Jacob's Dream (Genesis 28)
Reading with your child......
Jacob left and started walking toward Haran. As the sun set and evening approched Jacob found a place to camp for the night and used a stone for a pillow. While he was sleeping he had a dream. A ladder was on the ground and reached up toward heaven and angels were going up and down the ladder. The Lord stood at the top of the ladder and said to Jacob, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your children all the families of the earth will be blessed. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land;f or I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Jacob woke up and was afraid because he realized God had been talking to him. He said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven." Then he took the stone he had been sleeping on and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top and he called the name of the place Bethel (which means the house of God). Then Jacob made a promise saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I will take and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear and I return to my father's house safely, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."
Your child's insights.....
- What kinds of dreams do you have?
- Can you imagine sleeping with a rock as a pillow?
- What do you think God meant when he said he would keep Jacob?
- Why do you think Jacob was afraid when he woke up?
- Why do you think Jacob set up a pillar?
- Are there ways we set up pillars to remember things and to honor God?
- Talk to your children about tithing.
Ideas for prayer with your child.....
- Pray that they would know that God keeps them.
- Pray that they would remember when God is faithful to them.
- Pray that they would be able to give back to God in joy and faithfulness.
An activity to do with your child......
- Find a place in your home where you can set something up as a reminder of God and His faithfulness to your family.
Some thoughts for your consideration.....
- How long do you think you may have stayed in that place knowing that it was indeed the gate of heaven and knowing that God had spoken to you there? Do you think you would stay in reverance? Or would you leave in excitement to start heading toward the goal God had promised?
- Is there a particular place you go to remember God's faithfulness and promises to you?
- I am taken aback at Jacob's response to the dream. It made sense to me until Jacob made his promise. He basically said, "If God holds up His end, then I'll hold up mine." I don't know anything about the Hebrew used in this passage but I wish I did. Was Jacob not "claiming" God until He fulfilled the promise or not? What do you think?
Previous Kids Connect - Can you imagine this anger?
No comments:
Post a Comment