MEMORY VERSE: Genesis 24:67 "...and she became his wife; and he loved her..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review Genesis through 2 Samuel for reinforcement.
PRAYER: Pray for strong Christian families and for all to be determined to find a strong Christian to marry.
SPECIAL SONG: The Family In God's Plan and Children, Obey Your Parents (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4)
VISUAL AID: Table Figures (See Activity below for an idea; may be made larger for whole class to see.)
LESSON POINTS:
- As the years passed by, Abraham was getting very old, and Isaac was growing older, too. One day, Abraham called the most trusted servant he had and asked him to do something for him. Abraham wanted his servant to go back to Abraham's country where his family lived and choose a wife for Isaac. He did not want Isaac to marry one of the young women from the Canaanites around where they were living because they did not worship God. This was very important to Abraham and he made his servant promise in a very unusual way. Abraham's servant put his hand under Abraham's thigh and made a very serious promise or an oath.
- The servant was concerned that a young woman might not want to come back all the way to Canaan because it would be very far from her own family, so the servant asked Abraham how he should go about this task. Abraham told his servant that God would send an angel to him and he should choose a wife for Isaac, but the servant was not to take Isaac back to his old home country. Abraham said that if the woman chose not to come to Canaan that the servant would be cleared from his promise.
- So, the servant got ten camels ready and left on the trip. As he arrived in the city of Nahor, he stopped by a well of water and prayed to God that He would help him find a wife for Isaac. He prayed, "If a young woman comes to the well and I ask her to give me drink from her pitcher and she says I will give you a drink and will water your camels, too, then let that be the wife that I should get for Isaac." Sure enough, there was a young woman who came to the well and it happened just like the servant prayed! The Bible says she was very pretty and unmarried and when she came to well, Abraham's servant ran to meet her. He said, " May I drink a little from your pitcher of water?" And she said, "Of course you can!" When she had finished giving him a drink, do you know what she said? That's right! She said, "I will give your camels a drink, too!" Now, giving ten camels a drink is not a little job! She had to fill her pitcher many, many times and it was hard work, but she did it! All the time, the servant was wondering if this young woman would travel all the way to Canaan or if she would not want to go.
- When Rebekah was finished watering the camels, the servant gave her an earring and two bracelets and asked her who she was. She told him that she was the daughter of Abraham's relative and she asked him if he and the camels wanted to come back to her father's house to rest. Do you know what the servant did? He bowed his head and worshiped God because he knew that God had led him to that very spot! Rebekah ran back and told her mother and her brother, Laban, what had happened.and her brother ran back to the well when he heard his sister and saw her bracelets. Laban showed hospitality to the servant and welcomed him back to his father's house.
- The servant took care of his camels and went into the house to eat, but first he said, "I cannot eat anything until I tell you of my task. I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has blessed Abraham greatly and now he is very wealthy. Abraham has told me to chose a wife for his only son, Isaac, from his kindred (or people)." He went on to say how the angel helped him and showed him Rebekah. He asked Laban and his and Rebekah's father what to do. They talked it over and decided that it is the Lord's will and gave the servant permission for Rebekah to go if she wanted to go. The servant was very happy and gave them jewels of silver and clothing and also gave some to Rebekah.The next morning, Rebekah, her nurse or helper, and Abraham's servant took off on the camels all the way back to Canaan.
- (This is the part I like!) As they got closer to Abraham and Isaac's house, it was close to the evening time. Isaac was out in the field thinking about things and he looked up and saw the camels coming!! When Rebekah looked up, she saw Isaac and got off the camel. They saw each other for the first time! The servant told Isaac everything that had happened and then Isaac and Rebekah were married. Lets see what the Bible says in Genesis 24:67. (Read verse.) "And he loved her!" This is a love story! A beautiful love story! We will read more next week about their life together.
- Promises were kept at a high standard in Abraham's time. Whenever someone made a promise, they were to put their hand under the other person's thigh and promise in the sight of God that whatever they were promising would happen. It was called an 'oath.' When we read Gen. 24:1-3, this is what Abraham is making his servant do. In our court system today, a person raises their hand and solemnly promises that "they will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." That is an oath like it was in Abraham's day to put a hand under the thigh as a sign of a serious promise.
- Discuss how choosing a wife in Old Testament times, did not necessarily mean that a person dated, fell in love, and married like it is here in America, but something entirely different! Many times, it was the father that chose the wife for his son and, like Isaac, had never seen the young woman ever before!
- Take a look at a Bible map that shows Mesopotamia, the city of Nahor (Gen. 24:10) and Canaan. It's a very long way! Why don't they cut across "right here?" Because it is desert! They had to travel up and over the desert to reach Abraham's old home.
- May we all realize what a blessing it is to have a mate that is a Christian. Divorce was never in God's plan; man thought that up! God created one woman for one man for life!
ACTIVITY: Table Figures (moderate activity)
Materials needed: Drawn figures of Abraham, Isaac, Abraham's servant, Rebekah, Laban, Rebekah's father, ten camels, one red heart, one sheet of construction paper, extra pieces of heavy index or cardstock paper, a small paper cup, scissors, tape or glue, stapler, staples, crayons.
- Choice: Either the Bible teacher or the student draws figures of Abraham, Isaac, Abraham's servant, Rebekah, Laban, Rebekah's father, ten camels, two palm trees, and one red heart. The figures that I drew are above in black and white. Once you draw your originals, then you can copy them on a computer or at a copy center, or you may draw one set for each child.
- Next, color the four papers.
- Then, cut out figures. If cutting on the black line is too difficult for your students, simply cut a rectangle around the outside of the figure.
- Out of the extra white paper, cut in 1" x 8.5" strips. These strips will be attached to the backs of all the figures, so each student will need 18 strips.
- Fold each strip in half, and then in half again. Unfold and fold back one section, so that it will look like a triangle.
- Place a piece of tape on each 'triangle.'
- Attach one 'triangle' to the backs of the figures, so that the figure stands up on a table.
- Write "Isaac loved Rebekah." on the red heart.
- Fold a 12" x 18" construction paper in half and staple or tape along two sides.
- Write "Isaac and Rebekah (A Love Story) Genesis 24" on the front of the construction paper pocket.
- Insert all figures, the heart, the small cup (for a well--no water needed) into the pocket.
- Take home to "tell" the story to parents.
