All my classes memorized Jacob's Sons (and Dinah!) this week as our first memory verse of the 2021-2022 school year. My New Testament Survey class, composed of almost all sophomores, had an additional assignment which is given below:
In first person, talk about what it was like to be part of Jacob's family. You may choose to be Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Dinah, one of the sons, Bilhah, or Zilpah. There is a 250 word minimum. You must use complete sentences, proper grammar, and CAPITALIZATION! Good luck! PS: I would save a copy just in case there is a submitting problem.
If you know your Bible, you know this family was a train wreck for many reasons but God still used them mightily in His plan of redemption. I explained how Jacob came to be married to four women and the resulting chaos. It was my students' job to try to explain it all as one of the characters by putting themselves in the story. I selected two entries and they are printed below with permission.
I don't know how I got to this predicament. Four wives and thirteen children is a lot for a man. But, I guess my own actions got me this far. Where did it all begin? Oh, I remember. It all started when I traded some stew for my brother Esau's birthright. It's his fault for being so dumb that got me into all this trouble. If it wasn't for his stupidity, I wouldn't have had to run for fear of my life to my Uncle Laban. Oh my uncle- the most low-down, lying, cheater I have ever met. Only seven years, he said; seven years for Rachel. But No! Seven years comes and I get a wife as promised. But is it Rachel that I got as promised? No! It was Leah, with the lazy eyes. Then, another seven years to get Rachel. I guess that puts me here today. Then, the children came and more problems popped up. The boys are good, but there always seems to be a strange tension between them. The wives are always fighting and I have to break them up most of the time. It seems that the very thing that got me into all this trouble is also going to get my sons into trouble. But who can blame them? It's not their fault that they have been raised being told that the birthright should be theirs. I fear that one day my sons may start fighting and will hurt one another. But for now, things are the same. Tensions are mounting and the morale is low. The troubles keep coming and keep driving the family apart. And to think that it all started with a birthright and a bowl of stew. -Vince
I don't understand why he chose Rachel.
Is she really that much prettier than me? Or is it just because she is younger?
My own father had to con someone into marrying me. That day, I was so excited
to finally be getting married, but I had this sort of uneasy feeling in my
stomach. I wondered what his reaction would be when he lifted the veil and
realized it wasn't my baby sister, but her "ugly" older sister. It's
kind of crazy, though. I help give Jacob all these sons, but somehow Rachel is
still the favorite. Rachel didn't have a child until all my children were
basically grown up. What are the odds?! I'm so tired of being treated as a lesser
person, being underappreciated. And don't even get me started on Rachel's nasty
attitude! It's not my fault she couldn't get pregnant. But, she is my sister.
No matter what I say, or what I do, she will always be my baby sister. I don't
really care about my feelings; I just want my children to be happy. I admit
that I haven't treated Joseph as good as I should have. I can't take my anger
and pain out on a child. I'm disappointed in my sons for what they did to him,
but what difference would it make if I did say something? Now all that I can do
is take care of Benjamin and treat him the way I should have treated Joseph. -Keiwan
Applicable quote of the day:
Bleeding ulcers
run in my family, we give them to each other.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Steve
Luke 18:1
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