Aim to learn that Jacob was a special person chosen by God

Aims
* To learn that Jacob was a special person chosen by God
* To learn about jealousy

Materials
The Beginner’s Bible
Visual aids: picture cards from the story
Materials for a story frieze – strips of card, glue, pictures from the story, scissors, paper clips
Worksheet
Key Words: Isaac, Rebecka, Esau, Jacob, Laban, blessing, jealous

Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. Tell the story
3. Discussion
4. Activities – feeling game, follow the leader, retell the story, memory game, story frieze
5. Review the aims
6. Prayer

1) Introduction
*Remind the children about Abraham. He was a special person chosen by God. He trusted God and did whatever he was asked to do. God kept his promise to Abraham. When he and his wife Sarah were very old they had a baby boy called Isaac.
* When Isaac grew up he married a girl called Rebecka. She gave birth to two twin boys, called Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first. He hunted animals and was very hairy. Jacob on the other hand had smooth skin and liked to stay at home.

* In your family who is the oldest? Who is the youngest? Which are you? Do you want to be the oldest? What is good about being the older or younger?
*If you are older you should take care of and help your younger brother or sister and be a good example to them.
*If you are younger you need help from your older brother or sister and you can learn from them, so you should listen to what they say.

2) Tell the story
Jacob’s Blessing – Genesis 27
When Isaac was an old man, he was almost blind. He called for his first born son, Esau.
“I want to give you a special blessing, because you are the eldest son,” he said. “Prepare my favorite dinner for me. Then come back and you will get my blessing. “

Rebekah heard what Isaac said to Esau. But God had told her it was Jacob who would become the family leader, so she wanted him to have the blessing. So while Esau was hunting, she told Jacob
her plan. She made Isaac’s dinner. Then she tied goatskins around Jacob’s arms so that he would feel just as hairy as Esau..

Jacob pretended that he was Esau. He took the food to his father. After dinner, Isaac reached out to bless his son. He felt Jacob’s hairy arms and thought he was Esau, and so he gave Jacob his blessing. Esau was very angry when he found out what had happened and he wanted to hurt Jacob. So Rebekah sent Jacob away to his uncle Laban’s house.

Jacob’s Dream – Genesis 28
Jacob travelled for many miles. His uncle Laban lived far away. When it was evening, he stopped to  rest. He put a stone under his head for a pillow and fell asleep.
While he slept, he had a beautiful dream. In the dream he saw a ladder, that went from earth to heaven.
Angels walked up and down the ladder. At the top was God. “God said, “I am watching over you Jacob. 
Someday, all of this land will belong to you and your family.
The next morning when Jacob woke up, he said, “God is in this place and I know that God is with me.” He took his stone pillow and set it up as a reminder of his dream. He said a prayer and then
continued on his way.

Jacob and Esau Meet Again – Genesis 29
Jacob traveled far away, to his uncle’s house. He worked for his uncle by taking care of sheep . While he was there he got married and God blessed him with 12 sons. Jacob’s family lived with his uncle for many years. He also had many sheep, donkeys and camels. One day, God told Jacob to go back to his homeland where Esau lived.

He wanted to go back, but he was afraid of his brother, Esau. He thought Esau would still be angry with him. But Jacob obeyed God. He and his family packed up everything they owned. Jacob sent servants ahead to offer gifts to Esau. 

Much to Jacob’s surprise, Esau ran to meet him. And he gave Jacob a big hug. They were so happy to see each other again.

3) Discussion
*Who did Isaac want to bless? – Esau
*Why did Isaac want to bless him? – Esau was the oldest. Usually the father in the family gave the land to his oldest son. 
*Who did Rebecka want to be blessed? – Jacob
*What did Rebecka put on Jacob’s arm? – goat skin
*Why did he do that? – So Jacob would be hairy like Esau, Isaac was blind and thought he was Esau. Then Jacob got the blessing
*Why was Esau angry?
Jacob had taken his father’s blessing that was meant for him. He was the oldest and should have  received the blessing. But God wanted the blessing to be given to Jacob. Esau was jealous, because it wasn’t fair.

Do you get angry or sad when your brother or sister gets more than you? You get angry because you feel jealous. You want the same as them.

* What did Jacob see in his dream? – a stairway to heaven with angels on it. God told him that He was watching over him and that all the land would belong to him and his family one day
*Who did Jacob go and stay with? – his uncle Laban
*How many sons did Jacob have? – 12
*What did God tell Jacob to do? – Go home
*Why was Jacob afraid to go back home? – He though Esau was still angry with him
*What did Jacob do to make Esau less angry? – He gave him lots of gifts
*What happened when Jacob and Esau met? – The hugged each other. Esau wasn’t angry anymore

4) Activities
*Feeling Game – Pretend to be Isaac. One blinded-folded person feels the arms of different people.
Can he/she recognize each person by their arm? What is different about each arm? Do the same faces or hands or hair. Try disguising your voice. Can ‘Isaac’ say whose voice it is?
*Follow the leader – Take turns to be the ‘oldest’. Do actions, walk around the room, etc, for everyone to follow
*Retell the Story using picture cards
*Story Frieze – Stick strips of card together with tape and fold them into a concertina effect. Cut  and paste pictures from the story onto the card, in the correct order. Write a title, “Esau and Jacob”on the front card. Use a paper clip to hold the strips together. Use it to retell the story. Take it home.
*Worksheet – Cut and paste pictures in the correct order Note: If you think there are too many pictures for young children, select a few. The pictures can also be pre-cut if necessary.

5) Review the lesson aims
* To learn that Jacob was a special person chosen by God Like Abraham, Jacob obeyed God and God promised to give lots of land for him and his  descendants. Although he wasn’t the oldest God chose him instead of Esau

* To learn about jealousy Esau got very angry.
He was jealous because he was the oldest and should have got his father’s blessing. In the end he still loved his brother and they became friends again. Even if we feel jealous when others get more than us, God still wants us to love each other and be friends.

6) Prayer
* Say a prayer to thank God for Jacob who trusted and obeyed God. Let us learn to be like Jacob. Help us to be friends and love each other even if we feel jealous when someone has more than us