Story Overview

Isaac and Rebekah had identical twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Esau should
have received the obligations and advantages that come with being the oldest son,
but he hastily traded his birthright for a pot of stew with his younger brother. Later,
Rebekah assisted her favorite son, Jacob, in convincing an aged and blind Isaac to
promise him the remaining portion of the birthright, the blessing. By seeking a
marriage among his mother's people (in the city of Haran), Jacob was able to flee
his enraged brother.

Presentation of the main Character

Isaac:
It was clear in his earlier years that he was capable of lying. To defend himself, he
told a lie to the king of the Philistines, Abimelech (Genesis 26:6-10). In his
interactions with his sons, he has exhibited favoritism. Isaac wants to include this
since he and Esau have a special affinity related to hunting and the outdoors.
Rebecca:
Like her husband, Rebecca favors one of her sons over the other. She is tyrannical
and prepared to plot against both her husband and older son to give Jacob the
blessing rather than Esau.
Esau:
His earlier flippancy about his birthright and his bad choices in women depict a
rather shallow man without a true sense of self.
Jacob:
Always willing to scheme for what he wanted Jacob also seems weak and lacking
in moral character.  When his mother devised the plan to deceive Isaac, Jacob’s
first concern was for how the plan could work rather than whether or not it was the
right thing to do.
First Scene – Giving Birth during the bible times (Sound effect Woman Screaming for giving birth)
God predicted that a great people will descend from Abraham and later from his
son, Isaac. They would produce numerous offspring.
Before having children, Isaac and Rebekah were wed for twenty years. Rebekah
finally got pregnant. And you know what? She was expecting twins!
However, there was an issue. Inside of her, Rebekah could feel the twins fighting.
That didn't sit well with her at all, so she prayed to God about it.
One person will be stronger than the other, and the elder will serve the younger, the
Lord said to her. Two countries are in your womb, and two peoples from within
you will be divided.
The twins were remarkably unlike one another at birth. They named the first boy,
Esau, who was red and had a lot of hair when he was born. Esau won Isaac's favor
the most.
The second boy, whose parents named him Jacob, was born shortly after the first
(in fact, he was gripping his brother's heel when he was born!) Jacob had
exceptionally smooth, silky skin. Jacob was Rebekah's favorite.
Parents should love each of the children and not have favorites.  But Isaac and
Rebekah were not good parents in this way.  As he grew Esau loved to be outside
and was a very good hunter. His father, Isaac, loved to eat the tasty meat from the
animals Esau caught. Esau was his father’s favorite son.  Jacob was quieter and
enjoyed working around the home. His mother, Rebekah, loved him best.
Second Scene – Food at Bible Times
One day Jacob was home cooking some stew.  Esau had been out hunting and
when he returned, he was very hungry.
“Jacob, give me some of that red stew,” begged Esau. “I’m starved!”
“Not unless you sell me your birthright,” said Jacob.
“Birthright?  If I die, my birthright won’t do me any good,” said Esau. “And I’m
just about to die!  Sure, I will give you my birthright, if you will give me some
stew.”
So, after Esau promised to sell his birthright to Jacob, Jacob brought him bean
stew, bread, and something to drink.  Esau thought he had made a good trade but
Jacob was the one who got the better deal. Jacob had played a mean trick on his
brother.
Because he was the oldest, Esau would have received special treatment when his
father died. To have the birthright was a very special privilege and duty.  He would
be in charge of many things.  But Esau did not take this seriously.  He gave all of
that away for some stew.
Esau had given up his birthright to his younger brother but there was something
else that was very special in a family.  The father of the family would give a
special blessing to his son.  In the blessing, the father would say who would get the
most respect and who would be the leader of the family.  He would give good
wishes for wealth, power, and safety for his son’s future.
Scene 3 – Deception
When Isaac was very old he called Esau, his oldest and favorite son, to him and
said, “I am going to give you the special family blessing today.  Go and hunt for
some wild game to cook the tasty food that you and I like to eat so much.  We will
eat together and then I will bless you.”  So Esau set off to go hunting.
But someone else overheard what Isaac was saying.  Remember how we said Esau
was Isaac’s favorite son and Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite son?  Well, Rebekah
did not want Esau to have the blessing.  She wanted her favorite son, Jacob, to get
the blessing instead of Esau.  Rebekah decided to trick (or deceive) her husband.
She called Jacob to her so they could make a plan together. Jacob should have
stopped his mother but he went right along with the plan.  Rebekah told Jacob that
they would trick Isaac.  They needed to fool him into thinking that Jacob was Esau
so that he would give him the blessing instead.
Here’s how the plan would work.  First, she told Jacob to go and kill two goats so
that she could prepare them just the way that Isaac liked.  Isaac would eat the goats
and think they were the wild game that Esau had hunted.
Next, they had to make Jacob’s smooth skin feel like his harry brother’s skin. 
Rebekah put goatskins on Jacob’s arms and neck so that Isaac would feel them and
think it was hairy Esau. She also put Esau’s clothes on Jacob.  All of this should
fool Isaac because Isaac was old and blind.
So, when Jacob went into his father’s tent his father could not see that it was Jacob.
He wasn’t sure so he asked to feel Jacob’s hands. When he felt the goat skin he
thought it was Esau’s hairy hands. When he tasted the goat meat he thought it was
the wild game that Esau had hunted. When he smelled Esau’s clothes on Jacob he
thought it was his oldest son.  Isaac had been tricked!
So Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob. This was so important that, once the blessing
had been spoken, it could not be taken back.
In his blessing, he said, “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be
lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.  May
those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
Isaac had just finished giving his blessing to Jacob when Esau came in from
hunting. He fixed some tasty food just like his father had asked and took it to his
father so that he could receive the blessing.
“Who are you?” asked his father.
Then he realized he had been deceived.  “Someone else has already hunted an
animal and brought it to me.  I blessed him and the blessing cannot be changed.”
Isaac was very sad and angry. His son had deceived him.
“Esau became very angry and begged his father to bless him too. “Jacob tricked me
two times,” Esau cried. First, he took my birthright, and now he has taken my
blessing.”  Esau was so angry that he decided to kill Jacob once his father died.
When Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans, she sent Jacob to stay with her brother
Laban until Esau calmed down. She told Isaac that Jacob could find a wife there.
Everyone in the family was hurt because Rebekah and Jacob decided to lie and
trick Isaac.