Unit 3: Isaac and Jacob OT3.7 Jacob Bargains with Labanstorage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user...Unit...

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OT3.7 Jacob Bargains with Laban ©Beverly Wilson 2017

Unit 3: Isaac and Jacob OT3.7 Jacob Bargains with Laban

Scripture: Genesis 30:25-43; 31

Lesson Goal: Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac. God had promised that

Jacob's family would be the one in whom Jesus the Savior of the world would be born. In this lesson we will learn how Jacob did not wait on God but used trickery in bargaining with his father in law Laban.

Introduction: This is the seventh lesson in Unit 3: Isaac and Jacob. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac. God had promised that Jacob's family would be the one in whom Jesus the Savior of the world would be born. In this lesson we will learn how Jacob did not wait on God but used trickery in bargaining with his father in law Laban. The lesson is found in the first book of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis is the first book of Law. The books of the Law are the first five books in the Old Testament. Let's say the books of Law together. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Attention Getter: "Fair Share" Have you ever had to share a favorite cookie or a candy bar with your friend? How do you divide it? Did you try to divide it so one part was larger than the other? If you or your friend were selfish or trying to take advantage of one another, one part would be larger than the other wouldn't it. Perhaps you had a whole bag of candy pieces? Did you try to divide the candy so both you and your friend had the same number? That would be the fair thing to do wouldn't it? In this lesson we will learn how two men--Jacob and Laban--tried to take advantage of one another. They tried to bargain with one another for their own personal gain. They were willing to deceive and trick one another but it only caused many problems.

Opening Prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for this Bible lesson about Jacob and Laban. Help us to learn not to try to deceive others or take advantage of them. Cause us to remember that you hate dishonesty and want us to be fair with others. Help us to be quick to forgive people when they treat us wrong or disappoint us. Give us the power of the Holy Spirit to rise above our anger. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight."

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/IQpp6y_RwV0 Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac. God had promised that Jacob's family would be the one in whom Jesus the Savior of the world would be born. Although his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac loved God Jacob however had much to learn about trusting Him.

When Jacob was young he been very deceptive and tricky. He had tricked his twin brother Esau and his father Isaac into giving him the special birthright blessing. One day Jacob trapped Esau into carelessly selling his birthright to him for a bowl of soup. The birthright was the blessing of being the family leader and of inheriting the family possessions. Several years later Jacob's father Isaac became very old and blind. With his mother's help Jacob deceived his father by pretending to be Esau and tricking his father into blessing him instead.

All these lies caused Jacob's brother Esau to be so angry at Jacob for cheating that he wanted to kill him! So Jacob had to leave his family to go live with his Uncle Laban in Harran.

https://youtu.be/IQpp6y_RwV0

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Shortly after arriving at his relatives' home, Jacob fell in love with Laban's daughter Rachel. He desperately wanted her as his wife so he told Laban that he would work for seven years for the right to marry Rachel. But Jacob soon realized that his Uncle Laban was a greater deceiver that he was! When the seven years of work were completed the wedding was planned. Laban tricked Jacob by substituting Rachel's sister Leah as the bride! Jacob was so angry but he was now getting what he deserved! Jacob had deceived his father and brother and now he was being deceived by his Uncle Laban. Sin always comes back to haunt us!

Finally Laban told Jacob he could also have Rachel as a wife if he worked yet another seven years. So Jacob agreed to work another seven years. A week later Rachel became his wife also. And so Jacob became married to both sisters, but he always loved Rachel more. These two sisters became very jealous of one another and had many arguments. They caused Jacob many problems.

Although Jacob was married to Leah, he did not love her so God blessed her by giving her many sons! The names of her sons were Rueben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Later she would have a daughter named Dinah. She also had two other sons by her maid servant who were named Gad and Asher.

All these children of Leah made Rachel very jealous. So she had her maid servant give Jacob two sons named Dan and Naphtali. Finally Rachel had a son named Joseph. Jacob loved all of his children but he was especially fond of his baby son Joseph because his mother was Rachel whom he loved so much.

It had been 14 years since Jacob arrived in Haran. By now Jacob had 2 wives, 2 maid servants, 11 sons and 1 daughter. Much later Jacob would have another son named Benjamin. Out of these twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel as we know them today! God was blessing Jacob with many children just as he had promised! It would be through his son Judah that Jesus the Savior of the world would someday be born! The promise that God made to his grandfather Abraham was now becoming a reality!

After little Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob wanted very much to return to his homeland, Canaan, the land promised to his grandfather, to his father, and to himself. He had now been in Haran twenty years, and it was time to go to his homeland and possess his inheritance. He had a large family now and he needed to support them! Besides he missed his father Isaac and his mother Rebekah and he needed to settle the differences between himself and his brother Esau. God had told him that someday he would return to the land promised to his grandfather Abraham.

Jacob told Laban that he wanted to return to his homeland of Canaan. Laban knew Jacob had done a great job looking after his sheep and cattle and he did not want to lose him.

"Oh, no! My boy!" Laban said, "Don't be so quick to rush off! The Lord has blessed me because of you! Name your wages, and I will pay them," he replied. Laban was a very shrewd businessman and he wanted to make another good deal with Jacob!

Jacob thought about it for a while and if he could get Laban to agree to a good deal it might be worth it to stay. So Jacob replied, "I will stay and work for you if you let me go through your flocks and remove all the speckled or spotted sheep and goats, plus every dark colored lamb. They will be my wages." Laban agreed.

In those days people thought that animals with spots or speckles or stripes were not as good as solid colored animals. Since most sheep were white and most goats were black or brown, Laban thought he was getting a good deal and quickly agreed with Jacob's plan. So Jacob and Laban separated the animals and took the two groups to different pastures, three whole days apart. The streaked, spotted

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and speckled animals now belonged to Jacob and the solid colored animals belonged to Laban. Jacob was to care for all the animals.

But Jacob had a magic trick of his own! He was going to use an old superstition to grow his herd! During that time people thought that by peeling the bark of poplar, almond and plane trees and putting the peeled branches in front of the feeding troughs where the flocks drank that the sheep when they mated would bare young who were streaked, spotted, or speckled. This of course was false and had nothing to do with how the lambs would look when they were born!

So instead of trusting God Jacob made separate flocks for himself and practiced these old folklore ideas. In spite of Jacob's devices and deceptive ways, God chose to bless Jacob by making his flocks larger and stronger than those that belonged to Laban. After several years Jacob had many more animals than Laban did . He became very rich and had many servants.

Laban's sons didn't like it that Jacob was having such good success in raising and breeding the animals. They were getting angry at Jacob and complained to their father. "He's taking all your animals! You'd better do something to stop him before he steals everything we own!"

Jacob soon noticed that Laban's attitude towards him was not what it had been. Laban kept trying to change the terms of the deal. Even though Jacob was married to his daughters Laban was still trying to cheat him!

Jacob had heard the complaints and accusations against him, and it appeared that he prayed about the situation. He had a dream about the breeding of the sheep and goats and how God was in control. Then the Lord said to Jacob, "I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. Now go back to the land of your fathers and I will be with you."

Jacob had a talk with Leah and Rachel. "Your brothers and your father are angry with me. You know I have worked for your father all these years and have done nothing wrong, even though your father keeps changing his deals and has been deceitful with me. God told me to leave here and take all of you back to Canaan. What do you think we should do?"

Rachel and Leah didn't have to think very hard to give Jacob an answer. "Our father has dealt badly with us, too. Even though we are his daughters, he treated us like slaves selling us to you as if we are no better than cattle. He doesn't care about us, and since we have brothers, we won't even receive an inheritance from him. He will give everything to his sons. If God told you to leave, then we are willing to leave with you."

While Laban was out in the field shearing sheep, Jacob set his wives and children on camels, and, rounding up all his herds and flocks, they formed a large caravan heading toward Jacob's old home in Canaan. But they did not tell Laban they were leaving. Before they left, Rachel stole her father Laban's household gods.

Three days later, Laban hadn't even noticed that Jacob and all of his family were gone. Someone told Laban that Jacob left taking his family and animals with him. Laban was not a bit happy to hear that news. He gathered a group of men to go with him to help find Jacob.

They traveled seven days and finally came within sight of Jacob's caravan. They arrived in Gilead Hill Country where Jacob and his family were camped. But in a dream, God warned Laban not to say anything good or bad to Jacob. Laban was well known for tricking people and making deals but he knew better than try to make a deal with God.

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When he approached Jacob he tried to be as kind as he could be. "Why did you run off and deceive me?" Laban asked. "You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. I could have least sent you off with singing and music."

Then he added, "I could have caught up with you and done you harm during the night, but God told me not to hurt you. I know you miss your old home and want to go back there. I can understand that, but why did you steal my idols?"

Jacob answered Laban, "I left quickly because I was afraid you would try to stop me by taking your daughters away from me, but I don't know anything about your idols. I have no need for them and didn't take them. If you don't believe me, go ahead and search all of our stuff. If you find your idols, then you can severely punish the person that took them." Jacob did not know Rachel had stolen her father's gods.

Rachel knew she would be in big trouble if her father found the idols. While the men were searching through the bags and sacks, she secretly removed the idols from her belongings, put them on her little seat on the camel, and sat on them. When Laban searched through her things, he didn't find the idols.

Jacob was becoming more and more angry with Laban. "What have I done to you?" he asked. "Why did you come here? Why are you searching through all of our stuff? Have you found anything that doesn't belong to me? I have worked for you for twenty years and have always been honest, even though you kept changing our agreements. I only took the ugly animals that were speckled, streaked and spotted. I left all the pretty solid-colored animals for you. If something bad happened to one of your animals, I replaced it for you. It is God that has blessed me. If God hadn't blessed me, you wouldn't have anything, and I would be leaving you with nothing to call my own."

Laban wouldn't agree with what Jacob was saying, but he knew Jacob was right. Even so, he was insistent that Jacob was trying to steal from him. "Everything you have here belongs to me," Laban argued. "These are my daughters, and these are my grandchildren. All the flocks and herds you have came from my flocks and herds. But because God spoke to me, I will make a promise to you that I won't follow you any further and I won't cause you any harm."

Jacob took a large stone and set it up as a pillar. Jacob told Laban's men to gather stones to add to the one he had set up. Each man added a rock "This heap of rocks will remind us of our agreement," Laban said. Jacob named the rocks Galeed and Laban named them Mizpah, which means "May the Lord watch over me and you when we are separate from each other." Then they made another promise to each other that neither one would journey past the rocks, into the other person's territory.

After all the promises had been made, Jacob offered a sacrifice to God, and all the people from both groups ate together and spent the night together. Early the next morning, Laban got up and hugged and kissed his daughters and his grandchildren. Then both groups went their separate ways. Laban and his men went back to their home in Padan-aram, and Jacob and his family continued their journey to Canaan.

In this lesson we see two deceivers trying to outwit one another. Jacob the deceiver is deceiving Laban the deceiver of deceivers! How sad that these two men--Jacob and Laban--did not understand that real wealth does not come through scheming. They missed the blessing of honoring God with their success.

Our memory verse is Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight." God was not pleased with these foolish ways of deception and trickery. He wants His

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children to be honest and transparent in their dealings with others. Just because others do it does not make it right for us! Let's say our verse again, Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight."

We need to remember that success cannot be equated with spirituality! Jacob was not blessed of God because of his godliness but due to God’s grace. God chose to bless him because of His promises. We need to work diligently and leave our well being in the hands of God. He loves us and promises to give us what is best. We should trust God's love and grace rather than our own schemes and devices.

Even though Laban and Jacob were still not happy with each other they decided to make a peace agreement. They did this by making a promise not to harm each other and by piling up rocks to remind them of that promise. It is always good to make up with people you are unhappy with. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t even want us to pray to Him or worship Him until we have gone to the person that has offended us and make up with him or her. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is.

We should not wait to solve differences between ourselves and someone else. Even if the other person is in the wrong, we can go to him or her and make it right. We need to do this as soon as we can. Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” We must be quick to forgive so that our anger does not grow. The devil would like to take advantage of our anger, but the Holy Spirit can give us power to rise above it.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for this Bible lesson about Jacob and Laban. Help us to learn not to try to deceive others or take advantage of them. Cause us to remember that you hate dishonesty and want us to be fair with others. Help us to be quick to forgive people when they treat us wrong or disappoint us. Give us the power of the Holy Spirit to rise above our anger. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Remember God wants us to be honest and to forgive others.

Review Questions: "Pan Balance" Directions: Give each student in your class a different weight of stone or rock. These stones or rocks should vary in size and weight from very small rocks to larger ones. Set up a simple pan balance at the front of the classroom. This can be a board 3-5 feet long balanced over a fulcrum such as the back of a chair. Attach two pie pans to the ends of the board using wire of heavy cord. Or you can use a plastic hangar with two plastic cups attached to the sides. Procedure: The goal of the exercise is to try to put a rock in the appropriate pan to balance the scale. Students who answer one of the following review questions correctly may put their rock on one of the pans. Say: "In this lesson Jacob and Laban did not treat each other fairly in their business deals. They were deceptive and unfair. A scale is used to measure if two objects are matched in weight. Today we are going to use a pan scale to see if we can put our rocks on correct side of the scale. If you answer the review question correctly you will get to put your rock on the scale." Continue the questions until everyone has had an opportunity to balance the scale. 1. What acts of deception did Jacob do when he was young? He deceived his brother Esau into

selling his birthright for a bowl of soup. He deceived his father Isaac by pretending to be Esau so he would give him the blessing of the birthright and the family inheritance.

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2. Why did Jacob have to leave his family and go to Harran? His brother Esau was angry with him and he was sent to Harran to find a wife who believed in God.

3. What kind of character did Laban have? He was a very shrewd businessman who tried to take advantage of others through trickery and deceit.

4. What trick did Laban first play on Jacob? He promised to give his daughter Rachel in marriage to Jacob in exchange for seven years of marriage but he exchanged his daughter Leah on the wedding night.

5. How did Jacob finally get Rachel as his wife? He promised to work for Laban for another seven years without any wages except to have Rachel as his wife.

6. How did Jacob treat his wife Leah? He did not love her and which caused her to attempt to vie for his attention and act jealously of her sister.

7. What did God do for Leah because Jacob did not treat her fairly? God blessed her with six sons and one daughter. He also gave her two other sons by her maid servant.

8. What did Rachel do when God did not give her any children? She bore Jacob two sons through her maid servant.

9. What finally happened to Rachel after all the other sons were born to Jacob? She had a son named Joseph whom Jacob loved very much.

10. After fourteen years in Harran, how large was Jacob's family? He had 2 wives, 2 maid servants, 11 sons and one daughter.

11. Why did God give Jacob so many children? God had promised his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac that they would have many children and through their family would someday be born Jesus the Savior of the world. These sons would one day form the twelve tribes of Israel.

12. Why did Jacob feel the need to return home? He missed his father and mother. He needed to settle the differences between himself and his brother Esau. He needed to collect his inheritance so he could support his family.

13. When Jacob told Laban he wanted to leave, what did Laban say? He told his to wait and not to go. Laban did not want to lose his free labor and he knew that the reason he had grown rich was because of God's blessing on Jacob.

14. What bargain did Laban and Jacob make? Jacob could have all the speckled, spotted goats and lambs and the solid color animals would be Laban's in exchange for Jacob caring for all the herds.

15. Why did Laban think he had the best part of the deal? Since most sheep were white and most goats were black or brown, Laban thought he was getting a good deal and quickly agreed with Jacob's plan.

16. What did Jacob do to trick the sheep and goats into having speckled and spotted babies? He was going to use an old superstition to grow his herd! During that time people thought that by peeling the bark of poplar, almond and plane trees and putting the peeled branches in front of the feeding troughs where the flocks drank that the sheep when they mated would bare young who were streaked, spotted, or speckled.

17. Who really caused Jacob's herd to grow larger? God chose to bless Jacob by making his flocks larger and stronger than those that belonged to Laban.

18. When Laban's sons saw how Jacob was prospering what did they do? They complained to their father and Laban tried to change the terms of the deal to be in his favor.

19. Why did Jacob finally decide to leave Harran? He saw that Laban's attitude toward him had changed; he knew that Laban's sons were complaining and he was told by God in a dream to return to the land of Canaan.

20. Why did Jacob and his large family leave while Laban was shearing his sheep? Jacob was afraid that Laban would prevent him from leaving by taking his wives and children.

21. When Laban found out that Jacob had left what did he do? He got a group of men together and they traveled seven days to find Jacob and his family camped in the Gilead Hill Country.

22. What prevented Laban from attacking Jacob and taking all his possessions? God appeared to him in a dream and told him not to say anything good or bad to him.

23. What accusation did Laban make to Jacob when he finally arrived at his camp? He wanted to know why Jacob had left so abruptly and why had he stolen his gods.

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24. Who had taken the gods and what did he or she do to prevent Laban from finding them? Rachel had taken the gods and she hid them in her camel's seat and sat on it while Laban was searching through all of the belongings of Jacob to find the idols.

25. What did Jacob do when Laban was searching his possessions? Jacob became angry and said that he had not taken any of Laban's possessions especially his idols and that whoever had taken them should be punished. He did not know that it was his wife Rachel who had taken them.

26. What did Laban and Jacob finally agree to do? They set up a pile of rocks as a memorial to the promise to each other that they would not cross the boundary between them and they would leave each other alone in peace.

27. What does the memory verse say that shows how God feels about deceptive plans? Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight."

28. Does wealth and success in life necessarily mean that you are a godly person? No. Jacob was not blessed of God because of his godliness but due to God’s grace. God chose to bless him because of His promises.

29. Why should we forgive others when they take advantage of us? God has commanded us to do so. He says that before we can worship Him we should go and make peace with those who have offended us.

Bible Memory Verse Activity: "Pass the Lamb"

Our memory verse is Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight." Have students look up the verse in scripture. Read the verse aloud together several times. Let children individually attempt to say the verse from memory. Repeat saying the verse as a group. Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight." Procedure: Have children sit in a circle on the floor or in chairs. Pass a toy lamb around the circle while the class says the bible verse aloud together in unison.. (A toy lamb with a wind up baa, baa sound works especially well for this activity.) If the toy does not make a sound then the teacher can call out "baa, baa." When the sheep baas, then the child who is holding the lamb must try to say the verse by memory. Say: What do you think this verse means? God was not pleased with Jacob and Laban's foolish ways of deception and trickery. He wants His children to be honest and transparent in their dealings with others. Just because others do it does not make it right for us! Discuss some practical ways that children can be honest and trustworthy. Examples might be 1) Not sharing food or treats equally, (2) Trying to cheat while playing games such as soccer or football by claiming the ball was a score when it did not go over the goal line. (3) Cheating on a test by trying to write answers on cheat sheets or looking at someone else's paper. (4) Stealing items from a store or not paying for them at the checkout counter.

Group Learning Activity: "Truth or Lie" Game (Grades K-2) Purpose: “Truth or Lie” is a simple game that helps kids really understand the basics of honesty. Say: In our lesson today Laban and Jacob were not always truthful with one another. They used deception and lies to trick one another. God wants us to be honest and truthful. Today we are going to play a game that will help us understand what a truth or lie is." Procedure: Draw a line to divide your classroom into two areas. You can lay a rope on the floor or simply draw a chalk line. Write the letter T for Truth on one sheet of paper and the letter L for Lie on another sheet of paper. Lay the two sheets of paper on opposite sides of the line.

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The teacher is to begin the game by being the leader. The leader makes a statement that the students would be familiar with and then the students are to walk to the side of the line to represent if they think it’s the truth or the lie. Here are some examples:

• “I have purple hair.” • “Your bedroom is upstairs.” • “Dad drives a bus for work.” • “We had lasagna for breakfast.” • “I am shorter than your dad.”

After a few examples students can be the leader and come up with their own statements.

Group Learning Activity: "Who Am I?" Grades 3-5 Preparation: Write the names of the characters in the lesson on sheets of paper. Pin the names on the backs of the children. Each child has to guess who they are by asking yes or no questions of the other children. Use the following names: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Esau, Rachel, Laban. Ask the following questions until the children guess who you’re talking about: Abraham:

My father’s name was Terah. We lived in a city called Ur. Who am I?

One day, God told me to take my family and leave our home in Ur to go to a place that He would show me. I did not know where we were going, but I wanted to obey God. We left Ur and started a long journey. Who am I?

On the way to the land God had promised me, we stopped in Haran. My father died there. Soon, God told me this was not the place He had prepared for us, so we left and started out once more. We came to a land called Canaan. God told me that this was the land He had promised to me. Who am I?

One day, Sarah, my wife, had a baby at the age of 99! Who am I?

Sarah:

• God told my husband and I to go to a new land. We didn’t know where it was. We had to travel a long way from our home in Ur to get there. Who am I?

• God promised my husband that if we would trust Him and go where He told us, that He’d make our descendants a great nation. Who am I?

• I was very old when I had my first child. I thought it was pretty funny that God would give me a child at the age of 99, so I named him “Laughter.” Who am I?

Isaac:

• My father was a very important man. He was rich and had many herds and cattle and camels. My mother and father were very old when I was born. I made them very happy. Who am I?

• My father and mother and I lived in a land called Canaan. In this land there were many people who worshiped idols. My parents did not want me to marry anyone from this land. They wanted me to love and serve God with my wife. They sent a servant to Haran to look for a wife for me. Who am I?

• Our servant went to Haran. He asked God to help him find me a good wife. A girl came to the well and gave him and his camels a drink of water. She was very kind. Who am I?

Rebekah:

• I am a young and beautiful shepherdess. One day I went down to the well to draw water for my sheep. I noticed a man who looked liked he’d been traveling a long, long time. Who am I?

• I offered the stranger some water and asked him if I could water his camels, as well. Who am I?

• I took the stranger home with me and he gave me lots of gold jewelry and asked if I would go to a far away place with him to be the wife of his master. Who am I?

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Jacob: • I had a twin brother. He was very different than I was. I like to stay close to home, but my

brother liked to hunt and be outdoors. Who am I? • One day I saw my brother coming in from hunting. He was very hungry. I told him if he would

give me his birthright, I would give him a bowl of stew. He was so hungry he thought he was going to die, so he gave away his birthright. Who am I?

• When my father was very old and nearly blind, my mother and I made a plan to make him think I was my older brother. I put animal skins on my hands and arms. Mother made a stew that tasted just l like the stew my brother made for him. He thought I was my older brother and gave me the blessing. Who am I?

• My brother was very angry when he found that I had gotten the blessing. My mother was afraid for me and sent me way to Haran to her brother’s house. I had a dream on the way. I saw angels going up and down on a ladder that reached from the ground to Heaven. I knew that God wanted me to serve Him. I promised to follow Him from then on. I never forgot my promise. Who am I?

Esau: • I was a hairy man. One day I was so hungry I was willing to sell my birthright to my brother for

a pot of stew. Who am I? • Later my brother tricked my dad into giving my younger brother the special birthright blessing

that I should have received, because I was the first born. Who am I?

Rachel: • My aunt met a man at a well who had come to my village of Haran to find a wife for his

master’s son. At this same well, some 40 years later, I met my cousin who became my husband. He helped me draw water for my sheep. Who am I?

• My father made a bargain with my cousin who wanted to marry me. He promised to work for 7 years without pay to get my hand in marriage. Who am I?

• Then on my wedding night, my dad played a trick on my husband to be. Dad took my older sister to him instead of me. Then my husband had to work another 7 years without pay. Who am I?

Laban: • My whole life is stamped by self-centeredness. I made arrangements for my sister to marry a

very important man who was rich and had many herds of cattle and camels. Who am I? • I used my daughter’s lives as bargaining chips to gain more wealth. I tricked a very important

man into working for me without pay for 14 years to get my youngest daughter as a wife. Who am I?

Alternatives: a. Let the class give the child clues to what character they are. b. Let the child have the class guess who he is: you can give copies of the questions that follow to the child and let him ask the class those questions. c. Or, divide the class into teams and ask the questions of the teams for points.

Group Learning Activity: "Who's Telling the Truth?" (Grades 3-5) Purpose: A great game to play to help children understand the importance of telling the truth. Say: In our lesson today Laban and Jacob were not always truthful with one another. They used deception and lies to trick one another. God wants us to be honest and truthful. Today we are going to play a game that will help us understand what it feels like to be deceived by a false story." Procedure: Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students. Give all the groups a topic like “Your favorite things” or “A time you were really scared” or “Your favorite birthday party” etc. Have the students in the group share personal stories based on the topic to the whole class. Secretly choose one student to tell a story that is not true! The whole class listens to the stories and then guesses which story is not true!

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Other topic ideas that can be used for stories include: Your best day at school; Your worst day at school; Your favorite trip you’ve taken; The most famous person you’ve met

Group Learning Activity: "Hidden Idols" (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To help students understand what an idol is and how we can avoid them in our life. Say: "What is an idol? (Anything that we cherish in our hearts more than God.) What was the idol that Rachel stole in the story? (The statue of Laban’s household god.) In the time of Jacob and Laban people would bow down and worship idols made from wood, clay, and stone. They thought that these statues or idols had special power to help them with problems. We know today that these statues did not have any power. In fact in the Ten Commandments God told his people that they were not to worship them. Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God." Today some people still worship idols such as Buddha. "While most people don’t often bow down to statues but we still have idols in our hearts. Sometimes material things can become idols like special toys, electronic games, or clothes. Adults can make homes and cars and jobs an idol when they take time away from worshipping or obeying God. Today we are going to choose a partner and together make a list of things that can become idols for kids your age." Have students read their lists out loud to the group and list the different modern idols on a whiteboard. Have students read Ezekiel 14:6. 6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! Say: "What does God say to do with our idols? (Turn away from idols and repent.) Explain that we can confess our sins of idolatry to God and ask for his forgiveness, because Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven. God is gracious to show us mercy even though we often fail to obey what he asks of us."

Craft Learning Activity: Doily Sheep Craft (Grades K-2) Preparation: paper doilies, sheet of black paper, googly eyes, glue and scissors. Procedure: From the sheet of black paper cut two straight strips for legs, one round shape for the head and two small oval shapes for the ears. Glue the legs on the back side of the doily. Glue the ears on the back of the round shape. Stick two googly eyes on the head. Glue the head on the doil. Make a whole flock of sheep! Use a black marking pen to add speckles and spots to make Laban's sheep. Say: "In our lesson Jacob bargained with Laban over which sheep would be his wage. Jacob chose the spotted and speckled animals and the solid black lambs. This lamb will help us to remember that God wants us to be fair and trustworthy in our relationships with others."

Craft Learning Activity: "Paper Plate Sheep" (Grades K-2) Materials Needed: paper plate for each sheep, cotton balls, glue and cut outs for head, legs, tail and eyes. Print template below for children to color with markers. Preparation: Have students put glue all over their paper plates. (Using a glue stick is less messy.) Stick the cotton balls onto the glue covering the plate. Use a black marking pen to add speckles and spots to make Laban's sheep. Glue the face to the top of the paper plate. Add googly eyes.

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Say: "In our lesson Jacob bargained with Laban over which sheep would be his wage. Jacob chose the spotted and speckled animals and the solid black lambs. This lamb will help us to remember that God wants us to be fair and trustworthy in our relationships with others."

Craft Learning Activity: "Little Lamb" Can (Grades K-4) Preparation: Print one copy of the lamb's head pattern (below) for each student in the class on heavy cardstock paper; one short cardboard can for each student (such as a nut canister or oatmeal box that the top has been cut off); white acrylic paint or can of white spray paint; two 20 mm wiggle eyes; package of small corkscrew pasta (rotini); glue; scissors, newspaper. Procedure: Lay newspaper in a well ventilated area and paint pasta and outside of cans with white spray paint. Let dry. Instruct the students to cut out the lamb's head. Glue two wiggle eyes on the lamb's head. Glue the rotini to the top of the lamb's head when indicated on the pattern. Lay flat to dry. Glue rotini all over the can in random pattern. Break some of the rotini into shorter lengths for more variety. Glue the head to the outside of the rotini-covered can. Use a black marking pen to add speckles and spots to make Laban's sheep. Say: "In our lesson Jacob bargained with Laban over which sheep would be his wage. Jacob chose the spotted and speckled animals and the solid black lambs. This lamb will help us to remember that God wants us to be fair and trustworthy in our relationships with others."

Craft Learning Activity: "A Scale Balance" Grades K-4

Preparation: Attach two plastic applesauce cups with three strands of yarn each to a child's plastic hangar. Hang the child's plastic hanger from the knob of a low cabinet in the classroom or the edge of the table. Use dry beans as objects to measure.

Procedure: Figuring out how to balance objects is something that fascinates children. Whether it is trying to balancing the same type of objects on either side of a balance or trying to find two objects that have the same weight or a number of objects that will equal a heavier object. It is just plain fun. Start by trying to balance dried beans on either side of the balance. You will find that just dumping them doesn't work. Students will need to count the beans or measure them with a scoop. Let students find this fact out by experimenting on their own. Say: In our lesson Jacob and Laban did not use a "fair measure." They were attempting to cheat one another by making a better deal for themselves. God was not pleased with these foolish ways of deception and trickery. He wants His children to be honest and transparent in their dealings with others. Just because others do it does not make it right for us!" Discuss some practical ways that children might want to take advantage of each other: (1) Not sharing food or treats equally, (2) Trying to cheat while playing games such as soccer or football by claiming the ball was a score when it did not go over the goal line. (3) Cheating on a test by trying to write answers on cheat sheets or looking at someone else's paper. (4) Stealing items from a store or not paying for them at the checkout counter.

Life Application Challenge: "Fair Play" Say: "In our lesson Laban and Jacob tried to take advantage of one another. They did not play fair. What are some ways that we can treat others fairly at home and at school? (Let students respond.) Ask students to commit to treating others with respect and fairly. Lead the group in prayer asking for the Lord's help in showing kindness and love to others.

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Jacob Bargains with Laban

Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate scales are his delight."

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Jacob's Bargain with Laban Directions: Pretend you are Jacob.

Pick out all the speckled or dark colored lambs or goats and circle them.

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Lamb Pattern

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Paper Plate Lamb Template

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