Joseph’s Bones — A Promise Kept 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 keeps his promises.”
Do you remember Joseph, with his coat of many colors? His brothers had sold him, and he came to Egypt. But God was with Joseph. He became a great helper to the king. And he saved his whole family from hunger.
Joseph lived in Egypt for a long, long time. His father’s whole family lived there too. Joseph became a very old man – one hundred ten years old! He even saw his great-grandchildren.
Joseph knew he would soon die. He said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you.” That meant God would come and help them. He would bring them up out of Egypt. He would bring them to the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God keeps his promises.
Joseph asked his family for a promise too. “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” Bones are the hard parts inside our body. Can you feel the bones in your hand?
Joseph believed God’s promise. He did not want to stay in Egypt. He wanted his bones to rest in the land God had promised.
Then Joseph died. They put his body in a coffin – a special box – in Egypt. For many, many years, Joseph’s coffin stayed there. It waited and waited.
Many, many years went by – hundreds of years! Joseph’s family grew and grew. Then a new king made them slaves. Did they forget their promise to Joseph? What do you think?
No, they did not forget! God sent Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. And on the way out, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him! So many years later, the promise was kept. God keeps his promises.
God did not lead them the short way. The short way went through the land of the Philistines. There might be a war there. So God led them the long way, through the wilderness.
The LORD went before them. In the day, a tall cloud showed them the way. At night, a pillar of fire gave them light. A pillar is a tall post. Can you point up to the cloud? Can you wiggle your fingers like fire?
The cloud and the fire never went away. By day and by night, God was with them. God keeps his promises.
Joseph’s coffin went with them. The people carried Joseph’s bones on their long trip. Step after step, year after year. Through the dry wilderness. Over the Jordan River. Into the new land.
At last they came to the land God had promised. There they buried Joseph’s bones in Shechem. It was in the field that Joseph’s father Jacob had bought long ago. He paid a hundred pieces of silver for it.
Joseph’s bones rested in the promised land at last. His family had kept their promise. And God had kept his promise too.
The LORD is faithful in all his words. Faithful means he always does what he says. God keeps his promises.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- How do you think the people felt, carrying Joseph’s bones for so long?
- What is a promise that someone kept for you?
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)
Draw God’s people carrying Joseph’s coffin, with the tall cloud above them.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“The LORD is faithful in all his words” — Psalm 145:13 (The LORD → point up high; is faithful → nod your head; in all his words → touch your lips)
Dear God, thank you that you always keep your promises. Thank you that you never forget me. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: God Never Forgets a Promise
Memory verse: “The LORD is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.” — Psalm 145:13 · WEB
The Bible story
When God's people finally leave Egypt, one brave leader remembers an old, old promise — and carries Joseph's bones home to show God never forgets.
Talk about it
- Where did Joseph live when he was an old man? — Egypt
- What did Joseph know about God? — God always keeps a promise
- What did Joseph ask his family to promise? — To carry his bones home
- What happened to Joseph's family over many years? — They grew into a great people
- How did the new kings of Egypt treat God's people? — As slaves
- What did the people do when life was hard? — They cried out to God
Where is Jesus in this story?
Joseph's bones waited in a coffin for hundreds of years until God's people carried them home (Exodus 13:19). Jesus' body did not wait like that. On the third day His tomb was empty, because He rose from the dead (Luke 24:5–6). And Jesus promises that everyone who trusts Him will live again: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
What God wants to tell us
Joseph waited his whole life for God's promise, and even after he was gone, God remembered. Sometimes we have to wait a long, long time for good things, but God is always working, even when we cannot see it. Just like He carried His people home, God is holding on to you and to every promise He has made. You can trust Him with a happy heart.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for always keeping Your promises, even when I have to wait. Help me to trust You like Joseph did, and to remember that You never forget me. Thank You for loving me and holding my hand every day. Amen.
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