Nehemiah Builds the Wall

Nehemiah Builds the Wall

Nehemiah 2:19 – 6:19

The kids will understand:

• The account of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall.
• That God gave Nehemiah a plan and the ability to carry out the plan.
• That God rewards us for our obedience.

As children enter, work with them to do the Fathers Day Activity and to write down something special about their Dad. You will need to write down their words for most of the children.

Activity

Supplies:

wooden building blocks

Spread piles of wooden building blocks around the room. Give the children time and space to build on their own. You can have them build a tower with you, if some need encouragement in participating. But for the most part, let the children play independent of adult interference.

We build a lot of structures with these blocks! Did any of them fall down or get knocked down when you didn’t want them to? How did it feel when that happened? Today’s story is about a man who felt the same way about a wall that was ruined—crumbled to the ground—but he decided to do something about it.

Bible Account

Supplies:

13bricks/blocks

Place 13 bricks in a pile at the front of the room.

Look at this pile of rubbish! What in the world can be done with all these bricks? Who has an idea what we could use these bricks for? Accept ideas from the kids. If anyone suggests building a wall, then respond with a transition into the story. That reminds me of a certain man who led his people in cleaning up some rubbish to build something wonderful.

Give the bricks out to kids throughout the room. Instruct them to listen for the word “Nehemiah.” If every child does not have a brick, they can partner up with someone nearby and be listening for the word. When you say “Nehemiah” in the story, pause and wait for the children to respond. Choose a child with a brick to bring it to the front and use it to build a wall. Then, reread the sentence where “Nehemiah” was found before going on. The bricks do not have to stay in order and there’s no need to define what the wall looks like. You may want to build the wall on a table so it will be more visible to everyone, depending on the size of your bricks.

There was a man named Nehemiah.Nehemiah was a cupbearer in the king’s court. One day, when he was filling the king’s cup, the king noticed that something was wrong with Nehemiah. He asked Nehemiahwhy he was sad. Nehemiah told the king that he’d heard that the city where he grew up was in trouble. The wall that had protected the city had been torn down. Because the king already likedNehemiah, the king sentNehemiah back to the city he was from to see what could be done. When Nehemiah went there and saw the terrible mess, he was even sadder. He looked at the piles of rubbish that were once a grand wall around the city, and Nehemiahknew that God wanted him to take charge of rebuilding the wall.

Nehemiah gathered people from everywhere and they all beganworkingto rebuild the wall. He encouraged all of the workers each day. Of course, there were some people who said it couldn’t be done. They said it was too big a job. Then, there were some people who didn’t like to work, like some women with lots of money who paid other people to work for them. BUT, most of the people worked very, very, very, very hard. They were excited about Nehemiah leading them in this awesome project!

Some people stacked up the piles of rubbish. Some people worked together and gathered large stones. Families worked together and tackled the parts of the wall that were right in front of their home. My, oh my, how they worked … from early in the morning until late at night.

There were 2 men, especially, who made fun of the work. Their names were Tobiah and Sanballot. They laughed and pointed at the wall and said things like, “That wall is so poorly built that if a fox walks across the top of it, it’s going to fall down.”Nehemiah and the builders didn’t pay any attention to what they were saying. They just kept working!They knew they were working on something that would give God glory. They knew God was directing them. They wouldn’t let Sanballot and Tobiah stop them. Nehemiah and the workers knew this plan was from God.

After only 52 days, the wall had been rebuilt—the whole thing—in only 52 days!That’s amazing! That’s crazy amazing! That’s super crazy amazing! The people stood back and saw what God had helped them build, and theyworshiped Him. It was a day to celebrate all God had done through them!

Questions and Answers:

• The king noticed that Nehemiah was sad one day. Why was Nehemiah sad?

(Jerusalem was destroyed)

• What job did God want Nehemiah to do?

(rebuild the wall around the city)

• What did the workers do when other people made fun of them? Did they quit?

(kept working)

• Why did they keep working?

(They knew they were doing what God wanted them to do.)

• What did the people do when they were done working on the wall?

(celebrated)

Activity

Supplies:

assortment of tools

tool box

Put a large assortment of tools in a toolbox. Pull one tool out at a time. Do you know what this tool is called? Do you know what this tool does?When have you seen someone use this tool?Go through all the tools to introduce new ones to the kids.

Now, name one tool at a time and call on one child to pull the tool out of the toolbox. Each time the correct tool is chosen, repeat how it is used.

When Nehemiah and the people worked on the wall, they used lots of tools. They didn’t have as many tools as we do today, but they had some like ours. Which of these tools do you think would’ve been helpful when building the wall?

Game

Supplies:

2 makeshift walls using tablecloths

newspaper

Beforehand, construct 2 makeshift walls that will serve as fortresses during this game. These can be tables turned on their side or chairs covered with a tarp or bedsheet. Provide each team with an ample supply of half-sheets of newspaper. Give them 2 minutes to make the half-sheets into an arsenal of paper wads.

The two groups will hide behind their walls and participate in a snowball fight with the paper wads. When someone gets hit with a paper wad, they sit down behind their wall, but can’t throw or help their group at all.

• How did the wall help you in this game?
• What would’ve happened if the wall hadn’t been there?

Maybe your group’s wall helped you feel safe and protected. If you’d been out in the middle throwing paper wads, you would’ve gotten hit real fast. The wall Nehemiah was rebuilding would have done the same as our wall. Nehemiah’s wall would’ve gone around the city to protect the people inside. That’s why rebuilding the wall was so important.

Video

Supplies:

YouTube video – “Mission Drama”

Download the YouTube video, “Mission Drama: “God is Good.” Start at 2:29; the first part is unnecessary to show the kids. Alert the kids that they will want to pay close attention, because there is a surprise ending!

Isn’t that amazing! Did you even imagine they were going to make that awesome picture of Jesus? We didn’t understand what was going to happen when they were working on it, did we?

Nehemiah’s work on the wall was the same way. He couldn’t always imagine what the wall would look like when it was done, but he trusted God. Even when things don’t make sense, and we can’t see the end in our minds, we must trust that God’s plan is the best.

Activity

Supplies:

6-8 logs

stopwatch

We’ve been using animals to help us learn special things about the Bible stories we’ve been learning. Today’s animal isthe beaver! Beavers are one of the hardest working animals. They spend a lot of time building neat little dams. They actually chew through big trees until they come falling down. They chew the logs down to a smaller size. And then, they can carry those logs to where they’re working on the dam. Such a little animal to do such a big job! He works at it with all his heart!

The Bible tells us that Nehemiah and the people rebuilt the wall in record time. They got it done in 52 days! A wall that went ALL the way around the city was done in 52 days. Amazing! They even had to clear away the garbage before they got started.

Pile some logs at one end of the room (6-8). Choose 3 kids at a time to be beavers and see how fast they can build a dam. The 3 beavers, working together, will build a dam using the logs. Designate a place where the dam is to be built. At the signal, the leader will start the stopwatch. The 3 kids will all go get a log and roll it to the designated place. As soon as a beaver places his log, he can go for another log. When all the logs have been used and the dam is completed, stop the watch and record the time.

Return the logs to the original pile and choose 3 more kids. Do as many rounds as you like. Who did it the fastest?

Object Lesson

Supplies

puppet

Show the puppet without your hand inside. Here’s my friend ______. One of the things about a puppet is that itcompletely depends on me for everything. He can’t talk without me, move without me, go anywhere without me. Yep, without me, he can’t do much at all!

Let’s see what happens when I put my hand inside the puppet. Now, he can talk to you. Now, he can wiggle … and giggle. Now, he can jump up and down.

Nehemiah wanted to build the wall, but he couldn’t do it without God’s help. He needed God in him. We need to depend on God, just like Nehemiah, and just like this puppet. We need to have God in us.

Prayer

Today we‘ve learned a lot about what it means to work hard when God gives you something to do. We learned that Nehemiah worked hard to do what God told him to do even when other people tried to stop him. God loves when His people work hard to serve Him.

The people followed Nehemiah’s lead. Now, as we pray, I want you to follow my lead. When we pray, we are talking with God. Instruct the kids to repeat each sentence after you.

Dear God,

We want to be like Nehemiah.

We want to work hard for You.

Please help us do

Amazing things for You.

Amen.

Activity

Supplies:

App – “Random Name Selector”

What did the people do when the wall was finished? They celebrated! What did they do to celebrate?

Let’s think about what we do to celebrate? As you ask these questions, many of your kids will want to answer. Use an app like “Random Name Selector” to choose who will answer … and the kids love this way of being called upon.

How do you celebrate …

• Finishing a chore as a family (like cutting the grass or cleaning the house)?
• Your birthday?
• When company comes?
• When you’ve been part of a program, like a recital or sang in church?

Many times we work on something really hard and when it’s finished, we stop there. But there’s one more thing we should do. We should celebrate! Let’s take time to thank God for making it possible. Let’s not forget to celebrate!

Blessing

May you always work for the Lord with all your heart.