Review Wheel (Cycle of the Judges)

This time in bible history is sometimes confusing. The “good guys” aren’t always good, and the “bad guys” sometimes do the right thing. It was, in some ways, a wild time. “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 21:25).

The stories are often harsh and sometimes difficult to understand. The people of God would forget that it was God who kept them safe, so God would allow enemies to attack. The people would cry out for his salvation after realising how bad things became without God.

God would then send a hero, a judge, to save the people. These heroes were not always upright, spiritual leaders. The heroes were simply the individuals whom God empowered to protect and gather together His people.

The time of the judges can be depicted as a repeating cycle. Try this simple idea to illustrate the idea of a cycle that goes round and round.

How to Make a Review Wheel

You will need a circular object. The example used a hula hoop, but a bicycle wheel, hubcap, pizza pan, or round cardboard would work just as well.

Write each of the cycle’s stages on thick paper and tape them to the hula hoop to form a wheel that can be rotated.

It is time to review the cycle with the children you teach. Turn the wheel as you tell about each stage. (To remind you what to say, write the following notes on the back of the papers.)

Safe With God:

God protected his people as they obeyed him.

Forget:

Then, the people strayed from God and even started worshipping false Gods.

Hurt:

Because they left God, they also left his protection. When the enemies began to hurt them, they had no protection from God. This was a terrible time.

Help!

Finally, after so many bad things were happening, the people realised their mistake and cried out to God for help.

Judge

Even though the people forgot God, God never forgot his people. When his people cried out for help, he would send a hero (called a Judge) to save the day and turn them back to him. Sometimes these heroes were soldiers, sometimes they were very clever. At least once, they were a bit wild and crazy (Samson). God knew what kind of judge they needed. And the cycle continues…The judge would bring the people back to a time of safety with God (repeat number one again). Sometimes, many years would pass, but then, the people began to forget again…(and this is where you continue to number two and so on).

Printable Instructions for the Review Wheel

List of Judges

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