YEA Lesson Library
Sons by the Dozen!
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches how Jacob married Leah and Rachel and became the father of twelve sons - a fulfillment of the promise of God. It emphasizes the importance of remembering God’s provision and His laws.
Scriptures
Genesis 29
Genesis 30:1-25
Genesis 35:23-26
Psalm 78:1-7
Psalm 127:3-5
Psalm 127:3
Proverbs 10:1
Proverbs 13:1
Proverbs 17:25
Galatians 4:4-7
Ephesians 1:3-5
Words to Know
DECEIVED- lied to, misled
DESCENDANTS - children, grandchildren, offspring born to the family
HERITAGE- property or other valuables passed down to members of a family
PRESERVE - to protect from harm and prepare for future use
The Lesson
Do you remember how Jacob and his mother tricked and lied to Isaac so that Jacob would receive the blessing? Well, it's payback time! Read on and you will find out how Jacob got paid back for his trickery.
After Jacob had the dream and saw the staircase going all the way from heaven to earth, Jacob made a promise to God. He said, "If God will help and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothes, and will bring me back safely to my father, then I will choose Jehovah as my God!" He also promised to give God back a tenth of everything He gave him. Then he set up the stone he used for a pillow when he had the dream. It was to become a place of worship.
Then he continued his travels and came to a well where there were some shepherds with their sheep to be watered. While he talked with these men, he learned that his uncle Laban lived there. But what made it even better, his uncle had two daughters. While they were talking, they looked up and saw Rachel coming to water her sheep. She was a shepherdess and Laban's younger daughter.
Jacob couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. He fell in love with her at first sight. Rachel ran to tell her father that Jacob was at the well. Laban rushed out to meet him. Jacob wanted Rachel to be his wife. He told Laban that he would work for him for seven years if Laban would let him marry her. That sounded like a good deal to Laban and he agreed to it.
Now this is where the story gets even more interesting. There was a custom in the land - the oldest daughter must marry first. So Laban tricked Jacob. He switched the girls on the night of the wedding. Jacob awakened the next morning to the awful surprise that he had married the wrong girl. Laban did the same thing to him that Jacob had done to his own father. Jacob had been tricked! He was like a farmer who planted seeds. When he went out to gather in his crop, he harvested exactly what he planted (Galatians 6:7). Jacob had deceived his own father in order to receive Esau's blessing, now he was being deceived! It was payback time.
One of the most important things in the life of an Israeli woman was that she have children - especially sons! It had been foretold that the Messiah, the Savior of the world would be born to one of Abraham's descendants. Every Jewish woman hoped that she would be the mother. How do you think Rachel felt when her sister, Leah, was the first to give Jacob a son? She became jealous. Rachel hadn't been able to have any children. So she gave Jacob one of her handmaids to be his wife. Now the race was on to see who would have the most children.
Rachel prayed and asked God to give her a son. Finally God blessed her with a son she named Joseph. Since Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife, how do you think Jacob felt toward Joseph? How would that make the rest of the boys feel? Before long, there was trouble in Jacob's house.
Can you imagine what it would be like to grow up in a family of twelve boys? Your house would be very crowded! There are some advantages and some disadvantages to having that many children. One advantage would be that you would always have someone to play with. A disadvantage was that the boys didn't get along with each other.
Jacob loved all of his boys dearly. Your memory verse states that, "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." But, today some people think of children as just a bother. They may even kill a tiny baby before it is born because they don't want to take care of it. Not only are they guilty of murder, they are saying to God, "I don't want your reward!"
What was the promise that God gave to Abraham? He promised that Abraham's descendants would number more than the sands on the seashore. He would have more descendants than there were stars in the sky. That was part of Abraham's blessing from God. That blessing was passed down from Abraham to Isaac and now to Jacob. God was fulfilling His promise. These twelve sons would participate in that blessing - they were from God!
When the time was right, Jesus Christ was born to Mary who was one of Jacob's descendants from the tribe of Judah. "But his own people did not accept him. Some people did accept him. They believed in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God" (John 1:11-12 NIrV). And when you accept Jesus as your Savior, you will be a son or daughter in God's family. Members of God's family will also participate in God's very special blessings!
God wanted Jacob's heritage preserved and passed it on to future generations. He “gave laws to the people of Jacob. He gave Israel their law. He commanded our people who lived before us to teach his laws to their children . . . Then they would put their trust in God.They would not forget what he had done" (Psalm 78:5, 7 NIrV). God wants you to remember and keep His laws. He wants you to remember what He did for Jacob, and what He has done for you!
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for making me one of your children. Teach me to act like a child of yours by loving you and obeying you. And help me to pass that heritage on to others.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Galatians 4:4-7
Monday - Proverbs 10:1
Tuesday - Proverbs 13:1
Wednesday - Proverbs 17:25
Thursday - Psalm 78:5-7
Friday - Psalm 127:3-5
Saturday - Ephesians 1:3-5
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Describe how Jacob was tricked by Laban.
2. Explain why it was so important for an Israeli woman to have sons.
3. Tel how many sons Jacob had.
4. State what God thinks about children (Recite their memory verse.).
Topics & Themes
Abortion
Blessings
Bride
Descendants
God’s Family
God’s Promises
Inheritance
Leah
Obedience
Rachel
Remember
Tithe
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students' and teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, stars, songbook, cassette/CD player and music tape or CD, newsprint pad and marker, or chalkboard and chalk, larger and smaller tree branches, knife
Preparation
Before you come to class, enlarge and print enough copies of the family tree so that each child will have one, plus one for the teacher. Fill in the names on your family tree, going back as far as you can. Draw a larger family tree on the chalkboard or newsprint pad. Cut a branch from a tree, and a smaller branch from another tree. Using a knife, cut a small slit through the bark and into the marrow of the larger branch. Cut one end of the smaller branch into a chisel point.
How to Teach This Lesson
Family Tree - Show the class your own family tree. Show them how each generation can be traced. Using the enlarged family tree, trace Jacob's generations backward, and list the names of his twelve sons. Explain that Jesus was a branch of that family tree - He was born of Mary, who was descended from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah.
Jacob Leaves Haran - Have the students review the story of Jacob's dream. The next morning Jacob got up early and set up his stone headrest as a memorial pillar, and poured olive oil over it. He named the place "Bethel" ("House of God"). He promised God that if He would protect him and provide for him that he would choose Jehovah for his God and give Him a tenth of everything God gave him. Do you think it is important that we give God a tenth of everything He gives us?
The Love Story - Have the students act out or let them tell the story of how Jacob and Rachel met, what she did, how she looked, what Jacob was willing to do to have her for his wife.
Pay-back Time! - Ask: What did Laban agree for Jacob to do to have Rachel for his wife? What was the custom that caused Laban to trick Jacob? How did Laban trick Jacob? Was this right? Why do you think Jacob might have been tricked? Because he had tricked Esau out of his blessing.) What can we learn from this? (We reap what we sow.)
Children Are Important - The memory verse, Psalm 127:5, states that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him" (NIrV). In order for a family line to perpetuate, children must be born. They are part of the heritage. In the case of Isaac, it was through his lineage that the Savior of the world would be born. It was the hope of every Jewish woman that she might be the one to bear this Child. Therefore, the ability to bear children was a reward from God.
Passing On The Heritage - Jacob became the recipient of the blessing first bestowed on Abraham. Ask: What promise did God make to them? He promised to be with him always, and to give him a land for his own possession. He promised to bless him with many children and descendants - to make many great nations and kings from his offspring. God passed this blessing from generation to generation.
Sons By The Dozen - Jacob had sons from A- Z. (Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad), (Issachar, Joseph, Judah, Levi), (Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun). Challenge the kids to learn these names. Each is significant in the history of God's people. Write the first letter of each name on the chalkboard. Divide the twelve names into three groups of four names. (The first four will be fairly easy.) Repeat the names in each group several times. Then divide your class into three groups and assign a group of names to each class group. See if they can memorize the names in their group.
Part Of God’s Family - Jesus made it possible for each of us to become part of God's family. Then we will have more than twelve brothers and sisters. Have one of the kids read John 1:11-12 aloud. Also read Galatians 4:4-5. By believing and accepting Christ as our Savior we become a son or daughter in God's family. We have al the privileges of a child of the King!
Review Questions
1. In what way did Jacob's uncle Laban trick him?
2. Why was it so important for Israeli women to have sons?
3. How can we be born into God's family?
4. How many of Jacob's twelve sons can you name?
5. What does God think about children?
6. How can we pass our Christian heritage on to others?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Ask each child to fill in the names on their family tree, going back as far as they can.
REACH Activity
Back to the Bible: Josiah
King Josiah was the last good king of Judah. He began ruling when he was only eight years old. He reigned for 31 years. 2 Kings 23:25 has an incredible description of this king of Judah. Read this verse. Then read Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37.
Write about what you discover in your Bible notebook.
Journal Jot: Twelve Tribes of Israel
The twelve sons of Jacob (or Israel) didn’t all have the same mom. It can be confusing to keep everyone straight. Using your Bible (Genesis 29 and Genesis 30:1-24), make a chart in your Bible notebook. Record the name of the son (or daughter) and the name of the mother. Write them down in the order they were born.
Word Study: Nachaiâh
The memory verse for this lesson is Psalm 127:3. The NIV states the verse this way: “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.”
The word “heritage” is nachaiâh, which means “a possession granted by Jehovah, as a gift from Him.” Children are a gift, an inheritance, a reward from God. They are precious. They are valuable. Children are a blessing from God.
Just Toolin’ Around: Names
People in the Bible were often given names that meant something specific. This is the case for the twelve sons of Jacob. Write down their names and then use a Bible dictionary to look up the meaning for each of their names. Sometimes a good study Bible will also give the name meanings. Write down the meanings next to the names in your Bible notebook. Share what you found with your family.
Did you Know? Mandrakes
Genesis 30:14-15 has an interesting passage about mandrakes. Mandrakes are an herb with a large taproot, purple flowers, and poisonous yellow fruit. The roots were thought to induce pregnancy when eaten.
What do you think? Psalm 127:3 indicates that people don’t get children from eating mandrakes. Write about this in your Bible notebook.
Stretch It Out: Twelve Tribes of Israel
Make a concentration game (also called Memory Match) of the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob). You can also include Dinah. On the card write the name of the son (or Dinah) and his mother. Play the game with a sibling, a parent, or a friend at church. Once all the cards are matched, time each other in putting the children in the correct birth order.
Music Notes: Because He Lives
This hymn is on page 91 of the CEM Hymnal.
This hymn by Bill and Gloria Gaither reminds us of the hope that we have only through Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Bill Gaither writes, “We wrote ‘Because He Lives’ after a period of time when we had had a kind of dry spell and hadn’t written any songs for a while . . . Also at the end of the 1960s, our country was going through some great turmoil with the height of the drug culture, and the whole ‘God is Dead’ theory was running wild in our country. Also it was the peak of the Vietnam War. During that time our little son was born - at least Gloria was expecting him. I can remember at the time we thought, ‘Brother, this is really a poor time to bring a child into the world.’ At times we were even quite discouraged by the whole thing. And then Benjy did come. We had two little girls whom we love very much, but this was our first son, and so that lyric came to us, ‘How sweet to hold our newborn baby and feel the pride and joy he gives, but better still the calm assurance that this child can face uncertain days because Christ lives.’ And it gave us the courage to say, ‘Because Christ lives we can face tomorrow’ and keep our heads high.” (Source: Amazing Grace, Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, p. 129.)
As you sing this song, think about the things in your world that are scary and make you worry. Write down those things in your Bible notebook. Then, next to your list, write in big, bold letters “Because Christ lives I can face tomorrow.”
Questions?
Write down any questions you have in your Bible notebook so that you can remember to ask your parents or your pastor.
Song
"Father Abraham" is on page 31 of Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Ask if one of the students would lead in prayer, thanking God for giving Jacob sons, and for making a way for Jesus to be born to his descendants. Thank God for making a way for us to become His children.
Printable Pages
