This lesson teaches children that God keeps His promises even when wicked people try to destroy His plan. It suits children aged 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
God always keeps His promises, even when bad kings try to stop them. He hid a little boy so that God’s plan could keep going.
Memory Verse
2 Chronicles 22:12
He was with them hidden in God’s house six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
(WEB)
Hold your hands together like a little tent over your head, then slowly open them. Say “hidden with God” as you do it, so children picture God covering and keeping them safe.
The Story: 2 Chronicles 22 for Kids
There was a king in Jerusalem named Ahaziah. He was a bad king who did what was wrong in the Lord’s eyes. He listened to his mother, Athaliah, and to other wicked people who gave him bad advice. Ahaziah had been sick, and he went to visit a friend, King Joram, to rest.
While Ahaziah was away, a man named Jehu came to do God’s work. God had chosen Jehu to stop the wicked house of King Ahab. Jehu found Ahaziah and caught him. The people of Jerusalem buried Ahaziah, because they remembered his grandfather, a good king who loved the Lord with all his heart.
Now Ahaziah was dead, and his mother Athaliah wanted power for herself. She was so angry and so hungry for control that she destroyed all the royal children of Judah. She wanted no one left who could become king. She thought she had won.
But a brave woman named Jehoshabeath saw a baby prince named Joash. She quietly carried him away from the danger. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom and hid them. She whispered to herself, “God will keep this little boy safe.” Jehoshabeath was not afraid of the cruel queen.
Jehoshabeath and her husband, the priest Jehoiada, hid Joash in God’s house for six whole years. Athaliah ruled the land, and she never found the little prince. Joash stayed safe in the Temple, where God was near. God was still keeping His promise to David’s family.
Read It Together
2 Chronicles 22:3-4
3 He also walked in the ways of Ahab’s house, because his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly. 4 He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, as did Ahab’s house, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.
(WEB)
Point out that Ahaziah followed bad advice from people around him. Ask children how choosing friends and advisers wisely matters, and explain that doing what is evil in the Lord’s sight always leads to harm.
2 Chronicles 22:7
Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went to Joram; for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off Ahab’s house.
(WEB)
Show that God was in charge of what happened, even when things looked confusing or scary. Tell children that nothing happens outside of God’s plan, even when people make choices that hurt others.
2 Chronicles 22:11
But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stealthily rescued him from among the king’s sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that she didn’t kill him.
(WEB)
Highlight how Jehoshabeath acted bravely to protect a child in danger. Point out that God often works through ordinary people who choose to do the right thing when it is hard.
Talk About It
- What do you think Jehoshabeath felt when she saw the danger to little Joash, and what helped her be brave?
- Why do you think Athaliah wanted to destroy all the royal children, and what does that show about wanting power?
- How can you tell when someone is giving you advice that is not good, and what can you do instead?
- Where do you think Joash felt safe for six years, and why was God’s house a good place to hide?
- How does it help you to know that God keeps His promises even when things look scary?
Activity Ideas
Hidden Prince Drawing
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and a pencil. Ask each child to draw the Temple with a small hidden baby inside a bedroom or room in the back. Have them add a big heart or sun above the Temple to show God watching over Joash. Let children talk about their picture and tell you what God is doing in it.
Hide and Protect Game
You will need a blanket or large cloth and a small soft toy to be the baby prince. Pick one child to be Jehoshabeath, who hides the toy under the blanket while the others stand in a circle and pretend to look for it. Each round, the children try to guess where it is, and you cheer when the toy stays safe. End by reminding everyone that God protects His people.
Safe Place Card Take-Home
You will need an index card or cardstock, markers, and a stick-on sticker or two. Have each child write the memory verse words “hidden with God” on the card and decorate it with simple shapes. Tell them to put it somewhere at home where they feel safe, like their bed or their backpack. Ask them to say the phrase whenever they see it.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows how God keeps His promise to David even when a wicked queen tries to end the royal line. Joash survives because God protects him through the courage of Jehoshabeath and Jehoiada, and that hidden child later becomes king. It reminds us that God’s faithfulness does not depend on human power or cleverness.
Avoid overstating the story to children by making it sound like God always rescues every child from danger in the same way. Be clear that the passage shows God keeping His promise to David, not a guarantee that every hard situation will end the same way. Stick to what the text says and speak of God’s character and faithfulness.
A Prayer to Close
Dear Lord, thank You that You keep Your promises even when bad people try to stop You. Help us be brave like Jehoshabeath and choose to do what is right. Thank You that we are always safe with You. Amen.
