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2 Samuel 17 · Preschool

God Is in Charge

Name Date

Color the well and the tree! God kept David safe.

Can you find these in the picture? Circle each one!

Bible Verse

“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.”

2 Samuel 17:14 (WEB)

Prayer

Thank You, God, for making me!

Take It Home

Read the verse aloud. Say: Bad plans were made against David, but God was in charge. God takes care of His people.

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Kindergarten

God Cares for Us

Name Date

Trace the Words

Trace each word with your pencil.

SAFE
WELL
FOOD
GOD
Then David came to Mahanaim. Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

2 Samuel 17:24 (WEB)

Match the Pictures

Draw a line from each word to its picture.

WELL
BREAD
SHEEP
RIVER

Mini Maze

Help find the way through the maze.

Draw It

Draw people sharing food.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • What do you do to help someone who is tired?
  • Where is a good place to hide in a game?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Grade 1

God Keeps David Safe

Name Date

Trace the Words

Trace the words and the verse.

ADVICE
WELL
JORDAN
FOOD
Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let’s hear likewise what he says.”

2 Samuel 17:5 (WEB)

Match the Pictures

Draw a line from each sentence to its picture.

Hushai gave Absalom advice.
Two men hid in a well.
David crossed the Jordan.
Friends brought food.
They brought cheese and sheep.

Help in the Wilderness

Write the number 1 to 4 in each circle to show the right order.

a man in Bahurim, who had a well

David arose, and all the people who were with him

for David and for the people who were with him to eat

Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel

Draw people sharing food.

Memory Verse

Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let’s hear likewise what he says.”

2 Samuel 17:5 (WEB)

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Why did Absalom choose Hushai's plan?
  • How did the two young men stay hidden?
  • What would you like to say to God about this chapter?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Grade 2

Hiding in a Well

Name Date

Read the Story

Ahithophel told Absalom, Let me chase David tonight. Then Absalom asked Hushai. Hushai was David's friend. He gave a different plan. Absalom liked Hushai's plan better. God was in charge.

Two young men ran to warn David. Someone saw them. They hid in a well. A woman put a cover over it. She spread grain on top. No one found them.

They told David, Cross the river now! David and his people crossed the Jordan. Then friends brought beds, bowls, wheat, beans, honey, and cheese. The people were hungry and tired, and their friends fed them.

Memory Verse

“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.”

2 Samuel 17:14 (WEB)

Show What You Know

Circle the right answer, or write it on the lines.

  1. Whose plan did Absalom like better?

    GrainHushai's planThe Jordan

  2. Where did the two young men hide?

    Hushai's planIn a wellThe Jordan

  3. What did the woman spread on the cover?

    Hushai's planIn a wellGrain

  4. What river did David cross?

    Hushai's planGrainThe Jordan

  5. What did friends bring?

Word Search

Find and circle each word. Words go across and down.

FHLEMNSVABHUOMTHCYUOTNGEEOPTNHGGAEURTEIWJRPNWEYRAEJYSERRSBPAJELEATEFPRLLIUYJBMEYP
  • COUNSEL
  • THIRSTY
  • HUNGRY
  • BUTTER
  • WEARY
  • HONEY
  • SHEEP
  • WELL

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • How can you help someone who is hiding or afraid?
  • How can you bring food or help to someone who is tired?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Grade 3

Hushai's Counsel

Name Date

Read the Story

Ahithophel told Absalom his plan. He would take twelve thousand men. They would chase David that night while he was tired. Absalom and the elders liked this plan. But Absalom also called Hushai.

Hushai said this plan was not good. He said David and his men were mighty. They were angry like a bear robbed of her cubs. He said to gather all Israel first. Absalom and his men said Hushai's plan was better. The Bible says the Lord had planned to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel.

Hushai sent word by two young men, Jonathan and Ahimaaz. They hid in a well. A woman covered it with grain. Then they warned David. By morning, all had crossed the Jordan. At Mahanaim, three men brought food. The people were hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.

Memory Verse

“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.”

2 Samuel 17:14 (WEB)

Answer the Questions

  1. How many men did Ahithophel want?

  2. What did Hushai compare David and his men to?

  3. Why did Absalom choose Hushai's plan?

  4. Who carried the warning to David?

  5. Why did the three men bring food?

Help in the Wilderness

Write what happened in each box.

1
2
3
4

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • What does it mean that God was in charge of the plans?
  • How can you stop and think before you rush into a plan?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Grade 4

The Lord Was at Work

Name Date

Read and Think

Ahithophel's plan was simple and dangerous. He wanted twelve thousand men to strike David that very night while he was weary, so that the people would scatter. Absalom and the elders of Israel were pleased.

Absalom wanted to hear Hushai too. Hushai said that this time Ahithophel's counsel was not good. He described David's men as mighty, chafed in their minds like a bear robbed of her cubs. He suggested gathering all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, with Absalom leading them himself. The men chose Hushai's plan. The writer explains why: Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel. God was answering David's prayer from chapter 15.

Jonathan and Ahimaaz carried the warning. When a boy saw them, they hid in a well, and a woman spread a covering and grain over it. David crossed the Jordan by night. At Mahanaim, three men, Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai, brought beds, basins, wheat, barley, beans, lentils, honey, butter, sheep, and cheese for the hungry people.

Show What You Know

  1. Why was Ahithophel's plan dangerous?

  2. How did Hushai describe David's men?

  3. Which prayer was God answering?

  4. Where did three men bring food for David's people?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

wellwearycounsel
  1. He wanted twelve thousand men to strike David that very night while he was , so that the people would scatter.
  2. The writer explains why: Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good of Ahithophel.
  3. When a boy saw them, they hid in a , and a woman spread a covering and grain over it.

Think About It

  1. God answered David's prayer through Hushai's advice. How have you seen God work through ordinary people?

  2. Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai cared for weary people. Who around you needs that kind of practical help?

Memory Verse

“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.”

2 Samuel 17:14 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • How can you be brave to help someone in danger?
  • Why can even wise human plans fail when God has other purposes?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.

2 Samuel 17 · Grade 5

Ordained to Defeat Good Counsel

Name Date

Read and Think

Chapter 17 is a contest of advisers. Ahithophel, whose counsel was respected like the word of God, urged a swift strike: twelve thousand men pursuing David that very night while he was weary and weak-handed. Kill only the king, he said, and all the people would return in peace. It was shrewd, and it pleased Absalom and all the elders.

Yet Absalom called Hushai, David's secret friend. Hushai argued that David was an experienced man of war who would not lodge with the people, and that his men were as fierce as a bear robbed of her cubs. Any early setback would spread panic. Instead, Absalom should gather all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and lead them in person. The plan flattered Absalom and gave David time. The text states the deeper reason it won: Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to bring evil on Absalom.

Hushai passed word through Zadok and Abiathar to their sons Jonathan and Ahimaaz, who escaped capture by hiding in a well at Bahurim under a woman's covering of crushed grain. David crossed the Jordan before dawn. Ahithophel, seeing his counsel rejected, went home, set his house in order, and died. At Mahanaim, generous friends, including Barzillai the Gileadite, supplied David's people, saying the people were hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.

Show What You Know

  1. What did Ahithophel urge?

  2. How did Hushai describe David?

  3. Why did Hushai's plan really win?

  4. How did Jonathan and Ahimaaz escape capture?

  5. What did the generous friends say about the people?

Crossword

41352

Across

  1. The ____ of Hushai the Archite is better
  2. The people are hungry, ____, and thirsty.

Down

  1. David's friend who gave advice
  2. a man in Bahurim, who had a ____ in his court
  3. ____, butter, sheep, and cheese

Think About It

  1. Even good counsel failed because God had other plans. How does God's rule over human plans give you comfort?

  2. The friends at Mahanaim gave generously when David had nothing to offer. What does generous help to people in need look like today?

Memory Verse

“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.”

2 Samuel 17:14 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for sending people to help me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • What can we learn from the generosity of Barzillai and his friends?
  • How did a woman's courage help save David?
  • What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.