Andrew Skinner:
"As members of the Church we are the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant. What is the Abrahamic covenant to the righteous if it is not candidacy for exaltation? As with Jacob, the task of turning candidacy into reality is up to us. Let us wrestle for our blessings that we are promised as we continue to worship in the temples of the Lord."
Purpose: To strengthen class members’ desires to live worthy of their birthright blessings and of eternal marriage.
Do not trade eternal blessings for temporary pleasure or satisfaction.
1. Abraham emphasizes the importance of marriage in the covenant (eternal marriage).
2. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob.
3. Jacob marries Leah and Rachel in the covenant, and through him the Abrahamic covenant continues.
Supplemental:
Isaac and Rebekah
Right Marriage Begins with Right Dating
Revelation given to women
Jacob's vision of the ladder
From Elder Bruce R. McConkie's talk --
Bruce R. McConkie, “Mothers in Israel and Daughters of Zion,” New Era, May 1978, 35
May I now take our common ancestor, Rebekah, as a pattern for what her daughters in the Church today can do. Rebekah was barren until Isaac entreated the Lord on her behalf, and then she conceived. Then Jacob and Esau, while yet in her womb, struggled together. She was troubled and asked, “Why am I thus?” The scripture says, “She went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb,” and he then described them. (Gen. 25:21–23.)
Our purpose in telling this story is to show that when Rebekah was troubled and needed divine guidance, she herself took the matter up with the Lord, and he spoke to her in reply. The Lord gives revelation to women who pray to him in faith.
When Jacob and Esau had grown to maturity, the greatest concern of their parents was the matter of whom they should marry. The record says that Esau “took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.” (Gen. 26:34–35.) What this means is that Esau married out of the Church; Esau did not enter the Lord’s system of celestial marriage, and his marriage brought great sorrow to his parents.
Rebekah had great anxiety as to whom Jacob would marry. She was fearful that he too might depart from the teachings of his parents and marry someone who was not eligible to receive the blessings of eternal marriage.
And so the scripture says, “And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?” (Gen. 27:46.)
That is to say, Rebekah thought her whole life would be wasted if Jacob married out of the Church. She knew he could not enter the gate leading to exaltation unless he was married in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and so she brought the matter to Jacob’s attention. This is a great object lesson. The mother was greatly concerned about the marriage of her son, and she prevailed upon the father to do something about it. She was acting as a guide and a light to Jacob as my wife often does to me.
And so the account says, “And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.” (Gen. 28:1.)
How many of us have received blessings, patriarchal blessings, in which we are told to marry in the temple or to be married for time and all eternity? So it was with Jacob. Isaac blessed him and gave him a command that meant, “Thou shalt not marry out of the Church.”
Now, when we are a minority part of the population, it is sometimes difficult to find a marriage companion in the Church. We have to go to great lengths to associate with faithful Latter-day Saints, to associate with good, clean people who are worthy to have a temple recommend.
And so Isaac not only said, “Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,” he also said: “Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.
“And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
“And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee.” (Gen. 28:1–4.)
That is to say, if Jacob married in the Church and was true and faithful, he would be blessed with eternal increase, with a continuation of the family unit in eternity, as his grandfather Abraham had been blessed before him. That he was obedient and faithful we learn from latter-day revelation that tells us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each entered the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, each “did none other things than that which they were commanded,” and each “have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.” (D&C 132:37.)
What we say for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we say also for Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, the wives who stood at their sides and who with them were true and faithful in all things. Men are not saved alone, and women do not gain an eternal fullness except in and through the continuation of the family unit in eternity. Salvation is a family affair.
The revelation on marriage says that “if a man marry a wife” in “the new and everlasting covenant,” and they are then faithful and true in all things, “they”—meaning the man and the woman—“shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, … which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods.” (D&C 132:19–20.) That is, the man and his wife together and not either one of them alone, shall be exalted. They shall have eternal life; they shall fill the full measure of their creation; they shall inherit, receive, and possess all things.
What a marvelous example Rebekah has set for all the women of the Church. Not only did she pray and get personal revelation when she needed it, but she so influenced her husband and her son that they did what was necessary so that Jacob married in the Church and, with his beloved Rachel, gained eternal life as a result.
Cynthia Hallen
Cynthia L. Hallen, “Rebekah,” Ensign, Jan 2002, 39
Abraham’s servant had prayed for a maiden who would bring a dowry of kindness to the Abrahamic family (see Gen. 24:14). At the well he met a personification of Christlike charity and consideration. She was not only a dutiful daughter who diligently performed the daily work of retrieving water for family and their livestock, she was also willing to perform this arduous task for a stranger (see Gen. 24:18–20). She did not know she was serving a man who would lead her to her future husband, yet upon his request she extended both water and generous hospitality, saying, “We have both straw and provender [food for animals] enough, and room to lodge in” (Gen. 24:23–25). She served selflessly, reminding us that one of the best presents each partner can bring to the wedding altar is the gift of charity.
David H. Madsen, “Jacob and Esau,” Ensign, Jan 2002, 42
When Isaac became about 130 years old, and his sons more than 70, 1 the time was right for the bestowal of the birthright blessing.
So at about age 77 (see note 1), Jacob and Esau parted, a separation that lasted about 20 years (see Gen. 31:41).
Andrew C. Skinner, “Jacob: Keeper of Covenants,” Ensign, Mar 1998, 51
Esau became a cunning hunter, while Jacob is described in the Hebrew text as an ‘ish tam, a man “whole, complete, perfect” (Gen. 25:27, footnote b). The implication is that Esau was concerned about one pursuit to the exclusion of other important considerations.
“When Jacob traveled from Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on the earth at the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood above it. He beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings—blessings that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord. …
-- window in the Celestial Room of the Timpanogos Temple
Thus the events described in chapter 32 of Genesis report the culmination of a process begun 20 years before at Bethel, when Jacob became a candidate for exaltation by vowing to live according to the Abrahamic covenant. At Bethel, Jacob had a templelike experience. Then Jacob had proved himself at every danger and under every circumstance. The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “When the Lord has thoroughly proved [someone], and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter … [and] have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, … and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions.” 7
Surely this describes Jacob. The crisis at the river Jabbok pushed him to the limits of his faith. It caused him to wrestle for a blessing, just as Enos, Zacharias, and others would do. Jacob’s wrestle resulted—referring back to President Brigham Young’s thought—in the Lord’s bursting the veil to reveal His glory. Indeed, the story of Jacob’s wrestle discloses the ultimate blessing that can be given. Years later, as he was blessing the sons of Joseph, long after his tearful reconciliation with Esau (see Gen. 33:1–4), the aged Jacob referred to events on the night of his wrestle when he mentioned “the Angel which redeemed me from all evil” (Gen. 48:16). . . .
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob desired, sought for, wrestled for, and craved the presence of God. They prayed for it, worked for it, and lived for it. In the Old Testament we find a powerful, personal record of their success, and the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that these patriarchs “have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods” (D&C 132:37).
As members of the Church we are the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant. What is the Abrahamic covenant to the righteous if it is not candidacy for exaltation? As with Jacob, the task of turning candidacy into reality is up to us. Let us wrestle for our blessings that we are promised as we continue to worship in the temples of the Lord.
Edward J. Brandt, “Journeys and Events in the Lives of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,” Ensign, Jun 1973, 56–59
Edward J. Brandt, “Understanding the Old Testament: Keys to Resolving Difficult Questions,” Ensign, Sep 1980, 27
Another example of so-called favoritism is that Jacob appears to have stolen the birthright from his brother, Esau—that he received it unjustly through deceit and trickery. But what does the scriptural record say concerning this matter? The record indicates that Esau not only sold his birthright, but “despised” it (Gen. 25:34), and that he further disqualified himself for these blessings by marrying nonbelievers “which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and Rebekah” (Gen. 26:35).
When the time came for Isaac to bless his two sons, Rebekah, who learned through a revelation she had received that Jacob was to rule over his brother (see Gen. 25:23), went against the cultural tradition and helped Jacob, the younger son, receive the blessing. When Esau came to claim his blessing, Isaac realized that the important rights of priesthood presidency did, in fact, belong to faithful Jacob, not to unworthy Esau: “Yea,” said Isaac, “and he shall be blessed” (Gen. 27:33). If the prophet-patriarch had acted improperly, he had the priesthood right to revoke Jacob’s blessing. But he didn’t do so, knowing that he had done the will of the Lord. Perceiving that Esau’s concern was for the loss of the temporal gain instead of spiritual blessings, Isaac promised him prosperity, but he also reaffirmed the blessing of Jacob (see Gen. 27:37–40)
Judy Stephan Smith, “Scriptural Giants: Rebekah,” Friend, Jun 1985, 48
Sarah and Isaac
| Melchizedek Blesses Abram, by Walter Rane.   What laws governed the inheritance of birthright in the Old Testament?Daniel H. Ludlow, “Question and Answer,” Tambuli, Sept. 1981, 32–34 |
