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Rachel, Jacob, and Leah (Genesis 29) | Story

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.

Main Passage : John 1: 1-10

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

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.

Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28) | Craft 2

This Jacob’s Ladder paper craft scene with it’s curved sky and layered clouds allows the child to look at the image from various angles. Peering down through the clouds from heaven or up from the ground through Jacob’s eyes.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, and some paper glue.

Add colour if printed without, and then cut out all the pieces.

Fold the tabs on Jacob and the stone backwards

Glue Jacob onto the background, avoiding the dotted boxes.

Add glue to the tab on the stone and also the top of the stone.

Stick the stone to Jacob’s head and then attach the tab to the base. — Jacob should be laying down, but not totally flat.

Gently crease the tab on the small cloud so it does not lay flat.

Attach the small cloud to the background piece, avoiding the dotted box.

Fold the tabs on the ladder. The end that splits had folds going in opposite directions.

Attach the base of the ladder besides Jacob in the dotted boxes on the template.

Attach the top of the ladder to the top of the scene.

Your creation is complete.

Turn it round and talk about how the angels saw it and how Jacob saw it?

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A4 size
(210 x 297 mm)

Download colour Download no colour

Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28) | Games

This story of Jacob’s ladder dream has so many facets that could be spun off into games. The ladder, the stone, the voice of God. There is a selection here to suit various group sizes and space layouts.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Soft as a Stone

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Gather a selection of different materials. Have the children choose what is the best use for each material. e.g. thin cotton may be good as a bedsheet, but would it be good as a trampoline? Wood may be good for a door, but what about a slide? End with a stone. Would any of the kids like the stone as their pillow?

Link: Jacob using a stone as a pillow

Angels Climbing

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Using tape or chalk, draw a ladder stretching across your room. Have the kids do relay races, climbing up and down the ladder using both their hands and feet, tagging their team member when they reach the end.

Link: The angels climbing and descending the ladder.

Who am I

Ages 7+

Any size group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Can be seated

This classic game involves sticking names to foreheads and the person identifying themselves by asking yes/no questions.

Link: God identified himself to Jacob so that Jacob would understand who he was. Why do you think God did that?

The Cairn

Under 7’s

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Cairns, altars, piles of stones as markers, all tie into Jacob’s response to this encounter. Grab a load of cushions and pillows to act as stones, or use building bricks. How tall a column can the children build.

Link: The stone marked as holy. Discuss what this tower could represent in your circumstances.

Angel Throw

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Draw or place a ladder on the floor and have the children throw a beanbag into each section. Score 3 points for each section with an angel inside + 1 point for every extra angel in that section.

Link: The ladder full of angels.

Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28) | Story

Leaving is always tough and for Jacob to go and have to find a wife from a distant land when his bother already had two local girls whom he called his wives but have felt unfair. Going when your brother is seeing red and leaving the care of the family household in his hands must have seemed mad. It’s not surprising that it’s at this moment when all seems lost that God steps in and Meets Jacob, reminds him of the birthright he inherited and how land and flocks and tents are nothing compared to God’s promises.

This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.

Main Passage : Genesis 28

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Jacob had cheated his brother out of his birthright, stolen his blessing, and now he needed to leave. His father had told him he must go to find a wife from a different land. He knew his brother was so angry with him, he wondered now as he walked away if he would ever be welcomed home again.

He looked back at the tents he had always lived in, the sheep that his family owned, the trees he had climbed as a child, the tent where his mother had once slept, another for his brother and his wife, he was leaving it all.

Further and further he walked as the sun rose and shadows grew long again. Eventually, he stopped exhausted. He found a rock to lean his head against and closed his eyes to sleep.

In his dreams, he was no longer alone. A huge ladder stretched from the ground up into the heavens, and Angels were going up and down. Besides him the Lord stood.

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham.” said the Lord. “The place where you now sleep will one day be for your family and their children and their children too. Your family will grow large, like dust in the air it will spread to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. Every family on the earth shall be blessed by your family one day.”

Jacob smiled in his sleep, his grandfather Abraham had been promised descendants that number the stars, his father’s arrival had been foretold by angels and now the promise was passing onto him.

“Know that I am with you” the Lord said, “everywhere you go I will go too, and will bring you back to this land one day. This is my promise to you”

When Jacob woke up, he was amazed and a little frightened, was he laying at heaven’s gate? He took the stone he had slept on and some more and built an altar. Then he poured oil over the stones to mark them. He named the place Bethel – which means house of God.

Jacob continued on his journey, knowing that he was the next chapter in God’s big plan.

Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28) | Craft 1

There are many Jacobs ladder crafts out there for this passage, and that’s great, but when reality hits and the dream is over, this craft captures Jacobs’ response. He wants to mark this place as holy, mark the experience and promise with something tangible. The practice of marking things with stones or piles of stones (cairns) is well practiced in many cultures.

This uses packaging card, but you could just as easily use craft foam, or real stones. Make sure your glue suits your chosen materials.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.