I heard a story on This American Life about a man whose dog fell through the ice into a frozen canal. The dog struggled to get out for a couple of minutes and the man soon realized that his dog was stuck. The man looked around: no one was there to help. So he started shimmying out on the ice, but not too far out, the man too ended up in the water, unable to pull himself out as well. The man reached his dog, and with his dog’s paws on his back, he realized that he only had a minute or two left before hypothermia set in and it would be too late. So he mustered his strength and threw his dog up on top of the ice. The dog hurried to the bank and was safe. Then the man shouted for help. Another man soon came to the rescuer’s rescue. He broke through the ice by the bank and cleared a path for the man to exit the water. As I listened, I was struck by this powerful story of rescue. Before I became a dog owner, I would not have understood it really. But as I listened, I thought of what I might do in a similar situation if Della, my chocolate lab mix, or Chester, my beagle, were looking at me for help. Would I too be willing to risk my life to rescue my dogs?

The Greatest Rescue Story Ever

Do you read the Bible as a rescue story? If not, you should. Rescue is at the heart of the metanarrative of Scripture. The Bible is one big true story of God’s plan to redeem people—to rescue them—from sin and death through Jesus Christ. Like all rescue stories, the Bible’s story begins with everything fine, but then, tragedy strikes—in this case far greater than a dog breaking through the ice—people entering into open rebellion against God and earning death as just punishment. If you have taught The Gospel Project for any length of time, this is not news to you. This is part of our DNA of Story, Culture, and Mission. But I think it is important that we work to remember this. It is quite easy to fall into a rhythm of preparing to lead sessions each week and focusing on just what we are covering that week. When we do this, though, we hinder our kids from seeing the bigger, better story going on—the work of Jesus, our Rescuer.

Rescues Stories that Point to a Greater Rescue

This week’s session, and those that follow in the Book of Judges, illustrate this truth perfectly. As we saw in the last session, the stories of Judges follow a pattern, one which is important to know to make sense of the book’s central message. The Book of Judges is not really about Deborah, Barak, and Jael. Neither is it ultimately about Gideon and Samson. These were all real people who mattered, but none of them are the focus on Judges. Jesus is. Judges shows us the depth of human depravity—the overwhelming appeal of sin. That is why the repetition of sin is important to see. Sin is not just a little mistake we make from time to time. Sin is not a stumble here and there. We don’t fall into sin as much as we run toward it. That is what the Israelites in that day did, and it is what we do too. But Judges also shows us the heights of God’s mercy and grace. This is also why it is important to see the pattern of rebellion in this book. It shows us the inexhaustible love and forgiveness of God—a God who is far more patient than we are. As we read Judges, that should be at the forefront of our minds. How could God have been so patient to a people who deserved no such thing from Him? Because when we ask that question, we are forced to ask a second, related one: How can God be so patient to us, a people who deserve no such thing? And that takes us to Jesus. God was kind to send the judges to rescue God’s people, but as we see, none were sufficient. Deborah, Barak, and Jael were a kind gift from God. But they were unable to provide the rescue God’s people desperately needed, one not from an enemy army, but from within. God’s people needed to be rescued from their sinful rebellion against God. But that was beyond the abilities of those three people. Just as it was beyond Gideon’s abilities, Samson’s abilities, and every other person who has lived except one: Jesus. As you lead your kids through this unit, you will have the opportunity to declare this beautiful truth over and over again. But to do so, you will need to keep the bigger story of Judges, and of the entire Bible, in mind. God is a rescuing God who showed us rescue after rescue in the Bible. But all of these rescues point us to the greatest rescue ever: Jesus rescuing us from sin and death.

If a rescue from a cruel tyrant be sweet to a poor captive, how sweet must it be to the ears of enslaved sinners, to hear the voice of liberty and deliverance proclaimed by Jesus Christ!” – John Flavel (c. 1630-1691) [1]

Preschool Tip: Preschoolers need to understand that God loves them and that He has a plan to use them for His glory. This week’s session gives you a great opportunity to share that with them. In this session, we see God use several people working together. It’s a great reminder of how we God’s design is for all of His people to bring the skills, abilities, and resources He has given them to be used together for His kingdom work. None of the three people this week stand out like a “super hero.” They seem rather ordinary—and that is the beauty of this passage. Few of us will be “super heroes.” But God is not looking for them—He is looking for faithful people. The sooner your little ones know this, the better. Kids Tip: Unless you live under a rock, you know that our culture, and many of our churches, are being challenged about how women are treated. This has been a painful, but necessary, season, from which we hope and pray that many sins against women end. The gospel message is one of unity—how we are all brought together as one in Christ as brothers and sisters of equal value. This week you have the opportunity to affirm God’s work through two women and a man. Our kids are not too young to learn how to value, love, and respect people of the opposite gender. Prayerfully consider how you might be able to point your kids to this gospel issue. [1] John Flavel, The Method of Grace (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1875), 204. https://vimeo.com/album/5635208/video/307185095