1. Gen. 25:19-34 and 27-28:9 focus on Esau. Who was Esau?
What is a birthright?
Read Heb.12:16,17 and Phil. 3:18-21. Why was what Esau did so bad?
If Jacob illustrates the person living by faith and Esau - the lost person, tell how their mindsets are different.
Who did Esau marry?
What does that tell you about him / the unsaved person? (and how that ties in with the above picture and video clip)
2. Look at the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Gen. 15:1-5, 26:1-4, 28:10-15. What was commonly going on in their lives that brought a visit from God?
What can you learn from that?
3. Lets look at Jacob's spiritual growth. Read Gen. 28:16-22. Write down some things that show that Jacob had an immature walk with the Lord.
Read Gen. 32:22-32. What was the spiritual significance of Jacob wrestling with God as it pertains to his spiritual growth?
Read Gen. 35:1-14. God reaffirms His covenant with Jacob here. What in this passage reveals spiritual growth?
Finally read Gen. 49:24,25. What in this passage reveals spiritual growth?
4. Who is Leah?
Describe her?
Read Gen. 29:31-35. How was she trying to be loved?
When she had Judah, how did her focus change?
Read this quote from Tim Keller.
Many years ago, when I first started reading the Book of Genesis, it was very upsetting to me. Here are all these spiritual heroes—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—and look at how they treat women. They engage in polygamy, and they buy and sell their wives. It was an awful to read their stories at times. But then I read Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative. Alter is a Jewish scholar at Berkeley whose expertise is ancient Jewish literature. In his book he says there are two institutions present in the Book of Genesis that were universal in ancient cultures: polygamy and primogeniture. Polygamy said a husband could have multiple wives, and primogeniture said the oldest son got everything—all the power, all the money. In other words, the oldest son basically ruled over everyone else in the family. Alter points out that when you read the Book of Genesis, you'll see two things. First of all, in every generation polygamy wreaks havoc. Having multiple wives is an absolute disaster—socially, culturally, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and relationally. Second, when it comes to primogeniture, in every generation God favors the younger son over the older. He favors Abel, not Cain; Isaac, not Ishmael; Jacob, not Esau. Alter says that you begin to realize what the Book of Genesis is doing—it is subverting, not supporting, those ancient institutions at every turn.
From what you have read so far in Genesis give some illustrations to support him.
Note to teachers/students.
Character studies are great ways to learn Biblical principles, and in these passages we learn a lot from the 3 people I focused on; Esau, Jacob, and Leah. Esau represents the lost person. He is living for the here and now, and oh yeah, when this life is over, he would like the blessing too. It doesnt work that way. Even an unbelievers best efforts are what the prophets call "fuel for the fire" or "filthy rags". Esau tried to do good and completely married the wrong people. It's comical to me when unsaved people give large sums of money to charities or worthy causes and want to be photographed with a large check while doing it.
Jacob, on the other hand, valued the blessing more than anything. Not only did the blessing include financial and earthly blessings, but it included the promise of the coming Messiah through him. This is a picture of salvation. Desiring Christ more than anything. It isn't that Jacob was worthy - he was a scoundrel, cheat, terrible father, selfish, whiner, coward, etc. but he wanted God more than anything. He did mature in his faith from saying "I will follow you if..." at Bethel (house of God) and being impressed at the place where God appeared (don't we do this with church or conferences like Passion ) to renaming it El Bethel (the God of the house of God). He met God and after being crippled symbolizing having to finally lean on God rather than his scheming, he had his family put away idols and eventually called God - the God of Jacob.
Leah's god was love. She desperately wanted to be loved. She was given in marriage to a husband that didn't want her and constantly in the shadow of her beautiful sister. She felt that if she could give children to her husband he would love her, but finally after the fourth she gave up her idol of love and found love in God, the one who satisfies.
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