Character Education in the Home
CHILDREN & FAMILY Resources
ForObedience vs Willfulness
Quickly and cheerfully carrying out the wise direction of those who are responsible for me
Obedience–A Family Resource
Faith Committee, Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Contributed by Trudy U. Pettibone, Pastor
North Creek and MinervaBaptistChurches, North Creek, New York
Submitted July 2004.
A Four Week Family Devotion
Obedience
“Quickly and cheerfully carrying out the wise direction of those who are responsible for me”
I will. . .
-obey my authorities immediately
-have a cheerful attitude
-complete all that I am expected to do
-not complain
-go the extra mile
Week One: I will obey my authorities immediately. Genesis 24:1-10 (Days 1-3)
Day One: Genesis 24:1-4
Background: Abraham and his wife Sarah had been given a son in their old age: Abraham was one hundred and Sarah was ninety. This was the son of promise, the son from whom descendants would come who outnumbered the stars. Now it was time to find a wife for this son, Isaac. Abraham knows his time on earth is about to end. He wants to be sure his son Isaac is properly married, and that means he is not to be married to a daughter of the people of the land.
I don’t think it is necessary to explain to the child the process for oath taking, which is actually an euphemistic expression. Emphasize to the child that Abraham wanted his servant (Eliezer) to promise (swear) that he would obey him.
Introduce the idea of obedience with the child by reminding the child of some instances in which the child immediately obeyed a parent, teacher, or other authority. Help the child understand that we don’t always have to make promises to obey. You might want to discuss with the child the kinds of people that the child does not have to obey, i.e. people who are trying to get them to do something bad.
Lead the child to pray that he will always obey those who have proper authority over him or her.
Day Two: Genesis 24:5-7
Discuss with your child what a servant is: a person who is bound or obligated to work for another because of debt or other reasons. This person usually is not paid, although before Isaac was born this particular servant would have inherited all of Abraham’s estate. Explain differences between a servant/master relationship, an employee/employer relationship and a child/parent relationship.
Abraham’s servant feels free to question Abraham about potential occurrences. Abraham responds with the second half of the order: the servant is not to take a wife from the land where they are living, and he is not to take Isaac back to the land from which Abraham came. By the help of God, the woman will come to Isaac.
Help the child understand that when we trust in God, God will help us obey and do the right things. Discuss times when the child (and you) may have believed that God was helping to bring about obedience.
Lead the child to pray that they will seek God’s help in obeying the proper authorities.
Day Three: Genesis 24:8-10
Abraham gives the servant one exemption from the promise: if the woman is not willing to come, then the servant is released from the promise. The servant makes the vow, and immediately sets out to obey his master’s request. As a footnote, the servant was successful in his mission, and Rebekah was willing to return with him.
Sometimes we are willing to obey, but we procrastinate and want to respond to a request in our own time. Help the child understand that true obedience is done (a) as soon as possible; (b) without argument; and (c) to the best of one’s ability. Discuss times when the child may not have been willing to obey, or may even have disobeyed. Talk with the child about possible consequences of disobedience and rewards for obedience.
Lead the child to pray that they will always obey promptly, willingly, and thoroughly.
Day Four: Romans 13:1-3 (Read in the NRS if possible)
Discuss with your child all the possible people who might be in positions of authority over them, both now and in the future. Talk about different degrees of authority. Explain to the child how God places us in subjection to people and if we learn to obey them, we learn better to obey God. It also works the other way around: the more we learn to obey God, the better we will be able to obey those in authority over us. Always emphasize the fact that God would not want us to obey people who want to hurt us or want us to hurt others.
Lead the child to pray that God will help them discern who they should obey and who they should not obey.
Supplemental Activities for the Week: Read the rest of Genesis 24. Point out how the servant sought God’s help in obeying his master’s command. God brought things together in just the way the servant asked. Talk to the child about God’s role in helping us obey. Explain that God may not always work out things the way we ask, but he is always pleased when we seek his guidance and when we obey.
Help the child establish an accounting system for obedience, maybe giving themselves stars when they obey thoroughly and marks for disobedience. Help the child set goals for obedience and to establish some type of reward when the goals are reached.
Week Two: I will have a cheerful attitude and not complain. Genesis 6:13-7:5.
In the story of Noah, we do not really know what kind of attitude Noah had. All we know is that Scripture does not record if he questioned or complained about what God told him to do, as compared to people like Moses or Jonah. Since Noah did not complain, we are assuming a cheerful attitude.
Day One: Genesis 6:13-16
Background: It had never rained before. Noah may have lived near water, but he certainly would not have known what a flood was. The ark was of extraordinary dimensions.
God tells Noah that he is about to put an end to all life on earth. As a place of shelter, he directs Noah to build an arc. He gives him very specific directions.
At this point, God has not told Noah how he is going to destroy the violent people of the earth. Imagine how Noah might have responded to God’s direction. Noah had three sons, which would be his only help in building this immense vessel. Noah does not question God and he does not complain.
Explore with your child ideas of being asked to do something really, really strange. Help the child be creative in thinking up outrageous requests that someone might ask. Even if the child doesn’t understand a request, encourage them to complete the task without complaining and to be cheerful as they work.
Lead the child to pray that they will always respond to requests without complaining, but avoiding those that are harmful.
Day Two: Genesis 6:17-20
Now God tells Noah how he is going to bring about the global destruction: he is going to send a flood. But not all life is going to be destroyed. God will preserve Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives, and pairs of all the animals on the earth. The promise of God to spare Noah and his family is called a covenant.
Have your child draw a picture of the story at this point. Remember, God is just telling Noah what will happen. This is a very extensive project. Ask your child how they would feel if they had to gather pairs of every kind of animal and build a big boat to float. How would the child go about this?
Talk to your child about a covenant. Usually it is one person promising to do something if another person does something else. Create a covenant with your child, determining what you will do if your child is cheerfully obedient.
Lead your child to pray for a cheerful attitude, even when it is difficult.
Day Three: Genesis 6:21-7:2
God tells Noah that he is to bring food, enter the ark and bring the animals in with him. The food Noah is allowed to eat would be vegetables, fruit and anything that grows. Noah was not allowed to eat meat at this time (c.f. Genesis 9:3). Note the difference in the numbers of animals: of unclean animals, he is only to bring 1 pair, but of each clean animal, he is to bring seven pairs. (c.f. Leviticus 11:1-31 for a list of clean and unclean animals.) We are told that Noah did all that God commanded.
Talk with your child about possible conditions on the ark: The smells, the noise, the crowding. Ask your child to try to imagine what it might be like, even to draw a picture.
Noah was a righteous person, the most righteous person on earth. This is why God spared him. Talk with your child about what it might have meant for Noah to be righteous in God’s sight. Make a list of all the good things the child can think of. Ask the child which of those things they think Noah might have done.
Lead the child to pray that they might always do righteous (good) things, even if they are in very strange and uncomfortable circumstances.
Day Four: Genesis 7:3-5
God tells Noah to collect the birds. After seven days rain will come and it will rain for a long time. Noah does all that God commands them.
Talk with the child about how Noah might have gathered the birds together. Let the child be as creative as possible.
Since it had never rained before, Noah may not have understood what God was talking about, but he obeyed God anyway. Talk with the child about obeying even when they do not understand something. Help the child recall some times when they obeyed, even though they did not understand.
Lead the child to pray that they will cheerfully obey, even when they do not understand.
Supplemental Activities for the Week: The ark was 450 feet long by 75 feet wide. It was three stories high. If you can find a large open area, pace out the dimensions. Help the child imagine what it would have been like to be in the ark with all the animals for over a year (c.f. 7:11 and 8:14). Remember that these animals were probably reproducing during the year on the ark.
Read Leviticus 11:1-31. Some of these animals are not familiar to us. Research these animals and help the child understand all the varieties that might have been on the ark with Jonah.
Week Three: I will complete all that I am expected to do. Genesis 22:1-14.
Background: In Jewish tradition, this story is called the akeda, the binding of Isaac. Isaac is not a little boy, but a young man able to discern what might be happening and resist. Isaac is the son of promise, the one from whom Abraham is to receive descendants equaling the stars in number.
Day One: Genesis 22:1-4
We do not know why God chose to test this faithful servant in this way. Note the four-phase structure of the call: 1) take now your son—Abraham has two sons, Ishmael and Isaac; 2) your only son—only Isaac is the child of promise; 3) (the son) whom you love—Abraham loves both his sons, although he had to send one away. Finally, all doubt is removed: 4) (take) Isaac.
Abraham immediately prepares to leave, taking two servants and everything necessary for the sacrifice. After three days of travel, they arrive at the designated place.
Help your child understand the importance of sacrifices. This was the form of worship for the Jewish people, to bring an animal as an offering for sin, fellowship, and thanksgiving. Sacrificing an animal for sin was the shadow of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was crucified, not burned, for our sin.
Emphasize to your child how quickly Abraham responds to God’s command, even though he was probably confused and sad. Using your own relationship, talk about how difficult it must have been for Abraham to think about giving up his child.
Lead the child to pray that they will always respond promptly to requests, even though they may not understand.
Day Two: Genesis 22:5-8
Having arrived at the place of sacrifice, Abraham leaves the two servants and goes on with Isaac. When he says that they will “worship and return,” both verbs are plural. Abraham believes that Isaac will return.
Isaac, a young man, questions the lack of an animal for sacrifice. When Abraham says that God will provide the lamb, he truly believes this and Isaac asks no more questions. Isaac has apparently experienced his father’s faithfulness on previous occasions. We are witness not only to Abraham’s faith, but also Isaac’s obedience.
The idea of child sacrifice is abhorrent to God, something that would not even cross his mind. We must always look at the consistent testimony of God’s revelation through Scripture, and compare that with what it seems God might be telling us at a particular time. Talk with your child about times that it might seem that God wants you to do something that is not in line with Scripture. How do you determine what is right?
Day Three: Genesis 22:9-11
The place of sacrifice has been reached, and Abraham prepares for the sacrifice, to the point of binding his son, putting him on the altar and lifting his hand, ready to strike with the knife. He intends to do everything God has told him to do. The only thing that stops him is the voice of an angel.
We are not told about Isaac’s faith, but it is clear he either believes in the promise God made to his father, or he believes in his father’s faith. In any case, he does not resist, which he could easily do. He is a young man and his father is elderly.
Emphasize to your child that even though Abraham may not have wanted to sacrifice his son, it is what God told him to do, and he was going to complete everything he thought God expected him to do. Talk about times when you may have been determined to do something that was expected of you, even though it may have seemed strange, difficult or maybe even wrong. Help the child understand times when we may have to do something that is wrong, or at least seems wrong to us.
Talk with the child about how both Abraham and Isaac might have felt at this time.
Lead the child to pray that they might always be able to do what is expected of them, but to know when something is not right for them to do.
Day Four: Genesis 22: 12-14
The angel comes to the rescue. God had indeed provided the lamb, which was actually a ram caught in a nearby bush. Abraham may have been so intent on fulfilling what he thought was expected of him that he did not see the ram. Abraham proved his love for God and his faith in God’s promises by being willing to carry out what must have seemed like a horrendous act.
When we set out determined to obey what we think God wants us to do, God often reveals his true will through various means. Scripture tells us that there is always a way out of temptation to do something wrong, if we will only look for it (c.f. I Corinthians 10:13).
Talk with your child about ways God has tested you and may have tested the child. God doesn’t speak directly to us anymore. We discern God’s will through Scripture. Anytime we think God is leading us to do something that goes against Scripture, we really need to pray and seek God’s true will.
Lead the child to pray for wisdom in discerning God’s will and strength to avoid things he or she may think God wants them to do, but that are contrary to God’s revelation through Scripture.
Supplemental Activities for the Week: From the book of Leviticus, study all the animals that might be suitable for sacrifice: lambs, goats, birds, bulls and oxen.
Encourage the child to draw pictures representing the attitudes of father and son as they went on this strange journey. Discuss the different emotions that each might have experienced. What would your child have done in this situation.
Help the child keep a journal of times when they completed things they were told to do, even though they may not have wanted to do so. Make sure they list the reasons why they may not have wanted to complete what they were told to do. Discuss these with the child.
Week Four: I will go the extra mile. Luke 23:33-43
Day One: Luke 23:33-34
The place where Jesus is crucified was a garbage dump, a horrific hill used for execution. To add insult to injury, he is crucified along with two thieves. He is treated in every way as a criminal, except that most criminals would not have had been tried by the religious authorities.