Curriculum
Jacob Wrestles With God
Memory Verse:
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Genesis 32:24
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Jacob continued to prosper in his life, and others were jealous of him. Throughout the challenges, Jacob continued to pursue God’s will for his life.
Scripture Summary
Jacob spent 20 years working for Laban: seven years for Leah, seven years for Rachel, and six years for livestock. These years were filled with challenges and the jealousy Laban had for Jacob. God prompted Jacob to return home to Canaan.
On his way to Canaan, Jacob prepared to meet Esau. Esau learned of Jacob’s returning, and he brought 400 men with him to meet Jacob before he even reached Canaan. Jacob divided his group into two, thinking if Esau attacks one group the other group may escape. Jacob fearfully chose a large gift of livestock to offer Esau as he awaited the meeting.
After Jacob had sent his wives, maidservants, children, and possessions across the Jabbok, Jacob found himself alone. A man appeared, and they wrestled throughout the night. Jacob was persistent while wrestling because he wanted to be blessed by the man. The man touched Jacob’s hip, injuring the socket.
At daybreak, the man gave Jacob a new name, calling him Israel. This new name was chosen because Jacob had “struggled with God and with men and had overcome.” Before the man left, he gave Jacob a blessing.
Jacob recognized that it was God with whom he wrestled throughout the night. His life was spared, and Jacob persevered as he followed God’s plan.
Why Is This Important
Life is hard. There’s no way around it. But God’s way is best, and He promises to be with us. We can continue to submit to God and pursue His plan even amidst challenges.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
Recognizing God’s Will
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:2, Message)
Before we can surrender to and follow God’s will, we need to be able to recognize what it is. That, of course, is often easier said than done. Here are a few quick tips on discerning God’s will. It might be quick, and it might take some time.
- Check the Scriptures. God will not ask you to do anything that contradicts His Word, a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. (Psalm 119:105)
- Set aside time to pray. Seek wisdom from God because He freely gives wisdom to those who ask for it. (James 1:5)
- Seek godly counsel. God created us to need Him as well as others in community. Ask a trusted friend or family member to listen to God along with you and to speak truth into the situation. (Proverbs 11:14)
- Sense God’s peace. God guides us to truth. His truth. The only truth. In that process, there’s peace that passes all understanding. (John 16:13, Philippians 4:7)
While the steps above are brief, they’re far from simple. It can be challenging to discern God’s will. Especially when we’re faced with a decision, Satan attempts to distract, discourage, and derail us.
It can be clear to discern the best decision between something right and something wrong. Life’s decisions are often much more complicated. We find ourselves attempting to choose between two good things. Which is better? In what direction is God leading?
Rather than attempting to foresee any and all ramifications of our decisions, discerning God’s will (a.k.a. His best for us) involves a great deal of trust in Him, His ability to speak clearly, and His love and care for us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for Your wisdom in knowing what’s best for me. Please help me follow You and Your leading today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: 14 large, blank index cards
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Genesis 32:24
SAY: Now we’re going to practice our Bible memory verse. Remember, Jacob wrestled all night with an angel of God. They wrestled and wrestled. Finally, the angel reached out and touched Jacob’s hip, causing it to twist. It’s almost as if Jacob became a new person after he and God wrestled.
There are times when we want to wrestle with God, too. Maybe we want to tell a lie but God wants us to tell the truth. We may wrestle with God as we decide what we will do. But God knows what’s best for us, and we can trust Him to lead us in the right way.
Today we’re going to go on a journey with a path to learn our Bible memory verse.
Follow these steps:
- Create a pathway using 14 index cards spread apart as stepping stones.
- Have each child follow the path, stepping only on the index cards.
- As they walk, repeat the Bible memory verse together.
- Once each child has crossed the path, have everyone repeat the Bible memory verse aloud together.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: 6-foot length of yarn - one for every two children
SAY: You might be surprised to find out that there’s a wrestling match in the Bible. That’s what our Bible lesson is about today: wrestling. If you remember, Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. He had a twin brother named Esau, and he was born second, holding onto Esau’s heel. When they were older, Jacob cheated Esau out of his entire birthright. After that, Jacob had to run away to avoid his brother’s rage. Esau was broke.
SAY: Still, after many years had passed, Esau called for Jacob to return home. Hmmm. Jacob didn’t know if he was coming home to be killed by his brother or to make up with him. He was probably pretty worried about what would happen.
ASK: What do you think Jacob may have been thinking or feeling when he thought about going back to his brother?
SAY: Did I mention that Esau was still very angry with him? Jacob and his two wives, his servants, and his 11 sons were traveling to finally meet Esau. One night of the journey, they came to a river. Jacob wasn’t sure what might be waiting for him with Esau, so he helped everyone else across to the other side of the river to continue on the journey. But Jacob stayed behind, all alone.
SAY: What happened next was unusual, even by biblical standards. The Bible tells us that a man appeared and all night long, this man wrestled with Jacob. The man was an angel of God. Imagine—all night! How exhausting would that be? Let’s try something to get a small idea of what that might be like.
Form pairs. Give each pair a 6-foot length of yarn. Have kids play Tug of War for three rounds.
SAY: You just had a very quick Tug of War that lasted a short time. But Jacob had a whole-body wrestling war with an angel of God for an entire night! That would be really difficult. Just imagine a Tug of War that lasted all night!
SAY: Jacob wrestled with God all night. And he walked away with a new name, blessings, and a limp. It seems strange, but if you think about it, sometimes we get into wrestling matches with God, too.
Tell about a time you wrestled with God and finally surrendered to His will.
SAY: We might want to do things our way, but God wants us to surrender to His will because He is in control. It’s hard for us to let go, and that struggle can feel like an exhausting wrestling match. But no matter what, we can trust that what God wants for us is far better than what we can imagine for ourselves.
Snack
Twisty Tasties
You’ll Need: Cheese Stick Twists with yellow and white cheese, Crackers, Napkins, Sanitizing hand wipes
Have kids clean their hands with hand wipes.
SAY: In today’s Bible lesson, the angel said Jacob had been face- to-face with God. After that, God changed Jacob’s life. He had a limp from his hurt hip, and God gave him a new name: Israel. Our cheese stick is like the two wrestlers, twisted together. It was hard to separate them!
Give kids the challenge of cleanly “untwisting” their Cheese Stick Twist colors.
SAY: And our crackers remind us of God’s power. He could have easily won, but only touched Jacob’s hip.
Challenge kids to break their crackers in half.
SAY: God is good, He loves us, and we can trust Him and surrender to His will.
Thank God for His wisdom and power, then enjoy the snacks.
Game
Tug of Titans Game
You’ll Need: Marbles
Explain to kids that they’ll be playing a game called “Tug of Titans.” Play the game like this:
- Form pairs.
- Partners sit on the floor facing one another with straight legs and toes touching.
- Kids cannot use their hands in this game.
- Place several marbles near each pair.
- On “go,” kids will try to grab marbles with their toes and move them to their side.
- The child with the most marbles at the end of the round wins.
- Play for one minute, then have kids find a new partner.
- Play several rounds.
Afterward, ASK:
- What were you thinking during this game?
- How do you think this game might be like how it was when
Jacob wrestled with the angel of God?
Craft
Luchador Masks Craft
You’ll Need: "Jacob Wrestles With God" How-to Video, “Luchador Mask” Handout - one per child, Markers, A variety of self- adhesive gems and decorations, Yarn, Tape, Scissors
SAY: Luchadores are professional wrestlers in Mexico. Luchadores wear masks when they wrestle, and people recognize them by their masks.
Help kids follow these steps to create a fun craft as a reminder to surrender to God’s will.
- Cut out the luchador mask from the handout.
- Reinforce the small side holes of the mask on the front and back with tape.
- Decorate your luchador mask using markers and the other deco- rations.
- Tie yarn to the side holes so you can wear your mask.
SAY: Like a luchador, Jacob wrestled with the angel of God all night. He put up a good fight! In the end, Jacob surrendered to God, but that was a good thing because God knew what was best for him.
Explain that in luchador matches, the loser of the match removes his mask as a sign of surrender.
ASK:
- What’s one thing you can surrender to God about?
SAY: Go ahead and remove your mask. (Allow time.) Jacob hadn’t lived a perfect life. He had done things he might have regretted, and he knew he might have to pay a big price. Still, all alone, he wrestled with the angel of God. He didn’t win, but he also didn’t lose because he surrendered to God’s will. We can surrender to God’s will, too.
Prayer
Unmasked Prayer
You’ll Need: Luchador masks
Have children hold their luchador mask up to their face.
SAY: Dear God, thank You for always being in control and for knowing what’s best for us. During those times when we want to wrestle with You, remind us to take down our masks and surrender to Your will. (Have kids lower their masks.) We praise You, God, and we trust You. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
