October 6, 2013
GOD ANSWERS PRAYER A Bride for Isaac Genesis 23:1-2, Genesis 24 A Beka Pictures: 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5
BIBLE STORY SUMMARY: After a long life of learning about God’s desire for his life, Abraham had also learned about the importance of listening for the Lord’s voice, and he had even modeled this lifestyle before his servants to the point that Abraham’s servants also obeyed the Lord and listened for His instruction in their lives. Abraham continued to show his faithfulness to God, and in this lesson, we see Abraham’s spiritual maturity by his desire for his son Isaac to have a wife who believed in his God. Even when Abraham and his family was surrounded by those who did not believe in, follow or honor God, he preserved in helping Isaac marry a woman after God’s own heart. God rewarded his faithfulness by showing his servant the right bride. The servant played a very important part in this process as he too desired to obey both Abraham and the Lord, and he took his needs to the Lord for wisdom and direction. He showed his faithfulness to God, not only by praying and asking for His help, and but also by worshiping Him when he saw the Lord working out a wonderful solution. Rebekah also showed her belief in and obedience to the Lord by her quick decision to go with the servant; she did not need a lot of time to agree to a huge decision because she had already been seeking the Lord’s wisdom in such a matter.
LESSON FOCUS: God blesses us and rewards us with good things when we love Him and depend on Him. We show God we love Him and trust Him by praying and asking what we should do. When we pray, God has promised to hear us and give us wisdom.
WHAT I LEARN ABOUT GOD: God rewards faithfulness and dependence on Him. God is faithful to answer our prayers and He will direct us when we depend fully on Him.
RESPONSE: Will you depend on God and decide to do things His way and not your own way? Will you pray each day for God’s direction and help to do things His way?
BIBLE MEMORY VERSE: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
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Personal Preparation FULLY DEPENDING ON GOD Genesis 23:1,2; Genesis 24
H
ow can we know if we are maturing as a Christian? Perhaps the answer can best be found in Abraham’s story. Here was a man who “By faith . . . when called to go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Obviously a man of great faith, he took direction from God and obeyed. However, we see that even Abraham had a lot to learn over his life span. This man, who so easily trusted God, was tested over and over to prove and develop his faith. He sometimes failed the tests, as in Egypt when he called his wife his sister for his own protection (Genesis 12:19), and when he took upon himself responsibility for producing an heir (Genesis 16:1-4). Even in failure, Abraham learned valuable lessons, and by the time God asks him to sacrifice Isaac, he is ready for that ultimate test.
maturing believer. “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). This process of growth is God’s plan for us, and we should not become discouraged if we do not always pass the testing with flying colors. Just like in Abraham, God can teach us both through the failures and successes, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
How can we show God that we are ready for such testing, for such working out of our faith? We need to follow the example of those who have lived by faith, laid out in Hebrews 11:13-16: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People When we see him about 30 years later, he faces who say such things show that they are looking for a another dilemma. There is no one who trusts God country of their own. If they had been thinking of the who would make a suitable mate country they had left, they Have we “moved in” to the for his son Isaac. Abraham would have had opportunity to knows the importance of finding return. Instead, they were society around us, a believing mate, but instead of longing for a better country—a or are we focused on God? manipulating the situation or heavenly one. Therefore God is sending Isaac back to his people, not ashamed to be called their he shows his full dependence on God in performing God, for He has prepared a city for them.” the task. Abraham has such confidence in God that he Where is our focus? Are we caught up in the tells his servant, “He will send His angel before you so “here and now,” focused on our current trials and that you can get a wife for my son from there” difficulties, our daily work, our issues, or are we (Genesis 24:7). He is so confident that not only is focused on the “promised land” that God has for us? It there no back-up plan, but he rules out the one is not about achieving the “promised land” in this life; possible alternate plan: “If the woman is unwilling to indeed, Abraham “lived in tents” and was like a come back with you, then you will be released from “stranger in a foreign country” as he waited for the this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back promise. there” (Genesis 24:8). Abraham had come to a place where his full trust was in God and His plan. He no longer needed to have plans of his own in case trusting in God did not work out. He had come to fully know the God who makes it possible to have a promised child in Sarah’s old age. He was resting in God’s plan and provision and was no longer working on his own to make things happen. He was now content to slam the door shut on any working out of God’s plan that would stray from what he knew was God’s will—by making sure that Isaac would stay in the land that God had promised him. This testing by God, development of faith, and learning a deeper trust in God is the sure sign of a 52
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Have we “moved in” to the society and the culture around us, or are we focused on God, His values, His priorities? Are we willing to live like “strangers and aliens” in the culture around us in order to demonstrate that we are not a part of the society around us? We clearly see the different choices of Lot and Abraham. One chose to be separate and honor God; the other chose to move into the society of the day. Lot’s daughters were pledged to be married to the wicked men of Sodom (Genesis 19:14), but Abraham was willing to go to great lengths to find a pure wife who would honor God with Isaac. Abraham did not see himself as part of the society around him. Instead, ABRAHAM #5
he knew that he was called by God to be separate and to honor God. He so wanted to bring glory to God in his life that he refused gifts from those who lived around him (Genesis 23:11-16), even refusing his part of the bounty after a war party had earned it (Genesis 14:21-24), because he wanted everyone to know that it was God who had made him wealthy, and not the people around him.
praying about things when we are unwilling to trust God for the answer, and when we are unwilling to live in accordance with His will and direction.
It was in this setting of completely trusting God that Abraham’s servant prayed for God’s direction. If we are not trusting God and depending on Him for the outcome, there is little point in praying. Prayer helps us realize our dependence on God, for we pray that His will is accomplished. When God knows that we trust Him, He is free to work through our prayers. We can waste a lot of time
Are you willing to trust God, no matter what? Are you willing to live for Him as a stranger to the culture around you, looking for a place that is better? Is your heart focused on Him, your greatest love and affection reserved for Him? Will you pray now and give your heart and your life to Him, telling Him that you want above all else to please Him?
God orchestrated the events of that day to bring about a marvelous “coincidence” in the meeting between the servant and Rebekah at the well. However, this answer to prayer on the part of the servant also depended on Rebekah’s obedience to God. In this day of compromised morals and “what’s Laban and Bethuel show that they are like-minded in it for me?” mentality, Abraham stands out like a with God’s will when they respond to the servant’s beacon of light, guiding us to live holy, God-honoring message by saying “this is from the Lord; we can say lives. Are you willing to pray now, asking God how nothing one way or the other” (Genesis 24:50). you can be pleasing to Him? What Finally, Rebekah says, “I will go” Rebekah had decided in (Genesis 24:58), even though she has habits do you have that He would like to see you change? Do you almost no time to think about the advance to obey God. honor Him in your entertainment request to leave her family behind choices? Do you stand out as and to go to another country to different from the culture around you, or do you make marry a man she does not know. She did not have to similar choices? Are these choices honoring God? think about it. When God spoke to her she had already decided in advance to obey Him. Sometimes we make choices that don’t honor God because we do not understand how God really This, then, is the path for the growing feels about our choices. Abraham stayed close to God; Christian: A decision from the heart to trust God and he understood what God’s will was. We can keep obey Him, no matter what He requests, no matter close to God’s will and desires by reading His Word where or what He has for us. It is a decision that leads and spending time with Him in prayer. If we don’t us to a productive prayer life and a life of dependence keep close to Him, we will drift away to the world’s on God, focused on Him and the life He has for us values and ways of thinking. someday with Him.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share But His smile quickly drives it away; Not a grief nor a loss, not a frown nor a cross But is blessed if we trust and obey. But we never can prove the delights of His love Until all on the altar we lay; For the favor He shows, and the joy He bestows Are for them who will trust and obey. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet, Or we’ll walk by His side in the way; What He says we will do, where He sends we will go— Never fear, only trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. ABRAHAM #5
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Scripture
John H. Sammis, 1887
GENESIS 23:1-2 1
Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land
of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
GENESIS 24 1
Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
2
He said to the
chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh.
3
I want you
to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac." 5
The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take
your son back to the country you came from?" 6
"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said.
7
"The LORD, the God of heaven, who
brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'--he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
8
If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of
mine. Only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter. 10
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his
master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.
11
He had the camels kneel down
near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. 12
Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master
Abraham. water.
14
13
See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw
May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink,
and I'll water your camels too'--let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." 15
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of
Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
16
The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no
man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. 17
The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."
18
"Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19
After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished
drinking." 54
20
So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew
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enough for all his camels.
21
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the
LORD had made his journey successful. 22
When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold
bracelets weighing ten shekels.
23
Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your
father's house for us to spend the night?" 24
She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor."
25
And she added, "We
have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night." 26
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
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saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master
Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives." 28
The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.
and he hurried out to the man at the spring.
30
29
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,
As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his
sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.
31
"Come, you who are blessed by the LORD," he said. "Why are you
standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." 32
So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels,
and water for him and his men to wash their feet.
33
Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until
I have told you what I have to say." "Then tell us," [Laban] said. 34
So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.
35
The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become
wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37
And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the
Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.' 39
"Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
40
"He replied, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a
success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family.
41
Then, when you
go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you--you will be released from my oath.' 42
"When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success
to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar,"
44
and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw
water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.' 45
"Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the
spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' 46
"She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and
she watered the camels also. 47
"I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' ABRAHAM #5
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"She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,
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and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I
praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.
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Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if
not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn." 50
Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.
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Here is
Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed." 52
When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
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Then the
servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.
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Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the
night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master." 55
But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go."
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But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my
way so I may go to my master." 57
Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it."
58
So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go
with this man?" "I will go," she said. 59
So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men.
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And
they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies." 61
Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant
took Rebekah and left. 62
Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.
to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.
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63
He went out to the field one evening
Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got
down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. 66
Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.
67
Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married
Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. N EW I NTERNATIONAL V ERSION
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Introduction Have you ever been given a very hard job to do? How did you feel about doing the job? Think carefully—did you ask God for His help in knowing how to do the job? If not, why not? Do you think He would have showed you the best way to handle it? In our story we will hear about a man who was given a very hard job. See if you can learn what he did to be sure that he was able to do the job right.
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Story
When Isaac was thirty-seven years old, his mother, Sarah, died. It was a very sad time for Abraham and Isaac. They both felt lonely without Sarah. Abraham was also a very old man now. He was concerned about Isaac. He wanted Isaac to have a wife who loved God, but all the people who lived around Abraham worshiped idols. Abraham said to his most trusted servant, “I want you to get a wife for my son, Isaac. Go to my country and to my relatives and get a wife for Isaac. Promise me that you will do this.” “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I take Isaac back to the country you came from?” Abraham’s servant asked. “Oh, no! Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham told him. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me to this land, promised me that He would give this land to my son and grandchildren. The Lord will send His angel before you so that you can get a wife for Isaac. But if she is unwilling to come, then you are released from your promise. But, Isaac must stay here.” So Abraham’s servant promised that he would make the journey to find a wife for Isaac. The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and many gifts to give to the woman and her family. He also had to take food for himself on the journey. This would be a very long trip across the desert and it would take many weeks. While the servant made his way across the desert, he had a lot of time to think about how he would find just the right wife for Isaac. This was a very hard assignment from his master, Abraham. He could not do this alone. How could he know who would be a good wife for Isaac! So, the servant began to pray. Abraham had taught him about God and had taught him to pray. The servant had many days to pray about this as he traveled. When he came near the town of Nahor, the place where Abraham told him to go, he prayed again. “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the women of the city are coming to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar and give me a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, ABRAHAM #5
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and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one You have chosen for Isaac. In this way I will know that she is the one.” The servant knew that God had already chosen a wife for Isaac. Now he asked God to show him who she was. God was listening every time the servant prayed. God also heard Abraham pray for a wife for Isaac. As the servant stood by the spring that day and prayed again, God sent His answer before he finished praying! The Bible says that before he had finished praying, Rebekah came to the spring with a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Abraham’s brother’s son. She was a beautiful girl, and she had come to the well to fill her jar with water. The servant hurried to meet her and asked, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Here, drink, sir,” she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have finished drinking.” She quickly emptied her jar into the trough for the thirsty animals. She ran back to the well to draw more water and had to make many trips back and forth for enough water for ten thirsty camels! The servant didn’t say a word, but watched carefully as she worked. He wanted to be sure she was the one the Lord had provided for Isaac. He would know this if she really did draw enough water for the animals to be completely watered. After a while the camels stopped drinking. They were completely satisfied and didn’t need any more. Rebekah had been diligent to water them completely! The servant went to his bags and reached in for the gifts he had brought. He took out a gold ring and two gold bracelets. Then he walked over to Rebekah and thanked her for taking care of his animals. Whose daughter are you? Is there room for me to spend the night at your father’s house?” “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor; and we have plenty of straw and fodder for the animals as well as room for you to spend the night.” “The Lord has made my journey successful!” he thought. Right then, the servant bowed down to worship and thank God. “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham. You are kind and faithful, and you have led me on this journey to the home of Abraham’s relatives.” The servant prayed and God answered. The servant spent the night with Rebekah’s family. He told them why he had come, and he gave many gifts to each of them. He told them about his prayer and God’s answer. He told them how Rebekah met him and watered his camels. He asked her father and mother to let her come to Canaan to marry Isaac. They knew Abraham and were glad for Rebekah to go, who was also very happy to go. Rebekah left the very next morning to make the long journey to meet Isaac. After they had journeyed many days, Rebekah saw a man out in the field. He was coming to meet them. “Who is he?” she asked the servant. “He is my master, Isaac,” he told her. Rebekah got down from the camel and went out to meet Isaac. The servant told Abraham and Isaac all that had happened. How happy Isaac was to know that Rebekah was the woman God had prepared for him. He loved her very much, and they were married. 58
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Illustrate The Point
A CAMEL PUZZLE To help the children understand the significance of the effort Rebekah put forth when she watered the servant's camels, learn some interesting facts about camels before the lesson. Find a picture of a camel and glue it to poster board or card stock. Cut it into a puzzle. On the back of each piece of the puzzle, write an interesting fact about camels (see below). Distribute the puzzle pieces to your students, have them read each of the facts aloud, and see if anyone can guess what animal is being described. Then put the puzzle together to find out (or confirm) the answer. You will want to make sure one of the facts is about the amount of water a camel can consume. Some facts might include: •
I can go a long time without water. When I drink, I can drink up to 30 gallons of water in 10 minutes (it would be good to have a gallon jug available so you can emphasize how much this is).
•
I have very long eyelashes and bushy eyebrows to protect my eyes from the sun.
•
My feet are broad and have two toes and cushions to keep me from sinking in sand.
•
I live in the deserts of Asia, Africa, and Australia.
•
I have a very thick, hairy coat to protect me from blowing sand.
•
My nostrils can close up tight to keep blowing sand out.
•
It takes me 17 years to become full grown. Then I can be almost 7 feet tall and weigh nearly 1,500 pounds.
•
My nickname is “The Ship of the Desert” because I can carry up to 1,000 pounds on my back. Materials Needed: Picture of a camel (to glue onto poster board or cardstock) Poster Board Gallon Jug
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Lesson Application God Wants to Hear Our Prayers The servant knew that he would choose the wrong girl without God’s help. So he asked God to show him exactly who should be Isaac’s wife. Sometimes we also have very hard jobs to do and very hard decisions to make. We must be quick to recognize that we need God’s help. Abraham’s servant knew that he needed God’s help, and he prayed that God would show him what to do. We must also ask God to show us what to do. God wants us to ask Him for help and He promises to give us that help. Abraham’s servant was quick to understand that God had showed him the right girl and prepared her to go to Canaan to marry Isaac. He was also quick to select the type of prayer called praise and thank God for His answer. And we, too, must praise through prayer and thank God for answers to our prayer requests. Do you spend as much time praising and thanking God for His answer as you did in praying about the problem?
Prayer: First Aid vs. Last Resort God tells us in the Bible, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). This is God’s promise to us that if we call out to Him when we don’t know what to do, He will hear, He will answer, and He will tell us what we need to know! We shouldn’t save prayer for our ‘last resort’ in a difficult situation, we should train our heart to go to Him first in prayer.
God Answers Our Prayers with Wisdom and Blessings God answers prayer! As he journeyed, the servant prayed that God would show him exactly whom He had chosen as a wife for Isaac. He knew this job was much too difficult for him. How could he ever know who was to be the right wife for Isaac! This was something only God could know. God did bring to he servant just the right woman for Isaac. Here, the Lord answered with a blessing of the right one being the first one that the servant spoke to. He also answered with wisdom, because as the servant discussed more and more with Rebekah and her father, he became more and more sure that God was working out all of the details. For us, sometimes the Lord will answer in a way that we see His blessing right away, and sometimes we ask for wisdom about how to act in a sticky situation, or how to respond to a friend who doesn’t know Jesus, and His answer gives us the knowledge to know what to do or say. Other times, it seems that we don’t hear wisdom or see blessings; in those cases, it is best to wait for a bit, because in the Lord’s timing, He will answer.. 60
A BRIDE FOR ISAAC
ABRAHAM #5
Discussion Questions The goal of the discussion is to help the children understand their need for God’s direction in their lives and the importance of praying for God’s wisdom in all things. 1. What did Abraham ask his servant to do? (Get a wife for Isaac – Gen. 24:4) 2. Where was he to go? (To Abraham’s relatives in the country he had come from – Gen. 24:4) 3. Do you think this was a hard job to do? Why or why not? 4. When the servant left on the long journey, what did he take with him? (Ten camels and lots of other good things from his master – Gen. 24:10) 5. Why did the servant need to pray on his long journey? (He had a hard job to do and would need God’s help. He could not possibly know who to choose. Only God knew that.) 6. When he arrived near the town, he came to the spring where the people came to get their water. What did he do as he stood there? (He prayed for God to show Him the right bride – if he asked a girl for a drink of water and she offered to water the camels also, could she be the right one – Gen. 24:12-14) 7. When did God provide the answer? (Before the servant finished praying – Gen. 24:15) 8. Who came to the well? (Rebekah – Gen. 24:15-16) 9. What did she do? (She gave the servant a drink of water and then volunteered to give the camels all the water they needed – Gen. 24:17-19) 10. What did the servant do? (Watched carefully to see if she was the answer to his prayer -- Gen. 24:21) 11. What did the servant ask Rebekah? (Who are you? She was Abraham’s relative! – Gen. 24:23-24) 12. What did the servant do as soon as he learned who she was? (Gave thanks to God – Gen. 24:26-27) 13. What did the servant tell Rebekah’s father? (His reason for coming and how God had answered his prayer – Gen. 24:34-48) 14. Was Rebekah willing to go to Isaac? (Yes – Gen. 24:57-58) 15. Was Isaac pleased with the wife God gave him? (Yes, he loved her – Gen. 24:67) 16. Do you think the servant would have found Rebekah if he had not prayed? Do you think he might have come home with the wrong girl? 17. What could the servant know for certain because he had prayed about this? ( That God led him to the right girl and there was no mistake) 18. God sent the answer while the servant was still praying. Will God always send the answer so quickly? (No, God always has a perfect time to give us the answer. We may have to wait a long time, but we still know that God hears and He is waiting for the perfect time.) 19. Do you pray over the difficult things you are asked to do? 20. Do you pray about the decisions you must make? When you pray about these things, you can know for sure that God will give you wisdom to know how to handle the decisions and tasks you face. God waits for you to ask for His help. He says, “I am your helper” (Hebrews 13:6). Will you begin this week to pray for God’s help in everything you do? ABRAHAM #5
A BRIDE FOR ISAAC
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Prayer
Pray for each student in class by name. There is nothing so encouraging as hearing your name taken to God, asking Him to enable you to walk with Him in daily obedience!
In class, pray with your students. Pray for each child by name, as well as for yourself, asking God to: •
Help them understand that they need God’s help to make every decision.
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Help them remember to pray over the things they must do and the choices they must make.
During the coming week, make time to pray for each child. Ask that they will: •
Grow in their ability to articulate their needs to God.
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Become faithful in prayer, always looking for God’s direction.
Bible Memory Verse
Work with the children in your class to commit this Scripture verse to memory. God promises that His Word will keep us from sin (Psalm 119:9, 11). Each of these children will face countless temptations in the years ahead, and every portion of Scripture hidden in the heart has the power to bring about steps of obedience. Pray that when these times of temptation come, God will bring His Word to mind and give direction for a life of obedience.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 Use this week to review the meaning of this passage. Encourage the children to continue practicing the words so this passage will become a treasure of the heart.
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A BRIDE FOR ISAAC
ABRAHAM #5