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Old Testament Lesson 16: Genesis 25-27

To Prepare: Read Genesis 25 and Genesis 27; print a copy of the activity below for each child participating.

To Teach: Begin with a prayer. Isaac and his wife Rebekah wanted to have children, but she was barren. (That means she could not get pregnant.) Isaac prayed to the Lord, they were blessed, and Rebekah became pregnant. While she was pregnant, she felt ‘a struggle within her womb’ (fighting in her stomach) and prayed to know what was going on. Read Genesis 25:23 to see what she was told. Highlight “two nations” and “the elder shall serve the younger.”

Read Genesis 25:24-28. Point out that Jacob and Esau were fraternal twins, with different appearances, personalities, and skills. See what it says about why Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob.

Explain what a birthright is, and that traditionally it belongs to the oldest son. Read and explain Genesis 25:30-34. Pottage is kind of like soup. If Esau was really going to die from hunger, do you think his brother would have given him food without a price? Explain that Esau’s birthright included all the blessings of the covenant that Abraham made, to be a great nation with many descendants, to have a special relationship with God. Ask the children if they think selling that for some soup was a good idea. He must not have thought it was very important! Esau betrayed his birthright in other ways, like marrying Hittite women (women who did not have the Gospel covenants). He was not willing to do the hard work to find someone he could have an eternal marriage with.

When Isaac was old, he prepared to give Esau the birthright blessing, but Rebekah had a plan to help Isaac get it. Isaac was worried that tricking his father for the blessing was a sin, but Rebekah had received revelation and she knew that the blessing should go to Isaac. Read or summarize Genesis 27:5-17 to explain Rebekah’s plan.

Read or summarize Genesis 27:18-29. Did Rebekah’s plan work?

When Esau came back from hunting, Isaac told him he had already given his blessing away, and had been tricked by Jacob. Esau was very upset and wanted his father to give him another blessing. (Genesis 27:38) He was so angry that he made plans to kill Jacob. Rebekah warned Jacob of these plans, and told him to go hide with her family until she called him back.

Finish up with the activity sheet. You did it again!

(Go to Lesson 17)

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Old Testament Lesson 15: Genesis 23-24

To Prepare: Read Genesis 24; print a copy of the activity below for each child participating. Choose between a coloring page and a word search!

To Teach: Begin with a prayer. Say that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, died. Read or summarize Genesis 24:1-4. Abraham was old, and he wanted to help Isaac find a righteous wife before he died. He spoke to his most trusted servant, and made him promise he wouldn’t let Isaac marry one of the women from the land where they lived. This is because were not righteous, covenant women who had the Gospel. Abraham wanted to make sure that Isaac could have an eternal marriage with a righteous woman, so he sent his servant to the land where his family lived to find someone.

The journey the servant would have to take was 1200 miles (about 1900 km) each way. You might choose a place about that distance from you to help children understand how far that is. Ask why finding a righteous spouse was worth going to so much trouble.

Read or summarize Genesis 24:10-14. The servant did not know how to find a good wife for Isaac, and so he came up with a plan and brought it to the Lord. He would wait by the well and ask the women that came down for a drink of water. If a woman agreed to give him a drink and then also volunteered to get water for his camels without being asked, he would know he had found the right woman.

Read or summarize Genesis 24:15-20. Almost before the servant was done praying, a woman came out to get water from the well. The servant asked for a drink, and she gave him a drink, then said she would get enough water for all ten of his camels to drink as much as they wanted. You might talk about how much work was involved in drawing water from a well with a pitcher, and how much water a thirsty camel can drink (a bathtub full each!) What kind of person would do that much work without being asked?

That woman was named Rebekah, and she and her family were relatives of Abraham. Rebekah made the long journey with the servant back to Abraham’s tent, and she and Isaac were married. (Read Genesis 24:67.)

Finish up with the activity sheet. That’s it!

(Go to Lesson 16)

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Old Testament Lesson 14: Genesis 22

To Prepare: Read Genesis 22; print a copy of the activity below for each child participating.

To Teach: Begin with a prayer. Read Genesis 21:2-3 and explain that, just as he was promised, Abraham and Sarah had a son whom they named Isaac. Ask children how they think Abraham felt to finally have a son after so many years. Ask how they think he felt about Isaac.

Read and explain Genesis 22:1-13. Stop at various points and ask children how they would feel if they were Isaac. Remind children that Abraham’s father tried to sacrifice him when he was younger. Ask how they think he felt being asked to sacrifice his son, that he loved. Ask how you think Abraham and Isaac felt when the angel stopped the sacrifice of Isaac and they sacrificed a ram instead.

Explain that the sacrifice of Isaac is like the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (You can refer to the worksheet for some ideas of similarities.) It is also worth pointing out that Isaac was going to have to be sacrificed, but a ram was sacrificed instead. This is like us: we would have to pay the price for our own sins, but instead Jesus Christ paid it for us.

Help children use the worksheet to draw parallels between Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and Heavenly Father’s sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You’re done!

(Go to Lesson 15)

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