2 Kings 17
Explanation and Bible story for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 3-6)
The Explanation
Long ago, God's people lived in a good land. God gave them fields, and wells, and homes. He loved them very much.
But the people did something strange. They looked at little statues, made of wood and stone. They bowed down low to them. They said "help us" to statues that could not hear, could not see, could not help at all.
God saw this. God was sad. Very sad.
God sent people to tell them, "Turn around. Come back to me." Messenger after messenger, prophet after prophet. But the people did not listen. They turned their backs. Again, and again, and again.
Then something scary happened. A big king, from far away, came with his army. He came all around their city. He waited outside the walls. He waited one year. Two years. Three long years.
Then the walls fell down. Soldiers came in. And the people, all of them, had to walk away. Away from their houses. Away from their beds. Away from everything they knew. Far, far away, to a strange land.
That is a hard part of the story. Very hard.
What Does This Mean?
Why did this happen? The story tells us plainly. The people stopped loving God. They loved statues instead. Statues cannot love back. Statues cannot hold you close. Statues cannot listen when you cry.
God is not like a statue. God can hear. God can see. God is real, and He speaks.
The Common Thread
Even after the people walked away, even far from home, God kept speaking. God never stopped calling His people back. That is what God does. He calls, and calls, and waits with open arms.
Later, God sent Someone even better than a messenger. He sent Jesus. Jesus came so people could come all the way home to God, not just to a land, but home to God Himself.
For You
Do you ever forget God? Maybe you play, and play, and forget to say thank You. That happens to everyone, even to grown-ups.
But you can always turn around. You can always whisper, "God, I remember You." He is listening, right now. He hears little voices too.
Talk About It
What did the people love instead of God? What can you say to God today, right now?
Praying Together
Dear God, sometimes I forget You. I am sorry. Thank You that You always hear me. Thank You that You never stop loving me. Amen.
Questions about 2 Kings 17
Short answers for anyone reading about this for the first time.
What is 2 Kings 17 about?
What does 2 Kings 17 say?
What does 2 Kings 17 teach us about God?
What can toddlers learn from 2 Kings 17?
Why is 2 Kings 17 an important Bible story?
What others discovered
Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight." Two hundred years of warnings came first. Prophet after prophet, and still He waited. Yet notice what remains: "There was none left but the tribe of Judah only." Even in judgment He keeps a thread alive. What warning has He been patiently repeating to you?
Judah watched it all happen. Saw the northern kingdom carried off, saw what idols cost, and still "walked in the statutes of Israel which they made." Having a front row seat to someone else's ruin doesn't change you. Only repentance does. What have you watched destroy another life, and quietly kept sampling anyway?
Jeroboam drove Israel from following Yahweh, and made them sin a great sin." Drove them. Like a shepherd turning the flock the wrong way, and they followed because he was out front. Centuries later it was still being counted against him. Who walks behind you? A child, a friend, someone newer in the faith. They are watching where you turn.
Looking for something for slightly older children?
We also have dedicated versions for elementary age (7-12) and teens (12 and up).
Open in the Children's Bible tool
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