Here's my Sunday School lesson. I never get through everything I have planned. And that's okay. But I love the discussions. And I love the studying and learning I do as I prepare. And I love the comments that others make. Today, I really loved the spirit that was there throughout the meeting. I always hope that with all the things we could discuss, I will focus on the things that are most important or that will be a blessing to others.
What worked well for you this week? Any especially good teaching moments or discussions in your families?
Genesis 28: 1-3 Isaac chose to renew the birthright and not revoke it. Some have accused Jacob and Rebekah of being dishonest and usurping the birthright. That is not how I read the scriptures nor did I find support for that opinion from apostles of the church.
“Bruce R. McConkie said, “Women are appointed, Rebekahlike, to be guides and lights in righteousness in the family unit and to engineer and arrange so that things are done in the way that will result in the salvation of more of our Father’s children.”
John Taylor had this to say: “Now we will pass by the places in the Bible which speak of this birthright until we come to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and to Jacob, the son of Isaac, who bought the birthright of his brother Esau. Gen. 25:29-34 From the story that is told of Rebekah helping her son Jacob to get the first blessing from his father Isaac, on purpose to secure the birthright from his brother Esau, many would be inclined to think that deceit, dishonesty and unrighteous means were employed to secure it, and they perhaps wonder why it should be so. Gen. 27:1-46 This was really not the case; it is only made to appear so in the eyes of those who do not understand the dealings of God with man, and the [p. 371a]workings of the Holy Spirit to bring about His purposes. There was neither unrighteousness in Rebekah nor in Jacob in this matter; but on the contrary, there was the wisdom of the Almighty, showing forth his providences in guiding them in such a manner as to bring about his purposes, in influencing Esau to transfer his birthright to Jacob, that He might ratify and confirm it upon the head of Jacob; knowing as He did that Jacob and his seed were, and would be, more deserving of the birthright, and would magnify it in its true spirit. Gen. 25:23 While Esau did not sense nor appreciate his condition and birthright; he did not respect it as he should have done, Gen. 25:34 neither did he hearken to the counsels of his father and mother. On the contrary, he went his own way with a stubborn will, and followed his own passions and inclinations and took to wife one of the daughters of the Canaanites whom the Lord had not blessed; Gen. 24:1-3 Gen. 28:1-9 and he therefore rendered himself unacceptable to God and to his father and mother. He gave himself to wild pursuits—to hunting, and to following the ways of the Canaanites, and displeased the Lord and his parents, and was not worthy of this right of seniority. The Lord therefore saw fit to take it from him, and the mother was moved upon to help the younger son to bring about the purpose of the Lord, in securing to himself the blessing through the legitimate channel of the Priesthood. And as you know, his father was induced to bless him and confirm this blessing upon him. Gen. 27:1-46” (JD 21: 371a)
Eldred G Smith in a talk called Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood said this: “And Rebekah, mother of Esau and Jacob, heard him and knowing that Jacob was divinely called to receive the birthright blessings, called Jacob and sent him to fetch two kids, saying that she would prepare savory meat for her husband such as he loved for she knew how to prepare it. And thus Rebekah assisted Jacob to receive the blessings of birthright.”
Genesis 28:11-12
*This is a vision/revelation, not just a dream. (Think of Nephi & Lehi’s dream or vision of tree of life)
Hebrew word translated as ladder here can also be a stairway or ramp. So this is a stairway or ramp to heaven.
Genesis 28:13-15
And LORD: Jehovah.
Lord stood above: He is beckoning us upward, reminding us to Look Up!
Quote #1 Elder Carl B. Cook gave a talk entitled “Look Up”. I love this reminder: “I think the challenge for all of us—but perhaps particularly for young adults—is to try not to look sideways to see how others are viewing our lives but to look up to see how Heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t look on the outward appearance but on the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). And He knows, better than anyone else, what each one of us needs.”
Quote #2 Elder Carl B. Cook also said, “We can “look up” by staying true to the direction we’ve received from a loving Heavenly Father through personal revelation.”
Elder Cook, in another talk, told of a time that he was feeling burdened and overwhelmed. President Monson saw him in the elevator, and able to sense his feelings, gently told him that it is “better to look up.” He said, “President Monson’s encouragement to look up is a metaphor for remembering Christ. As we remember Him and trust in His power, we receive strength through His Atonement. It is the means whereby we can be relieved of our anxieties, our burdens, and our suffering. It is the means whereby we can be forgiven and healed from the pain of our sins. It is the means whereby we can receive the faith and strength to endure all things.”
However, in the footnote it says “beside him”...He is by our side and helps us. Both of these are beautiful concepts to consider.
Joseph Smith said, ““Paul ascended into the third Heavens and he could understand the three principal rounds of Jacob’s Ladder, the Telestial, the Terrestrial and the Celestial glories or Kingdoms,” In other words, this was a vision of the three degress of glory!
Now, this is a vision where 1. The Lord is giving instruction. 2. Covenants are being made, including the covenant of Abraham (also known as the new and everlasting covenant), 3. it’s a revelatory experience, and 4. there are messengers guiding him along the ladder or path.
Does this sound familiar?
Quote #3 Marion G. Romney, in an article entitled “Temples: The Gates to Heaven” said this:
“Pondering upon the subject of temples and the means therein provided to enable us to ascend into heaven brings to mind the lesson of Jacob’s dream. You will recall that in the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis there is an account of his return to the land of his father to seek a wife from among his own people. When Jacob traveled from Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on the earth at the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood above it. He beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings—blessings that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord.
Because he had met the Lord and entered into covenants with him there, Jacob considered the site so sacred that he named the place Bethel, a contraction of Beth-Elohim, which means literally “the House of the Lord.” He said of it: “… this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen. 28:17.)
Jacob not only passed through the gate of heaven, but by living up to every covenant he also went all the way in. Of him and his forebears Abraham and Isaac, the Lord has said: “… because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.” (D&C 132:37.)
Temples are to us all what Bethel was to Jacob.”
Vs. 14: In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the Earth be blessed. Our covenants bring blessings but also responsibilities. In a podcast I was listening to a few weeks ago, I loved this thought: the Lord needs us to be different than the world so that we have something to offer the world. There IS an element of exclusivity in the gospel...
In 1 Peter 2:9 we read : “But ye are a achosen generation, a broyal cpriesthood, an dholy enation, a fpeculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of gdarkness into his marvellous hlight:”
God wants us to be different, to be a “peculiar” people...but the WHOLE reason He needs and wants us to be different, the WHOLE reason for that exclusivity, is because we have a responsibility to strive for Inclusivity. We are trying to share the gospel message with EVERYONE around us. The goal is for the entire world to be blessed by us. *It’s a good chance, when we read those words, to ponder for a moment how we are doing on that charge and what we can do to fulfill them more completely!
Vs. 16 He said that “Surely God is in this place and I knew it not.” While God is in places like our homes, temples, and churches, God will also be with us in the hardest moments in our lives...In the times when we have rocks as pillows and feel rejected or afraid or heartbroken. God can be found in hospitals, prisons, drug treatment centers, and so on. Wherever we are, God will be there if we look for Him. We never have to walk through this life alone.
QUOTE #6: The Come Follow Me Manual says: “You may find yourself in your own wilderness seeking a blessing from God. Maybe your wilderness is a difficult family relationship, such as Jacob had. Maybe you feel distant from God or feel that you need a blessing. Sometimes the blessing comes unexpectedly; other times it is preceded by a wrestle. Whatever your need, you can discover that even in your wilderness, “the Lord is in this place.”
When have you seen God in a place that you perhaps didn’t expect? Or when have you looked back on your life and realized that God was with you at a time that you “knew it not”?
Chapter 28 V. 20-21 The Lord be my God...Have we determined that the Lord will be our God? How can you show God today/this week that you have chosen Him to be your God?
Genesis 29 is a love story. Anyone want to give the background of the story of Jacob and Rachel?
(Possibly read vs. 10-12)
Read verses 18-20. He loves Rachel and working for 7 years didn’t feel like a sacrifice because he was doing it for someone he loved. (*Applications for us)
Have someone summarize vs. 21-31... Leah substituted for Rachel
Both Rachel and Leah have a lot of heartache. Rachel is worried and heartsick because she is barren. Leah is jealous and heartbroken because Jacob doesn’t love her. Both are hard situations. My heart aches for both of them.
Quote #4: In Women of the Old Testament Camille Fronk Olson writes, ““The biblical text reports Jacob’s anger and dismay when he discovered the deception, but no mention is made of the response of Leah or Rachel. What did they think about their father’s marriage schemes for them? Why did the sisters go along with the plan? Did they have a choice? As an imposter at her own wedding, how did Leah feel when she knew her husband would soon discover that she was not his beloved Rachel? Where was Rachel during the ceremony? Was this an act of unselfishness on her part to allow her elder sister also to enjoy the blessings of marriage? Or was Rachel opposed to her father’s chicanery? Whatever the case, Leah and Rachel became burdened with considerable confusion produced by the men closes to them. Only by trusting in the Lord could their subsequent pain and disappointment be removed and their souls be healed. Their individual struggles to let go of burdens created by those who should have been their protectors, while learning to rely on the grace of God, affords us a great lesson for our day.”
Quote #5 Camille Fronk Olson also writes , “Through deepening trials, each was stretched to the realization that only God validates and enables. His infinite balm, offered to each of us, provides healing, comfort and pure love that exceeds any mortal attempt to succor. The sisters’ individual responses to God in the midst of their unexpected circumstances helped to shape the foundations of God’s covenant people.”
The end of chapter 29 and all of chapter 30 focus on the births of Jacob’s children... (write names on board: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, and finally Joseph (Benjamin will be born in a later chapter)
You’ll note that their names are symbolic of what their mothers are hoping for/experiencing
Chapter 30: 22-24 God remembered Rachel. There were likely moments that she felt forgotten. But God remembered her and He will remember us.
Can you think of a time when you recognized that God remembered you?
*Perhaps tell story of President Oaks suddenly remembering a man he had called to be a stake president years before. He wrote a letter asking what was happening in the man’s life for him to suddenly be on President Oaks’ mind. The former stake president wrote back explaining that his wife had unexpectedly left him and he was struggling. President Oaks replied, giving counsel and love. The former stake president knew that God was aware of him, remembered him in his adversity and had inspired then Elder Oaks to write to him.
Chapter 31: 3 I will be with thee. (THis is a promise given over and over. Talk for a moment about the promises to covenant Israel...show my framed picture.
Unshaken podcast: “God’s redemption is relentless.”
Chapter 31: 13-16...Jacob consults with his wives. They express faith and trust in God...whatever God hath said unto thee, do. (Good counsel for us!)
Genesis 32: 9-12 Jacob turns to the Lord. He demonstrates great humility. We also cry out to the Lord to deliver us...from sickness, heartache, pain, sin, danger, disease or whatever our affliction may be.
Vs. 12 also gives another beautiful promise: I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea. I love this promise!
Genesis 32: 24, 27-30 Jacob wrestles with angel/man and his name is changed. (Temple symbolism here too.)
Quote #7 President Nelson spoke of this in his 2020 talk, Let God Prevail:
“For a moment, let us recall a crucial turning point in the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. At the place Jacob named Peniel (which means “the face of God”),6 Jacob wrestled with a serious challenge. His agency was tested. Through this wrestle, Jacob proved what was most important to him. He demonstrated that he was willing to let God prevail in his life. In response, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel,7 meaning “let God prevail.” God then promised Israel that all the blessings that had been pronounced upon Abraham’s head would also be his.”
We, like Jacob, have made covenants. At baptism, we took upon us the name of Christ. Some of us have made additional covenants in the temple and experienced similar things to what Jacob’s covenant entailed. Are we, like Jacob, willing to let God prevail?
Quote #8 President Nelson said, “The question for each of us, regardless of race, is the same. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?18”
IF time discuss chapter 33 and Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation and reunion. Time can heal wounds. People can change.
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