Week 446 · about 45 minutes
Ezra 7
Ezra 7 · Memory verse Ezra 7:27
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Ezra 7), the matching word search and answer key (Ezra 7 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read Ezra 7 in about four minutes, stopping at Ezra 7:27: “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem;” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Ezra 7?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Ezra 7 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,” Ezra 7 opens with these words: “Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,” The line to keep is Ezra 7:27: “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem;” Carry the word “blessed” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Ezra 7:27: “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem;” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Ezra 7? Then try this: Read “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Ezra 7. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Ezra 7:27. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Ezra 7 and write Ezra 7:27 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Ezra 7:27
“Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem;”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Ezra 7. Help us remember Ezra 7:27 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.