The Boy King Josiah
Introduction
Background Scripture (read 2-3 times during the week)
2 Kings 21-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35
Warm Up
What do you want to be when you grow up? What if you could already be that by the time you were 8 years old?
Today, we're going to learn about a boy who became king of Judah when he was only 8 years old.
Story Summary
(Note: the story of Josiah actually occurs chronologically much later in Old Testament history, but is presented here as part of the unit on Kings)
This story revolves around several of the kings of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). The kings of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) were pretty much universally evil kings and we will learn about how God judged them because of their sin.
We are going to learn about a king named Josiah. Josiah's father (Amon) and grandfather (Manasseh) were kings before him and were generally evil kings, leading Judah astray, having them worship false gods and other evil things. His father, Amon, was assassinated by his own officials and they set up Josiah to become king when he was only 8 years old!
As Josiah grew, he began to lead Judah back to the Lord, driving out evil people from the temple and removing the items they were using to worship other gods.
When he was 26 (18 years into his reign), he took money that had been collected at the temple to pay skilled workers to repair and renovated it. When they were working, they came across the Scroll of the Law. We don't know exactly what part of the law this was, but it was probably the book of Deuteronomy or part of it.
Josiah asked a prophetess what it meant. She said that God was going to judge Judah for all the wickedness they had done, but because Josiah had repented and led Judah to come back to the Lord, he would not see the destruction God had planned for Judah as a consequence of their sin.
So, Josiah brought together everyone in Judah, priests, prophets, and everyone who lived in Jerusalem for a special service. Josiah read out loud what was writing the Scroll of the Law and publicly recommitted Judah to following God's law.
He also had them celebrated Passover for the first time in a long time. He finished removing all the items from the temple they used to worship false gods.
Josiah was a very important king in Judah because of how he brought them back to the Lord. He was even listed in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1:10.
Which kingdom was Josiah king of? (Judah, the Southern Kingdom)
Were Josiah's father and grandfather good kings or bad kings? (bad)
How old was Josiah when he became king? (8 years old)
What did Josiah want to do with the money that had been collected in the temple? (he wanted to repair the temple)
What did the workers find when they were repairing the temple? (a Scroll or Book of the Law, probably Deuteronomy)
What did Josiah do with the scroll? (he read it to all of Judah and recommitted them to the Lord)
What celebration did Josiah read about in the scroll that he had Judah celebrate? (the Passover feast)
What did he do with all the items they used to worship false gods? (he removed them from the temple and destroyed them)
Activities
Activity 1 "Paper Plate Crown"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Paper Plates
Scissors
Markers and things to decorate with
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions (Click here for step by step directions with pictures)
You want to use just a flimsy paper plate. Each child will need one.
Fold the paper plate in half.
There is absolutely no need to draw a dotted line on your paper plate. I did it on mine as a helpful visual for you to see where you cut. Essentially, you cut it like a pizza. (Click the link to see the pictures) Most of the cuts you can do while the paper plate is folded. Do not cut all the way through. Cut it up to the ruffle edge of the plate. You will need to open up the paper plate to make the final two cuts.
They can color the paper plate however they want to create the look of their crown.To make the crown part stand up, the kids can just fold them up into place.
Activity 2 "Scroll Craft"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Popsicle sticks
Paper
Markers
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Give each kid two popsicle sticks and a piece of paper.
Have the kids write the following message on the paper "Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. II Kings 22"
Have them crumble the paper up and then open it back up again.
Lastly, have them attach the popsicle stick on each side of the paper and roll it up like a scroll.
Activity 3 "Tear Down Idols Game"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
blocks
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Divide class into two teams. Play a relay race. (Line team one up on one side of the room. When you give the signal to begin one student runs to the other side of the room where the blocks are laying and they take one block and place it on the ground. They run back and tag the next student. Let them race for 1 minute to build a structure as high as they can.
The second team has one minute to take apart the structure one block at a time.
The building team gets a turn to rebuild to any blocks left and continue to build for 30 seconds this time.
The second team gets 30 seconds to remove blocks (one at a time).
The first team gets to build again for 15 seconds and then the second team gets their 15 seconds to remove the blocks (one at a time).
*Use this activity to review the history of idolatry that the kings of Israel have participated in. A wicked king would reign and build up altars and create objects so the people would worship idols. A righteous king would reign and use his reign to tear down and destroy the wicked altars and idols. A wicked king would come back into power and rebuild the evil places of worship and then another good king would tear them down. Allow students to recall kings that were wicked and built altars to idols and kings that tore down the altars. God’s people were in a cycle of sin that would eventually lead them to be captives in a foreign land as a result of their wickedness to God and His punishment for their sin. ll.
Activity 4 "Domino Effect"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Dominos
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Have the children line up the dominoes, a half inch (1.5 cm) apart, standing on their shortest end. When they are finished lining them up, ask one of the children to push over the first domino. Watch the effect.
Allow response time as you ask: What happened? How could one domino make the whole group fall? We call that a “domino effect.” Each domino had an effect on the next one. Our actions are like the dominoes. What we do affects others. In our lesson today we will learn how a young boy’s influence spread over a whole nation. Today’s message says: I CAN BE A GOOD EXAMPLE TO OTHERS.
Other Fun Games
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Varies depending on the game
Get the details by clicking here!
Musical Chairs
Grab the black chairs out of the closet (so that they are lighter to move around) and have the kids play musical chairs!
David, David, Goliath
This is Duck, Duck, Goose.... instead use the words "David, David, Goliath" for the game.
Cup stack races
Keep a stack of cheap plastic cups in your bag to pull out for a quick game. Two children can race each other in making the highest or biggest pyramid of upside-down cups in one minute.
Dance it out
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
christian just dance videos below
If they don't want to play the Christian Just Dance game they can play follow the leader.
Wrap It Up!
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
Worship
Energy Release!
Last Minute Filler Ideas
-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.
-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)