YEA Lesson Library

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, the children will be able to:

1. Retell the story of how the servant found a wife for Isaac

2. Tel that God led the servant to the right girl.

3. State that God wants them to ask for His help in making hard decisions.

4. State that God's ways are always the best.

Topics & Themes

Bride
Choices
God’s Law
God’s Provision
Isaac
Prayer
Prayer, answered
Rebekah
Water

Materials Needed

Bible, YEA students' and teacher's books, attendance and memory verse chart, stars, songbook, music player and music tapes or CD, costumes, small boxes, gold colored earrings, pillowcase, table, sheet, pitcher, marker, tape

Preparation

Early childhood is a great time to begin teaching children to go to God in prayer when they need help deciding what to do. A great way to learn this is by observing the adults in their lives, both parents and teachers. Often children's prayers are self-seeking; they ask for things they think will make them happy.

Help them venture beyond this point by modeling prayers. Provide opportunities for them to make choices, and teach them to ask for help when the decisions are difficult. Emphasize that God is all wise; He always knows what is best. His answers and timing are not always what we may want.

This will be a good lesson for the children to act out. Provide robes to be used as Bible-time clothes. Put several small boxes inside a pillowcase to represent gifts, one containing some gold colored earrings. Build a tent for Abraham by covering a small table with a sheet.

How to Teach This Lesson

You will need someone to play the part of Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, the servant, and Rebekah's father. If your class is large, some of the children can play the part of the camels. You, as the teacher, can narrate and interview the characters as you retell the story.

Abraham (sitting in the "tent) was getting very old. Isaac was a grown man. It was time for him to get married and start a family. He called one of his trusted servants (Abraham calls, servant comes to Abraham).

Abraham told the servant to go on a long trip back to the land where his relatives lived. He told the servant to make him a promise. The servant had to promise to go and find a good wife for Isaac. She should be one who loved and worshiped the true God. (Show them how they promised by placing the servant's hand under the thigh of Abraham) Ask: Abraham why can't Isaac just marry one of the women who live here? (Because they don't love and worship God.)

So, the servant took ten camels and a bag full of gifts and started on his trip. (Servant leads the "camels" around the room) Finally, after several weeks, they came to a well and stopped. Ask the servant: After all your walking, how do you feel? (Hot and tired!) Ask the camels: And how do you feel?

The servant was worried about how he would find the right wife for Isaac. So he prayed to God and asked for His help. (The servant kneels and bows head.) The servant asked God to send the right woman to the well. She should offer a drink to him and his camels. (Rebekah walks up carrying a pitcher.) She saw that the servant looked hot and tired. She dipped her pitcher in the well and gave the camels a drink. She also gave the servant some water. (Rebekah pretends to dip water.)

Abraham's servant was very happy. Ask: Sir, why are you so happy? (Because God answered his prayer) He gave Rebekah a golden earring (Takes out box with an earring.) and asked her to take him to her father. (Rebekah leads the servant to her father.) When the servant asked Rebekah's father if he would let him take her back to marry Isaac, Rebekah's father said, yes. (The father says, yes.) Then her father asked Rebekah if she wanted to go, and she said, yes. (Rebekah says, yes.)

So, the servant, the camels and Rebekah made the long trip back to Abraham and Isaac. (The servant leads them back around the room.) (Isaac and Rebekah hug.)

Ask the children to think of some times when they need to pray and ask God to help them make a hard decision.

Review Questions

1. Why did Abraham send his servant on such a long trip?

2. Why didn't Abraham want Isaac to marry any of the women who live nearby?

3. Where did the servant find Rebekah?

4. How did the servant know that God had answered his prayer and Rebekah was the right woman for Isaac?

5. How is this different from the way people do things today?

6. What should you do when you have a hard decision to make?

Teacher-Directed Activity

Divide the memory verse into five parts: 1) The earnest prayer 2) of a righteous man 3) has great power 4) and wonderful results 5) James 5:16b. Write these with a marker pen on five separate sheets of paper. Mix them up and tape them to the backs of five children. Have the rest of the class put the verse in order by moving the children to the right spots. Or the verse can be taped to the front of the five children and allow them to move around to put the verse in order.

REACH Activity

1. Ask: What are five big decisions ahead of you? How can you make wise choices?

2. Big or Small? We make choices or decisions every day. Some are harder than others. Choosing between vanilla or chocolate ice cream may seem hard for a moment, but as we grow up, decisions are harder because they tell others what we believe is important in our lives. Ask: For example, should you share your toys? Should I learn my memory verse or work on my puzzle? Should I help with Sabbath preparations or go outside until sunset? Follow the servant’s example. Be a true servant and ask God to help you as you are faced with decision-making situations, big or small. God will be with you!

3. What you see is not always what you get. Wrap two boxes with brightly colored paper. Put a toy or treat in one. Put an onion in the other. Once you close the box, you can’t tell what is inside. Mix them up and have the children choose the one with the toy.

4. Map it Out: Tell kids to draw a map showing where Abraham’s servant started his journey to find a woman to be Isaac’s wife, and where he eventually found her (Rebekah). They should label both locations and determine the distance between them. The servant traveled by camel and walking. How long was the round trip? (Canaan to Aram Naharaim in NW Mesopotamia.)

5. What’s in a Name? Canaan. Ask: How is Canaan in Abraham’s day like Canaan today? How is it different? (Hint: Use a Bible commentary, dictionary, and/or Bible map book.)

6. Camel Caravan: Draw an outline of a camel on a large piece of brown paper. Let kids fill it in with camel facts. Then let them tell why they would or would not want to take a ride with a camel caravan.

7. Have children create biography cards for the following: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah. They should include information from the lessons and from Bible reading during the study of the lessons.

Note: Biography cards: Index cards for each Biblical character. Add information about that person; i.e., who their parents were, who they married, who their children were, what things they did to serve God, what their name means, etc.

8. Family Tree: Help kids trace Rebekah’s family tree. With their family, have them create their own family tree. They can frame and hang the finished tree.

9. Servanthood: Ask: What is a servant? Abraham had a servant who did what Abraham told him to do. We are to be God’s servants, too. But we serve Him by being a servant to others. Tell kids to ask someone today how they can serve them in godly love, and then discuss how they felt serving someone else.

10. Read Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” to show how our decisions take us down a certain path—it can make all the difference.

11. Copy Proverbs 3:5-6 onto an overhead film with a permanent marker. Have children draw a road with a fork in it on a piece of drawing paper. Place the film over the drawing and tape the edges. They can use this as a good reminder to ask for God’s guidance.

12. Have kids ask their parents about one of the most life-changing decisions in their life. How do they feel about it looking back?

13. Sing: “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” on page 23 of Kids Classics Collection.

14. Kids can draw a picture of the servant, Rebekah, and the camels at the well.

15. Role play: The servant finding Rebekah. Ask: How do you think he felt? 


Other Ideas:
The biography cards can be used in so many ways. They can eventually be kept in a file of Who’s Who in the Bible. Store in a plastic card file box. The cards can be separated by men and women of the Bible; people of the Old and New Testament; prophets; kings, etc. Cards can be used to record information on Bible foods, animals, and places. Cards come in different sizes and colors!

The biography cards can also be used as “note cards” for a future book about that person. Books come in all shapes and sizes, and are a very creative way for a young person to express themselves. Be sure to make an author’s page.

Cartography (making and drawing maps) is very interesting and fun for young children. Paper towel rolls will help keep the storage issue under control for small paper maps. For the study of one specific area, a floor map would be fun. Use a shower curtain instead of paper. Fold and store in a plastic zipper bag.

Dramatic play is an area children usually love. Save old shirts and belts, hats and scarves, and let them play dress up. Acting out a story makes it easier to remember as well as making a lesson more relevant to them.

Song

“God is So Good” is on page 87 of Kids Classics Collection.

Closing Prayer

Have the children stand in a circle holding hands. Ask them if they would like to pray and ask God to help them with anything specific today.