Week 90 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 42
Genesis 42 · Memory verse Genesis 42:18
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Genesis 42), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 42 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a ribbon
Hold a ribbon. Read Genesis 42 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 42:18: “Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 42?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 42 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”” 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, “Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won’t die.” They did so.” Genesis 42 opens with these words: “Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”” The line to keep is Genesis 42:18: “Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God.” Carry the word “joseph” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 42:18: “Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 42? Then try this: Read “Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God.” 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 42. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 42:18. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 42 and write Genesis 42:18 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 42:18
“Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 42. Help us remember Genesis 42:18 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.