Job lesson for kids

I had this post all written up, it was gorgeous, then I had to leave for an appointment, and near as I can figure my computer ate my Job lesson for kids post.  Ate it right up, because when I sat down later to write the final thoughts, it was nowhere to be found, so let’s try this Sunday School lesson again.

(Side note, since there is not a clear agreement on where Job fits in the chronology of the Bible, I placed this lesson right after Genesis has ended, and Joseph forgives his brothers)

Before I get into what it teaches kids, I want to talk about:

What Job taught me

Back when I first taught about Job the tsunami had just hit Japan, and there were a lot of thoughts about “How can God be good if ____?”  Recently in our family, we’ve had similar thoughts along those lines.  How can God be good if He lets all of our friends move?  How can God be good when He lets a young child die and his parents are grieving the loss of another child?  How can we help friends who are grieving?

There have been four verses that struck me.

Job 1:20-21

²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job didn’t praise God because things were good, Job praised God because he loved God, and recognized God was good.  That’s been something I needed reminding of recently.

Job 2:12-13

¹² And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. ¹³ And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Sometimes when our friends have a hard time we rush in to say the right thing.  That’s not always what’s needed, sometimes we just need to sit with them and cry.

Job lesson for kids’ activities

I wanted to draw out 2 things in this first section:

1. Job never was upset with God and his response was to praise God.
2. How to comfort friends.

So, when Jeff offered to take the kids for a walk out in a wilderness near our house, I sent them off with some paper to write down what they were thankful for God had given them.

They came back with a very long list of the expected things, family, friends, toys, but a few things that made me happy.  They were thankful for their Bible and church, for food.  It’s good every now and then to step back with your kids and think about how God has blessed your family.  It’s always surprising to me what they come up with.

Next, we focused on encouraging friends far away.  The other big activity in the Job lesson is to write a letter of encouragement.  So, my kids sat down and wrote a letter to Aunt Tara who is far away in the frozen state of Iowa.  They enjoyed writing to Aunt Tara and taking our letters down to the post office.

The Job lesson doesn’t lend itself to lots of big flashy activities or running around, much to my boys’ chagrin, but it did lend itself well to lessons Princess likes, so that worked well.

More Job lesson for kids ideas

• JOB LESSON– the storybook for the lesson
• Trial of Job game
• Job lesson plan