Advanced Level, Block 3, Week 22: Jacob—Laboring for Laban

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Advanced Level, Block 3—Outcomes of Jacob and Joseph

Week 22
Jacob—Laboring for Laban

Point to Emphasize: Struggling to get your own choice often causes you to have problems.

Reference Reading: Genesis 31:1, 38-41; 29:1-25; Life-Study of Genesis, msgs. 71, 73

Memory Verse: …For I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content. (Philippians 4:11b)

Story Sample

*** Dear storyteller, we do not want to go into more details than what is covered below in the story with the children. ***

Stories in the Bible often tell us something about ourselves. Today our story about Jacob is like this.

Jacob always wanted the best, and he chose the best. He was driven by his own choice, and because of this, he suffered a lot in his life. To escape the anger of his brother he had been sent by his parents to his relatives’ house. Here he was expecting to find rest and a comfortable life. After being with his uncle’s household for a month, his uncle, Laban, told him that he could not stay there for free. He would need to work with the flocks to earn his keep if he wanted to stay with him. Jacob became a hired laborer. He would be treated like all the other servants of Laban. Jacob was serving his uncle, Laban, caring for his flocks.

Laban said, “Tell me, what shall your wages be?” He was letting Jacob choose what his wages should be. Right then, if Jacob had been wise, he would have stopped and said, “Give me some time to ask God, what I should do.” But Jacob was not like that. Already, he had made his choice and he knew what he wanted. It turns out that he worked fourteen years so that he could get the wife he chose to marry. That was a lot of years to get his choice. What he really earned those years working for his uncle, Laban, was a very hard life.

In those years, Jacob gained a big, complicated family life. He had one daughter and eleven sons. There were female servants, too. This huge household was filled with envy and competition. Everyone was wrestling for Jacob’s attention. His household gave him problem after problem.

As he worked for Laban, his uncle for twelve years, Jacob was shepherding Laban’s flocks, he was in the open field with no place to sleep. There was no shade from the heat during the day and no protection from the frost at night. During the day it was so hot, yet at night it became so cold! Jacob suffered this every day. He was also required to bear the loss of any cattle which got torn by beasts or stolen or lost. He had to pay Laban for every single one! This put him under lots of pressure!

And above all this, Laban changed his wages ten times! This does not mean Laban gave Jacob a raise each time. NO! Laban never increased his wage. He always found ways to pay Jacob less.

Jacob came to Laban as a young single man. But in twenty years he gained a terrible family life and an exhaustive job. All because he had to have his choice.

And what about us? Do we have to have our own choice? When there is a plate of cookies and mom says you can have two, I am sure your choice is the two biggest ones. You would never think to leave a big one for someone else. Why can’t you be satisfied to have any of the cookies? Why must you choose the best ones for yourself? Or if your friends are making teams, you always want to be on the team with the best players. You would never want to be on the team which is not the best in your eyes. Why can’t you be satisfied with having a good time with friends on either team? Why must you get your own choice? And if you don’t get your choice, do you pout and declare that it is NOT fair? [Lead a discussion with the children about wanting their choice and why they can’t be happy with less. It is because we are selfish.]

I hope that none of us would grow up to have such a troublesome life as Jacob. I hope that as we grow and make big choices, like which college or trade school to go to, or what kind of job to take, we would go to God and consider what He wants, what His choice is for us. It is clear from Jacob’s story that struggling to get our own choice can often bring us problems.

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