YEA Lesson Library
It’s Worth the Effort
About This Lesson
This lesson uses Jacob’s character traits and his struggles with Laban, Esau, and God as an example to the student to persevere despite difficulties, always relying on God for direction and help.
Scriptures
Genesis 29:1-35
Genesis 30:1-43
Genesis 31:1-55
Genesis 32:1-32
Proverbs 24:1-10
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Matthew 5:23-26
John 16:31-33
Revelation 2:7
Revelation 2:26-29
Revelation 3:18-21
Revelation 21:5-8
Words to Know
COVENANT - formal, solemn and binding agreement
PACIFY- appease, soothe
ENTOURAGE - one's attendants or associates
The Lesson
One of my high school girlfriends, who was an only child, was envious of me. She said there was always something going on at my house. Of course there was. Day and night something was happening. Why? Because I had five brothers and four sisters. We cooked and ate together. We exercised together. We tried on each other's clothes and borrowed what happened to fit and looked good on us. We played and argued together. It was a household with a lot of love, noise, and activity.
There was a family in the Bible that had some similarities to mine. But Jacob had more sons than I had siblings. He had enough boys to make an entire football team, plus one. In other words, Jacob had 12 sons and one daughter. Count them. Reuben was Jacob's first. Then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Isaachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin followed.
Jacob and his growing family still lived on the same land with Laban. Jacob worked for Laban 20 years. He was honest and fair in all of his dealings with Laban, his father-in-law. Laban had been a very demanding employer and far from the easiest man to work for.
Do you remember that Laban promised Jacob that he could have Rachel as his wife for seven years of labor? Jacob felt it was worth the effort. But remember, Jacob hadn't counted on Laban deceiving him by putting Leah, Rachel's oldest sister in his tent to be his wife. Remember, Jacob had to work seven more years to get Rachel. That wasn't all, he worked six years for Laban's flock and Laban changed Jacob's wages ten times. It was worth the effort . . . but God knew Laban wasn't treating Jacob fairly.
God blessed Jacob with 12 sons, one daughter, many servants, and many kinds of cattle and flocks. But God saw Jacob’s hardship and how hard he worked. God spoke to Jacob one day and told him to "Return to the land of your fathers; and I will be with you."
While Laban was shearing his sheep one day, Jacob fled with his family and animals without telling Laban that he was leaving. Three days later someone told Laban that Jacob had taken his family and fled. This didn't set well at all with Laban. So he started out to find Jacob and his family. Laban found them where Jacob had camped with his family in the hill country of Gilead. Jacob didn't like it that Laban followed him out there. He was angry and took Laban to task, asking, "What is my crime? What sin have I committed that you hunt me down?" Well, they patched things up with a covenant that Jacob and Laban made. Jacob saw it was worth the effort to make peace with his father-in-law. Then Laban kissed his daughters and went home.
Jacob, his wives, and his children traveled toward home to see his mother and father, Rebekah and Isaac. But there was something else he wanted to do along the way. Even though he was afraid of his brother, Esau, he wanted to make peace with him and felt it was worth the effort. Jacob sent messengers ahead of his entourage to Esau, and servants went with many gifts to pacify Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. What do you think all of those animals would cost in today's dollars? A bunch! If that's what it took to make peace with his brother, Jacob felt it was worth the effort.
That night Jacob sent his entourage across the Jabbok River with all of his possessions. Jacob was left alone and had a dream that a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn't overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Now Jacob was at a terrible disadvantage with this very painful hip.Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.
Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
Jacob said, "Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
Again Jacob was blessed. His name was changed to Israel. His descendants today are called Israelites. And they are the peoples who are receiving the blessings God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All the way through Jacob's life he showed such strong character. He worked hard even in the face of adversity and deceit. He was an honorable man who made peace with all of his enemies. He wrestled with God and wouldn't give up until God blessed him. God said that he overcame with Him and men. Do you think Jacob would say, “It was worth the effort?"
You too will face many adversities in life. There will be people who will deceive you. Some will be your enemies. You may get hurt in the process. But how will you handle it? Will you, like Jacob, make peace with your enemies? Will you fight to receive your blessings from God even when it hurts? Will you say with Jacob, "It's Worth the Effort?"
Student Prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
What a wonderful example Jacob is to me. He overcame adversities with You and men. Nothing seemed to deter him from getting Your blessings. You want to bless us, but we, like Jacob, must work hard, be honorable, make peace with our enemies, and even struggle with You, if necessary, to receive the blessing You have in store for us - Your Kingdom.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Proverbs 24:1-10
Monday - Revelation 2:7
Tuesday - Revelation 2:26-29
Wednesday - John 16:31-33
Thursday - Revelation 3:18-21
Friday - Revelation 21:5-8
Saturday - Matthew 5:23-26
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Tell what God changed Jacob's name to be and what it means.
2. List three good character traits Jacob had.
3. Explain why Jacob hung in there when he wrestled with God even with an injured thigh.
Topics & Themes
Blessings
God’s Kingdom
Israel
Jacob
Laban
Name
Perseverance
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students' and teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, notebook computer and printer, or stencils, markers, printing paper, newsprint, timer, pencils, Scotch tape
How to Teach This Lesson
Open the class with prayer. Have the students count one, two, three, and repeat as many times as necessary going to the end of the semicircle. Ask all of the ones to go to an area of the room, the twos to another, and all of the threes to yet another, taking their lesson books and Bibles with them. Give each group pencils and paper. Explain that Jacob is an outstanding historical and biblical character. If he were living today, the things he did would make headlines in our daily newspaper. Each group is to go through their YEA book and the portion of the Bible that tells the story of Jacob to find incidents that would make newspaper headlines. Their group is to brainstorm and decide on one headline and three sentences to write under the headline to tell the story. As a group finalizes their headline, they are to go to the laptop computer, write their headline, select a font, add their three sentences, print it out, and attach it to the newsprint you've attached to the wall. If you do not have access to a laptop computer and printer, give each group a set of stencils for them to use to make their headlines on printing paper. Modify the directions to fit your time constraints, leaving enough time to debrief and finish the lesson.
Debrief - Have the students sit in the chairs in a semicircle. Ask: How did you feel about turning Jacob's life into newspaper headlines? How were the headlines you made about Jacob's life like things in your own life? In what way did Jacob make you think of your memory verse for today? What pattern do you see in the headlines you put on the newsprint that Jacob had as character traits? How are these character traits important to a Christian? Ask one of the students to read Hebrews 11:6. If a headline about Jacob unrelentingly wrestling with God is up there, ask: What character trait did Jacob show when he wrestled with God? If it isn't, ask: In what situation in today's lesson, that's not included in our headlines, did Jacob show unusually strong character? If God decided to wrestle with you, how long would you hang in there? Would you hang in there even if He hurt your thigh? What would you have to gain from it that would make it worth the effort? What character traits of Jacob's do you admire most? Write these on a newsprint pad. What character traits of Jacob's will you imitate in your life?How will these character traits make you a better person? How will imitating Jacob's character traits make you a better Christian? Are you willing to become as patient as Jacob was when he worked 14 years to have the wife he wanted? Will you become a peacemaker as Jacob was when he saw his brother Esau? Will you be as determined as Jacob when he wrestled with God to receive a blessing? What blessings do you want from God? What are you willing to do to have them?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Go over the Activity in the students' book with your class. Ask:
What new name did God give Jacob? What did it mean? Start at one end of the semicircle and ask each student to give one name that was listed in their Activity that they would like to claim as their new name. Ask the students to give three good character traits Jacob had.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight: Ecclesiastes 9:10
Look up the word “grave.” Write down the Hebrew word and its meaning. Then find three other Scriptures where this word is used. What’s the implication? Is there life after death? What do the other scriptures say? What do you think? What happens to you when you die?
Where in the World? Gilead and Jabbok River
Add these two locations to the map you started in lesson three. Make notes about what happened in these locations.
They Did What Back Then? Genesis 32:32
Jacob never had to wonder whether he had actually wrestled with God; Jacob had a dislocated hip and limped away from the encounter. But the subsequent tradition of the Jews is stated in Genesis 32:32. Do some research. Do we eat that today? You might be surprised at what you find! Write it down in your Bible notebook.
Making It Mine: Wrestling With God
This is such an interesting Biblical event! Think about wrestling with the One who would become Jesus Christ. Can you think of anyone else in the Bible who, while he didn’t wrestle physically with Jesus, they certainly wrestled with doing what He wanted him to do? Romans 8:7 says that the human, carnal mind is enmity against God. That means each person wrestles with God and doing what God wants each of us to do.
Spend some time thinking about an area in your life where you struggle with doing what God wants you to do. Do you know that if you ask God to help you be obedient and willing to follow Him, He will help you? But the first step is in acknowledging that you are wrestling with God. Write about this topic in your Bible notebook.
Worldview Collisions: Pain
A secular worldview would say that pain is bad. If you are experiencing pain, you did something wrong. A Biblical worldview would say that pain is sometimes necessary for growth. It is painful, at the time, to give up something you love in order to be obedient to God. Or think of it this way: they are called “growing pains” because your bones sometimes ache when you’re growing. And sometimes God uses pain to discipline His people to keep them from doing the wrong thing.
Yes, we all like to avoid painful things. But sometimes there’s purpose in the pain. It comes down, again, to whether you trust God. If you know you are doing the right thing, stay the course. It will be worth it in the end.
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
"Be Not Afraid" is on page 86 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and join hands. Ask for each student to give one character trait that Jacob had that's worth the effort to incorporate into their lives. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer asking that God will help each student to hang in there, and even wrestle with God if necessary, until they have that character trait.
Printable Pages
