Jacob, Esau, and the Blessing

What We Talked About:
Isaac was getting old, and he wanted to bless his favorite son, Esau, before he died. He told Esau to hunt for some food, prepare it just the way he liked it, and bring it to him to eat. After eating, Isaac would bless him. So, Esau went out into the field to hunt.

Rebekah overhead this and told her favorite son, Jacob. Together, they hatched a plan to trick Isaac into blessing Jacob instead by pretending to be Esau. Since Isaac was old and could no longer see, Rebekah had Jacob wear some of Esau's clothes, and place some animal skins on his arms in order to smell and feel like his brother, Esau. Rebekah took one of their goats, cooked it up just the way Isaac liked it, and sent Jacob into see Isaac

Isaac was suspicious, but in the end, Jacob was able to fool him and get his father's blessing. No sooner than Jacob had left then Esau walked into Isaac's tent to receive his blessing. Isaac explained to him that he had already given his blessing to someone who he had thought was Esau. Esau knew he had been tricked by his brother, Jacob. He was so made, he planned to kill his brother.

What's the Big Deal?
1. You won't get away with sin for long.

What We Did
1. We created Play-Doh versions of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau and used them to act out the events of the story.

Our Memory Verse
Proverbs 12:22 - "The Lord detests lying lips, but delights in men who are truthful."

Jacob Steals Esau's Birthright

What We Talked About:
Since Esau was the older twin, he was entitled to the birthright: when they'd divide up the inheritance, Esau would receive twice as much as Jacob. But Jacob was rather crafty, and he began looking for a way to get the birthright for himself.

The opportunity came one when when Jacob was cooking some stew. Esau came in from the field. He had been out hunting and had not caught anything. "Give me some of that soup, bro," Esau said. Jacob said, "Sure, Esau, but only if you give me your birthright." "I'm so hungry, I'm about to die! What does the birthright matter to me if I'm dead?" Jacob made Esau swear to give him the birthright. When he did, Jacob gave him some stew

What's the Big Deal?
1. Impatience can cost you bigtime.

What We Did
1. We talked about how different the two twins, Jacob and Esau, were. We hung two strings from the ceiling: one for Jacob and one for Esau. We then attached word cards to each string to describe Jacob and Esau.

Our Memory Verse
Psalm 38:15 - "I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God."

Jacob and Esau are Born

What We Talked About:
God continued to keep his promise to Abraham to make his family into a great nation. His son Isaac's wife became pregnant. As her tummy grew, the baby began to move violently inside her. It wiggled around so much that she finally asked God what in the world was going on. God told her that she was actually carrying two babies inside her. These babies would grow up into great nations one day, and the older son would one day serve the younger.

A little while later, the babies were born. The first baby that came out had bright red hair. He was named Esau. As Esau came out, the second baby grabbed onto his heel. He was given the name Jacob.

What's the Big Deal?
1. God keeps his promises

What We Did
1. We talked about family trees - diagrams that show how family members are related to one another. We drew Abraham's family tree to show how his family began to grow into a great nation.
2. We told the story in a chalk talk, drawing images on the chalk board to help tell the story.

Our Memory Verse
Psalm 145:13b - "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made."

Issac and Rebekah Meet

This week, we talked about how Abraham found a girl for his son, Isaac, to marry. But, before that, we explored some of the ways Abraham didn't go about it. Check out the video below for a few highlights.