The text for this lesson is Genesis 25:19–34; 27:1–40.
Key Point
- God revealed the certainty of His presence now and forever to Jacob in a dream. God reveals Himself and His plan of salvation for us in His Word and Sacraments. We respond with praise and worship.
- Law: I sin when I think God does not care for me or has left me alone.
- Gospel: God promises in His Word never to leave me. His gracious love for me, revealed through His Son, Jesus, moves my heart to worship and praise Him.
Discussion Points
- Have you ever had a major falling out with someone in your family? What were the consequences? How did you reconcile?
- Read the end of Genesis 27. See how the cycle of sin continues and worsens after the events that we studied in the last lesson! Read Galatians 5:19–24. How is the cycle of sin broken?
- Look at God’s blessing of Jacob in 28:13–15. How is this similar to Isaac’s blessing of him in 28:3–4? How is it different? How is it similar or different from other blessings we have studied previously in Genesis (compare especially with Genesis 12:3)? What does this tell you about God’s plan and providence?
- Read John 1:43–51, in which Jesus alludes to Jacob’s dream. What does it mean to have “heaven open”?
- The cycle of sin went on, yet God’s blessing continued with Jacob. What was the effect of the dream of the ladder on Jacob? Bethel means “house of God.” With this in mind, how does God’s blessing come to us today? How does God break our cycle of sin?
- When does God, surrounded by angels, speak from heaven to us? (Hint: When do we say together “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven”?) Consider Hebrews 12:22–24 in this light. The singing of the “Holy, holy, holy” is also called the Sanctus, the Latin word for “holy.”
