What was Joel trying to focus on?
What did Haggai tell the Israelites to focus on?
What might distract a kid your age from focusing on God?

Focus is so hard! There are always things that catch our attention and pull us away from where we should be going.
You may not find squirrels distracting (like Joel did), but we each have something that catches our attention. As we go through the Bible story today, think of what that Bible Truth is helping us remember. It is easy to say that God is more important than anything else, but we need to live in a way that shows we truly believe it. Help your kids open their Bibles to the Book of Haggai. God was not happy that the people were not prioritizing working to rebuild the temple. Notice what He told them in the first chapter of Haggai. Read Haggai 1:2-4. In these verses God pointed out that the people had built nice homes for themselves without building the temple. God was exposing their priorities. The people did not care enough about the temple of God. Having nice homes was not the problem.

The problem was avoiding the work God had planned for them to do. God wanted them to know that their excuses were not valid; He required their obedience. God was gracious to send Haggai to instruct the people to return to working on the temple. God was also gracious to help them understand that even though the temple would not be as beautiful as the original, He would fill it with His glory. Read Haggai 2:23. When God declared that Zerubbabel would be made like a signet ring, God meant that Zerubbabel had a special connection to Him. Zerubbabel had the authority to speak and to lead God’s people. Let’s learn a lesson from the Israelites. Let’s not get distracted. Instead, let’s focus on God and follow Him obediently.

Use the bible story picture to engage your child as you tell them the story from Haggai.