11.11.18

 Use the following thoughts and questions to have a spiritual conversation as a family. Don’t emphasize having the right answer, but focus on spending time discussing the Word as a family.

Scripture

Genesis 27:18-20,25-29

Session Summary

Although God said the promise would come through Isaac’s younger son, Jacob, Isaac intended to bless his older son, Esau, as was tradition. However, Rebekah overheard this and schemed with Jacob to make sure he received the promised blessing. They came up with an elaborate plan, including Rebekah cooking stew and covering Jacob in goat skins so he would look, feel, smell, and be able to cook just like Esau. Isaac couldn’t see, so their plan worked. Isaac blessed Jacob.

Conversation Questions

Discuss when each family member has wanted a blessing promised to someone else (within or outside of your family). What was it? What happened? Why was the blessing so appealing?

As a family, answer: Why can it sometimes tempting to want to manipulate God’s plan to get what we want? 

When has our family been tempted to believe our plan was better than God’s?

How can our family use this story to point others to the gospel?

Family Challenge

Take a few minutes to read through all of Genesis 27, with each family member taking the role of a different character. You can simply take turns reading aloud together or act it out—make it as creative or simple as you want. The point is to experience the story from a different point of view. Read through it as many times as you like, allowing family members to play a different role each time. You can take this a step further by then talking about which family member in the story each of your family members most identifies with and how that helped you understand the story better.