Lesson 12 – Jacob’s Family

Through Jacob’s family, God brought forth the Savior, Jesus Christ, who endured lies, deception, and the schemes of sinful mankind to work our salvation on the cross.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible. Also paper and pencil will be needed.

This lesson is about Jacob, the younger one of Isaac's twin sons. His name can have a couple of different meanings, including "he cheats" or "deceiver!" We will find out how God used this sinner in His plan of salvation.

Prayer: Dear Lord, bless our time together in Your Word. Guide our thoughts and our discussions as we learn more about Your promises to us. Forgive us and renew us in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. In His name we pray. Amen.

God Speaks

In a previous lesson, Jacob left his family because his brother, Esau, planned to kill him and because his mother, Rebekah, wanted him to marry someone from her family, not a Canaanite woman. Rebekah sent Jacob to Haran, her hometown where her brother Laban lived.

Read Genesis 29:1-14

This was probably the first time Laban heard any news about his sister and her family.

Do any social customs seem odd to you? Possibly kissing relatives, Jacob publicly weeping, or running to greet a visitor.

What new information do these verses give us about Jacob? His emotions or his strength. He moved the stone from the well by himself when the shepherds waited for everyone to help.

Jacob may have felt alone, but God was with him. He found family members in Haran and eventually had a family with at least thirteen children. It may be difficult for us to understand life in a family this large.

Watch the video, “The Radford Family, Where You Belong".

What did you see as some positives or negatives in this large family? They mourn, celebrate, play, and work together. Everyone helps with chores. They argue, but also work to get along and love one another.

 Print out or refer to the two Student Pages (12A and 12B) at the end of the lesson.

Read the directions on Student Page 12A. Use a blank sheet of paper if you do not print out page 12B.

Read Genesis 29:15-30

Why did Jacob love Rachel? She was beautiful. The Bible says Leah had "weak" eyes, probably a description of her lack of beauty.

To marry Rachel, Jacob served Laban for seven years. In their culture, the groom or his family paid a bride price to finalize a marriage contract. The payment usually involved material goods, but it could involve service, as in Jacob's case.

How did Laban deceive Jacob? Laban gave Leah to Jacob on the evening of the wedding feast instead of Rachel. The evening was probably followed with a festival with much drinking; it was dark; and Leah was probably veiled, as was the custom for weddings.

It is ironic that Laban deceived Jacob, who deceived his father and brother. Jacob's name means "he cheats" or "deceiver!"

Why do you think God permitted this deception? God had great plans for Jacob and his family. God didn't hold Jacob's sin against him. God forgave Jacob, but the consequences of his sin lingered.

What quality did Jacob exhibit when he agreed to serve Laban for another seven years to marry Rachel? Patience.

Jacob's disappointment was great. We might expect him to demand that Laban give him Rachel, since that was the formal agreement. However, Jacob submitted humbly to Laban and served him for seven more years. Rachel became his bride a week later, when the formal first week with wife Leah passed.

Read Genesis 29:31-30:24; 35:16-18

As you read, list on Student Page 12B (or blank sheet of paper) the names of the wives and children.

 From left to right on the chart: Leah birthed Reuben (see, a son), Simeon (heard),

 Levi (attached), Judah (praise), Issachar (wages, hire), Zebulun (honor), and Dinah (no meaning given).

• Bilhah, Rachel's servant, had Dan (judged) and Naphtali (wrestling).

• Zilpah, Leah's servant, had Gad (good fortune) and Asher (happy).

• Rachel had Joseph (may He add) and Benjamin (son of the right hand).

How did God use even the sinful, bitter jealousies of the sisters to fulfill His promise? The competition between Leah and Rachel was fierce and bitter, but the Lord continued to bless the family with children. Leah's fourth son, Judah, gives the Jewish people their name. Through Judah, Leah became an ancestor of King David and of the Messiah Himself.

We Live

 It's easy to read about Jacob's family and judge their behavior. The truth is that we live sinful lives of deception, lies, jealousy, and anger too.

What is deception? Deception is when someone purposefully tries to lead someone else to believe a partially true or totally untrue statement or circumstance. 

When do we try to deceive? Encourage students to think about times they deceived someone. Encourage them to recognize common deceptions in our world. For example, some teens are masters of half-truths.

 Thank God for His gift of forgiveness through the work of Christ on the cross!

Read the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed and its explanation from Luther's Small Catechism on Student Page 12A.

What blessing do we have because of Jesus Christ? We are redeemed. Jesus provided redemption.

What is redemption? Redemption is being freed or bought back from the price of our sin; it's why God's Son came to earth. Jesus took on flesh, lived without sin, but suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins, redeeming us with His blood. Then God raised Christ from the dead and claimed victory over death and the devil.

We receive the gift of redemption by grace through faith in Christ our Savior, delivered by the Holy Spirit to us through God's Word and Sacraments.

Why did Jesus have to suffer and die? In the Garden of Eden, humans sinned and broke the perfect relationship between God and people. Once sin entered the world, it infected all humans; death and self-destruction followed. Our sinful nature made us enemies of our holy, perfect God (Romans 5:10). We could not save ourselves.

God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to reconcile us with Him. Jesus, the sinless one, paid for our sins on the cross. He rose from the dead to give us new life, now and forever. We receive faith and the benefits of Jesus' work through Baptism, where we are united in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-11).

Do unbelievers receive this blessing? No, only those who believe that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection purchased our sins forever have it. Ultimately, unbelievers lose blessings for an eternity unless they come to faith.

What does Jacob have to do with Christ's death and resurrection? Jacob was a sinner, just as we are. Yet he lived and died as a redeemed child of God because of the promise of the Messiah, who descended from Judah, son of Jacob and Leah. God's salvation plan through the Messiah could not be stopped even by humankind's deception, lies, jealousies, or selfishness.

 Despite the sinfulness of Jacob's family, God blessed the world through them in Christ Jesus, our Savior.

Closing

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us discern words of truth and deception. Help us speak the truth in love and also speak about the sacrificial love You showed by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. Strengthen us to respond to Your love with our obedience, praise, and service for Christ's sake. Amen.