Master Teacher: 1st Quarter 2016

LESSON 1 FOR WEEK OF JANUARY 3, 2016

BAIT AND SWITCH

UNIFYING TOPIC:

A Bride Worth Waiting For

LESSON TEXT

I. An Abiding Love

(Genesis 29:15–20)

II. The Trickster Is Tricked

(Genesis 29:21–26)

III. Jacob and His Wives

(Genesis 29:27–30)

THE MAIN THOUGHT

And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. (Genesis 29:30, KJV).

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Marriages can be marred by unforeseen circumstances. How might husbands and wives patiently work through tradition and undesirable circumstances to reach their personal goals? After Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter, Leah, Jacob willingly agreed to work for seven additional years in order to marry his beloved Rachel.

LESSON AIM

To articulate the benefits that come from an extraordinary commitment to loved ones.

LIFE AIM

To commit to finding faith-based resolutions to difficulties before abandoning relationships.

BEFORE YOU TEACH

Consider . . .

Focus for College and Career—Young adults need to confront how they feel about working and waiting for someone or something they greatly desire.

Focus for Adult Christian Life—Adults need to recognize the hurt that may come when they take advantage of a situation for their own gain.

Supplementary Study Materials

For further reference, see today’s lesson from Boyd’s Commentary, New National Baptist Hymnal, 21st Century Edition #54 (NNBH #247), and God’s Promises Bible.

Teacher Helps

For teaching supplements visit http://www.rhboydpublishing.com.

First Step: Introduction. Before class, read through Genesis 28–30 carefully and pray for understanding. Consult any materials needed to better understand the biblical material.

Second Step: Ask the students if they have worked for something they really wanted only to not receive it in the end. Have the students discuss how they handled their disappointments.

Third Step: Read through the students’ book material together, taking time for discussion or questions as you go. Ask the students where they see God at work in the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah.

Fourth Step: For College and Career: Talk about how difficult it is to wait for the right relationships, whether romantic or otherwise. What sort of heartache comes from being in unhealthy, unfaithful relationships? For Adult Christian Life: Discuss the difficulties of conflict with family members. How can Christians resolve these conflicts faithfully?

Fifth Step: Close the class with prayer.

God’s Word in Life

What Laban did to Jacob concerning Rachel in today’s lesson is what is sometimes called a bait and switch. One thing is promised but another is given. Jacob was deceived by this ploy by Laban, betrayed and manipulated by his uncle’s lies. However, he would come out on top. During the next seven years, while he worked for Rachel’s hand, Jacob bred the flocks in order to strengthen flocks for himself and make Laban’s weaker (see Gen. 30:37–43). When he eventually left his uncle’s home, Jacob was a very wealthy man. Deception was part of Jacob’s life, whether he was deceiving his father or being deceived by his uncle. How do a person’s habits define his or her life today? How do these habits affect the person’s family? †

— EXPOSITION —

Introduction

When studying marriages, one might be tempted to look only at those which seem happy and healthy. However, there is much to be learned from those relationships which seem too sour, or appear to be impossibly difficult from the beginning. The story of Jacob’s marriage to both Leah and Rachel is certainly an opportunity for reflection on what sorts of behaviors can make married life more or less of a peaceful experience for all involved parties— since, even in monogamous marriages, the two who are married are not the only ones affected by the marriage.

Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah and the grandson of Abraham. He was Isaac’s second son, even though he was a twin. Esau was in line to receive the biggest portion of his and Jacob’s father’s wealth when Isaac died. Jacob was not content with his smaller portion, however, so he and his mother hatched a plan to trick Isaac into giving Jacob the larger inheritance. This plan worked, but it had grave consequences. Jacob had to flee from his brother, who wanted to kill him the moment their father died. Rather than wait for his brother’s vengeance, Jacob was sent to live with his uncle, Laban. Jacob would soon have reason to be furious with his uncle, much like Esau was furious with Jacob. Jacob’s deceptions would come back to him and cause him great strife in marriage and family life for many years to come.

I. An Abiding Love (Genesis 29:15–20)

In Old Testament times, daughters were often considered objects of value to their families and were pledged in marriage as a way to acquire work or wealth. A husband might also acquire more wives as his wealth increased, thus increasing his status in the community through the size of his household. This is the case in the lesson today. When Jacob arrived at Laban’s house, he lived there for a month; working without discussing his salary. He was probably just glad to be safe! At the end of the month, Laban asked what Jacob’s price was to continue working for him. Jacob said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel’ (Gen. 29:18, NRSV). Although this was a business transaction in which a wife would be payment for work, Jacob suggested this because of the love he had for Rachel. Today in the United States there are laws prohibiting the marriage of two cousins like Jacob and Rachel, but in their day this was not an unusual arrangement. Marrying within the family strengthened the family by keeping wealth inside the family and ensured that foreign practices were not brought into it, such as the worship of foreign gods. This is why Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me’ (Gen. 29:19, NRSV).

Jacob had a true and enduring love for Rachel. It was a love that was ever-abiding. It is likely that Jacob loved Rachel from the first moment that he saw her (see Gen. 29:9–12). Though love at first sight is unnecessary to an abiding love, Jacob’s actions following this demonstrate that his was the type of love that ensures a marriage will always survive the worst things this world can offer. The text says, Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel (Gen. 29:17–18, KJV). Leah’s description might suggest that she had beautiful eyes but was otherwise unattractive or that she had some sort of condition that made her eyes weak. In any case, her appearance did not inspire love in Jacob. He favored Rachel. This was a love that touched the heart of Jacob to want to work very hard for her father, Laban, in order to secure her hand in marriage. Nothing was too much to ask so that he could be with Rachel.

II. The Trickster Is Tricked (Genesis 29:21–26)

When Jacob’s seven years were up, he went to Laban to collect Rachel. ‘Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed’ (v. 21, NRSV). Jacob, like his father before him, apparently suspected nothing of his kinsman. He expected to be treated with respect and given Rachel as Laban had agreed. This seems like a very naïve reaction from Jacob. After all, it had been his mother Rebekah who helped him deceive his own father. The man he was now working for was Rebekah’s own brother. Would he not also be capable of this level of deception? Such bad traits can run through families. Some of it is personality, which is largely influenced by genetics. However, much of how children learn to react to the world is passed on by example from their parents. Whether married or single, it is worthwhile for the students in class to consider what sorts of traits they hope to pass on to future or existing offspring. How do the families of both bride and groom help determine the family life of the new couple? How will this play into the traits that are passed from generation to generation?

For more information about MARRIAGE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, visit www.rhboydpublishing.com.

Deception seemed to run in Rebekah and Jacob’s family, and it did not skip Laban. Jacob was tricked severely by Laban. Following the wedding celebration, Jacob and his bride went to bed together. It wasn’t until the morning when her face was revealed that Jacob realized he had been tricked. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? (Gen. 29:25, KJV). Laban’s explanation that ‘this is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn’ is plausible, but ultimately rings hollow (v. 26, NRSV). Laban had seen a way to take advantage of his hardworking nephew and decided it was better to have two daughters married to him rather than only one. Besides, now he could bargain for more time out of Jacob. But even in all Laban’s deception towards Jacob, Jacob stayed the course to secure the love of his life, Rachel.

DECEIVE

(Hebrew: rimmit)

To take advantage of another, especially in order to further one’s own interests. The word can also mean to abandon or betray. In this case, Laban deceived his nephew Jacob in order to