A Room for Elisha
2 Kings 4:8-11
Our story comes from the Bible. It is in a part, or book of the Bible called 2 Kings. It is the second book in the Bible that tells about the kings of Israel. We call the book “Second Kings.”
The Bible tells us about a man named Elisha (pronounced “ee-LIE-sha”). His name means “God is salvation,” or “God saves.” God had given Elisha a special job. Elisha went from place to place. He told people what God wanted them to do.
One day, Elisha went to a town named Shunem (pronounced “SHOO-nem”).
A rich woman in Shunem asked Elisha to stay and eat a meal with her and her husband. Elisha became friends with the woman and her husband. He ate with them every time he came to Shunem.
After one of Elisha’s visits, the woman said to her husband, “Elisha comes to our town often. I know that our friend Elisha is a special man of God. Let’s do a nice thing for him. We can make a small room in our house for him. It can be on the roof. Then he can stay there whenever he visits.” In Bible times, the roofs of the houses were flat. It was a good place to add a room.
The woman and her husband started fixing a room. They worked hard to make it just right. After the room was built, they cleaned and scrubbed. They swept the floor. Then they put in furniture.
There was a bed for Elisha to sleep in when he was tired.
There was a table with a lamp. Elisha could use the light to see the things around him. And there was a stool for Elisha to sit on.
Soon, Elisha came to Shunem again. The woman and her husband showed Elisha the room they had fixed just for him. Now Elisha had a place to stay every time he came to Shunem.
Elisha’s friends did a nice thing for him by making a room for him. Friends do nice things for each other.
Our story comes from the Bible. It is in a part, or book of the Bible called 2 Kings. It is the second book in the Bible that tells about the kings of Israel. We call the book “Second Kings.”
The Bible tells us about a man named Elisha (pronounced “ee-LIE-sha”). His name means “God is salvation,” or “God saves.” God had given Elisha a special job. Elisha went from place to place. He told people what God wanted them to do.
One day, Elisha went to a town named Shunem (pronounced “SHOO-nem”).
A rich woman in Shunem asked Elisha to stay and eat a meal with her and her husband. Elisha became friends with the woman and her husband. He ate with them every time he came to Shunem.
After one of Elisha’s visits, the woman said to her husband, “Elisha comes to our town often. I know that our friend Elisha is a special man of God. Let’s do a nice thing for him. We can make a small room in our house for him. It can be on the roof. Then he can stay there whenever he visits.” In Bible times, the roofs of the houses were flat. It was a good place to add a room.
The woman and her husband started fixing a room. They worked hard to make it just right. After the room was built, they cleaned and scrubbed. They swept the floor. Then they put in furniture.
There was a bed for Elisha to sleep in when he was tired.
There was a table with a lamp. Elisha could use the light to see the things around him. And there was a stool for Elisha to sit on.
Soon, Elisha came to Shunem again. The woman and her husband showed Elisha the room they had fixed just for him. Now Elisha had a place to stay every time he came to Shunem.
Bible Paraphrase: Love is kind. (Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. – 1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV)
Text Truth: God's Word tells us that friends do nice things for each other.
Share a special snack with your preschooler. Talk about ways your family can do nice things for friends.
Help your child do a nice thing for a friend. Your child might: make a special snack and share it, give the friend a favorite book, make a card sharing things your child likes about her friend, or play together and let her friend pick the activity.
As you travel, look for ways to be nice to those you may not know. Your child might hold the door open for someone or you might run an errand for a friend. Point out ways people do nice things for you this week also.
You’ll Need: old shoe box, scissors, people figures, craft sticks, straws
Turn an old shoe box into the simple house. Cut an opening for a door. Let your child use people figures and furniture you have, or make people and furniture from craft sticks and straws. Move Elisha’s friends around the room as they pretend to scrub and clean the room to get it ready.
Cut out paper chain people. Write names of your child’s friends on each person. Pray for each friend by name. Praying for our friends is one way to do something nice for them!
Text Truth: God's Word tells us that friends do nice things for each other.
Family Devotional
"Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us." — 2 Kings 4:10
Elisha’s friend and her husband provided a room for him whenever he traveled through the region. Her hospitality, in this case, helped Elisha spread God’s Word. Her “nice thing” was giving part of her home to someone else without expecting anything in return. It was a way she could share God’s care with someone.
When you do nice things for others, you are showing God’s care to them. Hospitality doesn’t have to be as extravagant as providing a room for someone. It can be simple cookout in your backyard, a day caring for your friend’s children, or time with a friend enjoying a glass of lemonade together.
Allow God to show you what you can do for a friend.
Activities You Can Do at Home
Share a Snack
Share a special snack with your preschooler. Talk about ways your family can do nice things for friends.
Be Nice to a Friend
Help your child do a nice thing for a friend. Your child might: make a special snack and share it, give the friend a favorite book, make a card sharing things your child likes about her friend, or play together and let her friend pick the activity.
Look for Ways to Be Nice
As you travel, look for ways to be nice to those you may not know. Your child might hold the door open for someone or you might run an errand for a friend. Point out ways people do nice things for you this week also.
Prepare a Room for Elisha
You’ll Need: old shoe box, scissors, people figures, craft sticks, straws
Turn an old shoe box into the simple house. Cut an opening for a door. Let your child use people figures and furniture you have, or make people and furniture from craft sticks and straws. Move Elisha’s friends around the room as they pretend to scrub and clean the room to get it ready.
Pray for Friends
Cut out paper chain people. Write names of your child’s friends on each person. Pray for each friend by name. Praying for our friends is one way to do something nice for them!
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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence.
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