Week 732 · about 45 minutes
Isaiah 17
Isaiah 17 · Memory verse Isaiah 17:3
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Isaiah 17), the matching word search and answer key (Isaiah 17 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold a paper crown. Read Isaiah 17 in about four minutes, stopping at Isaiah 17:3: “The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says Yahweh of Armies.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Isaiah 17?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Isaiah 17 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The burden of Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.” 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, “They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they respect that which their fingers have made, either the Asherah poles, or the incense altars.” Isaiah 17 opens with these words: “The burden of Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.” The line to keep is Isaiah 17:3: “The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says…” Carry the word “fortress” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Isaiah 17:3: “The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says Yahweh of Armies.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Isaiah 17? Then try this: Read “The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be…” 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 Isaiah 17. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Isaiah 17:3. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Isaiah 17 and write Isaiah 17:3 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Isaiah 17:3
“The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says Yahweh of Armies.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Isaiah 17. Help us remember Isaiah 17:3 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.