Jacob

Background knowledge
Jacob was son of Isaac and the twin brother of Esau( he gave his birthright by saying
that what was the use of birthright if we could die from hunger

 This means that Esau did not place a

high enough value on the birthright.
He allowed his momentary hunger to
cloud his judgment and did not think
past the feeling in his belly to grasp
what he was truly giving up and how it
would affect his descendants.
The lesson we learnt from Esau

 The point for Christians today is that we must value our spiritual inheritance as the
most precious thing in our lives and not give it up for anything! We are called to
inherit the spiritual promises made to Abraham (Galatians 3:29). Our inheritance is
eternal life in the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:17; Titus 3:7; James 2:5).
 We should not regard anything—neither food nor any care of this life—as more
valuable than that inheritance!
Last but not least, We learned that from Esau

 Worrying about the future. Example: Instead of trusting God would provide food for his
hungry stomach in short order, Esau took the first food he saw! Reverend Kirchner extolls
us to keep the faith and be grateful for what we have right now. We can trust God to
provide for us in the future (Proverbs 3:5-6).
 32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy
firstborn Esau.

 33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken
venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed
him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
 They may also be willing to share experiences they have had with strengthening strained
relationships in their families. Encourage them to talk about how Heavenly Father helped
them.
Why God still blessed the Jacob the deceiver

reviewing Genesis 27:41–45; 28:1–5

 Why?
 … There is no-one righteous, not even one;
 He promised to God that he will follow God by paying the tithing

 Romans 3:10
 In short, Jacob could not have earned God’s blessing. Furthermore, we can take some
comfort from the fact that God blessed him despite his behaviour. And finally, we can see
that in His glorious timescale, God’s purposes will be fulfilled, even though we and our
enemy try our hardest at times to defeat those purposes.
I would like to invite all you to read Genesis 28:10–15
 and talk about how we can receive these blessings today

 10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.
 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the
stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold
the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of
Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to
the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into
this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Abrahamic covenant, which the Lord renewed with Jacob.
We are children of the covenant

 President Russell M. Nelson taught:

 “At baptism we take covenant to serve the Lord and keep His commandments. When we partake of the
sacrament, we renew that covenant and declare our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus
Christ. Thereby we are adopted as His sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. He is the
father of our new life. Ultimately, in the holy temple, we may become joint heirs to the blessings of an
eternal family, as once promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity. Thus, celestial marriage is the
covenant of exaltation.
 “When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us.
His law is written in our hearts. He is our God and we are His people. Committed children of the covenant
remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity. When that doctrine is deeply implanted in our hearts, even
the sting of death is soothed and our spiritual stamina is strengthened” (“Covenants
,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 88).
 The ladder Jacob saw in his dream has often been compared to temple covenants.
 What the ladder in Jacob’s dream teaches us about the temple. What else do we find in
these verses that reminds us of blessings we receive because of our temple covenants?
(See “About the Temple Endowment” and “About a Temple Sealing”
 President Russell M. Nelson reminded us that “every activity, every lesson, all we do in
the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house. Our efforts to proclaim the gospel,
perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead all lead to the temple. Each holy temple stands as
a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as
a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families” (“
Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” Ensign, May 2001, 32).
 The Savior can help us overcome discord in our families.
• Genesis 32–33 could be inspiring to class members who want to find healing in their
family relationships. It might be helpful to ask a class member to briefly summarize the
events recorded in Genesis 27. This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals
and Families includes questions to ponder while studying Genesis 32–33. Perhaps class
members could select one of these questions and look for answers in the chapters. They
may also be willing to share experiences they have had with strengthening strained
relationships in their families. Encourage them to talk about how Heavenly Father helped
them.