Fundamental #18

Memory Scripture

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.—Genesis 22:18

Summary Statement

When we go far enough back in history, we all start to have common ancestors, and one of those ancestors is Abraham. Abraham, a patriarch whose history we can read about in the book of Genesis, is the ancestor of many people groups today. He is often called the “father of the faithful” because he was a man of great faithfulness and obedience.

God chose to bless Abraham greatly because of his obedience. These blessings included great wealth and land, a large family, and one extremely special blessing. That special blessing was that the Messiah Himself (Jesus Christ) would be born from Abraham’s lineage and would offer the promise of salvation to all of humanity! That means that Jesus Christ in human form was a physical descendant of Abraham ( Galatians 3:16 ). And because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, all people on the earth—past, present, and future—can receive the spiritual blessings of forgiveness and the opportunity for eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Begin Your Study

Read through the memory scripture together with your children, then read through the summary statement (remember to simplify the statement, if necessary). Have your children cut and paste the summary statement from this page in their “Fundamentals Bible Study Journal” (as suggested in the Memorizing Scripture resource “The Fundamentals”). Next, have your children read and write the memory scripture, Genesis 22:18, in their journals.

Ask your children the following questions:

• What happens if you practice playing the piano every day? (You get better and become ready to perform!)

• What happens if a squirrel does not gather nuts in the summer and fall? (The squirrel has no food for winter!)

• What happens if you study for your math test? (You’ll probably get a better grade on the test!)

• What happens when you water your garden? (The fruits and vegetables grow, and you can eat them!)

• What happens when you obey God? (You receive blessings!)

Did you sense a theme? These are all examples of cause and effect. When you take a certain action, something happens as a result.

For this Fundamental, we will be looking at the promises given to Abraham. Read through the memory scripture, Genesis 22:18, again with your children. Discuss how, because Abraham obeyed God, Abraham’s family was blessed and we today are blessed—and eventually the whole world will be blessed! We are part of a very special group of people that is blessed.

Digging Deeper Interaction #1

Go through the memory scripture. Remind your children that Abraham became the father of many nations. Today they are going to make a family tree for Abraham in their journals.

Help your children construct a family tree beginning with Abraham and going through to the 12 sons of Israel (refer to Genesis 35:22-26  for their names). Further down the tree, include Jesus Christ. And towards the bottom, include your physical family members in the Church. For younger children, you may wish to have all the names typed up so they can cut and paste them on a tree they have colored. You could also create a poster-sized family tree to use with the next interaction.

Digging Deeper Interaction #2 

Have your children read the memory scripture, Genesis 22:18. Then have them close their Bible or journals and try to recite the scripture from memory.

Ask your children if they know what the word “blessed” means. To be blessed means that God has shown us incredible kindness and has given us blessings or special gifts. Blessings are all the good things that God has given to us. In the memory scripture, it says that Abraham and all the nations will be blessed because Abraham obeyed God’s voice. How do we “obey God’s voice”? We do the things He tells us to do! We follow His Commandments and instructions. And when we obey Him, we are blessed.

Today you and your children are going to come up with a list of blessings that God has rained down on you. On large raindrop-shaped cutouts, write various blessings that God has given to your family. As you and your children come up with blessings, make sure to include both physical and spiritual blessings.

This could also be a whole family activity, where each family member takes a turn to share a blessing. At the end of sharing, you can see how many blessings you have come up with together! You could either glue these raindrops on a new poster or use the large poster that you created for the previous interaction (the family tree for Abraham).

Bible Story: Abraham

Begin with Genesis 26:5 and read it aloud: “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statues, and My laws.” Next, go through the EEI lesson “Abraham and the Amazing Promises,” located in the People of the Bible section, to study the life of Abraham.

Bonus Ideas

For a deeper study on this topic, you may wish to do a search on LifeHopeandTruth.com for the promises of Abraham.

Locate the EEI resource “Heroes of Faith” in the Additional Resources section and assemble a family chart of faith. Include all the names from Hebrews 11 (don’t forget Abraham!) and add any names of faithful people you know personally.

Wrap-Up Activity

To make this week’s scripture poster, use either a regular piece of paper or create a cutout of planet earth and write the memory scripture, Genesis 22:18. Hang up your new poster somewhere in the house.

To end your study, have your child recite the memory scripture for a small audience, perhaps for grandparents or for a special “adopted” grandparent in your local congregation.