Week 91 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 43
Genesis 43 · Memory verse Genesis 43:14
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Genesis 43), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 43 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Genesis 43 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 43:14: “May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 43?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 43 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The famine was severe in the land.” 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 men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “Because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, we’re brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, attack us, and seize us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”” Genesis 43 opens with these words: “The famine was severe in the land.” The line to keep is Genesis 43:14: “May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”” Carry the word “almighty” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 43:14: “May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 43? Then try this: Read “May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin.…” 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 43. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 43:14. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 43 and write Genesis 43:14 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 43:14
“May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 43. Help us remember Genesis 43:14 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.