Teaching Point: To get away from Esau, Jacob seeks refuge with Laban and learns some hard lessons about deception.

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1 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! Lesson Highlights: Scripture References: Genesis Teaching Point: To get away from Esau, Jacob seeks refuge with Laban and learns some hard lessons about deception. Unit Memory Verse: Genesis 28:15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Story Snap Shot Jacob is a deceiver. Jacob s name speaks volumes about who he was. His name means heel catcher, trickster, or supplanter. Jacob confirms it as you watch his life unfold. God s a good Father who knows how to care for His children. Jacob s story reveals it. What about your story? This lesson should really speak to us as a reminder of how grateful we must be that God has chosen the lowly things of the world to make His name great. God can cast his face, not only toward those who do well, but toward those who struggle. Jacob is another character from God s story that gives you and I hope. hope in Him alone for our salvation and hope that God will not leave us as we are, but will change us into Christ s image. Write kids names on board with total attendance! After the Rally Idea: use the icebreaker question to introduce this morning s topic and get the kids talking! Icebreaker Question: 1 P a g e

2 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders Open your Bibles!!! (Get the kids to open their bibles and read! We will do a quick recap then hit the lesson!) Recap: Last Sunday we read about Isaac and Rebekah had two sons. They were twins. Who can describe them? Did they get along? Jacob tricked his brother and his father to get a birthright and an inheritance. Both were important things. Can anybody remember how he did it? Esau is furious with his brother and now Jacob flees and finds a whole new adventure! Jacob is going to get a vision and an assignment. It is an assignment where God shows him how his deception will come back to hurt! Read Genesis 28:10-12 What did Jacob use as a pillow while he slept outside? (He used a rock.) Can anybody describe the dream Jacob had? Can anybody draw it on the dry erase board? In a deep and strong voice read Genesis 28:13-15 Why do you think God reminded Jacob what He was going to do? Do you think he heard this from his father Isaac? Will you pass on stories that your parents have told you? What is important for them to know? Read Genesis 28:16-17 How did Jacob respond to the dream? (He was afraid.) 2 P a g e

3 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! Read Genesis 29:1-4 and 9-14 Who does Jacob meet while giving sheep water? (He meets distant family members and Rachel.) Do you ever see your cousins, aunts, or uncles? What is it like? Is it a joyous occasion? Does this story remind you of the story of Abraham s servant when he went to find Isaac a wife? (Both Isaac and his son Jacob meet their spouse while watering camels or sheep.) Read Genesis 29:15-20 How many daughters did Laban have? (2) What were their names? (Rachel and Leah.) Can you describe them? Which one did Jacob like? (Rachel.) What was the deal Laban made with Jacob? (Work 7 years and she will be your wife.) The leader can read Genesis 29:22-30 Did Jacob get deceived by Laban? (Yes he did. Jacob is deceived by Laban!) How long did Jacob have to work for Laban total? (He worked 15 years.) Does 14 years of hard labor sound like a prison sentence? 3 P a g e

4 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders Have you ever deceived someone? Do you have a story? Take Home: Jacob is given the vision that I am sure he heard from his father Isaac. That vision is He will become a father of a great nation. Jacob deceived his brother Esau and his father Isaac. In this story, Jacob is being deceived and it cost him 14 years of hard labor. We are going to see Jacob continue to struggle but God s plan will still come to pass! God s nation will arise! Prayer Time Before you pray, allow the kids to share with you things that are happening in their lives. Be sure you write these down with their names for you to pray for as the week goes along. Ask them the things they mentioned the previous week. Older kids can be asked if they will pray for another who mentions something. As the leader, begin by opening in prayer and thanking God for this lesson: Praise God for being willing to bring us back to Himself by disciplining us. to give us soft hearts so that we will return quickly to Him. Pray for any specific requests named either by praying yourself or by opening it up to those who said they would pray. Activities and Crazy Ideas: Activity 1: Big Trouble Ask the kids if they have ever gotten in trouble. What was your discipline? Write them on the board. Discipline is not meant to punish but to correct behavior. Bad behavior as we get older means tougher consequences. God uses discipline to help mature us. Remind them of the story of Esau! Activity 2: Discipline Affects Bring a smooth stone and show it to your class. Ask them how it got smooth. The stone got smooth because water was rushing over it for 4 P a g e

5 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! a long time..other rocks were rubbing against it. This is a painful process. This is what discipline is. However, discipline makes us smooth and more useful! Remind them of the story of Jacob and Esau! Activity 3: Which hand? Tell the kids you had a hershey s kiss or some money in one of your hands. If they pick the right hand they will get it. Pretend to mix up which hand had the prize before the child chooses. Each kid will pick a hand and will be wrong because the Hershey s kiss or the money was never in your hand..you said had they have been deceived! Activity 4: Two truths and a deception Have the students come up with 2 things that are true about themselves and one that is not true or a deception. The kids can then go around the class and share what they came up with seeing if the other kids can guess what the deception is. Activity 5: What kind of spouse? Ask the kids to describe their perfect spouse in 5 words or less. Would they be willing to work 14 years for them? Remind the kids of their story! Activity 6: Draw the Dream Give the kids a specific time limit to draw the dream that Jacob had. To make it a challenge they must use their opposite hand. That way every bodies work looks bad! Remind the kids of their story! Activity 7: Draw the Dream 2 You could have one child draw the dream that Jacob had on the dry erase board but they must do it blindfolded! 5 P a g e

6 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders Notes and Commentary 28:10 22 Jacob at Bethel. Through an extraordinary dream, Jacob encounters the Lord. This experience has a dramatic effect on him as the Lord confirms that the divine promises to Abraham will be established through him. This encounter with God is later matched by a similar event on Jacob s return to Canaan (32:22 32). Both events take place at crucial points in the life of Jacob, as he is departing from and returning to Canaan. 28:10 Leaving Beersheba, Jacob sets out to travel the 550 miles (900 km) to Haran (see note on 11:31). 28:12 As he rests overnight, Jacob has a dream, which centers on a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. The Hebrew term translated ladder could possibly denote a stairway (see ESV footnote) similar to those found on ancient ziggurats (see illustration). What matters most is not the precise shape of this structure but its purpose; it provides a bridge between heaven and earth, revealing that God is still committed to making the earth his dwelling place (see Introduction: History of Salvation Summary). Jesus identifies himself as the ladder linking earth and heaven (John 1:51). While human beings want to ascend to heaven (as reflected in the Tower of Babel story, Genesis 11), God is interested in making the earth his temple-city. 28:12 The opening of access to heaven anticipates Christ, who opens access permanently (John 1:51; Heb. 10:19 20). 28:13 15 The expression the LORD stood above it (v. 13) could also be rendered the LORD stood beside him (ESV footnote). Jacob s reaction in v. 16 suggests that he perceived God as being with him on earth rather than in heaven. The Lord s words loudly echo the divine promises made to Abraham (12:3, 7; 13:14 16; 17:7 8; 18:18; 22:17 18) and Isaac (26:4). In an act of grace, God states that he will not abandon Jacob but will fulfill these promises to him. 28:16 17 Surely the LORD is in this place (v. 16). Jacob s affirmation of the Lord s presence indicates that he considers God to be resident in this location. Consequently, he describes it as the house of God (v. 17). The associated phrase gate of heaven (v. 17) possibly implies that this is the entrance to the divine city. Since Jacob names the location Bethel (v. 19), which means house of God, the idea of God s being present on earth is clearly dominant in his thinking. (The idea of a gate ESV English Standard Version ESV English Standard Version 6 P a g e

7 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! into heaven is a common one in ancient Near Eastern literature. For example, one of the titles given to a high priest of Thebes in Egypt was The Opener of the Gates of Heaven. ) 1 29:1 6. The structure and the content of this passage reflect the significance of the Bethel experience. Jacob had been fleeing from Esau; now he was looking for a bride. This change in purpose was due to God s promise given him at Bethel. His quest now was the fulfillment of part of that promise, namely, the seed, while Jacob was outside the land. Moreover, Jacob s spirit was now magnanimous and unselfish. He had a new outlook. Significantly Jacob s meeting of Rachel parallels his father s meeting of Rebekah (chap. 24). Certainly Laban, Rebekah s brother, would have remembered how God had led Eliezer. Yet this narrative, unlike chapter 24, does not emphasize divine leadership; but it is implied. Here was a man who received a marvelous vision. He knew God s plan to bless him and lead him. So Jacob hastened on his mission (continued on his journey is lit., picked up his feet ). He happened onto a spot where a well was located; it happened to be near Haran, where Laban lived (29:5), and Laban s daughter Rachel just happened to be coming to the well (v. 6). This timing was the work of the loving sovereign God who was leading all the way (cf. 24:27). The fact that the meeting took place at a well is significant because a well was often associated with God s blessing (cf. 16:13 14; 21:19; 26:19 25, 33). 29:7 14. When Jacob watered Laban s flocks, a note of anticipation was there: subsequent chapters (30 31) show how Laban and his flocks prospered in Jacob s presence (cf. 12:2 3). In contrast with Laban s lazy shepherds (29:7 8) Jacob was generous, zealous, and industrious (v. 10). He had a mission, a quest. That burning goal implanted by previous experience drove him to succeed. Kissing of relatives (vv. 11, 13) was a proper greeting. In calling Jacob his own flesh and blood (v. 14), Laban possibly was adopting Jacob, his nephew, as a son. 29: Jacob s joyful prospect of marrying Rachel turned, by Laban s deception, into a nightmare. In Laban Jacob met his match and also his means of discipline. Jacob had deceived his own brother and father, and now was deceived by his mother s brother! Twenty years (31:38) of drudgery, affliction, and deception lay ahead. Through Laban he received his own medicine of 1 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 99). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 7 P a g e

8 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders duplicity. But Jacob s tenacity shows that he counted these as minor setbacks. God took him, developed his character, turned the fruits of his deception into blessing, and built the promised seed, the nation of Israel. Jacob s plan was to work seven years to have Rachel as his wife. Those seven years of work passed quickly for Jacob because of his love for her (29:20). Interestingly the wives of each of the first three patriarchs were beautiful: Sarah (12:11), Rebekah (24:15 16), and Rachel (29:17). When the time came for the wedding feast (vv ), hearts were merry and spirits high. But in the night Leah, Rachel s older sister, was substituted. This was a masterpiece of shameless treachery unloved Leah given to a man in love with Rachel. Jacob s anger was to no avail. Now, as the object of trickery, he would understand how Esau felt. Laban offered a technicality of local custom: it is not right to marry the younger before the older. Those words must have pierced Jacob! In his earlier days he, the younger, had deceptively pretended before his father to be the older brother (chap. 27). If social convention were to be set aside, it should be by God, not by deception. Laban s stinging words were left without any comment; the event was simply God s decree against Jacob. The Bible demonstrates over and over the principle that what a man sows he reaps (Gal. 6:7). Some have called this irony or poetic justice, but it is more than that. It is divine retribution in which there is often a measure-for-measure turn of affairs. God orders the affairs of people to set things right. With Jacob this deception was perfectly fitted; it was divine punishment to bring his own craftiness before his eyes. He had deceptively presented himself to his father under the guise of Esau the firstborn; now Leah the firstborn was deceptively introduced to him under the guise of Rachel the younger! After his initial reaction Jacob recognized the deception for what it was and accepted it. He finished out the bridal week (Gen. 29:27; cf. week in v. 28) at the end of which he was given Rachel (two wives in seven days). (Each daughter was given a servant girl as a wedding gift, a custom common in that society. Leah was given Zilpah, v. 24, and Rachel received Bilhah, v. 29; cf. 30:4 13.) Then Jacob worked another seven years, which he owed Laban in return for Rachel (29:30; cf. 31:38, 41). Unfortunately Jacob was not the only believer who needed a Laban to discipline him. Lecture Notes Last week we began to hear more about Isaac s family. We learned that he and his wife, Rebekah, had twin boys anyone remember what their names were? (Jacob and Esau) There were big problems in their family. Remember what Rebekah and Jacob did to Isaac? He wanted to give his blessing to Esau but instead, who got it? (Jacob) And Esau was mad, wasn t he? He told Jacob that when Isaac died what would he do to Jacob? (kill him) Yeah. Esau had rejected 8 P a g e

9 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! the blessing of God and Jacob had lied and stolen. Both of them were so wrong in what they did. Because of Esau s anger, what happened with Jacob? What did he have to do? (leave his family) Yep. Rebekah died before Jacob would even get to see her again. So sad. But what do you think happened to Jacob? Remember, he s supposed to be God s leader. He s supposed to be the one who gets the blessing, the land, the protection from God but he s already shown that he doesn t trust God that he would do things his way instead of God s. What would God do about that? That s what we re going to learn about today so, open your Bibles to what book are we in? (Genesis) Yeah turn to chapter 28 would someone read verses for me? So, God renews the covenant He gave to Abraham; He gives it to Jacob. Jacob who lied and deceived and stole. Jacob whose name means literally he cheats. Jacob gets the blessing from God. And did you hear God gripe at him? Did God even get on to him for all that he d done? Nope. What s going on here? Doesn t God care about what kind of leaders we are? Let s keep going on in our story because there are some good lessons God wants Jacob to know, the same lessons God wants us to know. Jacob had been traveling for probably about 3 weeks just as Abraham s servant traveled when he went to get a wife for Isaac, remember? Jacob went to the same place and came upon some men who were watering their flock of sheep by a well. He stopped and asked where they were from. They told him they were from the same land as Jacob s family and even said they knew Laban, Rebekah s brother. Jacob had found the right place. Now, look with me at chapter 29, verses So, Jacob meets a girl named Rachel, and he s so excited that he runs to help her and embraces her. She goes to get her father who welcomes Jacob warmly into his home. Then guess what happens? Laban asks Jacob what he can pay him to work with the animals. Jacob looks at Rachel who the Bible tells us is beautiful and tells Laban that he will work for seven years if he can have Rachel as his wife. Laban agrees and Jacob does it seven years of service for one woman but the Bible tells us that it only seemed like a few days to Jacob because of his great love for Rachel. Okay. Jacob cheats his brother out of his birthright lies to his father steals the blessing Isaac wanted to give to Esau and in return for all of that, what happens to Jacob? He gets the 9 P a g e

10 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders covenant of God, a warm welcome from Laban and a beautiful girl? That s what it seems like, doesn t it? Like God didn t care what kind of man Jacob was, He was just going to bless him. But there s more to this story. See, Laban was a lot like Jacob, but Jacob didn t know it. Jacob prepared to marry Rachel. Laban planned to throw a big party for all of his friends and family to come and celebrate. Rachel would have been dressed in beautiful clothes and a heavy veil so that her beauty was hidden from everyone except her husband. That was her way of saying that she belonged only to him. No other would see her beauty. There would have been dancing and singing and fun and celebration until it was really late at night. Then the bride and groom would finally get to be alone. Everything seemed great to Jacob he d worked seven long years for this woman. And everything was great until the next morning when the sun shone into his tent and his wife finally was seen without her heavy veil. Because what Jacob didn t know was that Laban didn t send him Rachel. He sent her older sister, Leah. Jacob married Leah. Jacob, the one who cheats was now cheated. Jacob, the one who lies was now lied to. Jacob the one who steals was now the one who was stolen from. He had dressed up like his brother and now he got a bride dressed up like her sister. The older brother had been deceived and now Jacob was deceived by the older sister. He had no idea that it was Leah under that heavy veil when he married her Leah in his tent the next morning. Now, they were husband and wife and the woman he loved? Left alone. God did care greatly about the kind of man that Jacob was. He cared greatly about the sins that Jacob had committed against his family. God made sure that Jacob understood exactly what he d done wrong. And God made him work for his release from this mess. Jacob went to Laban and complained about what had happened. Laban explained that the younger sister can never marry before the older one is married. But then Laban offers Jacob a deal he can t refuse. Laban says that if he ll work for seven more years that Laban will give him Rachel, too. That s just wrong. God designed marriage between one man and one woman, not one man and two women. But Jacob didn t care. Once again, he did what he wanted and agreed with Laban just as he had agreed with Rebekah to go against Isaac. Now he would betray Leah. And Jacob did it. He worked for seven more years and took Rachel to be his wife. And then the discipline of God really started because Jacob had a family that was always fighting, always jealous of each other, always trying to get more for themselves and Jacob continually chose Rachel over Leah. In fact, the Bible says God had great compassion for Leah because she was hated. Jacob s lies and stealing led to fighting within his first family and another man s lies and cheating led to fighting within his new family. Jacob would have to live with the consequences of sin every day. He would learn to go to God rather than to do things his own way. Jacob changes because of God s discipline in his life. That s a good lesson for us to remember. God does care about our sin. He cares about what kind of leaders we are and just because we 10 P a g e

11 October 29, 2017 God Leads His People (Planet 1) God Disciplines His Leaders! don t always get caught when we lie or cheat or are mean it doesn t mean that God is ignoring us and not caring about how we are. He will move our lives to change us to be the kind of leaders He demands. He will use our parents, our teachers and other leaders in our lives to discipline us until we become the kind of leaders who look just like Him just like we were created to do. But there s one more lesson that we have to see from this. Did God give Jacob the blessing before or after he changed? Did God love him and decide to use him as His leader because Jacob was so good? No. God chose Jacob simply because He chose him. He decides who His leaders are before they even do one thing good or bad (Romans 9:10-13). When we read stories like Jacob s we are reminded of an important truth. Our salvation, just like Jacob s, is about what God does first. Only after that is it about what we do as His leaders. Our hope rests, just like Jacob s, on God s grace to us not what we can do for God. We are confident only because God is faithful. He will not leave us. He will not reject His leaders. He will not forget His promises. And that s such good news for people like Jacob and like me and like you. Let s pray together thanking Him for being a God who stays with us even when we don t deserve it. Suggested Follow-up Activities Teachers are free to choose the activities that they feel are best for their group. The idea is that as the children work and play, remind them of the truths they just learned. Scripture Memory: Figure out your reward system for memorizing the Scriptures provided in this section. Give the children several opportunities to tell it to you in class. Play a memory game with the kids if you have time. Craft: Jacob s Two Wives Remind the kids that we talked about God s discipline of Jacob as He remade him into a leader for Him. Jacob the one who deceived his father was deceived by a father by a sister who was disguised as he was. Fourteen years later he found himself married to two women in a household that was filled with jealousy and bitterness as was the home he left behind. Have the kids color the card and figure of Leah as they d like. They can then cut out the card and fold the rectangle with the verse oval toward the inside first then followed by the rectangle 11 P a g e

12 Planet 1, OT Lesson 11: God Disciplines His Leaders of Jacob. Have them then unfold the figure of Jacob and then glue Leah into place on the back of that inside flap so that those two are standing side by side. Give them a piece of fabric to glue at the top of Leah s face as a veil. When they open the flap of Leah, Rachel and Jacob will be seen together. Finally, have them cut out the verse and glue it into place. Materials: copies of the templates; markers or crayons; scissors; stick glue; small rectangles of fabric Craft: Jacob Marries Leah Remind the kids that we talked about God s discipline of Jacob as He remade him into a leader for Him. Jacob the one who deceived his father was deceived by a father by a sister who was disguised as he was. Fourteen years later he found himself married to two women in a household that was filled with jealousy and bitterness as was the home he left behind. Give each child a copy of the craft page. Have them color it as they d like. Provide them a small rectangle of fabric for them to glue only at the top of Leah s head so that it can be lifted. Additionally, you can provide braiding for embellishment on the tent, craft sticks for the tent poles, etc. Materials: copies of the craft page; scissors; fabric; markers and crayons; stick glue; optional embellishments such as braiding or craft sticks 12 P a g e