Philistine Culture

Scripture: Judges 13-15

Learning Objectives:

  • Students will learn God expects parents to prepare their children for serving Him.
  • Students will learn when we focus on what we want – like money and power – instead of what God wants for us, it often leads to sin and consequences.
  • Students will learn God expects us to practice self-control in how we live our lives.
  • Students will learn about the Philistine’s culture and society.

Guiding Question: How can students learn about life in Philistine society?

Materials: Research on Philistine culture

Procedure: Teach the story of Samson emphasizing how his pride was evident by the riddles that he told. Sometimes pride can cause us to make our own decisions regardless of God, which has bad consequences. Pride leads us to become more focused on ourselves and our wants instead of God and what He has told us is best for us in life. Introduce students to Philistine society and culture. We now know they were sea people’s originally from Crete (recently confirmed by ancient DNA evidence) who began intermarrying with the people who lived in Canaan. Philistines ate pork and even dog, both of which Jews were not allowed to eat and had fashions similar in many ways to the Egyptians. https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/29/6/9

Note: More detailed info on philistines –  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Philistine-people

Additional Questions: How can students use hands on materials to learn about Philistine culture?

Supplemental Activity: Bring in food, music, clothing, objects (pictures as need) and teach the students how the food, music, etc were used in Philistine culture.

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