Isaac decides to be kind
key words
bible reference
Genesis 26:17- 31
lesson objective
To help the children decide to be kind to others.
memory verse
“Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right” (Psalm 106:3, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
The promises that God gave to Abraham were fulfilled in the life of his son Isaac. Isaac, being a son of Abraham, was accustomed to a life of success. His crops and livestock were plentiful. He was a rich man with a very beautiful wife and twin sons. Those abundant blessings caused envy among his enemies, especially the Philistines, who felt jealous and threatened. Having water was a special advantage in the desert. When Isaac dug wells for water, he established a certain property right over that land. The king of the Philistines, Abimelech, felt that Isaac had become too powerful. When Abimelech wanted to seize the water well, he was practically declaring war on Isaac. However, this did not seem to be a problem for Isaac. He left and abandoned the water wells that his father had dug in the past. A similar situation occurred in the valley of Gerar, an inhospitable and deserted land, with few water resources. Some people kept guards at their wells to prevent others from taking the water.
Once again, greed filled the hearts of these men and they claimed Isaac’s ownership of another well. In the same way, Isaac decided to retreat and thus maintain peace. The question we could ask ourselves when reading this story would be: “Why did Isaac not decide to defend his rights and use his power?” The Word of God gives us the answer in Genesis 26:22: “At last God has given us freedom to prosper in this place.” Isaac trusted God; that’s why he was kind to his enemies and received the blessings and promises of God.
Have you ever faced conflicts and felt the desire to impose your rights? Read Micah 6:8 and pray that God will allow you to respond with love to any difficult situation that may arise in your classroom.
adaptation
Preschoolers may notice the parameters of kindness and courtesy that adults around them have established. Since your children must learn to interact with other children, this story will be a good example and will teach them to be kind to their neighbor. Help them understand that when we are kind to others, we please God.
Encourage them to share and be kind to each other. Watch them as they play and identify what their needs are.
introduce the lesson
Water to share
Fill two pots up to the top with clean water. Place the cups and wipes (to clean) on a table so the children can reach them. Encourage them to serve each other water. While they drink the water, tell them: “Water is important. People, animals and plants need water to live. How did you help me with the water?” (Serving others and sharing.) “You decided to be kind by serving water to your classmates. God wants us to be kind to our neighbors.”
In today’s story we will discover how Isaac decided to be kind, even when other people chose to take away the water that belonged to him.
Let’s build together
If you have many children, gather them in groups of two to four. If the class is small, they can all work together to build a structure. You can use blocks or plastic containers, boxes of different sizes, etc.
Allow each group to decide what they want to build, how they will do it, and what role each group member will take. Explain that sometimes it is difficult to work as a team. God wants us to be kind to others while working together. Help them complete their construction projects.
Once the projects are finished, give them the opportunity to show their work to others, explaining what it is. Say: “You worked together to make these beautiful constructions. I could see that you were kind to each other while working together. When we decide to be kind, we make the right decision. God wants us to make good decisions. In our story today, we will learn about a man named Isaac who loved God. In that story we’ll talk about the good decisions Isaac made.”
teach the lesson
Moving
For this activity, you will need drawings of animals, preferably of large size, to move them from one side of the classroom to the other.
Gather the children and place the animal figures in a place visible to them. Say: “It is time to move! How would you move your family, your animals, the tents for camping, food, and water from one place to another?” (Allow them to respond.) “Isaac had a large family, workers, and many animals. He also had to carry his camping tents, clothes, and blankets. It must have been very difficult for Isaac to move from place to place with all his belongings.”
Illustrate the Bible story using animal figures (sheep, camels, goats, etc.). Look for pictures of animals and stick them to a piece of cardboard to make them more sturdy.
On the back, stick a cardboard tube or a small box so that they stand up.
Four wells
Isaac’s animals needed water to drink. It was very hot and they were thirsty. Isaac, his family and his servants were also thirsty, but there was no water.
Servants dug wells in the same place where Isaac’s father Abraham had found water many years ago. A well is a hole in the ground where water comes from.
While they were digging, one of the workers realized that the earth was wet. Then he kept digging until suddenly the hole began to fill with water. They had finally found a well!
Other shepherds who were nearby went to the place and said, “That well belongs to us, that water is ours!”
Isaac knew that the well belonged to him, but he wanted to be kind and obey God. So, to avoid fights, he left the well.
The servants of Isaac had to dig to look for water and found another well. Again, other shepherds approached him, angrily saying that the well belonged to them.
Isaac was kind again and obeyed God. He took his animals and along with his servants went to find another well.
After digging, they found a well of fresh water so that the animals could drink. Everyone was very happy because they would not be thirsty anymore.
That night God told Isaac, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” Isaac knew that God had helped him find another well. So, in gratitude he built an altar to pray and worship God.
The servants found another new well of fresh water to drink. Now Isaac had enough water for his family and his animals!
The men who had fought with Isaac over the water came to see him. “What are you doing here?” Isaac asked.
“We have seen that God is with you and blesses you,” the men said. “We want to be your friends.”
Isaac accepted and offered them a big feast. They all ate and enjoyed a beautiful time of fellowship. The men promised to always be friends and kind to each other.
connect the lesson
God helps Isaac
For this activity, you will need tape, scissors, colored pencils or crayons, plastic bags and flat wooden sticks (three per child). Check that the scissors they use are safe to avoid accidents.
Hand out Student Activity Sheet #88-A and #88-B, plus sticks and scissors. Then allow the children to write the word of faith and color, cut and paste the three figures to the wooden sticks.
Allow time for the children to organize their own representation of the story using their finished craft. Make sure they write their name on their figures and keep them in a bag or envelop to take home. Encourage the children to use the figures to share the lesson with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
Write the memory verse on a large piece of cardboard with big letters so that the children find it easy to learn it. Take into account that many of them still do not go to school and are just becoming familiar with reading. Read the verse aloud and then explain to your children the letters it consists of. Repeat it together a couple of times and place the cardboard in a visible place in the room throughout the unit.
wrap-up
Pray
Gather the children to say your prayer requests and then intercede for each other.
Encourage
Ask the children to clean up and put away any materials they used during session. Then, and say goodbye, singing a song of praise to the Lord.
Invite
Tell the group you hope to see them again in the next session.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™