KIDS OF THE KINGDOM // LESSON 12
Jacob and Esau
1. Jacob and Esau Grow Up
- Before Jacob and Esau were born, God 14 told Rebekah 94 that she would have twins and that a nation would come from each son!
- He told her that the nation of the younger twin would be stronger than the nation of the older twin
- The boys had the same family and grew up in the same home, 91 Isaac
- Genesis 25: 25-26 “25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 96 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. 95
- Esau, the hairy, red brother was a wild man that hunted super well! Esau was Abraham's favorite because Abraham loved the meat he would bring home from hunting. Deer!!!
- Jacob was the 2nd brother to come out. Remember that he was grabbing Esau's heel when he came out! Jacon was content to stay at home, and he was Rebekah’s favorite.
- Jacob and Esau were very different in other ways, too. They both knew their grandfather, Abraham, and I imagine that they heard him tell all kinds of stories about his crazy, faithful life with God!
- They’d seen Abraham and their father, Isaac, worship God by offering Him animal sacrifices.
- But here’s how they were different!
- Jacob believed in God’s promises and wanted to experience them in his own life.
- Esau, on the other hand, was not interested in the things of God!
2. Esau Sells His Birthright
- You might be wondering how we know that Esau didn't care much about the things of God– listen to this story!
- Genesis 25:29 “Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”
- Esau had been hunting like a wild man, and Jacob had stayed close to home and cooked. When Esau came in, he was dying to eat!
- Jacob really wanted Esau’s firstborn birthright. Birthrights had spiritual and physical benefits– you got more of the family inheritance, you could make sacrifices for the family, and you would receive really special promises (nation 67, land 68, blessings 70).
- Remember how Jacob was holding Esau’s heel– like a rascal– when he came out of Rebekah’s womb? Well, he’s still acting that way!
- Jacob told Esau he could have stew IF he sold Jacob his birthright.
- Esau had no problem with this deal. Forget about the birthright! He wanted the stew!
- That means that all of these things will now be given to Jacob!
3. Jacob vs Esau Hearts Toward God
- Okay, let’s talk about these brother’s hearts toward God
- Esau not caring about his birthright is a HUGE red flag! This is Esau pretty much showing us that he doesn't care about the things of God– he cares much more about the things of the world.
- Not only does Esau sell his birthright– he also married TWO ungodly women. Who you marry often shows a lot about what you value. These decisions show us that Esau isn't choosing life with God- he’s choosing to do life by himself!
- Remember how we’ve talked about how the unseen, eternal life with God is much more important to focus on than the visible, temporary life? Yeah, well it’s like Esau was down to crush this entire idea for a bowl of soup.
- Jacob, 95 on the other hand, really cared about the things of God.
- Before Jacob was even born, God told his mom, Rebekah 94, that Jacob’s nation would be stronger than Esau’s. It was all part of the plan.
- BUT! Instead of trusting God, Jacob took the situation into his own hands and tricked his brother. Being sneaky is not how God designed us to live, so this action brought consequences to Jacob later in life.
- If Jacob had trusted God to have His way, Jacob could have avoided a lot of pain.
- Are there places in your life, maybe with family// sports// school, where you’re being controlling instead of trusting God? Ask God’s Holy Spirit to let you open up your hands instead of having such a tight grip on these things!
4. The Scheme
- Isaac got super old and was pretty much blind.
- He called for Esau and said “3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” Genesis 27:3
- Esau, Isaac’s favorite, went out to the wilderness to obey his dad.
- Remember that Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite. She overheard Isaac talking about blessing Esau, and she started scheming.
- Here, we see that Rebekah was more loyal to her son than she was to her husband! This is way out of God’s order.
- Rebekah found Jacob and told him to quickly kill two goats and bring them to her so that they could trick Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing.
- When he brought the kills back, Rebekah prepared the food, dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes, and covered his hands in goatskins.
- Just like we saw with Jacob, Rebekah also failed to trust God to fulfill His promises in His own way! It never goes as it should when we try to manipulate God’s words into happening.
5. Isaac Is Deceived
- Let’s read Genesis 27 and see how this all went down
- He went to his father and said, “My father.”
- “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
- Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” – “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.” Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him.
- When Isaac blessed Jacob, he made him head of the family to rule over his brother. He blessed him to live in abundance and said that nations would serve and bow down to him. All went according to Jacob and Rebekah’s plan!
- RIGHT after Jacob walked out of the room remove 98, Esau 99 returned with the real meat. Isaac and Esau quickly figure out that they’d been tricked, and Esau was so upset.
- Considering the way Esau acted about the things of God, he was probably upset to not have the physical blessing from his father– he wasn't interested in the spiritual blessing.
- Esau was beyond mad at Jacob. First the birthright drama, now this!
- I can only imagine how much better this would have gone if they would have followed God’s ways instead of taking control!
- Watch more to see how God figures out this whole mess!
We are including Sara's notes for complete transparency for parents.
