Week 856 · about 45 minutes
Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 18 · Memory verse Ezekiel 18:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Ezekiel 18), the matching word search and answer key (Ezekiel 18 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 Ezekiel 18 in about four minutes, stopping at Ezekiel 18:2: ““What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Ezekiel 18?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Ezekiel 18 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh’s word came to me again, saying,” 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 The chapter also says, “who has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who hasn’t received interest or increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father. He shall surely live.” Ezekiel 18 opens with these words: “Yahweh’s word came to me again, saying,” The line to keep is Ezekiel 18:2: ““What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on…” Carry the word “mean” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Ezekiel 18:2: ““What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Ezekiel 18? Then try this: Read ““What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten…” 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 Ezekiel 18. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Ezekiel 18:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Ezekiel 18 and write Ezekiel 18:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Ezekiel 18:2
““What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Ezekiel 18. Help us remember Ezekiel 18:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.