Lesson 6: God's Plan for Jacob

Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Taurat:

Genesis 25:19-34 -- This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

23 The LORD said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.

Genesis 37:2-11 -- This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented [a] robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."

8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Taurat.

Much of the first part of the Holy Writings from God is really the history of Abraham and Sarah's children. But it is more than that. It is the history of how God showed more and more of his plan to save us.

When we obey the call of God, we begin to see God working in our lives. We see that God cares about us. This is the way it was with Abraham and his children.

God Chose Jacob

Abraham wanted his son Isaac to have a wife from his own people. Therefore Abraham sent one of his servants back to Mesopotamia to the land of his father. God led the servant to the woman he had chosen for Isaac. Her name was Rebecca.

For 20 years Rebecca did not have any children. Then Isaac prayed to God for her, and God gave her twin boys (Genesis 25:21). Before they were born, God told Rebecca: "... the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). The first boy was called Esau and the second was called Jacob.

Esau became a great hunter and liked to be in the fields. Jacob was quiet and liked to stay in the tents. One day when Esau came home from hunting, he was very hungry. He asked Jacob for something to eat. Jacob said: "I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son" (Genesis 25:31). So Esau sold his rights to Jacob for a bowl of thick soup.

When Isaac became very old and could not see very well, he wanted to bless Esau his firstborn. But Jacob tricked his father, Isaac, by acting like Esau. In this way he received the blessing which Isaac wanted to give to Esau.

God Took the People of Israel to Egypt

Jacob had twelve sons. One of these sons was called Joseph. Joseph's brothers hated him because Jacob loved Joseph the most. In fact, Jacob gave Joseph a special coat of many colours. Once Joseph dreamed that some day his brothers would bow down to him to show their respect for him (Genesis 37:5-8). When he told his brothers the dream they hated him even more.

One day when his brothers were with their sheep far from home, Joseph came to see them. They caught him and sold him to some traders going to Egypt. They made their father believe that Joseph had been killed by wild animals.

In Egypt Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh*. Joseph was very handsome. After some time Potiphar's wife began asking him to sleep with her. But Joseph refused to do it. The Bible tells us: "Although she asked Joseph day after day, he would not go to bed with her" (Genesis 39:10).

One day when Joseph was working in the house, Potiphar's wife caught him by his coat and said; "Come to bed with me" (Genesis 39:12). Joseph knew this was wrong. He knew this was sin against God. He ran out of the house leaving his coat in her hand. Then she told her husband a lie. She said that Joseph had attacked her. Potiphar became very angry and put Joseph in prison.

God was with Joseph even in prison. One night Pharaoh had a dream. A friend of Joseph told Pharaoh that Joseph could tell him what the dream meant. Joseph told Pharaoh that the dream was a warning from God. It meant that after seven years there would be a great famine. So Pharaoh took Joseph from prison and made him ruler over all of Egypt.

For seven years Joseph saved food and prepared for the famine.

When the famine came, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy food. When they met Joseph they bowed low before him. They did not recognize him. At first he treated them very unkindly to test them. But later he told them who he was. They were very much afraid but he told them not to be afraid. Later he explained to them: "You plotted* evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve* the lives of many people..." (Genesis 50:20).
Joseph told his brothers to go home and bring his father Jacob to Egypt. So Jacob and all the children moved to Egypt.

Three Important Facts

This story teaches us three important facts.
l .      God's plan does not always follow what we think or expect. Isaac expected that God's plan would continue through Esau his firstborn. That was the custom of Isaac's people. But God chose Jacob instead.
2.      God uses even trouble and difficulty to bring good. When Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave, God was working in this trouble and difficulty. In the end Joseph saw that God had meant everything for good.
3.      God can deliver us from any kind of temptation*. Joseph refused to do what Potiphar's wife wanted, and God gave him victory.

In the next course you will study from the second book of the Taurat and the Zabur. You will learn about the Prophets Moses, Aaron and David.

Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.

Pharaoh - the Egyptian word for king
plotted - made secret plans to harm
preserve - save
temptation - anything that makes us want to do wrong

Learn this verse. It gives an important idea in the lesson. Genesis 50:20: "you plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good."

Test 6: The Beginning of People

Here is the test for Lesson 6. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided.
1.            Abraham wanted Isaac
            a) to be a great King.
            b) to have a wife from Abraham's own people.
            c) to move to Egypt.                                                                                               
___
2.            God told Rebecca that
            a)            both of her children would serve their uncle.
            b)            her younger child would serve her older child.
            c)            her older child would serve her younger child.        
___
3.            Esau sold his rights as the first-born to Jacob
            a)            for a great amount of money.
            b)            for five camels.
            c)            for a bowl of thick soup.        
___
4.            Joseph was taken by traders to
            a)            Egypt.
            b)            Mesopotamia.
            c)            Palestine.     
___
5.            Joseph became very great in Egypt
            a)            because he was clever.
            b)            because God was with him.
            c)            because he was famous.          
___
Write "True" or "False" after each of the following sentences.
6.            When we obey the call of God, we begin to see God working in our lives.   _____
7.            Jacob was the first-born of Isaac.     _____
8.            Jacob tricked his father Isaac.    _____
9.            God uses even trouble to bring good.     _____
10.            God can deliver us from any kind of temptation.     _____

The next course is called: God's Covenant with People. It is about the second book of the Taurat and the Zabur. Do you want the next course? Yes ____ No ____