Week 85 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 36
Genesis 36 · Memory verse Genesis 36:21
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Genesis 36), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 36 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a piece of bread
Hold a piece of bread. Read Genesis 36 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 36:21: “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 36?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 36 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).” 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, “The children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan’s sister was Timna.” Genesis 36 opens with these words: “Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).” The line to keep is Genesis 36:21: “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.” Carry the word “dishon” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 36:21: “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 36? Then try this: Read “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of…” 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 Genesis 36. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 36:21. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 36 and write Genesis 36:21 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 36:21
“Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 36. Help us remember Genesis 36:21 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.