Week 897 · about 45 minutes
Hosea 1
Hosea 1 · Memory verse Hosea 1:7
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Hosea 1), the matching word search and answer key (Hosea 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Hosea 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Hosea 1:7: “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Hosea 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Hosea 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh’s word that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.” 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, “She conceived again, and bore a daughter. Then he said to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah; for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I should in any way pardon them.” Hosea 1 opens with these words: “Yahweh’s word that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of…” The line to keep is Hosea 1:7: “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”” Carry the word “mercy” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Hosea 1:7: “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Hosea 1? Then try this: Read “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them…” 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 Hosea 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Hosea 1:7. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Hosea 1 and write Hosea 1:7 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Hosea 1:7
“But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Hosea 1. Help us remember Hosea 1:7 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.