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Apr 12, 2021 18:00pm

Kindness: Rebekah, Ten Camels, and Kindness

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There are three segments to our Legacy Lesson:

1. Icebreaker

2. Legacy Lesson–Bible point: Kindness

3. Wrap-up: Apply the message to our own lives; work on memory verse

I. Icebreaker: Kindness

Discussion Questions to get your people thinking about today’s topic:

What does it mean to be kind?

What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you? How did that make you feel?

What is the kindest thing YOU have ever done for someone else? How did you feel afterwards?

Is God kind? (very interesting here!)

Few points to make about today’s topic:

You can tell a lot about people through their acts of kindness. It’s not just doing nice things, but doing them with a GOOD ATTITUDE. That is what this month is all about!

2. Transition over to Legacy Lesson:

You will need a Bible to read our focus story. Feel free to modify for your sphere of influence. Add, revise, or delete sections that would help keep attention for 30 minutes or less. (For younger audiences, I would aim for 10-15 minutes!)

Today, we are talking about two acts of kindness. One of them is about God’s kindness, and the other is about Rebekah’s kindness. Let’s get started now!

*This is a really long story in Genesis 24 (67 verses’long!). Because of this, I have summarized the first part of the story (verses 1-10). Then, you read Scripture for the middle point of the story (verses 11-20—the part that highlights our character focus of KINDNESS). After that, I summarized the ending for you (verses 21-67).

Now, I have to stop the story and tell you a few things about wells:

➤During Biblical times, there was no running water in their homes like what we have today. The only time people had water is when they had to walk–sometimes a long way–to a well. They would carry a jug for their water.

➤Getting the water was a big chore–they would have to walk down a steep staircase deep into the well to fill their jugs.

➤When full, those jugs would weigh up to 30 pounds. That’s like holding a 3-4 year old on your shoulders and walking all the way home! So, getting water was a very hard, very time-consuming job!

Back to the well and Abraham’s faithful servant…before Abraham’s servant did anything else, he said a prayer.

Let’s read it. Read Genesis 24:12-14. I have supplied it below in the HCSB translation.

What did the servant ask? (Give him success and show kindness to his master Abraham by sending a girl to him who is willing to be kind by giving water to him and his camels.)

I love how the servant is asking for God’s kindness. I think that is something we can definitely ask in our prayers, too.

Also, anyone who offered to do this job, in my opinion, IS A KEEPER!! Why, you might ask? Because back then, watering a camel was a VERY BIG DEAL.

I want you to think of holding a gallon of milk. (You could get one out to help this lesson become REAL!) Well, ONE camel could drink at least 10 of these containers…in about 15 minutes!

How many camels did Abraham’s servant bring? (NOT ONE, BUT TEN!)

That means, the girl the servant is praying for would have to get enough water to fill at least 100 of these containers to water all of these camels! That is the type of woman this servant wanted—a very kind-hearted woman who was also a hard worker.

So, Abraham’s servant began praying that a young woman would come to the well and kindly offer to give water to him and his 10 camels.

Discussion:

What if you lived back then…would you kindly volunteer to do this huge chore for someone you didn’t know?

**And challenge them on this if they say “yes!”: Would you REALLY be willing to walk down the long, windy stairs of a well, fill up this container, walk back up the stairs of that deep well, and pour it into a trough for the camel to drink…and do this same thing for at least 100 times? I think we all would like to say “yes,” but honestly, our flesh might be crying out “NO, NO and NOOOO!!”

Let’s go back to our servant. He is at the well, praying for a kind girl to do this large task and BEFORE HE IS DONE PRAYING, a girl named Rebekah shows up. Read Genesis 24:15-20 (HCSB).

Did God answer the servant’s prayer? (YES!)

Was God being kind in answering the servant’s prayer? (YES! The servant loved Abraham. He was showing kindness to Abraham by doing his job faithfully. When our heart is in the right place, I think God loves to show us kindness as well.)

What could God’s kindness look like? (An answered prayer, a kind act someone did for you, good things happening to you…there are many ways God can show kindness to us!)

3. Wrapping-Up: Applying it to our lives

Another part of KINDNESS is having a good attitude. We can do a “kind” act, but do so with a crabby disposition! When Abraham’s servant asked for a drink, Rebekah didn’t roll her eyes and sigh; she had a willing heart. That is what God wants from us: a willing heart to let him work through us to bless others! Funny thing, when we allow him to do just that, we get blessed in the process. I think Rebekah would agree.

Challenge:

I want to challenge you. Throughout this week, I want you to spy out an opportunity to help someone out. Maybe it’s someone you don’t know really well, but you notice that they need help. Maybe it’s a neighbor trying to unload groceries from her car and needs an extra hand. Or maybe it’s helping Mom fold a mountain of clothes. Whatever chance you get, show kindness WITH A GOOD ATTITUDE by offering to help someone out. Our verse says we should especially be kind to our Christian brothers and sisters, but for this challenge, I say shine your light to anyone who needs extra help! Your goal: Be willing to do one kind act with a good attitude for someone each day this week!