Lesson Title: Absalom Rebels Against David
Bible Reference: 2 Samuel 15:1-12; 17:1-12; 18:1-18
Target Age Group: Preschool
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Target Time Frame: 1 ½ hour
Gospel Connection: Being David’s son you would think that Absalom would respect his father’s crown and see that God had appointed David to be king. But that’s not the case. Absalom was a selfish man who desired to be king. He was well-liked by many people and used his popularity to his advantage. He tricked everyone into believing that he should be the king. Though his plan worked for a little while, it eventually led to his demise. Today preschoolers will learn that Absalom lost his friends because of his selfish behavior.
Learning Aim: God Say’s Don’t Be Selfish
Materials Needed:
- Poster Board
- Paint
- Paint Brush
- Hobby Horses (Or Pool Noodles or brooms)
Bible Story
Open your Bible to 2 Samuel 15.
Say, A long time ago, while David was king, there lived a man by the name of Absalom. Absalom was selfish and wanted to be king. He had lots of horses and chariots and had an army of men follow him everywhere so he looked important.
Every morning he stood by the castle gate and spoke with everyone who came to the castle to discuss a complaint with the king. He would say, ‘If only I were the judge of your town I could help you solve your problem without going to the castle!’ Whenever people tried to bow down to Absalom he would shake their hand instead. Everyone liked Absalom!
Absalom had a sneaky plan. He asked King David if he could go to a town called Hebron to worship God. David let him go. However, whenever Absalom got to Hebron he told everyone that he was king of Hebron now! His sneaky plan worked and he tricked many people into believing that he was king now.
King David got scared and took his family and everyone who still wanted him to be king and ran away. Some of Absalom’s friends realized that he tricked them and tried to take the kingdom away from David. They decided that they didn’t want to follow Absalom anymore and started following King David.
Absalom lost his friends because he was selfish and didn’t think about what was best for the country. God doesn’t want you to be selfish either.
Friendship Hands
Cut a white poster board into the shape of a heart. Paint each child’s hand and then let them put a handprint on the poster board heart. Once this dries you can hang it in the room.
Say, Whenever Absalom met new people he shook their hands. He made everyone like him and then he tricked them into believing that he was the king. Absalom was not a good friend but you can be a good friend by helping others and not being selfish.
Horse Races
Divide the class into 2 groups: Absalom’s army and David’s army. Give each child a horse to ride (this could be a hobby horse, pool noodle, or broom) Have each group race around the classroom or gym while riding their horse. Whichever team makes it back to the starting line first with all its team members is the winner.
Say, Absalom thought that he could make himself look like a king by having a lot of followers and horses. This worked for a while but eventually his friends found out the truth and went back to following David. Absalom was a selfish man and as a result, he lost his friends. God doesn’t want you to be selfish.
Closing the Lesson
Say, Can you think of a time whenever you or a friend acted selfishly? What happened? Did someone’s feelings get hurt? Today we learned about a man that was selfish and tricked his friends into believing that he was king. He ended up losing his friends because he was selfish. What does God what you to do?
Let the kids share their answers and then close in prayer.