Scripture Reference
Genesis 29:14-30
"After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, Laban said to him, 'Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.'
Now Laban had two daughters; they name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, 'I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.'
Laban said, 'It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.' So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
Then Jacob said to Laban, 'Give me my wife. My time is completed'...
So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob...
When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?'
Laban replied, 'It is not our custom here to give the younger before the older one. Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.'
And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife... He (Jacob) loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years".
Activity
I probably would have skipped these verses if Kiera weren't enjoying the stories of trickery and deceit quite so much. I'm going to put a small object such as a pom-pom* in my hand and have the kids guess which hand the pom-pom is in. For Kiera, I will probably put the object down behind me so that it isn't in either hand. Then we'll have a discussion about why the Bible teaches against dishonesty.
How It Went
Kiera wanted to act out our Bible story again this evening. That didn't go so well, because she was trying to direct everyone but wasn't doing a very good job of it. (Oh, well!) We also played the pom-pom game that I mentioned above. Kiera really enjoyed that, as did Andrew. Kiera wanted to play again and again.
Other Possible Activities
Play a game of "cups". Put a small object* such as a pom-pom under one of three paper cup, then mix the cups by sliding them across the table into the positions of the other cups. After a bit of mixing, the child will get to choose a cup and see if the pom-pom is under that cup. Then discuss Laban's dishonesty toward Jacob, and Jacob's to Isaac and Esau.
*For small children, make sure your small object is not something that would be a choking hazard. A good choice might be a small piece of cereal, a sticker or a scrap of paper.
