMALL GROUP (30 MINUTES)

EXPLORER GUIDES• Distribute Explorer Guides and help kids find today’s pages.• Review the object, the “Temple.”• Read the introduction to “Learn About Libraries” then ask two volunteers

to take turns reading the facts.• Select another volunteer to read about the art in “Squeeze, Please!”• Help kids use their Bibles to find the answers to each statement in the

“Ezra Facts” activity.• Lead kids to match the people to the statements in “Who Am I?”

TECH CONNECT (OPTIONAL)• Prior to Small Group, download the LifeWay Kids app. Use the activity

labeled “Explorer Plus” in the Explore the Bible: Kids section of the app.

ACTIVITIES• Select one or more of the activities to complete as time allows.

MOVE


SMALL GROUP

BUILD, BUILD, BUILDTools: “Allergy Alert” (Printables), different size marshmallows, toothpicks, Optional: liquid glue, sturdy paper

¨ Paper and glue will only be needed if

the children glue the marshmallows and

toothpicks down to make the temple sturdier.

• Ask your girls and boys to build a temple with

the provided supplies. • Say: “God asked His people to rebuild His

temple. Some men did not like that. Obeying

God is not always an easy thing to do. We face challenges every day. Remember, God is

always with us. We can boldly obey God.”

SEARCH AND FINDTools: Bibles

• Ask girls and boys to find different books of the Bible. Ask them if each book is found in the Old or New Testament. Ask them if they know the division it is found in. You may also ask them to find specific verses, such as this week’s or last week’s Memory Verse.

• Say: “King Darius ordered a search to find out if the men were supposed to be rebuilding the temple. And the men found the answer they needed.”

• Continue: “It is good for us to look for and find verses and books of the Bible. The more we search our Bible, the more we will learn about God and His Word. When we are going through difficult times, God’s Word will help us know what to do. Remember, we can boldly obey God.”

SMALL GROUP

EXPLORE

MAKE


session - fbccov.org · for almost 20 years following the foundation construction, no work was done...

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