Joel 1 teaches children that God is the one who sees and cares when hard times come, and that we can tell others about what God has done. This lesson suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
When trouble comes, we can talk to God about it, and we can tell our children and grandchildren about the things God does.
Memory Verse
Joel 1:3
Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.
(WEB)
Hold your hands out in front of you, then pass them down to the next child, saying the verse one word at a time. Passing the verse along like a baton helps children remember that stories about God are meant to be handed down.
The Story: Joel 1 for Kids
Long ago, a prophet named Joel lived in the land of Judah. God gave Joel a message for everyone in the land. Joel called the leaders and all the people together and asked them a question. Had anything this terrible ever happened before, in their own time or in the time of their parents?
Something terrible had happened. Swarms of locusts came over the fields like a dark cloud. First one group of locusts ate the crops, then another group came and ate what was left, then more came and ate everything else. The vines were bare. The fig trees had lost their bark and their branches were stripped white. Even the wheat and barley were gone. The people had no food and no way to make their offerings in the Lord’s house.
Joel told the people that the trouble was so big that they should not forget it. He told them to share the story with their children, and to have those children share it with their own children. Every generation needed to remember what happened and what God had done.
Joel also told the priests to put on sackcloth and mourn in the Lord’s house. He said, “Call a solemn assembly.” He asked the leaders and all the people to gather together, to fast, and to cry out to the Lord. The people were to come to God in honest sadness, not pretend everything was fine.
Joel was sad about the day of the Lord, which he called a day of destruction. Even the animals were suffering. The herds had no pasture, the sheep were desperate, and fire had burned the wilderness grass and trees. The animals panted and cried out, because the water brooks had dried up. Joel was not hiding his feelings from God, and he said plainly, “The Lord, I cry to you.”
Read It Together
Joel 1:4
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
(WEB)
Point out how the locusts came one after another, each group eating what the one before had left. Ask children to name the things in their homes that might disappear this way, and say that the people of Joel’s day lost their food and their trees in this same way.
Joel 1:16
Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes; joy and gladness from the house of our God?
(WEB)
Show children that the people noticed what was missing: food, joy, and gladness in God’s house. Explain that they were not too embarrassed to say they were sad, which is a good way to talk with God about hard things.
Joel 1:19
The LORD, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
(WEB)
Read this verse slowly and ask children how Joel spoke to God. Point out that he called out to the Lord directly, which shows that God is someone we can always talk to.
Talk About It
- What did the locusts eat, and what did they leave behind?
- Why do you think Joel wanted the people to tell their children about this day?
- How did the priests and the people show that they were sad?
- What is something that makes you sad, and how could you tell God about it?
- What is one good thing God has done for you that you could tell your family about?
Activity Ideas
Locust Leaf Collage
Give each child a sheet of paper, glue, and a few real leaves or pieces of colored paper. Ask them to draw a simple field and then glue on leaves, showing what might be left after the locusts came. Talk about how the picture looks with fewer leaves and what the people might have felt seeing their fields this way.
Pass the Story Game
Have children sit in a circle and pass a small toy or ball. Whoever holds it says one part of the story of Joel 1 in their own words, then passes it on. Keep going until everyone has spoken, reminding children that Joel asked people to pass the story down to the next generation.
Story Card for Home
Give each child an index card and a pencil. Ask them to draw a picture of one thing from the lesson and write one sentence about it, such as “God sees our sadness.” Encourage them to show the card to a family member at dinner that night and tell them what they learned. This helps the story travel from the classroom to the home.
Teacher Notes
For adults, Joel 1 is a call to honest mourning before God. The chapter shows a community facing a devastating locust plague and responding with lament, fasting, and prayer rather than denial. It also reminds parents and teachers that faith is passed down through telling the story of God’s works to the next generation.
With children, avoid overstating the idea that every hard event is a direct punishment or that prayer always removes trouble. Keep the focus on the truth that God hears us when we cry out and that we can tell others what God has done.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, thank you that we can talk to you when things are hard. Help us to tell our families and friends about the good things you do for us. When we feel sad, help us remember that you hear us and care for us. Amen.
