VERSES: Genesis 28:1-22
MEMORY VERSE: Genesis 28:12 "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: 1 Chronicles Write "1 Chronicles" on a piece of paper to give to each student before they leave class.
PRAYER: Pray that God will bless these children in your class that they grow up to be strong Christians and marry Christians and raise strong Christian families. Pray that all children might obey their parents because that is what the Bible says.
SPECIAL SONG: "Children, Obey Your Parents" and "The Family In God's Plan" found on this blog under March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4.
VISUAL AID: A large picture of the Activity below.
LESSON POINTS:
- Isaac thought it was very important who Jacob married, so he told him not to marry any of the the Canaanite women, but, just like his father, Abraham, did, he sent Jacob back to where Rebekah's family lived to marry a wife. Canaanite women did not worship God. Can we remember anyone in Rebekah's family? Do you remember Rebekah's brother's name? That's right! Laban! Jacob was go back to Laban's country and seek a wife. Isaac blesses Jacob before he leaves that God might bless him and will give Jacob Abraham's blessing. Then Isaac sent away Jacob. Jacob obeyed his mother and father.
- Remember Esau? Who was Esau? Jacob's brother! When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him back to Laban;s house to marry a wife, he did the opposite! When he saw that Isaac was displeased with the Canaanite women that lived close to where they lived, guess what Esau did? He married a Canaanite woman. How sad! He did what his father did not want him to do!
- But Jacob was headed for Haran where his uncle lived. He came to a certain place, and stayed all night.because the sun was going down. Let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis 28:11, 12 and see what Jacob did. (Read verses) Let's put our bookmarks right there and think about this. What did he use for pillows? That's right! Stones! That must have been a very hard pillow, don't you think?? What happened after he went to sleep? That's right! He had a dream! What did he dream about? A ladder! Where was it going? Up to heaven! What was going up and down on the ladder? Angels! The Bible says that God stood above it and said that He was the LORD of Abraham and Isaac and that He would give the land that Jacob was sleeping on to him and to his children. Jacob's children would be like the dust of the earth and through his seed all families would be blessed. God said that He would be with Jacob.
- When Jacob woke up from his dream, he said that he didn't know it before, but God was in the place where he had been sleeping! Jacob rose early in the morning and built a pillar of the stones he had been resting on and poured oil all over it. When someone pours oil over something, it called "anointing." That is what Jacob did, he anointed the pillar.
- Then Jacob vowed a vowed. A vow is like an oath. It is a solemn promise that what you are going to say will happen. Jacob vowed that if God would be with him and will keep him safe, and give him bread to eat and clothes to wear and he would return to his father's house in peace, then God would be Jacob's God and the stone that he had set as a pillar would be God's house and that he would always give God back a tenth of all that he owned.
- Talk about how how children should always obey their parents. Is that what Esau should have done? Yes! We should always obey our parents in everything because it is in our best interests. They would not tell us to do something that was bad because they love us.
- Talk about "a vow" and how it is much more than a promise. God expects us to carry out our vows. We should be people of our word. Our yes should be yes and our no should be no. (Mt. 5:37).
- God used to talk to His people in dreams, but now there is no need to do that because we have the Bible! (Heb. 1:1, 2)
Materials needed: 9" x 12" gray or black construction paper, 3" x 12" brown piece of construction paper, a 4" x 2" yellow piece of paper, a few brown circles for stones, a picture of Jacob sleeping, angels, black marker, crayons, scissors, glue..
- Pass out gray construction paper to each child. This is the foundation of the picture.
- Either the Bible teacher or the student folds the 3" x 12" brown paper in half lengthwise.
- Mark brown paper as it is marked below in the picture. It is helpful if the teacher marks the papers in advance.
- Cut on black lines.
- Unfold to see the ladder.
- Cut out angels, either on black line or in rectangles.
- Cut out Jacob.
- Color Jacob.
- Write "Jacob's Dream" and "Gen. 28:1-22" on yellow paper.
- Glue ladder on gray paper.
- Glue angels on ladder.
- Glue brown stones on paper.
- Glue Jacob asleep on stones.
- Glue yellow paper on gray paper.
