Genesis 25 v 21 – 34
Lesson Aim
To understand the awesome power of God to create very different people. To understand that God knows people long before they are born and that he creates them and makes them as individuals.
Hook 1: Photographs
Have two photos of people who are related e.g. a father and son and discuss family resemblances and contrasts. Then compare Jacob and Esau. This is best done by displaying comparative words in a list.
Hook 2: Twins or siblings
Have names of two children and a list of facts about each. Let the children decide who the facts relate to. Then ask the two children involved to mark the list about them. Then do the same with Jacob and Esau. This can work very well if you have a set of twins there.
Hook 3: Questions
Have a picture of a meal or better still a plate full of food e.g. a pizza. Ask the children if they were really, really hungry what would they give for the plateful of food? Could they be so hungry that they would pay £5, £20 or even £100 for this meal.
Hook 4: Hungry leader
After dealing with the first part of the story introduce the second half by showing a pizza. At this point a leader should come running up to the front claiming to be ravishingly hungry. He sees the pizza and demands to be allowed to eat it. When you refuse saying that you need it for your talk, he offers you £5, then £10, thee £20 for the pizza. Finally he offers something out of proportion like a car or his house. You can then refer to Esau who offered Jacob his ‘inheritance’ for a bowl of stew.
Hook 5: Auction
You are an auctioneer and you put a pizza up for auction. Different leaders make (sensible) bids, – e.g. £2 or £3 – then a leader runs to the front and shouts out a bid of £500 saying they are SO ravenously hungry they will pay anything to get some food. They pay up with Monopoly money and can start to eat the pizza right away.
You can then refer to Esau who offered Jacob his ‘inheritance’ for a bowl of stew.
Story tips:
The second part of the story is important but will not seem of great significance to children. They will probably not have an understanding of ‘birthright’. Quickly explain to the children that this was important to people in Bible times because it represented everything which they would inherit when their parents died.
Application
To understand that God knows people long before they are born. He creates them and makes them as individuals.