In this lesson, children learn that God keeps His promises even when life gets hard or confusing. The chapter shows a woman who trusted God’s word, a king who was curious about God’s prophet, and a family whose story was never forgotten. This lesson suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
God always keeps His promises, and He takes care of the people who trust Him, even when they cannot see how.
Memory Verse
2 Kings 8:1
Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine. It will also come on the land for seven years.”
(WEB)
Have children stand up and take a big step forward each time they say a word of the verse out loud. Then ask them to sit down slowly on the word “famine,” which helps them remember the trouble in the story.
The Story: 2 Kings 8 for Kids
A long time ago, there was a woman in Israel whose son had died. The prophet Elisha had prayed, and God brought the boy back to life. The woman and her family were thankful, and they trusted Elisha’s words. Elisha had some news for her, and it was not what you might expect.
Elisha told the woman, “Get up and take your family away from here. God has called for a famine, and it will last seven years.” The woman did just what Elisha said. She packed up her home and went to live in the land of the Philistines for seven years. She did not know how things would turn out, but she believed God’s word was true.
When the seven years were over, the woman came home. She went to the king to ask for her house and her land back, because other people had moved in while she was gone. At that very moment, the king was talking with Gehazi, who had been Elisha’s servant. The king asked Gehazi to tell him about all the amazing things Elisha had done.
While Gehazi was telling the story, the woman walked in with her son. Gehazi said, “My king, this is the woman, and this is her son, the boy Elisha brought back to life!” The king listened to her story. Then he said, “Give her back everything that was hers, and give her all the crops that grew in her field while she was away.”
Later, Elisha went to the city of Damascus. The king of Syria, whose name was Benhadad, was very sick. He sent his servant Hazael to ask Elisha whether he would get better. Elisha told Hazael that the king would recover, but God also showed Elisha that the king would die. Elisha felt very sad, and he wept as he thought about the hard things that would happen to God’s people.
Hazael went home and told the king he would get better. But the next day, Hazael did something very wrong and the king died. God’s promises came true, even though Hazael and the king did not do what was right.
Read It Together
2 Kings 8:2
The woman arose, and did according to the man of God’s word. She went with her household, and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
(WEB)
Point out that the woman listened to God’s word through Elisha and obeyed right away, even though it meant leaving home for many years. Ask children what they think it was like for her to trust that God would take care of her family.
2 Kings 8:5-6
5 As he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, begged the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.”
(WEB)
Show children how God gave the woman back her house and her land after seven years. Explain that God remembers the faithful and makes things right for those who trust Him.
2 Kings 8:19
However the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always.
(WEB)
Remind children that God kept His promise to David, even when the kings around him did things that were wrong. Help them see that God’s faithfulness lasts even when people do not follow Him well.
Talk About It
- How do you think the woman felt when Elisha told her to leave her home for seven years?
- Why did the woman listen to what God said through Elisha, even though she could not see what would happen next?
- What are some ways God has taken care of you or your family?
- Why do you think God kept His promise to David even when the kings were not following Him?
- When is a time you had to trust God even though you did not understand what was happening?
Activity Ideas
Promise Keeper Drawing
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and a pencil. Ask each child to draw a picture of the woman coming home to her house after seven years. Let them add small details like the fields, the sky, and her son. Talk together about how God kept His promise to take care of her.
Step Forward, Step Back Game
Clear a space in the room and stand at one end with the children. Call out a word from the story, like “famine,” “Philistines,” or “home,” and have the children take a step forward if they hear something God did, or a step back if they hear something people did. Finish by saying together that God always keeps His promises.
Family Promise Jar
You will need a jar, paper strips, and a pencil. Have each family member write one thing God has promised or done for them on a strip and put it in the jar. Take turns pulling out a strip each night at dinner and reading it aloud together as a reminder that God keeps His word.
Teacher Notes
This chapter shows that God’s promises stand firm across generations and across changing circumstances. The woman obeyed God’s word through Elisha and was cared for in return, while the story of Benhadad and Hazael reminds adults that human choices can be wrong even when God’s purposes still unfold. Adults can see both God’s faithfulness and the sobering reality of sin in the same passage.
With children, avoid suggesting that God always rewards obedience with an immediate or easy return, since the woman had to wait seven years and the wicked events of the chapter are not neatly explained. Keep the focus on God being trustworthy and faithful over time rather than on a formula that guarantees comfort.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You that You always keep Your promises. Help us trust You when we do not understand what is happening, just like the woman who listened to Your word. Thank You for taking care of us every day. Amen.
