English: OBS Study Questions - English

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07. God Blesses Jacob

What the Story Says

  1. How did Isaac and Rebekah treat their sons differently?

    Isaac loved Esau more than he loved Jacob. Rebekah loved Jacob more than she loved Esau (#07-01).

  2. What did Esau give to Jacob in exchange for some food?

    Esau was the firstborn. As the firstborn, he deserved to receive more of his father’s possessions then Jacob, and to be honored more than Jacob. However, Esau traded all those things to Jacob in exchange for some food (#07-02).

  3. Why did Rebekah and Jacob deceive Isaac by having Jacob pretend to be Esau?

    Rebekah and Jacob wanted Isaac to bless Jacob instead of blessing Esau (#07-03), (#07-04).

  4. Why did Jacob put goatskins on his neck and hands?

    Jacob wanted his hands and neck to be hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands and neck. In that way, Isaac would feel the goat hair and think he was Esau ((#07-03), (#07-04).

  5. What did Esau plan to do to Jacob after Jacob stole his blessing?

    Esau planned to wait until Isaac died, and then to kill Jacob (#07-05).

  6. What did Rebekah do to prevent Esau from killing Jacob?

    Rebekah and Isaac sent Jacob far away to her relatives so Esau would not kill him (#07-06).

  7. How long did Jacob stay away from home?

    Jacob stayed with Rebekah’s relatives for twenty years. Then he returned home with the family God had given him while he was away (#07-08).

  8. How did Jacob try to convince Esau not to kill him?

    He sent many herds of animals to Esau as a gift so that Esau would not still want to kill him (#07-09).

  9. Did Esau still want to kill Jacob?

    Esau was no longer angry with Jacob, and did not want to kill him. Esau and Jacob both lived in Canaan, and even buried their father together (#07-10).

What the Story Means to Us

  1. Why did Rebekah love Jacob more than she loved Esau?

    Jacob loved to stay around home where Rebekah lived. Perhaps this is why she loved him more than she loved Esau.

  2. Why did Isaac love Esau more than he loved Jacob?

    Esau loved to hunt. Perhaps Isaac also loved to hunt, and to eat the wild animals that they killed. Therefore, he loved Esau more than Jacob.

  3. What problems happened because Isaac and Rebekah each loved a different son?

    Jacob and Esau would have known that their parents did not love them equally. Perhaps this is why Jacob and Esau continually struggled with each other. They both tried to get what the other brother had.

  4. Why was Esau willing to trade what was his as the firstborn for some food?

    Esau did not care about the promises God made to Abraham. He was only interested in is his food for that day. Later, he wanted to receive his father’s inheritance. But he was not interested in receiving anything from God.

  5. Jacob deceived Isaac to get his blessing. What does this tell us about Jacob?

    It was good that Jacob wanted to have his father’s blessing. But he was wrong to deceive his father in order to receive it. Because he did that, he had to flee from his brother and spend twenty years in another country.

  6. Was Jacob a good person?

    Jacob sometimes obeyed God, and he wanted God’s blessing. At the same time, Jacob had many faults. He often tried to trick people to get what he wanted. Nevertheless, God blessed Jacob because he had promised to Abraham that he would bless his descendants.

Summary

God chose to bless Jacob even before he was born, and he was faithful to do that. However, Jacob did not always act in a way that was right. He often deceived other people in order to get what he wanted. Nevertheless, God knew that Jacob wanted to worship God. Also, God promised Abraham that he would bless his descendants. Therefore, God blessed Jacob even when he fled from his brother. He brought Jacob back to Canaan again, and blessed his family. Jacob was not always right, but he believed God.