Free Bible lesson for kids · Faithful in a Far Land
Nehemiah Builds the Wall
Nehemiah served the king of Persia, and he was sad because Jerusalem lay waste, its walls broken down and its gates burned with fire. He prayed to the God of heaven, the king sent him to build, and after he viewed the walls by night the people said, “Let us rise up and build.” When enemies mocked and threatened, they prayed, set a watch and worked with a sword by their side, and the wall was finished in fifty and two days.
- Bible passage
- Nehemiah 2:1–20 · 4:6–23 · 6:15–16
- Big idea
- When God’s people pray and work together, God helps them finish His work.
- Memory verse
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6 (KJV)- Ages
- Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- Included, free
- Animated story film, coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game
The story
Nehemiah served wine to King Artaxerxes. The king asked why his face was sad, and Nehemiah said that Jerusalem lay waste and its gates were burned (Nehemiah 2:1–3). When the king asked what he wanted, Nehemiah first “prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 2:4). The king sent him to build, and after Nehemiah viewed the broken walls by night, the people said, “Let us rise up and build” (Nehemiah 2:5, 15–18).
Enemies laughed at them, but Nehemiah said, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us” (Nehemiah 2:19–20). The people kept building, “for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6). When enemies planned to attack, the people prayed, set a watch, and built with swords by their sides (Nehemiah 4:8–9, 18). The wall was finished in fifty-two days, and even the enemies saw “that this work was wrought of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15–16).
Read it in the Bible: Nehemiah 2:1–20 (KJV)
1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 3And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. 6And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 8And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. 9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. 11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. 16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. 17Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. 19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
Questions to ask
Why was Nehemiah sad before the king?
Because Jerusalem lay waste and its gates were consumed with fire (Nehemiah 2:3).
What did Nehemiah do before he answered the king?
He prayed to the God of heaven (Nehemiah 2:4).
How long did it take to finish the wall?
Fifty and two days (Nehemiah 6:15).
What this story teaches
- We should pray to God before we act (Nehemiah 2:4).
- God helps His people when they do His work (Nehemiah 2:8, 20).
- Working together makes God’s work go forward (Nehemiah 4:6).
- When others threaten us, we can pray and keep working (Nehemiah 4:9, 15).
- Our God fights for His people, so we need not fear (Nehemiah 4:14, 20).
Jesus Builds His Church
Nehemiah led God’s people to build Jerusalem’s wall. Jesus said, “I will build my church,” and nothing can stop His work.
Matthew 16:18
A 45-minute lesson plan
| 5 min | Welcome and pray. Greet each child by name and pray: Ask God to help us pray first, and then work hard together for Him. |
|---|---|
| 10 min | The story. Play the story film: each verse appears on screen in the King James Version while the scene plays. Pause to ask what happens next. |
| 10 min | Talk about it. Ask the three questions below. Then ask: “When God’s people pray and work together, God helps them finish His work.” What does that mean for us? |
| 5 min | Memory verse. Say Nehemiah 4:6 together, covering one word at a time until the children can say it alone. |
| 10 min | Activity. Younger children color the coloring page while you retell the story; older children do the class sheet (memory-verse fill-in, word search and questions). |
| 5 min | Pray and send home. Pray together and send the sheet home so families can talk about the first question this week. |
- Preschool: keep it short and physical. Act out the story, use a simple prop, and repeat the big idea in one sentence.
- Elementary: let children find the passage in their own Bibles. Ask “who, what, where” questions first, then “why.”
- Preteens: read the verses before and after the passage, and ask how this story fits the whole story of the Bible.
Game time
For kids · game · indoors · about 12 minutes
Build by Your House
You need: Boxes or blocks, a line taped on the floor
- Each team builds its own section of the wall along the line, like each family built the part by its house.
- When every section is done, connect them into one long wall.
- Everyone shouts, “The people had a mind to work!”
Everyone worked together, and with God’s help the wall was finished in just fifty-two days.
For youth group · activity · outdoors · about 120 minutes
Build Day
You need: A building project with a ministry like Habitat for Humanity, or repairs around the church
- Spend a morning building or repairing something real.
- Work in teams, with adult leaders.
- Talk afterward: Nehemiah prayed and worked. How do prayer and work go together?
Nehemiah prayed and then said, “Let us rise up and build.” God does great things through people who pray and work.
Pray
Ask God to help us pray first, and then work hard together for Him.