David Fights Against Absalom Lesson 5

Bible Point God wants us to be careful

about accepting advice.
Bible Verse
Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a
lame foot (Proverbs 25:19).

Growing Closer to Jesus

Students will n discuss whose advice they can trust,
n learn to discern between good advice and bad advice,
n discover that they can turn to God for the best advice, and
n experience giving and receiving advice.

Teacher Enrichment
Bible Basis
n David fights against Absalom.
2 Samuel Absalom, one of King Davids sons, murdered his half brother in an act of revenge and
then plotted to dethrone his father. Absalom stood outside the city gate, greeting the
1519 people who came into Jerusalem, criticizing his fathers system of justice, and promising
a better one if he was made king. He treated the people as equals, as indicated in his
response to those who bowed to him (2 Samuel 15:5-6). In this way, he won over large
numbers of people.
Finally, Absalom sent messengers to proclaim him the new king of Israel. As he traveled from city to city,
people received Absalom with favor, hailed him as king, and gave him military support. Even Davids adviser
Ahithophel left David and joined Absalom. When David heard of these betrayals, he fled the city. David asked
God to turn the advice of Absaloms advisers into foolishness. Then David sent Hushai, one of his faithful
advisers, as a ruse to give Absalom foolish advice. It worked. Absalom followed Hushais foolish advice, and his
plot to overthrow King David was defeated.

Prayer
Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Think about the impact that the power of Gods Word has had on you. How would your life be different
without Gods Word?
Pray: God, thank you so much for the wisdom and power in the Bible. Help me turn to your Word when I
need help. Help the children in my class see that you are available to them for help and advice.

Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4 59

 Lesson 5

Before the Lesson

n Collect the necessary items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies
listed on the chart.
n Make photocopies of the Hands-On Fun at Home handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your students.
n Pray for your students and for Gods direction as you teach the lesson.

This Lesson at a Glance

What Students Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies
Attention Silly AdviceWrite silly advice, Bible, scissors, paper, pencils,
Grabber discuss whose advice they trust, bowl
and read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Bible Shadowy AdviceMake Bibles, stapler, pencils, scissors,

Exploration & shadow puppets to act out the
Application story of David, Absalom, and
Ahithophel from 2 Samuel 1519;
then listen to Proverbs 25:19.
black construction paper,
newsprint, masking tape, CD
player

Combing Through Advice Bibles, concordances, newsprint,

Use various Scriptures to compare tape, marker, slips of paper,
good advice to bad advice, and pencils, paper bag, string,
learn that God and his Word scissors
always give good advice.

Closing Line of AdvicePlay a game to

practice advising others.

Welcome
As kids arrive, ask them how they applied last weeks lesson to their lives. Ask
questions such as, How did people respond to the acts from your kindness
coupons? and How did it make you feel to do those acts of kindness?
Tell kids that whenever you shake the noisemaker, they are to stop
talking, raise their hands, and focus on you. Explain that its important to
respond to this signal quickly so the class can do as many fun activities as
possible. Practice the signal two or three times.

60 Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4

 David Fights Against Absalom

n Module Review
Use the casual interaction time at the beginning of class to ask kids the following
module-review questions.
Have you done an act of kindness recently? If so, what happened? (Yes,
I helped my neighbor, and she was happy; I helped my brother, and he was so glad he
took me out with him.)
What have you thanked and praised God for? (I thanked God for my mom
and dad; I thanked God for the Bible.)
Have you been able to work out your conflicts instead of seeking
revenge? Explain. (Yes, I forgave my brother; yes, but I had to really pray for Gods
help.)
How have you been showing respect to your leaders? What qualities
have you found to respect in your leaders? (I listened to my teacher, and I
noticed that my teacher really works hard, so I paid attention in class; I obeyed my
mom right away so she didnt have to tell me again.)
How is your life different as a result of what weve learned in class this
month? (My life is good; I think things are better in my family.)

HANDS-ON BIBLE
If kids did the Kindness Caper activity in their Hands-On Bibles
last week, have them open their Bibles to 2 Samuel 9 and record their
acts of kindness in the Kindness Caper section of their Bibles.

As you teach third- and fourth-

graders, keep in mind the
following aspects of their social
development:
Attention Grabber They want to be part of a group.
They enjoy extended group
n Silly Advice projects.
SUPPLIES: Bible, scissors, paper, pencils, bowl They are able to accept limited
Before the lesson, cut three strips of paper for each student. constructive criticism.
Give each student three strips of paper and a pencil. Say: Every once in a while, They naturally avoid interaction
I get some really bad advice from someone. Share an example of bad advice with the opposite sex.
youve received in your life. You might share about a bad business decision you were
encouraged to make, a plan for childrens ministry that sounded good but turned out
bad, or a dare that a friend made when you were a kid. Then ask:
Think of some really bad advice someone gave you. What would have
happened if you had followed the advice? (I would have broken my arm; I would
have gotten in big trouble.)
Say: On one of your slips of paper, write one piece of bad advice. Dont
write about the situation or the circumstances. Just write the advice. For
example, you might write, Run away, Lie, or Stand on a table, and start
singing. Please avoid writing anything that would be inappropriate for our
class. Collect the slips of paper, and put them in the bowl.
Then say: On another slip of paper, write some really silly advice. For
example, you might write, Cluck like a chicken, or Wrap spaghetti around
your head. Collect the slips of paper, and put them in the bowl.

Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4 61

 Lesson 5
Its important to say the Bible Point
just as its written in each activity.
Repeating the Bible Point over and
over will help kids remember it and
apply it to their lives.
62 Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4
Then say: On the final slip of paper, write some good advice youve
received. For example, you might write, Pray, or Ask your parents.
Collect the slips of paper, and place them in the bowl.
Say: I want you to think of a silly question about lifesomething like, Why
are elephants gray? Whatever your question is, I have an answer for you!
Each time a volunteer asks a question, have him or her take a slip of paper from the
bowl and read it aloud to the class. Try to give each child a chance to ask a question.
Continue allowing kids to ask questions and read responses as time allows.
Say: What a silly way to get answers!
Ask: Why do the slips give such funny answers? (Because they cant hear
my question; the answers are based on chance.)
Would you use the slips of paper to get an answer for a serious
problem? Why or why not? (No, they wouldnt give me good help; yes, its fun.)
Who do you usually ask for advice when you have a problem? Why?
(I ask my parents because I know they love me and they are smart; I ask my teacher
because shes smart.)
What are some silly ways people try to get answers, help, and advice in
real life? (They ask their friends who dont really know stuff; they watch TV shows;
they call psychics.)
Say: Trying to use something like a slip of paper to get a real answer
to a question would be very foolish. But some people listen to equally silly
advice, such as horoscopes or fortune-telling balls. Thats not just foolish;
it can be dangerous. People who look to those things for advice can slowly
start to put their trust in those things rather than in God. God has given us
great tools for making decisions, and Gods advice is perfect!
Have a child read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 aloud for the class. When we need
answers, the Bible is the best place to start. God wants us to be careful
about accepting advice. Our Bible story today will show how following bad
advice leads to big problems. Lets see what happened.
Bible Exploration & Application
n Shadowy Advice
SUPPLIES: Bibles, stapler, pencils, scissors, black construction paper, newsprint,
masking tape, CD player
Before class, cut four circles, each 4 inches in diameter, from black
track 5 construction paper, and cue the CD to track 5, Shadowy Adviser.
Say: To help us act out the Bible story, lets make shadow
puppets and a shadow curtain. Before we begin, lets
practice saying the names of the Bible characters that are
hard to pronounce. Davids advisers name is Ahithophel
(a-HITH-oh-fel). Have kids practice saying the name until they are familiar with the
pronunciation. Davids sons name is Absalom (AB-sah-luhm). Have kids practice
saying the name. This story is from the book of 2 Samuel. Have the kids open
their Bibles to 2 Samuel 1519, and show kids the passage.
Have kids form two groups: the Puppeteers and the Stage Managers. Give the four
 David Fights Against Absalom

construction paper circles and some black construction paper to the Puppeteers. Have
the Puppeteers prepare puppets representing David, Ahithophel, Absalom, and the
narrator by tearing headpieces from the black construction paper and stapling them to
the paper circles. For example, David could wear a crown shape; Ahithophel, a cone
Although the characters are male,
shape; Absalom, bushy hair; and the narrator, big ears. Have the Puppeteers tape a dont hesitate to encourage girls to
pencil to the back of each puppet to use as a handle. Use the margin illustrations on play some of the parts.
the preceding page as guides. Have kids choose four students to work the puppets.
Have the Stage Managers choose one person to be the Sound Technician, who will
start and stop the CD. Then have the Stage Managers place two tall chairs a few feet
apart in front of a light source, such as a sunny window or a lamp. Have them tape a
large piece of newsprint between the two chairs to serve as a curtain.
If you have a large class, have the
When kids are ready, have the Puppeteers crouch beside the curtain, hold the puppets kids form two groups to produce
by their handles, and move them at the appropriate times behind the curtain. The Stage the shadow play. Each group
Managers should sit in front of the curtain and watch the shadow play. Ask the Sound will need puppeteers and stage
Technician to start the CD. When the puppet show is over, have kids change roles. Play managers. Only one person will
Shadowy Adviser again as kids perform the puppet show once more. be able to run the CD player, but
When the skit is finished, have kids gather in groups of four. you can have an assistant from the
other group.
Say: Choose one person in your group to be the Reporter. The others will
be Encouragers. The Encouragers will keep the flow of ideas going, and
the Reporter will share your groups answers with the class. Discuss these
questions:
Why do you think David and Absalom needed advisers? (They couldnt
know everything about the whole kingdom; they needed people to talk things over with.)
It might be helpful to write the
How did Hushais advice help David? (It gave David time to get away; it questions on note cards for each
distracted Absalom.) group.
How did it hurt Absalom? (He was defeated; he made the wrong choice.)
Why is it hard to know whose advice to follow? (Because everybody I talk to
sounds like he or she knows the right thing; no one knows what will happen.)
What can happen when you follow the wrong advice? (All sorts of trouble;
you can end up hurting yourself or others.)
Give groups a few minutes for discussion. Then shake the noisemaker, and wait for
kids to respond. Gather the kids, and have Reporters share their groups answers.
Say: Absalom trusted Hushai, but Hushai was loyal to David. He gave
Absalom advice that helped David, not Absalom.
Have a volunteer read aloud Proverbs 25:19: Putting confidence in an
unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or
walking on a lame foot.
Ask: What do you think that proverb means? (Dont trust the wrong people;
choose your friends wisely.)
What does unreliable mean? (Cant be trusted; they arent good people.)
Why do you think bad advice is like a broken tooth or a lame foot?
(It can lead you to make bad choices that can hurt you.)
Say: Absalom didnt rely on the Lord; instead, he relied on other people.
He wanted to do things his way, not Gods way, and so he was led astray by
advice from someone who wanted to help David.
Invite volunteers to tell about a time they followed bad advice. Begin the discussion
by sharing an experience of your own. Then ask:
Why do people give bad advice? (They just dont know; they want to trick us.)

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 Lesson 5

Say: God wants us to be careful about accepting

advice. Sometimes that means being careful about
who we listen to. Fortunately, God can help us know
whether we are getting good advice or bad advice.
When Jesus lived on earth, he gave lots of advice
to people. He taught them how God wanted them to
live and how to treat each other. Jesus advice is
powerful and helpful for us, too.
Ask: How can Jesus words help you when you need
advice about a problem? (Jesus teaching shows us the truth; Jesus can help
me know the right choice.)
When has Jesus helped you with a problem? (When I was in
trouble at school; when my friends wanted me to do something bad.)
Say: Lets ask Jesus right now to help us be wise when we need
advice.
Have kids pray silently about something they need advice about.

HANDS-ON BIBLE
Say: David usually made wise choices. Open your Hands-On
Bible to the David biography by Leviticus 23. Lets see how he
was able to figure out what he should do. Read the biography
about David right now.
When kids finish, ask:
Why do you think David usually made wise choices? (Because God
was more important to him than anything; because he looked to Gods Word for
direction.)
What does Davids life tell us about making wise choices? (Keep God
first, and youll be OK; loving God is the best choice of all.)
Encourage kids to complete the journaling activity described following the
David biography when they go home. Consider providing small notebooks or
journals for each child to take home.

n Combing Through Advice

SUPPLIES: Bibles, concordances, newsprint, tape, marker, slips of paper, pencils, paper
bag, string, scissors
Before class, write the following Scripture references
on a sheet of newsprint: Deuteronomy 5:6-21; Proverbs
12:5; Matthew 7:15; Matthew 7:17-20; Luke 6:31; and
Luke 10:25-28. Tape the sheet of newsprint to a wall.
Give everyone a slip of paper and a pencil, and ask kids
to write about situations theyre facing for which theyd like
some advice. Let kids know that other people will be reading what they write. Have
kids crumple their slips and put them into a paper bag, and then set the bag aside.

64 Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4

 David Fights Against Absalom

Have kids form groups of four, and distribute Bibles and more slips of paper to
each group. Have concordances available for kids to use. Say: In your groups, think
of two or three pieces of good advice from the Bible that you could use to
help make decisionsBe kind or Love one another, for example. Write
each piece of advice on a slip of paper. You can look up the Scriptures Ive
written on the newsprint or look in your Bible index or a concordance to
help you find good advice. Offer to help groups use the Bible reference tools if they
need it.
Give groups a few minutes to look up and write down good advice, and then shake
the noisemaker. After kids respond, say: Now, in your groups, think of two or
three pieces of bad advice that could lead to poor decisionsfor example, Get to know the students in
your class. When you meet your
Dont do what your parents tell you, or If its fun, it must be OK.
students for the first time, call
Give groups a few minutes to write bad advice, and then shake the noisemaker. Wait them by name. Find out about
for kids to respond, and then pass out tape, string, and scissors to each group. Have their lives away from church. Learn
kids cut pieces of string and then tape a piece of advice to each piece of string. Then and recognize their strengths.
have each group take a turn tying its strings to the giant comb. Make affirmation a regular part of
Ask one student to use the gotcha grabber to pick a situation from the paper bag. your class. Be sure to compliment
Hold up the giant comb, and have the same student close his or her eyes and use the your students when you see them
gotcha grabber to pick a piece of advice from the comb. Then ask the student to read practicing what theyve learned.
aloud the situation and then the advice he or she chose. Let the student sit down, and
then ask everyone:
Do you think this is good advice or bad advice for this situation? Why?
(Good advice, because its from the Bible; bad advice, because it didnt make sense.)
If the advice was bad, remove it from the comb. Repeat the activity and the
question, giving each student a chance to choose a situation and a piece of advice.
Then ask:
What did you learn about good advice from this activity? (The good
advice came from the Bible; the Bible really matters to our lives today.)
What did you learn about bad advice? (It really didnt make sense, and it
wouldnt help.)
Was it easy or difficult to decide if the advice was good or bad? Why?
(Easy because the good advice would help things get better; bad advice was silly.)
What kind of advice did the Bible give? (Good advice; to trust in God.)
How can you use that information in your life when you need advice?
(Its a good idea to read the Bible when you need advice; Ill pray when Im confused.)
Say: Gods Word is always good. God knew we would need a good source
of advice, and he knows whats best for us, so he gave us the Bible. God
wants us to be careful about accepting advice, and he can help us know
if someones advice is good or bad. God can also help us give good advice
to others. Lets do an activity to learn more about giving advice.

Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4 65

 Lesson 5
Youll need to join one group for
this activity if you have an uneven
number of kids.
66 Hands-On Bible CurriculumGrades 3 & 4
Closing
n Line of Advice
SUPPLIES: none
Have kids form two equal groups. Have each group form a line so that the
members of each group are facing each other. Each student should have a partner
from the other line. Have the lines spread out as much as your meeting area
allows. For an extra challenge, have the lines curve around the room, stagger,
or spread out. Say: The people in this line are going to listen to advice
first in this game. If youre a Listener, youll shut your eyes and
try to pass the noisemaker down the line. But youll need to listen
carefully to what your Adviser and partner in the other line tells
you to do. If youre an Adviser, youll need to help your partner
pass the noisemaker down this line by giving instructions such as, Take one
step to the left, and Move your right hand down and to your right. When
everyone understands the instructions, have kids in the Listeners line close their eyes.
Give the noisemaker to the first person in line.
When the noisemaker has made it all the way to the other end of the line, have
groups switch roles.
After both teams have successfully passed the noisemaker down the line, put it back
in the Learning Lab. Then have kids sit down.
Ask: How did it feel to give advice in this activity? (It was hard because I had
to explain how to grab the noisemaker; it was easy because my partner listened carefully.)
How did it feel to receive advice? (Frustrating because I couldnt see; great,
because my partner really did a good job.)
How is this activity like giving and receiving advice in real life?
(Sometimes we need help from others to do things we dont know how to do.)
How can you be sure to give good advice in real life? (By praying for Jesus
to help me know; seeing if the Bible says the same thing.)
Say: It was a little tricky both giving and getting advice in this activity.
And it can be tricky giving and getting advice in real life, too. Thats why
God wants us to be careful about accepting advice. Its good to know
that we can always read the Bible and go to God in prayer when we need
help with accepting advice.
To close, have kids find partners. Have partners tell each other one way they will
try to be good advisers in the coming week and one way they will be careful about
getting advice. Then ask partners to pray a simple prayer together such as, God, please
help us give good advice to others. Amen.
Growing closer to Jesus extends
beyond the classroom.
Photocopy the Hands-On Fun at Home handout (at
the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home
with your kids. Encourage kids and parents to use the
handout to spark meaningful discussion on this weeks
topic.
 LESSON 5

God wants us to be careful about accepting advice.

Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing

with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot
(Proverbs 25:19).

Have each person answer the following

questions:
Whats some really good advice youve gotten from your mom or dad?
__________________________________________________________ Read Proverbs 13:1.
Whats some really bad advice someone has given you? Thank a parent or grandparent for
__________________________________________________________
good advice he or she has given
How can you tell the difference between good and bad advice?
you in the past.
__________________________________________________________
Read Proverbs 21:21.
Read an advice column in the
As a family, think about baking your favorite newspaper. Do you agree with
cookies without using a recipe. Let everyone the advice given? How does it
give advice on what to put in the dough. Then make a batch using a recipe. As you measure up to what the Bible
wait for the cookies to bake, talk about how risky it is to make cookies without a teaches?
recipe. When you sample the cookies, talk about how the Bible is our recipe for
living and always gives us good advice. Read Proverbs 25:11.
Think about a time good advice
Make a silly wise-owl
mask from a paper plate. Fold really helped you. Thank the
the plate in half. Use a pencil to mark person who gave you the advice.
eyeholes and a beak. Cut out eyeholes, and
fringe the edges of the eyes. Make one cut for
the beak. Unfold the plate. Lift up the beak to make it stick out. Groaner
Curl the fringes around the eyes outward; then paint or color
Did you know about
the owl with markers. Take turns putting on the mask and
telling how to give good advice. For example, you
the wise owl who
might say, With a smile, Only when youre
stopped giving advice?
asked, or Only when you know Yeah, I heard he
a good answer to give. didnt give a hoot!

Permission to photocopy this handout from Groups Hands-On Bible Curriculum, Grades 3 & 4, granted for local church use.
Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Avenue, Loveland, CO 80538. group.com 67