The Four Lepers and the Empty Camp Preschool Lesson
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “God had made the enemy run away.”
An enemy army was camped all around the city of Samaria. The soldiers came from Syria. Nobody could go out of the city to get food. Soon the people had almost nothing to eat. They were very hungry.
Elisha the prophet said, “Hear the LORD’s word. The LORD says, ‘Tomorrow about this time fine flour will be sold in the gate of Samaria.’” Flour is for making bread. But how could that be? The people had almost nothing!
Outside the city gate sat four men. They had leprosy – a bad skin sickness. So they had to stay outside the city. They were hungry too. Let’s count them: one, two, three, four!
The four men talked together. “Why do we sit here?” they said. “There is no food in the city. Let’s go to the camp of the enemy. Maybe they will let us live.”
So when it was getting dark, they got up and went. Step, step, step. They came to the edge of the camp. They looked around. Nobody was there! Not one soldier! God had made the enemy run away.
What had happened? The Lord had made the enemy soldiers hear a great noise. It sounded like chariots and horses, like a big army coming. Clip-clop! Rumble, rumble! Can you make the sound of the horses?
The soldiers said to each other, “Other kings are coming to fight us!” So they ran away when it was getting dark. They left their tents. They left their horses and their donkeys. They left everything just as it was. God had made the enemy run away.
The four men went into a tent. There was food! They ate and drank. Then they took silver and gold and clothes, and hid them. They went into another tent and took more things, and hid them too.
Then they stopped. They said to each other, “We aren’t doing right. Today is a day of good news, and we keep silent. Let’s go and tell the king’s household.” Keep silent means saying nothing at all.
So they hurried back to the city in the night. They called to the gatekeepers – the men who watch the city gate. “We came to the camp, and there was no one there! Only the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents!”
The gatekeepers called out the news. Soon the king heard it too. The king got up in the night. But he did not believe it. “It is a trick,” he said. “They are hiding in the fields, waiting for us.”
One of his helpers said, “Let’s send some men and see.” So they took two chariots with horses. Let’s count the chariots: one, two! The king sent them out. “Go and see,” he said.
The men rode all the way to the Jordan River. And what did they see? All along the road lay clothes and things. The enemy soldiers had thrown them away as they ran. God had made the enemy run away.
The men rode back and told the king. It was true! All the people went out to the empty camp. Now there was plenty of food for everyone.
So fine flour was sold in the gate of Samaria. It happened just as the LORD had said.
God kept his word to his hungry people. He gave them food again. God had made the enemy run away.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- How do you think the four men felt when they found the empty camp?
- Why do you think the four men went back to tell the good news?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Color the 4 men who found the empty camp.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Today is a day of good news” — 2 Kings 7:9 (Today → point down to the floor; good news → hands open by your mouth, like calling out)
Dear God, thank you for good news. Thank you that you take care of hungry people. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: God provides right on time
Memory verse: “We aren't doing right. Today is a day of good news, and we keep silent.” — 2 Kings 7:9 · WEB
The Bible story
When a whole city was starving, four hungry men who felt like nobodies made a surprising discovery that saved everyone. Guess what God had already done!
Talk about it
- What big problem was the city of Samaria facing? — An enemy army all around it
- What wonderful promise did God's helper Elisha make? — Tomorrow there will be food
- Where did the four men sit, feeling left out? — Outside the city gate
- What brave plan did the four men make? — To go to the enemy camp
- What did God make the enemy soldiers hear? — Chariots and horses
- What did the frightened enemy soldiers do? — They ran away in the dark
Where is Jesus in this story?
The four men said, “This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves” (2 Kings 7:9). On the first Easter morning, the women found Jesus' tomb empty and “ran to tell his disciples” (Matthew 28:8). Jesus is alive, and that is the best news in the whole world. Like those four men, we don't have to keep it to ourselves.
What God wants to tell us
When things looked hopeless, God was already busy working a rescue that no one could see. The four men did not have to be strong or important; God used them anyway. And once they had good news, the kindest thing they could do was share it. God still gives us what we need at just the right moment, and He loves it when we pass His good news along to others who are waiting to hear it.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for always giving me what I need, even before I ask. Help me to trust You when things feel scary, and help me to share Your good news with others with a happy heart. Amen.
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