Rotation.org Writing Team

ELISHA

DRAMA

PASSAGE

Bible Story: 2 Kings 2:1-15

Key/Memory Verse: “Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.’” 2 Kings 2:9b

PURPOSE

The story of Elisha receiving his teacher's mantle tells children about their role in the church and the purpose of learning God's Word. It helps them understand the choice they have to pick up and continue in God's work. See Bible Background for details.

Objectives

Children will:

Locate the story in the Old Testament portion of the Bible.

Tell the story in their own words.

Define prophet, disciple.

Discuss the relationship between Elijah and Elisha -- teacher/disciple.

Explore the meaning of Elisha's request for a double portion of Elijah's spirit.

Explore the meaning behind Elijah's passing the mantle to Elisha.

Discuss ways they learn from parents and teachers and pick up their "mantles."

Memorize 2 Kings 2:9b.

Workshop Objectives

The children will:

Use dramatic play exercises to explore the ideas of leading/following and passing the mantle.

Hear the story.

Use dramatic play to re-enact key aspects of the story.

Discuss what it means to be a disciple, benefit from other’s work/knowledge/talent, how they were like Elijah and Elisha in the activity.

Review the memory verse and enact it through dramatic play.

PREPARATION

Read Bible Background and lesson plan.

Pray for the children and your teaching.

PRESENTATION

Open – Introduction

Greet and welcome the children.

Open in prayer.

Warm Ups

SAY: To help us get ready to hear and work with our story today, we’re going to do some games that teach us something about following and leading. I need each of you to find a partner. Our first game is one called …

EMOTIONAL GREETINGS – Have the children stand back to back. Tell them that you are going to call out a feeling. When you do, they are to turn and face their partner and greet them as if they were feeling the feeling called out. You may wish to have a “practice” round, using “happy” (usually an easy one). Go through a series of feelings. A good list would be: happy, sad, mad, scared.

ASK: In that game who was the leader? Who was the follower? How do you know?

SAY: OK – in that game I was pretty much the leader because I told you what to do and you did it. Now we’re going to play a different game where you get a chance to lead and follow each other. I need you to find a different partner. This game is called …

MIRRORS – Instruct the children that they need to decide between them who will be the leader and who will be the follower for this round of the game. Tell them they can either sit or stand, but they must do so facing each other. The leader’s job is to move or make faces. The follower’s job is to do what the leader does. The job for both is to do this so that to someone looking at them, it seems like they are watching people in a mirror. In other words, it’s hard to tell who’s leading and who’s following. After a few minutes, have the children switch roles.

ASK: What was that like? Which was easier for you … to be a leader or a follower? Why? What did you have to do to be a good leader? A good follower?

SAY: A lot of times it’s really important being a good leader or follower to pay close attention, isn’t it? Sometimes it means passing on things to others and being ready to receive them. Let’s play a game to practice that part. This time I need you to make a circle that’s big enough for everyone to get in. This game is called …

PASS THE … - Tell the children that in this game they will pretend to get something from the person next to them and pass it to the person on the other side of them. You will start by pantomiming picking something up off the floor and passing it off to someone on your right. As “it” goes around the circle, verbally instruct the children to be careful in passing it, and give verbal cues to help them in their “performance.” You may wish to continue this exercise through a couple of rounds, changing “it” each time. For example, change the shape, weight, or object through your pantomime.

ASK: What was that like? Was it easy or hard? Which was easier … getting “it” or passing it? When we learn, or "get" things from others that help us know more about God and Jesus, then we are disciples. The word "disciple" means "learner" or "student." Most of the time when we are students it means that we are also following someone else, by paying attention to what they say or do and then acting out what they said or did. Elisha was Elijah's disciple. How were you all disciples so far today?

SAY: Let’s sit down in our circle now. I think we’re ready for our story! Our story is all about two men, leading and following and passing something on. Let’s hear it!

Distribute Bibles or have the children use their own. Have the children open their Bibles to the text. Depending on where this lesson falls in the rotation series, you may need to give some background about who Elijah and Elisha are. Be sure to discuss what a prophet is/does with the children. Then read, or have the children read, the passage.

When you reach verse 9, explain the inheritance customs of the time to the children. SAY: In those days, before a father died, he would pass his property on to his sons. Everyone would get an equal share, except the first born, or favorite son. That son would get twice as much as anyone else. Even though Elisha was not Elijah’s born son, he was like a son to him. Elisha was asking for a first born son’s blessing, and for Elijah to give him his most valuable possession, the quality of his spirit.

When verse 13 is reached, stop the reading for a moment to SAY: Elijah’s mantle was a special one. It was the mantle of a prophet, probably made of animal fur. When Elisha picked that mantle up, not only would people now identify him as a prophet, he was agreeing that he takes over where Elijah left off. That was a BIG job!

NOTE: Some versions use the word “cloak” instead of mantle. Clarify for the children that these words mean the same thing in this story.

Dig – Main Content

After completing the reading SAY: Now that we’ve heard our story, let’s act parts of it out! To do that, I need you to find another partner. We’re going to have three different characters and each of you will get a chance to play each one. We’re going to do this play using something called …

LINE REPETITION – The pairs will work through the story, taking turns saying/repeating single lines using variety of intonation and intensity. They will first need to decide who will be Elijah and who will be Elisha. You will be the narrator. You will begin at 2 Kings:1. When you get to the appropriate place, Elijah 1’s line is: “Stay here. The LORD has told me to go.” Elisha 2’s line is: “As surely as the LORD and you live I will not leave you!” Allow time for the children to repeat their lines a while, using different tones and affect. Elijah 1 then becomes a Prophet of Bethel, saying: “Did you know the LORD is taking your master away from you today?” Elisha 1’s line: “Of course … now be quiet!” Allow time for repetition. Elisha 1 then becomes Elijah 2, saying, ”Stay here. The LORD has told me to go.” Elisha 2’s line is still “As surely as the LORD and you live I will not leave you!” Allow some time before the narrator says, “So they went on together to Jericho.” Elijah 2 then becomes a Prophet of Bethel and says, “Did you know the LORD is taking your master away from you today?” Elisha 2 responds with “Of course … now be quiet!” the pairs then revert back to their original Elijah/Elisha roles for the last repetition.

Stop the story and ASK: What was that like? What was your favorite role? Why? What was your least favorite role? Why? Which was harder to be: the leader, Elijah or the follower, Elisha? Why?

SAY: Let’s sit down for a minute and close your eyes and see if you can see the rest of the story in your head as I read it.

Read 2 Kings:7-15.

ASK: Could you see the story in your head? Do you think you know more what it felt like to be Elijah and Elisha since you got a chance to play them?

SAY: Our memory verse is from the section I just read. Who knows what it is?

Review the memory verse, if necessary.

SAY: Let’s play one last game to help us remember it. We’re going to play PASS THE … one more time, so let’s get in a circle again. Now this time when we play, there’s something different about how we’re going to do it. This time, each time we pass “it” to our neighbor, “it” gets twice as big as when we got “it!”

Reflect – Closure

When “it” gets back to you, have the children sit down.

ASK (any or as many of the following as time and interest allows): What did you learn today about leading and following and being a disciple? Who are some leaders in your life? When are you a leader? Who do you follow? Does anyone follow Jesus? How? What do you do? Do you think you can be a leader in Jesus’ church? Why/why not? Who teaches you? Who do you teach? Did you learn anything from anyone here today?

SAY: The story of Elijah and Elisha teaches us a lot about leading and following and the importance of passing on what we know about God to others.

Close in prayer

SOURCE

Activity ideas from Emunah, Renee. Acting for Real. Brunner-Routledge, 1994.

CONTRIBUTOR: Ruth Wilcox

We have used this lesson and here are our notes about what we modified in this lesson.

For the enacting portion of this lesson the following was used (which is just the above material in a different format, with a little bit of wording added in.):

Narrator: When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha…
Elijah now says: Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.
Elisha says: As surely as the LORD and you live, I will not leave you!

Allow time for the children to repeat the lines using different tones and affect.

Narrator: So they went down to Bethel.
Say: Now Elijah will become a Prophet of Bethel and say…
Prophet of Bethel: Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?
Elisha: Yes, I know, but do not speak of it.

Allow time for repetition.

Say: Elisha will now play the role of Elijah and the prophet of Bethel will be Elisha. The new Elijah says…
Elijah: Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.
Elisha: As surely as the LORD and you live I will not leave you!

Allow time for repetition.

Narrator: So they went on together to Jericho.
Say: Now Elijah will become a Prophet of Jericho and say…
Prophet of Jericho: Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?
Elisha: Yes, I know, but do not speak of it.

Allow time for repetition.

Say: Now revert back to your original Elijah/Elisha roles for the last repetition.
Narrator: Then Elijah said to him…
Elijah: Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan. 

Elisha: As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.

Allow time for repetition. Have everyone sit down.

Ask: What was your favorite role? Why?
Which was harder to be, the leader, Elijah or the follower, Elisha? Why?
Why do you suppose the prophets kept reminding Elisha that Elijah would be taken from him? (allow all answers)
Say: Elisha sure was devoted to Elijah; he didn’t want to leave him.
Now close your eyes and see if you can see the rest of the story in your head as I read it. We will hear the part about something being passed on.

Then the rest of the lesson was used.
--Carol