Identity Theft
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Through the story of Jacob and Esau we can explore themes of identity, delayed gratification, and integrity—all very relevant themes for coping with life today.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OVERVIEW
In this lesson we are looking at the lives of Jacob and Esau. Perhaps the most famous twins in the Bible. Jacob becomes a friend of God, but his path there is paved by deceptions, cheating, and sibling rivalry. Why is this behavior forgiven and what about Esau, the cheated brother? This week we will look at a God who graces us with his love despite our human tendencies.
OPENING ACTIVITY
OPTION 1: CAT AND MOUSE (From the book “Best Ever Games for Youth Ministry” by Les Christie.) For 10 or more students.
One player is chosen to be the cat and another to be the mouse. The others form a circle and hold hands. The mouse is inside the circle, and the cat prowls around the outside.
The cat must try to break through the circle and catch the mouse, but the players in the circle do all they can to keep the cat out by raising or lowering their arms or standing close together. Despite all their efforts, the cat usually succeeds in ducking under their arms or forcing two players to let go of their hands. Then there is a furious chase around the inside of the circle.
OPTION 2: GUESS THE OBJECT, for any size group. Requires some preparation.
Supplies: Medium-sized box with hand-sized holes on one side and open on the other side (or you can use a blindfold). Place different objects that the student can touch and try to guess inside the box. Items could be something furry like a blanket, orange peels, cooked noodles, mushed up bananas. Get as creative and tricky as you can.
Tip: To get the most out of the activity, have multiple students try to guess before you reveal what the objects are or have the guessing students leave the room so they can’t see. You might time to see who can guess fastest.
DISCUSSION
OPTION 1 specific questions:
OPTION 2 specific questions:
FINAL QUESTION
TRANSITION
It is no fun to be deceived or tricked. But is it fun to be the deceiver? In today’s Bible study, we get to see this from both sides. (Leader: this would be a great time to tell a personal story of when you either were tricked/deceived or when you tricked/deceived someone else.)
DISCUSSION
Today in our study we are going to look at the legacy of deceit in the life of the person the nation of Israel is named after. We will also observe how God works through our family issues to always give grace to all, despite the pain we inflict on one another.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Today’s Bible story is about a famous set of twins: Jacob and Esau. I’m sure you have probably met twins before, and one of the common things I’ve found when I’ve talked with twins is that they always know which one of them is older . . . even if it’s by a few seconds or minutes. And the older twin often uses that against their same-age sibling. It is no different with the story of Jacob and Esau. More than perhaps any other story so far in scripture, the birth narrative is very vivid, showing two babies fighting from the womb for dominance.
Read Genesis 25:24-28.
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
DISCUSSION
The next chapter in the story comes in when I assume Jacob and Esau are teenagers or young adults. The Bible doesn’t make their ages clear. Esau has been out working in the field and is hungry and tired. We might use the word “hangry” in today’s culture. He sees some delicious, warm, and savory lentils in a pot and desperately wanted some. The stew was red which means Edom; that will come in later. I think it’s also important to talk about a birthright. The birthright was automatically given to the firstborn son of any family. This birthright included the honor of carrying on the family name. It also included a bigger portion of the family wealth, honor, and respect. So, in ancient culture it was pretty important. Let’s pick up the story there.
Read Genesis 25:31-34.
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
DISCUSSION
Some years pass. Again, the Bible doesn’t give specifics but Isaac is old enough to have gone blind. His boys are older, and in their culture, it was appropriate for a father to give his children a blessing before he died. The interesting thing is that the Bible records these blessings for us, and they often were like prophecies that came true for their kids! Can you imagine your parent doing something like that to/for you?
In a super-quick summary of the story, Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, come up with a plan. Rebekah has held on to what God said to her when her boys were born. But she is tired of waiting for Jacob to get what she sees is his divine reward. So, she and Jacob take things into their own hands, and through another, much more elaborate deception based on a meal, steal Esau’s blessing. Now Jacob not only has the birthright, he has the blessing too! Let’s pick up the story when Esau returns and finds out his blessing has been stolen.
Read Genesis 27:34-38.
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
DISCUSSION
In Genesis 27:41, Esau vows to kill Jacob, which prompts Rebekah to send Jacob to her dad in another part of the country. We will deal with that story in another lesson, but this isn’t the end of the Jacob and Esau saga. Jacob continues to deceive and ends up unwelcome again. The only place he knows to run is home, but home is where Esau has stayed. In a sense, he is a prodigal son returning home, but will Esau still want to kill him?
Before we pick up that part of the story, we often ignore Esau’s journey and just focus on the hero, Jacob. I think as teenagers it is helpful for us to learn from Esau’s rebellion after he loses his birthright and blessing. There is a passage in Genesis 28 that we often overlook, but it has lasting implications for God’s people.
Read Genesis 28:6-9.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
DISCUSSION
Jacob and Esau never fully became reconciled. There is no storybook ending for them, but it’s important to see that even with all that went wrong in their relationship, it was still possible (with God’s help) for them to have reconciliation. Even in the most difficult circumstances God can work with willing human hearts to bring similar reconciliation (even though not all broken human relationships will be safe to reconcile, even if there is forgiveness). Let’s read the story about how these two twins in their old age are reunited again.
Read Genesis 33:1-4.
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.
DISCUSSION
APPLICATION
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
Generations have passed, and the fulfillment of Abraham's promise to be the father of a nation is currently taking place. Jacob and Esau are the grandsons of Abraham, the next step in the fulfillment of this prophecy. These twins, who appear to be identical only in parentage, seem to be clashing constantly since they don't have anything else in common. The story of Jacob and Esau is long, and there is not one part of the story that can be missed because, in a way, it is the true backdrop for the nation of Israel. However, we are unable to address all of the important lessons from such a powerful and scene-setting story in a single study. I urge you to read Genesis 25:19-34 so that the analysis of chapter 27 will be appropriately understood. To put this study's context into perspective, there are a few general facts that I will state below.
Perhaps one of the most striking parts about the story of Jacob and Esau is that there is no clear “good and bad” character. At first, we believe Esau to be the “bad” guy because he just fits the mold. After all, he even gave up his firstborn blessing for some food! However, as we dive into Chapter 27, Jacob’s use of deception to gain (or claim, according to him and Rebekah) his firstborn rights is not any better than Esau’s actions. In James 2:10, God states, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” No sin is less serious or easier to atone for than another, regardless of how moral you are or believe yourself to be. Even if you are working for a cause that you believe would benefit people or fulfill God's word, you could be unwittingly stumbling right into sin. Think about some of the most righteous men: Abraham, who slept with Sarah’s maid to “expedite” the process of fulfilling God’s promise, Moses, who struck the rock twice to make the water flow as God had promised; Saul, who believed that persecuting the Christians was the way to preserving the traditions (that God had set in the Old Testament). The list could go on and on, but at the end of the day, each of these characters has hope. Along with the lesson in the dangers of taking matters into our own hands, Genesis 27 demonstrates that we shouldn't get too caught up with who is the "good" guy or "bad" guy, but rather anchor our faith in God and turn to Him for direction and fulfillment.
Birthright Problems
Have you ever done something wrong out of a desire to do something good?
Read Genesis 25:19-34 for background.
19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
Read Genesis 27:1-46.
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. 28 May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. 40 You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
SUMMARY
Genesis 27 explores Jacob’s deception as a desperate act to secure the birthright that was promised to him by God. Like in many other stories in the Bible, Jacob and Rebekah are desperate to prove God right and, therefore, choose these nefarious methods of action. The story of Jacob and Esau is fascinating because there is no single "righteous" character. Even the most upright men fall, but what matters is that you refocus your faith in God and the fulfillment of his promises. Furthermore, there is hope, even when a mistake has been made. The consequence of Jacob’s actions was being driven away from his home because his safety was threatened. However, without this move, the nation of Israel might have never existed. Rather than seeing the story of Jacob and Esau as one of mistakes and judgment, we should see it as a lesson in faith, fulfillment, and hope, as God once again demonstrates that He has our best interests at heart.
APPLICATIONS
The story of Jacob and Esau may have occurred centuries ago, but its profound lessons and message of deliverance are priceless to our walk with God today. It is always a necessary part of studying to sit back and meditate on how a story or lesson applies to us today as youth. Below you will find three applications that can benefit the youth in your group and help them meditate on the Word shared today. These applications work both individually and in a group.
Deception is most commonly associated with the story of Jacob and Esau because it is at the center of Rebekah and Jacob’s actions of desperation. Lying and deception never lead to good things, even if you believe you have the right intentions.
Have you heard the common phrase, “What goes around comes around”? Our society has a deep-rooted idea of karma or the concept that whatever you do, good or bad, will reciprocate in your own life. Personally, I think this is a pretty scary idea to live with! Fortunately, God doesn’t preach the “karma is going to get you” mentality. He can take whatever bad situation (even if your own choices led you there) and make it into something good. For example, Jacob’s sin of deception drove him away from home, but from it, God created a nation of twelve tribes! If we put our faith in God, we won’t have to be scared of karma coming to get us.
Have you ever looked at someone (or their actions) and thought, “I would never do that! How can they act so badly?” It is so easy to cast a judgmental eye and label someone as a “bad” person, or on the flipside, as a “goody two-shoes”!
In Matthew 7:5, Jesus states “You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” The reality is, we are the last people who should be inflicting judgment on others, whether we perceive them to be good or bad people. The story of Jacob and Esau shows us that sometimes, even “good” people make large mistakes. Of course, identifying sinful actions and taking proactive steps to avoid falling into the same mistakes is a wonderful thing to do, but we should take caution in calling someone good or bad; only God sees what is inside the heart. Instead, let’s take steps to take the “plank out of our own eye,” focusing on our actions and relationship with God before judging anyone else.
