rebekah

Jacob and Esau

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again! Today’s lesson is from Genesis 25 and 27. Our lesson from last year can be found HERE.

jacob-and-esau

Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys (born on the same day). Esau was born first and then Jacob was born holding onto Esau’s foot.

God had told Rebekah that the younger boy (Jacob) would be in charge of the older boy some day…even though that’s not how it was supposed to go. Back then, the oldest kid would get most of the dad’s money and stuff when he died. He would also get a special blessing (his dad would say some important words from God about him).

As the boys grew up, Esau, the oldest brother was big and hairy and liked hunting and being outside. Jacob was not so big or hairy and he liked being inside. One day Esau came home from working very hard and he was sooooooo hungry. He probably hadn’t eaten for days. And Jacob, the young brother had just made a big pot of stew.

“Please! Give me some of that!” said Esau.

“Ok,” said Jacob…”IF you give me dad’s stuff when he dies, then you can have some soup.”

Does that seem like a very good trade? It doesn’t. But Esau was so hungry he didn’t care. He traded. He traded all the money and servants and animals and cool toys….for one bowl of soup.

When Isaac, their dad, got very very old he couldn’t see very well anymore and he knew he was about to die…so he was ready to give Esau his special blessing.

Rebekah (the mommy) and Jacob thought up a sneaky plan. Now this wasn’t a very nice plan…but remember God knew all along this was going to happen. Jacob already had all his dad’s STUFF, but now he was going to sneak the blessing too!

He dressed up in a very hairy coat and pretended to be Esau…Isaac thought it really was Esau because he felt so hairy (remember he couldn’t see very well anymore) and he gave Jacob the blessing. He said, “God will give you all the food and drinks you need and even more than you need. He will make it rain so all your food grows well. Other people in all the other countries will work for you and you will be in charge of all your brothers. Anyone who says bad things about you will also have bad things come to them and anyone who says good things about you will have good things happen to them.”

Sounds pretty great huh?

Just then, Jacob left and Esau came in…ready to get his blessing. But…his father had already given it to Jacob. Esau was MAAAAAADDDDD. Jacob decided to run away because Esau was so mad he was probably going to try to kill Jacob. (Next time we’ll learn what happens as Jacob ran away.)

Stealing those words might not seem like a big deal, but the blessing Isaac gave Jacob was from God. Jacob WOULD always have good food and lots of rain to help the food grow. He would be in charge of all the people.

Jacob took all of the money and things and servants and animals AND the good things from God…he took all of that from Esau.

Does this sound like another story we learned? Like Cain and Abel? Abel the younger brother was accepted by God when Cain wasn’t. This time God chose Jacob instead of Esau. Sometimes God chooses unexpected people–not the fanciest, or richest or most important people. Sometimes God choose just regular people.

One day Jesus would be one of Jacob’s descendants (great great great etc grandchildren) and God always planned it that way. BUT Jacob got there by being sneaky and because he did it his own way, he had to run away and hide for a LONG time.

When we trust in God, He will lead us where we should go. God loves you and has big plans for you and you can trust that He knows what is best. When we do things God’s way, it is always the best way.

Thanks again for joining us. Love to you all.

Isaac and Rebekah

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Welcome! This lesson is from Genesis 24.

Isaac-Marries-Rebekah
Image from Wesleyan Kids

 

So our friend Abraham was getting really old and he was faithful to God and followed Him. God had given Abraham lots of money and people working for him. He was a pretty famous guy and God blessed him in every way.

Abraham knew it was time for Isaac to get married. Back then, people didn’t always go on lots of dates and date a lot of people before getting married. Sometimes they would pick someone and CHOOSE to love that person forever. (As my daughter said, you could line the boys up and do eeny-meeny-miney-mo to pick! Haha)

When you get married it’s forever…and sometimes you feel lovey and sometimes you feel sad or angry…but you always work together to take care of each other and show love.

Abraham called his servant and said “I want you to go back to where we came from…to our family…to the people who love God…and find a wife for Isaac. The servant was nervous! How would he know who to pick?!

When he got to the right place he prayed and asked God for some help. He went to a well (a place to get water…because you couldn’t just get water in your house like you can now) and said, “God, please send a woman out here and when I ask for a drink of water, the girl who says ‘Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!’ Let that be the girl you have picked for Isaac.”

Before he had even finished talking to God, a girl named Rebekah came out. He asked her for some water and she said “Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!”

The servant knew that was the right girl. He told her and her family all about Abraham and Isaac and how God had led him to her and then he asked if she would come to marry Isaac. She said she would!

So the servant brought her back and Isaac was in the field. He saw her and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

And she saw him and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

They got married and next time we will learn about their kids.

 

Did you notice in that story before the servant had even finished praying God was answering his prayer? God knows what we need before we even ask Him! And God even knows if you’ll get married someday and who that will be. (My older boy and girl insisted they are marrying each other haha).You can already pray to God for the person you will marry that they will love Him and do a good job taking care of you. And you can pray that you will do a good job taking care of them too! Mostly, you can pray and thank God that He had good plans for your life whether you get married or not. You can trust God’s plan and be sure when you talk to Him that He is listening.

 

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!