The Shunammite Gets Her Land Back 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: “Just at the right time!”
A woman lived in the town of Shunem with her family. She had a house and a field. Elisha the prophet often walked by her house. A prophet is a man who tells people God’s words.
The woman asked Elisha to come in and eat bread. So every time he passed by, he stopped there to eat.
She said to her husband, “Let’s make a little room on the roof.” And they did! In the room they put a bed and a table. They put a chair and a lamp there too. Let’s count them: one, two, three, four!
Later the woman had a baby son, just as Elisha had said. But one day the boy became sick, and he died. Elisha prayed to the LORD. And the boy came back to life! He sneezed seven times, and he opened his eyes. Can you sneeze like the boy? Achoo!
Some time later, Elisha told the woman, “Arise, and go, you and your household. Stay for a while wherever you can. For the LORD has called for a famine.” A famine is a time when there is not enough food. “It will come on the land for seven years.”
So the woman did what the man of God said. She left with her family. They went far away, to the land of the Philistines, by the big sea. Just at the right time!
They lived in that land for seven long years. Let’s count to seven together: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven!
After seven years, the woman came home. But her house and her field were not hers anymore. What could she do? She went to the king. She wanted to ask him for her house and her land.
At that very moment, the king was talking with Gehazi. Gehazi had been Elisha’s servant. “Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done,” said the king.
So Gehazi told him. He told how Elisha brought a boy back to life. And just then, in came the woman with her son! Just at the right time!
“My lord, O king,” said Gehazi. “This is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” Restored means brought back. Can you point to the woman and her son, like Gehazi?
The king asked the woman about it. And she told him everything. The king listened. What do you think the king did?
The king called one of his helpers. He said, “Restore all that was hers.” Restore means give it all back. Just at the right time!
Her house! Her field! And all the food her field had grown while she was away! Seven years of grain and fruit! That is a lot of food!
The king sent a helper to give it all back to her. Just at the right time!
God took care of the woman and her family, all along the way. In the hungry years, and when they came home. Just at the right time!
3. Talk together (3 min)
- How do you think the woman felt when she walked in and heard Gehazi talking about her son?
- What do you think the family did when they came home after seven years?
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 a line to who said it.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Restore all that was hers” — 2 Kings 8:6 (Restore → hands give something back; all → arms open wide)
Dear God, thank you that you take care of my family. Thank you that your timing is good. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: God's Timing Is Perfect
Memory verse: “The LORD will fulfill that which concerns me. Your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever.” — Psalm 138:8 · WEB
The Bible story
A kind woman leaves her home for seven long years, then walks into the king's court at the exact moment God plans a wonderful surprise for her.
Talk about it
- Which town was the kind woman from? — Shunem
- Which prophet had she once helped with a cozy room? — Elisha
- What warning did Elisha give her? — A famine was coming
- How many years would the hard time last? — Seven years
- Where did the woman go to stay safe? — The land of the Philistines
- What did she find when she came back home? — Others had taken her land
Where is Jesus in this story?
The Shunammite woman trusted God's warning and left her land, and later the king gave back everything, even the harvest from the years she was away (2 Kings 8:6). Jesus promised that anyone who gives up home or fields for Him will receive a hundred times as much, and eternal life too (Mark 10:29–30). Trusting God with what we have is never a loss.
What God wants to tell us
The Shunammite woman lost her home, but God never lost sight of her. He arranged for her to walk into the palace at the exact right moment, when the king was ready to help. God cares about the small worries in our lives, even our homes and our families. We can trust that He sees us, remembers us, and works things out at just the right time, even when we have to wait a long while.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for caring about me and my family and my home. Help me to trust You even when I have to wait. Thank You that Your timing is always perfect and Your love lasts forever. Amen.
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