Isaac Gets a Wife!

Hello Friends!

Today I am sharing my lesson plan for Genesis 24:1-27, where we read about Isaac marrying Rebekah.

Introduction:

Remember that elementary school game, MASH? It was a game played for fun to predict who you were going to marry, how many children you would have, what kind of car you'd drive, and the type of home you'd live in (mansion, apartment, shack, or house). If you've never played the game for yourself, or it's been a while and you'd like something to jog your memory, here are the rules that we played by:

1. Write MASH at the top of your page
2. Draw a large box in the center of your page
3. On the left write 4 names of "potential" mates (as a kid, this was a fun way to tell your friends who you had a crush on at school...)
4. On the right side of the box, list 4 forms of transportation
5. Under the box write 4 numbers. In our lesson I had a pair of die and each rolled 4 times. This would tell how many children we were predicted to have.
6. The participants are instructed to draw a spiral in the box until the leader tells them to stop (I silently counted to 5).
7. Participants then counted the number of lines from the top of the spiral to the bottom of the spiral. This is the number to which you counted off. For example, if the number of lines in my spiral equaled 8, I would start counting with the first name on my list and go in order counterclockwise and cross off the 8th name/number/car/living space. I would then start counting off again and continue around. Once I had eliminated 3 of the 4 options for any given side, I would "know" what I would end up with. Here's a quick video (with some slight variations to the rules described above), in case my attempt to write out the rules completely failed you. 

After we had fun sharing what MASH predicted our futures to look like, students were introduced to main idea of our study and how the culture back in the day had a completely different way of matching husbands and wives. 

If time allows and if you're married yourself, you may share a quick version of the story of how you and your spouse met. And just between you and me...my husband and I are an actual eHarmony success story! :)

THE WHAT:

Read with your group Genesis 24:1-27.

1. What are your observations?
2. What does this make you think?

THE SO WHAT:

1. Why do you think it was so important that Abraham's servant find a wife for Isaac from among his own people and not from a different people group, the Canaanites? Why did Abraham insist that the woman be brought back rather than letting Isaac move to her neck of the woods?
2. What character qualities of Rebekah can we figure out by the description written in verses 15-19? What kind of young woman was she?
3. How did prayer make a difference in this passage of scripture?

THE NOW WHAT:

1. 2 Corinthians 6:16 tells us to not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. How does this relate to what we read in Genesis? Why is that important to us today?
2. Look at the image below...how does this represent an ideal marriage relationship? (Please note that I understand this graphic may have flaws that could be interpreted, but for this lesson, it makes the point that as two believers are continuously growing in their faith, they are not only growing closer to God, but to one another.)
   
3. What do you think of having a list of character qualities for a potential mate? Could it be helpful? Could it be limiting? How do you think you figure out "deal breakers"? What might be 2 or 3 things on your list?
4. What role should prayer play in your relationships? (This might be a good place to remind students that prayer is not meant to get God to align with our desires, but rather, to get our desires in alignment with God.)

Close:

• Share with students this week's key verse, Psalm 119:10: I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

1. How does this verse relate to what we've been talking?

• Remind students that God desires for his children to be in healthy faith-filled relationships. While some of his "rules" for Christian living go against our modern culture, it is for our best interest that we live within the boundaries that He has set out of love and for our protection.

SIDE NOTE: 

Some of your students may have already crossed that line in their dating relationships. Be sensitive to the way that they take in this message. If needed, have a more private conversation reassuring them that God is in the forgiveness business and He does love them and only wants what's best for each of us.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ideas on how to present this portion of scripture. Have a blessed day!

-bethany.