Jesus Without Language

This is a quick print and assemble craft mobile that can be made with ribbon, string, or even paper-clips as shown. It is great for groups that want to concentrate on the various aspects of the Nazirite promise.

 
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The thinking behind this worksheet, on Samson’s parents – Manoah and is wife, to get the children to consider the notion of being set apart, first we look at the Nazirite promise and what it entailed, then we go on to look at how we can be set apart both through our actions and our offerings. Along the way there are a couple of opportunities to stretch your artistic skills!

To complete this worksheet the children need need colouring pens, pencils or crayons.

The PDF can be downloaded by clicking on the images.

Manoah and his wife are an important part of Samson’s story, the Nazirite vow is made in conception, formed before the child is born. For some this is a strange concept, that Samson had no choice, that he is a hero we can’t hope to imitate. These activities play with the concepts of being a Nazirite, and the idea of angelic messengers.
 

That looks like a… – The idea of this game is to identify a picture while only being able to see a small amount. Take a large envelope and cut a small hole in the side (a hole punch will do this neatly, don’t worry about having holes on both sides). slip a picture into the envelope and give it to the children. The children will probably try and more the picture about to see as much as possible. Have the last picture be one of an Angel.
 

Samson flip cards – Print and play with your Samson cards. Lay out the cards face down and have the youngsters take turns to look for pairs. If using before the story then have the children hold up each card as the person/symbol is mentioned in the story. If using after the story, when a pair is found, have the child say how the character / symbol appeared in the story.
 
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This little flip card ‘match up’ game is perfect for highlighting the elements from the story of Manoah and his wife. Includes a character picture of Manoah, his wife, an angel (without wings), a goat, a flame, cooking pots, wine goblets, and a plait of hair.

 
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This part of the story is really a wonderful confirmation of the importance of this baby. That the messenger turns out to be an angel, and an Angel of the Lord, is key. This craft is really simple and made from just 5 pieces – and one is optional! It can be used as a prop for the story and I’ve included a colour free version for groups who like adding their own tint! It is even suitable for younger groups if pre-cut, and can be mounted on card if you need it to be more sturdy.

 
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Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to Samson – Manoah and his wife (Judges 13).
Each hero set contains a high quality graphic of the character, a take home bible card and a colouring page.

The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(Please note : these images have no watermark but are not copyright free, they are only intended for classroom use.)

English

German

Extra’s – individual images

Names you need to know

 
Manoah – Father, questioner, needs reassurance but wants to do right.

Manoah’s wife – name-less yet initial revelation

Samson – nazarite, headstrong, at times unwittingly manipulated by God

Delilah – name means worshipper, probably a high end prostitute.
 

Historical significance

 
Israel has fallen away from God, and in response God has gone quiet. Before there were Judges, people who literally held court and judged, judged the arguments, judged the ideas, judged the religion. While some were noteworthy the last few before Samson are pretty unremarkable, or at least the bible remarks very little about them.

During the time of silence the Israelites have been on the receiving end of neighbouring nations wishes. The Philistines have come and pillaged, subdued, and basically run amok. The parallels to the Roman empire at the time of Jesus are blazingly obvious.

There are often sections to a story and Samsons has 5.
1. The conception,
2. The riddle,
3. The consequences,
4. The betrayal and
5. The redemption.

While sections 2,4 and 5 lend themselves best to storytelling, section 1 is crucial. Without first examining the place and purpose of Samson’s life the falling of the temple looks like a desperate act made by a man who has nothing left to lose. The whole thing about the riddle and the burning foxes is, to some extent, Samson having a temper tantrum and is actually much harder to teach an applicable lesson around. What it does do is show the neighbouring nations that these Israelites are no longer a pushover and gives a platform for Samson to be a judge, which he does for 20 years before meeting Delilah.
 

Thoughts

The bible is a wonderful book, full of drama and battles, full of sorrow, struggles, and consequences for foolishness. It’s a real time tale of a struggling people and their developing relationship with a deity. At many times it’s downright bloody and never more so than when you take a single story out of the whole narrative.

The story of Samson has its fair share of rather grisly solutions. For some groups this is a selling point, a little bit of nasty wrapped up in a story where the good guys win, a familiar and often popular format.

If I could have changed one thing about my own church education as a child, it would have been to learn more acceptance and less judgement. In many Old Testament stories God’s people resort to violence, and while not all fights can be resolved with words, it’s not actions we want our kids to imitate. We need to mix that message with the acceptance of Jesus, the willingness to welcome all, the gentiles meeting the pureness of the Jews and sharing communion.

Our challenge with stories such as these is to get past the drama, gore, good guy verses bad guy and paint a wider picture. Ask “Why did God allow this to happen?”, we know God can do these things, his power is boundless, but the real crux is the why. Samson’s life was a message to the Philistines, a message that God is powerful and will protect his people, even if Samson was less of a polite letter and more a sledgehammer through the front door.

 
If you want the teachers page then please click on the image for the pdf.

Today’s heroes are Manoah and his wife because they show us the gift of an encounter

Essential Teachers notes:
This is a lovely story about God speaking in the silence, a parallel to the nativity story in so many ways. It lends itself well to me a narration over a mime (needing only 3 characters) the character of Samson doesn’t appear, but the promise of him coming and the speculation of what he will do is a lovely cliffhanger to draw the children back to the next session.

Main Passage : Judges 13

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