Spin this little craft quickly to see the optical illusion, Jacob between what will be his two wives, Rachel and Leah. It’s a simple stick and paper setup and perfect for a short or easy craft.
To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, some double-sided tape or glue and a straw or chopstick. Please note the black and white version has Jacob in colour as his images need to be identical for it to work. Print in greyscale if needed.
Start by cutting out the rectangle.
Fold in half.
Add glue or double-sided tape to one side and position the stick. There are small extra boxes on the printout to mark the middle.
Stick the two sides together.
Spin to see both images blend into one.
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For each passage, there is a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page. All other graphics are extra’s!
Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
These images are NOT copyright free.
These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only. Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decorations, big screen presentations, flannel graphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group. You may not use them in products you are going to sell (both printed and digital). Nor may you upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos. Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
This is a story of love and deception. Jacob works for 7 years with nobody tipping him off to the plan or requirement that the oldest daughter must marry first. These games tie into that number 7 and the idea of deception. Choose the game best suited to your age range and space.
This simple pairs game can be printed by clicking on the image. It contains 8 pairs to find. Separate the cards, mix, then place face down. Turn 2 cards to try to match the pairs. If they match leave face up, otherwise reset.
I can do 7
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Everybody standups and have your kids name actions they can do seven times. Seven star-jumps, seven hops, seven claps, the list is endless.
Under the cup
Ages 7+
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
This classic guessing game where a small object is placed under one of three cups before them being shifted about on a table is well-known for its tricksters. However, it’s also a good illustration of how easily one can lose which one is which.
Question treasure hunt
Ages 7+
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Hide sequential clues written as questions. Search to find the next question, the answer to that question tells them where to find the next question, and so on. End with some form of treasure. Link: Jacob repeating his 7 years of work to finally marry Rachel.
Blind mans buff
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This classic game of trying to find people while blindfolded ties into the lesson nicely – how was Jacob tricked with a blindfold. What other clues could Jacob have noticed? How did we identify people?
Disguises
Under 7’s
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
If you have very young children, this story is a great chance to let them play dress-up. Who will they become?
This simple Jacob, Rachel, and Leah origami craft is a lovely puzzle to play with when made. It has 3 images to reveal – the mystery bride and the two sisters. When the veil is over the top, there really is no way to tell who is under there. This is quite a long post as I’ve shown every single, little, step, but it’s a straightforward craft to do.
To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout and scissors.
You will also need the ability to fold a piece of paper into halves and quarters with at least some degree of accuracy.
Start by cutting out the large square.
Fold the square in half diagonally, corner to corner, to make a big triangle. Open up and repeat folding the other way – we need to do this (ink on the inside, ink on the outside) with every fold.
Open out again and fold each corner into the middle, the folds should create more little triangles. Remember to repeat folding the other way.
Let’s repeat the process with rectangles. Fold the fully opened square in half down the middle to form a rectangle. Rotate and repeat, so the lines cross in the middle.
Open out again and fold one edge into the middle to create a long thin rectangle, rotate and repeat for all 4 edges.
Now comes the tricky bit. Each flat side needs to be folded into the centre. Start by folding one side of the opening up to the corner to the mid-point.
Fold the next side, flattening the corner into a point as you go. Repeat on the remaining 2 sides.
When all four sides are done it will leave you with what looks like a pinwheel.
Open out each corner and flatten it down.
The image of the mystery bride should appear as the corners come together.
Discover the other pictures as you play with the folds.
Help keep the free items on this site free by donating. This site supports my family as we live by God's great economy.
There is so much you can draw out of this story of Jacob finding his family and falling in love with the youngest daughter of a relative. There are also many trip wires — Why did Leah need to marry first? Why did her father not find her another suitor? Why does Jacob agree to keep a second wife when he clearly loved another? How drunk was he the evening of his wedding not to notice? While this passage may lead to interesting questions, the actual narrative is quite straightforward.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Jacob travelled and found his distant family. He was staying at Laban’s house and would help with his flocks. Laban had two daughters. The older daughter, Leah, had trouble seeing, her eyes crinkled when she looked at you. The younger, Rachel, was delicate and utterly beautiful, her hair always escaping her headscarf in ringlets.
Jacob soon fell in love with Rachel’s beauty and asked Laban if he could work for the chance to one day make Rachel his wife. The men agreed Jacob would work for 7 years and then Jacob could marry Rachel. Seven years seemed like just a few days to Jacob because his love for Rachel was so great.
Years later, the whole community turned up for the wedding. The bride was dressed in file clothes and a long veil hiding her face. She looked beautiful and soon after the marriage, Jacob, full of wine, went with his bride into the tent.
The next morning, Jacob woke up to find himself asleep beside Leah. He had been tricked. Furious, Jacob went searching for Laban.
“What have you done?” Jacob shouted, pulling Laban from his bed.
“I kept my end of the deal, I worked for Rachel not Leah, why have you tricked me?” Laban looked quite calm, he had been expecting this.
“You do not know our ways,” said Laban, “You came here from a far land thinking you could just choose, but we can’t marry the younger daughter before the older daughter is married.” Laban was calm, he paused, wanting to make sure Jacob was really listening.
“Spend this week with Leah as is the custom, and next week you can marry Rachel also.” Laban paused again to see how Jacob would react. Jacob looked at Leah, who had followed him into the tent. Would anyone have taken Leah with her bad eyes? Jacob could have waited forever for Rachel. Leah was nice too and though he did not love her, it was right she had a chance to marry.
Jacob looked back at Laban and nodded his head, but Laban wasn’t finished yet.
“You worked 7 years for me to marry one daughter, so if you take Rachel too, you must work another seven years.” Jacob loved Rachel so much he didn’t hesitate, he would do anything so they could be together.
