This lesson teaches children that God keeps His promises even when waiting is hard and people are unfair. It is designed for children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
God keeps His promises, even when we have to wait a long time. He sees us when others do not, and He is always faithful to us.
Memory Verse
Genesis 29:31
The LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
(WEB)
Put your hands on your heart, then slowly open them out like a flower blooming, and say the verse with your class. Each time you say “saw,” point to your eyes, so the children remember that God is always watching over them.
The Story: Genesis 29 for Kids
Jacob had been traveling for a long way. He came to a field where a big well stood, with three flocks of sheep resting beside it. A very heavy stone covered the mouth of the well, and the shepherds could not move it until everyone had gathered together.
Jacob asked the shepherds where they were from. They said they were from Haran, and that they knew a man named Laban. Just then, a young girl named Rachel came running with her father’s sheep. Jacob was so happy to see her that he rolled the heavy stone away all by himself and watered her sheep.
Rachel ran home to tell her father, Laban, that her cousin Jacob had come. Laban hugged Jacob and welcomed him into his home. Jacob stayed there for a month, and Laban said to him, “You are part of our family. Tell me what you would like to be paid for your work.”
Jacob loved Rachel very much, so he said he would work for seven years if Laban would let him marry her. The seven years went by so quickly, because Jacob loved her so much, that they felt like only a few days. But on the wedding night, Laban tricked Jacob and gave him his older daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel. When Jacob woke up in the morning, he was very upset and asked Laban why he had been fooled.
Laban told Jacob he could also have Rachel, if he worked seven more years. Jacob agreed. Even though life was hard for Leah and Rachel, God saw Leah, and He blessed her with sons. God is always faithful to His promises, even when people are not.
Read It Together
Genesis 29:1-3
1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east. 2 He looked, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well’s mouth was large. 3 There all the flocks were gathered. They rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the well’s mouth in its place.
(WEB)
Point out how Jacob arrived at a well in a new place, a long way from home. Ask the children what they notice about the sheep and the heavy stone, and how the shepherds had to wait for everyone to come before they could water the flocks.
Genesis 29:20
Jacob served seven years for Rachel. They seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had for her.
(WEB)
Explain that Jacob had to wait seven years to marry Rachel, and that it felt short to him because he loved her so much. Ask the children to think about a time when waiting felt hard for them, and how it helps to know that God is with us while we wait.
Genesis 29:32-35
32 Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, “Because the LORD has looked at my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also.” She named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again, and bore a son. Said, “Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, “This time will I praise the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
(WEB)
Show the children that God saw Leah when others did not, and that He gave her sons even though she felt unloved. Talk about how each son’s name told a story about what Leah was feeling and how God cared for her.
Talk About It
- How do you think Jacob felt when he saw Rachel at the well?
- Why do you think the seven years felt like only a few days to Jacob?
- How do you think Leah felt when she knew Jacob loved Rachel more than her?
- What is something you have had to wait for, and how did you feel while you waited?
- How did God show Leah that He saw her and cared for her?
Activity Ideas
Draw a Well and Sheep
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and glue sticks. Ask each child to draw a well with a big stone on top, then add sheep around it. Encourage them to draw Rachel bringing her sheep to the well, and talk together about how God sees and cares for each person.
The Stone Roll Game
You will need a small ball or a rolled-up sock and an open space in the room. Children stand in a circle, and one child at a time rolls the ball to the next person, saying “God sees you” as they roll it. This helps children remember that God is always watching and caring for them.
Take-Home Waiting Jar
You will need an empty jar, a marker, and small slips of paper. Ask each child to write or draw one thing they are waiting for on a slip, then place it in the jar. At home, they can pull out one slip each week and pray together, thanking God that He keeps His promises even when we wait.
Teacher Notes
This passage shows adults that God is faithful even when life is unfair and people act wrongly. Jacob’s long wait, Laban’s deception, and Leah’s sadness all show that God’s plan continues and that He sees those who are overlooked.
Avoid suggesting to children that waiting always ends with an easy reward or that God will give us everything we want right away. Focus instead on God’s faithfulness and His presence with us while we wait.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You for seeing us and for keeping Your promises. Help us to wait with patience, even when waiting is hard, and remind us that You are always with us. We love You, and we trust You. Amen.
