1. I saa c and R ebe k ah Turn to Genesis 25:20. Mark how old Isaac was when he was married to Rebekah In verse 21, circle the word “barr en” and in the margin, writ e “unabl e t o hav e c hildr e n ” Now go all the way down to verse 26 and underline “Isaac was threescore years old ”. A “score” i s twent y. So three “scores” is sixty. Writ e “60 y e ar s old = t h e y w e r e unabl e t o hav e c hildr e n f or 20 y e ar s ! ” Now go back up to verse 21 and mark “I saa c intr eat ed th e Lord for hi s wi f e” and writ e “how m any pray e r s do you t hin k t h e y pray e d ov e r 20 y e ar s ? ” Circle the word “conceived” in verse 21. Next to that writ e “b ec a m e pr e gnan t ” 2. Twins! Circle the word “children” in verse 22. Above that writ e “t win s ”. Mark the question “ why am I thus?” and writ e “why i s this happening?” Mark the phrase “ A nd she went to enquir e of th e Lord”, and then draw a line connecting that phrase with the phrase you already marked in verse 21, “ I saa c intr eat ed th e Lord for hi s wife” where Isaac also prays when he is seeking for answers. This is a righteous couple! Put a big box around the Lord’s answer to Rebekah where he says, “ Two nations a r e in thy womb”. And next to that verse writ e: “ Th e ir d e s ce ndan ts will b ec o m e 2 s e para t e na t ion s ”. In verse 23, circle “from thy bowels” and writ e “born ”. Also in verse 23, underline “th e eld e r shall se r v e th e younge r ” and writ e next to it: “no t t h e c ul t ural nor m . R e b ek ah k now s t hrough r e v e la t ion t h e young e st will hav e t h e bi r t hrigh t ” In verse 25, circle “first” and writ e “s hould hav e t h e bir t hrigh t ” Get a sticky note and write the following on the sticky note: “Th e bi r t hrigh t i s t h e righ t or inh e ri t an ce o f on e o f t h e s on s , and h e wa s u s ually t h e f ir st born . H i s inh e ri t an ce in c lud e d land and t h e au t hori t y t o pr e s id e upon t h e death of the father.” Put that sticky note in your scriptures somewhere on that page. Circle and color in the name of the firstborn in verse 25. And then circle and color in the name of the second born in verse 26. 3. Ja cob and E sau In verse 27, mark the individual characteristics of each son. In verse 28, circle “venison” and writ e “meat” In verse 29, circle “pottage” and writ e “stew” Take a second and read verses 29-34 . This is a very famous story. Go back up to verse 29 and circle “faint” and writ e: “in n ee d o f f ood and r e st ” In verse 31, circle and color in the word “ birthright” and writ e next to it “ Th e righ t t o pr e s id e ov e r t h e Abraha m i c Covenant!” Now draw a big box around verses 4 and 5 in the next chapter (26) and writ e “Th e pro m i s e s o f t h e Abraha m i c Covenant” in the margin. Draw a line from that box to the word “birthright” back in 25:31 U nd e rlin e Esau’s response in verse 32: “what profit shall this birthright do to me ?” and writ e next to it “ E s au doesn’t care about his bi r t hrigh t .” At the top of the page write: “Jacob =cherishes his c ov e na n ts , ha s an e t e rnal p e r s p ec t iv e . Esau = Doesn’t valu e hi s c ov e na n ts . Wa n ts pl e a s ur e now.” Now turn to 26:34. Put a big box around this verse. R ead it . Next to it writ e “E s au m arri e s ou ts id e o f t h e c ov e nan t = now h e r e ally s e ll s hi s bi r t hrigh t .” Now go over to 27: 28-30 and draw a big box around those verses. Writ e next to it: “Ja c ob o ff i c ially r ec e iv e s t h e bi r t hrigh t ” Now draw a big box around 36-38 and writ e “ Esau’s r e a c t ion when he doesn’t get t h e bi r t hrigh t .” Read those verses and mark what stands out to you in those verses. Next to verse 36, writ e “ E s au blames Jacob, doesn’t take a cc oun t abili t y f or hi m s e l f .” Mark the last sentence in verse 38. This is a really sad moment. Next to that phrase writ e: “ E s au valu e d i t af t e r h e lo st i t .” Read verse 41 and mark how Esau feels after he loses the birthright. Now turn to 28:1. Put a bo x around that entire verse and writ e off to the side “ Ja c ob i s t old no t t o m arry ou ts id e o f t h e c ov e nan t .” Now circle ver se 7. Draw a line connecting verse 7 with verse 1. ----------------------------- 4. Co nsid er th e following questions: My birthright is to become like Heavenly Father. What am I doing t o show that I cherish that? What are some “pottages” of today that I see others selling their birthright for? When are times that I blame other for my own choices, like Esau blamed Jacob? What can I do to avoid having a moment in my future, like Esau when he realized that he lost something really important?