(PDF) Jacob and Esau - San Antonio Church · The life-cycle and the family-troubles-cycle resume in the stories of Jacob and Esau ... The covenant made with Abraham and transferred to Isaac - DOKUMEN.TIPS (2024)

Jacob and Esau Genesis 25-36 God stays faithful to the chosen, through challenges, failures, and disappointments. We are to grow to trust in God's steadfast love for us, wherever we go and whatever we do.

Opening Prayer Project the prayer or provide a handout. Tell the students to notice the two points of view as they pray, representing the twins, Jacob and Esau. L: The Lord be with you, C: And also with you. L: Let us pray. God, you know our coming in, C: And our going out. L: When we rise, C: And when we go to sleep. L: For our concerns, we say please, C: For our blessings, we say thank you. C: Amen The life-cycle and the family-troubles-cycle resume in the stories of Jacob and Esau with continuing themes of competition, family strife, struggles with God, and deception mixed in with courtship, marriage, and childbearing. Before the twin boys are born, God announced that the younger, Jacob, would have ultimate superiority. But it isn't without a bit of struggle, starting at birth when Jacob tries to gain advantage by grabbing Esau's heel in an attempt to be born first. After their telling birth, the boys grow up to be conflicted in their professions and also in parental favoritism. Isaac favors Esau, but Rebekah loves Jacob. The question at the beginning of the Jacob and Esau cycle is: Who will receive the continued blessing? The surprise, in terms of ancient cultural expectations, is that it is Jacob, the younger son, who receives it. This is another story in this interesting chosen family in which a strong female character "manages" the patriarch. Rebekah is determined and resourceful and she serves God's purposes through her less-than-exemplary ways of dealing with the men in her life. She helps Jacob by hatching a plan to deceive blind Isaac, and Isaac bestows the coveted blessing on Jacob instead of his intended Esau. Clearly, in this family (and for God's purposes, in fact), blessing includes fertility (of land and family) and dominion. Esau, when he pleads for blessing, receives more of a curse, reminiscent of Adam and Eve's curse in Genesis 3. Blessings and curses in the Bible are irrevocable.

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They are performative—once spoken they begin their work. Given to one son, they cannot be given to the other. Esau clearly understood this and vowed to kill Jacob. Rebekah overheard his plan and sent Jacob on his way to live out his life under the blessing his father had given him. The covenant made with Abraham and transferred to Isaac is handed down to Jacob in Jacob's dream at Bethel. The ladder has been variously interpreted as a stairway from the temple to God, or as Mt. Sinai, or as Jewish history in total, and/or the individual life and faith of Hebrews. The immediate meaning for Jacob, however, is that God is and will be with him. He marks the spot, which comes to explain the later northern sanctuary at Bethel, and continues on his journey, newly confident of God's presence and influence in his life. The theme of deception and sibling strife continues in the relationships Jacob has with his father-in-law, Laban, and his wives, Rachel and Leah. The stories surrounding the birth of Jacob's 12 sons and one mentioned daughter are heartbreaking in places. Two sisters—one loved but barren, the other unloved but able to produce son after son. A couple of handmaids were given for surrogacy to ratchet up the baby score. Again and again, the women are leading characters in the drama. Hardly staying confined to the margins of things, they are wily, intelligent partners with God, who sometimes resort to conniving and who too often hurt themselves in the process. And God works with them! We are reminded in this story again and again of the cultural views of women and children. Women were property. Male children were security. Daughters were barter. It is harsh when read with 21st century eyes. And yet, God does work through this messiness. God keeps the faith with people who don't deserve it in our eyes. This, of course, is what grace is all about. God can work with us all! The promise of blessing doesn't waver, only the people. When Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel, he wins, ironically, by giving up, and gains a significant name change by virtue of the struggle. God calls him Israel, "one who strives with God." It is at this point that Jacob's family becomes a defined nation. God will continue to work through Abraham's great-great-grandchildren and then through their children and on and on as the promise transfers through the generations. Chapter 36 is interesting even when skimmed. The whole chapter is a genealogical history of Esau. Edom became a monarchy long before Israel did. Although God did not further the specific ancestral promise through Esau, he was not abandoned either. His descendents prosper. Again, God works within and outside of the community of chosen ones. God's love is the foundation of all life and faith. Steadfast love and enduring trust are concepts that may be troublesome for us in this fast-paced, ever-changing culture we live in. The concept that God loves us and is with us wherever we go may be a stretch for some to conceive. People have some difficulty in dealing with abstract concepts, especially when they run contrary to what their culture is telling them. The values espoused by God's enduring love are in total opposites of what they read and hear on TV about pop culture where people jump from relationship to relationship with fleeting regard for love and trust. Even in God's creation there are few things that endure forever except for God's love.

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Bible The story of Jacob and Esau includes multiple plot twists. Every action leads to the next. The narrative breaks it down into key events: Genesis 27:1-45 describes Esau and Jacob's relationship and the stolen blessing; Genesis 28:10-22 relates the story of Jacob's dream at Bethel; Genesis 30:22-24 relates the blessing upon Rachel; and Genesis 32:22—33:4 tells of the brothers' reunion after years apart. What surprised you about these stories? What was your favorite part?

Genesis 27:1-45. Jacob and his mother work together to pull off this charade. God keeps faith with Jacob in spite of his actions. (This is one of those times in studying the Bible when we realize we just don't understand God!) Do you admire Jacob's cleverness and drive? Does it make the Bible seem more real to find deception and sibling strife within it?

Genesis 28:10-22. What is the message of verse 15? Genesis 30:22-24. Many Bible stories are about women having children as a sign of God's blessing. What happens here?

Genesis 32:22—33:4 illustrates forgiveness as well as almost any story in the Bible. The suspense builds as Jacob sees Esau coming with 400 men. Here is the brother whose birthright and blessing he stole. Have all the presents Jacob sent ahead to him appeased him? We marvel at the scene—God wrestling with Jacob and God forgiving through Esau. These twin brothers, in their rivalry, set the stage for God to act and interact in fascinating ways. God sided with Jacob, even in his trickery. What do you think about that? Do you think Jacob got his payback through Laban's treatment of him when he tricked Jacob about Leah and Rachel? What twists and turns in this Bible story were the most surprising to you?

What is your favorite part of the story about Jacob and Esau?

Because God has blessed us, we bless others to let them know they are claimed and loved by God. How have you have been blessed by God?

Names, names, names. Characters get them; God changes them or gives them new meaning. Did you ever wonder why?

• Jacob becomes Israel

• Abram becomes Abraham

• Sarai becomes Sarah

• Peniel means "Face of God"

• Yahweh means "The one who is always there"

• Isaac means "God laughed"

Why are people today likely to brush off dreams as frivolous and meaningless? Do you think God can speak to you in your dreams?

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Quiz Show Multiple Choice Questions 1. Jacob named the place Peniel where he wrestled with angel. Peniel means...

a. face of God.

b. future site of championship wrestling.

c. really poor night's sleep.

2. The strange presence renamed Jacob as "Israel" after their encounter. Israel means...

a. stronger twin.

b. devious brother.

c. one who strives with God.

3. Esau was desperate for some pottage. Pottage means...

a. something you do with canoes.

b. red lentil stew.

c. ancient French fries.

4. Blessings and curses in the Bible are irrevocable. This means...

a. given to one person, they cannot be given to another.

b. they always involved locusts and grasshoppers.

c. women were cursed more often than men.

5. Jacob worked for Laban for ___ years as payment for his wife, Rachel.

a. 7 years

b. 20 years

c. 14 years

True or False Questions 1. Jacob married both Leah and Rachel, but loved Leah the most.

2. Rachel gave birth to a baby named Joseph.

3. Jacob and his family returned home to Canaan.

4. Rebekah, Jacob's mother, favored his twin brother, Esau.

5. Isaac never realized that Jacob had tricked him.

Closing Blessing May we be moved, in place after place, to say like Jacob did, "Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!" In the name of the Father +, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit +. Amen

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