Easy Bible Crafts

Single lesson

Elisha Feeds a Hundred People

2 Kings 4:42–44

This short story shows a small gift, an impossible-looking instruction, and God’s word proving true. Children can follow the order of the account, notice each person’s response, and see that the outcome matches what Yahweh said.

6–10 years30 minutes

Before you teach

In these verses, a man brings food to Elisha, who is called the man of God. Elisha tells his servant to give the food to the people. The servant questions whether it is enough for a hundred men, but Elisha repeats the command with Yahweh’s promise.

Learning aim

Students will be able to retell the five-part sequence in 2 Kings 4:42–44: the gift, Elisha’s command, the servant’s question, Yahweh’s promise, and the outcome according to Yahweh’s word.

1

Welcome: Spot the problem in the story

5 min

Begin by telling the class they will hear a very short Bible story with a big question in it: how can a small amount of food be given to many people? Introduce the five moments they should listen for: the gift, Elisha’s command, the servant’s question, Yahweh’s promise, and the outcome.

2 Kings 4:42, 2 Kings 4:43, 2 Kings 4:44

2

Read and explain: Gift, command, question, promise

8 min

Read the passage slowly. Point out that a man from Baal Shalishah brought bread of the first fruits and grain to Elisha, the man of God. Elisha said to give it to the people. The servant asked how it could be set before a hundred men. Elisha answered with Yahweh’s promise that they would eat and have some left over.

2 Kings 4:42, 2 Kings 4:43

3

Discuss: What choices do people make?

6 min

Talk through the choices in the story. The man chose to bring food. Elisha chose to tell the servant to give it away. The servant voiced his concern because there were a hundred men. Then the servant acted on Elisha’s words. Help children see that the ending matches Yahweh’s word exactly.

2 Kings 4:42, 2 Kings 4:43, 2 Kings 4:44

4

Make and respond: Put the story in order

7 min

Children make simple sequence cards showing 1) the man bringing food, 2) Elisha saying, ‘Give to the people’, 3) the servant asking his question, 4) Yahweh’s promise, and 5) the people eating with some left over. After ordering the cards, they retell the story to a partner using the Bible words where possible.

2 Kings 4:42, 2 Kings 4:43, 2 Kings 4:44

5

Closing: Say the ending together

4 min

Finish by reading verse 44 again. Ask the children to say the final result together: they ate and had some left over, according to Yahweh’s word. Reinforce that the story’s ending is important because it shows that what Yahweh said was what happened.

2 Kings 4:44

Questions to explore

What did the man bring to Elisha?

Look carefully at the items named in the verse: bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack.

2 Kings 4:42

Why did the servant hesitate before giving the food out?

His question shows the problem he saw: the food was being set before a hundred men.

2 Kings 4:43

How does the last verse show that Yahweh’s word was true?

Compare Yahweh’s promise in verse 43 with what happened in verse 44: they ate and had some left over.

2 Kings 4:43, 2 Kings 4:44

Make, think or respond

Five-Card Story Sequence

What you’ll need

  • plain paper or card
  • pencils or textas
  • Bible
  • scissors

Try it together

  1. Read 2 Kings 4:42–44 aloud once.
  2. Help children draw five simple cards for the key moments in the passage.
  3. Mix the cards and have children place them back in the correct order.
  4. Ask each child or pair to retell the story using their ordered cards.
  5. Finish by checking the final card against verse 44.

This activity helps children sequence the account and notice that the ending happened according to Yahweh’s word.

Adapt for your group

  • For younger children, make the five cards together on a board first and let them copy simple pictures before ordering them.
  • For older or more confident children, ask them to add a short sentence from each verse under their pictures and explain which choice or response appears in each scene.

An optional closing prayer

You may pray: “Yahweh, thank you that your word proved true in this story. Please help us remember that you said they would eat and have some left over, and that it happened according to your word. Amen.”

Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic

2 Kings 4

42 A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God some bread of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give to the people, that they may eat.”

43 His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’ ”

44 So he set it before them and they ate and had some left over, according to Yahweh’s word.

World English Bible Classic. Public domain.

Source passages

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