This lesson teaches children that God always offers a way of life, even when things look scary, and that trusting Him means choosing to follow Him. It works well for children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
God gives us a choice, and He always wants us to choose the way that leads to life. When we trust Him, we listen and follow Him even when the news is hard.
Memory Verse
Jeremiah 21:8
“You shall say to this people, ‘The LORD says: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
(WEB)
Hold both hands out in front of you, palms up, like you are offering two choices. Move your right hand up and then your left hand down as you say the verse together. Let the children feel the difference between the two paths with their hands.
The Story: Jeremiah 21 for Kids
King Zedekiah was the king of Judah, and he had a big problem. A powerful army led by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was coming to attack Jerusalem. Zedekiah was scared, so he sent two men to the prophet Jeremiah. He said, “Please ask God to help us.”
Jeremiah had a hard message to bring back. God said the king’s own weapons would be turned around and used against the city. The people in Jerusalem were not following God, and God was going to let them face the trouble their choices had brought.
Then God gave the people a choice. Jeremiah said, “God says, I have set before you the way of life and the way of death.” Anyone who stayed in the city would be in great danger. But anyone who went out and gave themselves up to the Babylonians would be safe and would live.
God also spoke to the king and his family. He told them to do what is right and fair every morning, and to help people who were being cheated or hurt. God wanted them to turn back to Him and treat people with kindness.
The people had said to themselves, “Who could ever come against us?” God answered that He was the one who was against them because they had done wrong. He told them plainly that He would bring the consequences of what they had done. This was a sad message, but God was still showing them the way back to Him.
Read It Together
Jeremiah 21:1-2
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 2 “Please inquire of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
(WEB)
Point out that King Zedekiah turned to God in a moment of fear, even though he had not listened to God for a long time. Ask the children why people often pray first when they are scared, and remind them that God wants us to come to Him every day, not only in emergencies.
Jeremiah 21:12
House of David, the LORD says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
(WEB)
Show the children that God cares about fairness and justice. Explain in simple words that God wanted the people to help others who were being treated unfairly, because that is part of loving God and loving our neighbors.
Jeremiah 21:9
He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out, and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will escape with his life.
(WEB)
Help the children see that God makes the way of life clear and offers it freely. Point out that the people had a real choice to make, and that God’s way was to go out and trust Him rather than stay in fear and sin.
Talk About It
- What do you do when you feel scared, and who do you go to first?
- Jeremiah told the people God had given them two choices. What do you think the way of life looked like for them?
- Why do you think God wanted the king to be fair and kind to the people?
- How can we choose God’s way of life at school or at home this week?
- When someone seems to say God would never see what we do, what can we remember about God?
Activity Ideas
Two Roads Drawing
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and a pencil. Ask each child to draw a road that splits into two paths. Label one path “Way of Life” and draw something bright on it, like a sun or a flower. Label the other path “Way of Death” and let them draw something gray or dark. Talk about how God always invites us to choose the bright path.
Choose Your Path Game
Use two sides of the room, or two chairs at opposite ends of a hallway. Call out a choice, such as “Be kind to your sister” or “Take something that is not yours.” Children walk to the side labeled “Way of Life” for good choices and to the “Way of Death” side for poor choices. Finish by reminding them that God always helps us choose the good path.
Take-Home Promise Card
Give each child an index card or a folded piece of paper and a pencil. Have them write or draw one way they will choose God’s way this week. Encourage them to tape the card to their bedroom door or the bathroom mirror. Ask them to share it with a parent at dinner.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God’s word is serious and that He holds leaders and ordinary people accountable. Yet it also shows that He consistently offers a way of life and invites people to trust Him even in the middle of national crisis. Jeremiah was faithful to deliver an unwelcome message, and God’s justice and mercy both stand out in the text.
Avoid overstating to children that every hard thing happens because a person did something wrong. The chapter speaks about a particular nation at a particular time, and children should hear that God is faithful and loving even when He calls people to repentance and justice.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You for always showing us the way of life. Help us choose You when we feel scared, and help us be fair and kind to others each day. Please help us trust You with everything, big and small. Amen.
