Week 323 · about 45 minutes
2 Samuel 17
2 Samuel 17 · Memory verse 2 Samuel 17:3
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (2 Samuel 17), the matching word search and answer key (2 Samuel 17 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read 2 Samuel 17 in about four minutes, stopping at 2 Samuel 17:3: “and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people shall be in peace.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with 2 Samuel 17?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
2 Samuel 17 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel that way; and I have counseled this way.” 2 Samuel 17 opens with these words: “Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight.” The line to keep is 2 Samuel 17:3: “and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people shall be in peace.”” Carry the word “bring” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is 2 Samuel 17:3: “and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people shall be in peace.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in 2 Samuel 17? Then try this: Read “and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through 2 Samuel 17. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from 2 Samuel 17:3. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from 2 Samuel 17 and write 2 Samuel 17:3 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
2 Samuel 17:3
“and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people shall be in peace.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for 2 Samuel 17. Help us remember 2 Samuel 17:3 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.