A Sunday School Lesson On Jacob And Esau

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on Jacob and Esau.

The Supplanter

Genesis 25:26 “Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”

Jacob’s name means “supplanter” or “deceiver” or “he who takes hold” and that’s just what he seemed to do even at birth as he held fast to his brother’s heel in coming out. Even though they were born at the same time, “When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents” (Gen 25:27) but the major problem was that “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Gen 25:28). Playing favorites with children rarely turns out well and it didn’t in Jacob and Esau’s case either.

Did your parents have “favorite” children?

How are Jacob and Esau different?

Do you favor some people over others?

Despising the Birthright

Genesis 25:29-30 “Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom).”

Esau was so carried away by his own hunger that “Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). In other words, he threw away his greatest blessing for a temporary desire of the flesh. He despised it to the point of giving it away for a meal. He exchanged what was temporary for what was eternal. Since he showed so little regard for it, he probably didn’t deserve it anyway. Jacob was guilty by association, but each of us has a choice to make in life and the consequences can sometimes last a lifetime.

Do you think Jacob set up Esau for this trap?

Did something similar happen to Jacob (Gen 29:21-30)?

Why do you think God used the word “despised” for?

Stolen Blessing

Genesis 27:30 “As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.”

Once again Jacob, this time through the cunning of his mother Rebekah, dressed Jacob up to feel like he was Esau so that Jacob would receive the blessing from his father Isaac instead of Esau. After this, “Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me” (Gen 27:36) and as a result, “Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob” (Gen 27:41) and because of this, “Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother” (Gen 28:5) so that Jacob might “take a wife from there” (Gen 28:6). Jacob’s flight was his delight in finding Rachel but not long after this, “Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” “Genesis 35:29).

Was it fair to Esau to steal his birthright and blessing?

Was Rebekah responsible too?

Do you think that Jacob and Esau put away their differences when they buried their father Isaac?

Jacob’s Dream

Genesis 28:12-13 “And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.”

After this, God tells Jacob, “Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 28:14). Those families that are most blessed are those who trust in the offspring or in the Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that is Jesus Christ because “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Rom 4:7). Just as God had did with Jacob’s grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, so too does God promise him and his offspring would be like the dust in number, but God didn’t exactly say when that would happen.

Is God finished with Israel?

What was Jacob’s dream really about?

Is Israel like “the dust of the earth” right now?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson on Jacob and Esau and maybe you didn’t know that the descendants of these men are in opposition to one another today as the Arab and Israelite conflict. Near the end of both of these men’s lives they came to a brotherly peace and mutual understanding and no longer did Esau seek to kill Jacob. Before they departed, Jacob gave a great gift of wealth to Esau, perhaps as a way of apologizing for all his deception. Maybe that’s something we can all learn to do better.

Do you have an “Esau” family?

Do you have a “Jacob” in your family?

What is it that they don’t like about you?

What has changed in your understanding about Jacob and Esau after this study?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.