Week 464 · about 45 minutes
Esther 2
Esther 2 · Memory verse Esther 2:17
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Esther 2), the matching word search and answer key (Esther 2 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Esther 2 in about four minutes, stopping at Esther 2:17: “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Esther 2?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Esther 2 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.” 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, “Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after her purification for twelve months (for so were the days of their purification accomplished, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet fragrances and with preparations for beautifying women).” Esther 2 opens with these words: “After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed…” The line to keep is Esther 2:17: “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on…” Carry the word “king” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Esther 2:17: “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Esther 2? Then try this: Read “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than…” 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 Esther 2. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Esther 2:17. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Esther 2 and write Esther 2:17 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Esther 2:17
“The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Esther 2. Help us remember Esther 2:17 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.