Week 821 · about 45 minutes
Jeremiah 40
Jeremiah 40 · Memory verse Jeremiah 40:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Jeremiah 40), the matching word search and answer key (Jeremiah 40 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Jeremiah 40 in about four minutes, stopping at Jeremiah 40:2: “The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Jeremiah 40?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Jeremiah 40 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.” 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, “Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.” Jeremiah 40 opens with these words: “The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him…” The line to keep is Jeremiah 40:2: “The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;” Carry the word “captain” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Jeremiah 40:2: “The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Jeremiah 40? Then try this: Read “The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;” 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 Jeremiah 40. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Jeremiah 40:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Jeremiah 40 and write Jeremiah 40:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Jeremiah 40:2
“The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Jeremiah 40. Help us remember Jeremiah 40:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.