Jacob and Esau
Two brothers and one birthright
Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys,
Jacob and Esau.
Esau was a skilled hunter.
Jacob lived a simple life and
followed the Lord.
Esau was born first.
The firstborn usually received the
birthright blessing from his father.
The birthright meant he would lead
the family and have more land and animals to help care for
the family.
But Esau cared more about himself
than his family, and he disobeyed his parents and the Lord.
One day Esau came back from
hunting.
He was very hungry and begged
Jacob to feed him.
The Lord wanted Jacob to have the
birthright blessing because Esau was not worthy of it.
Jacob asked Esau to trade him the
birthright for some food.
Esau agreed and traded his
birthright to Jacob.
Rebekah and Isaac wanted what was
best for their children.
They were sad that Esau continued
to do the things he wanted and not what the Lord wanted.
Isaac grew old and blind.
Before he died, he asked Esau to
hunt and cook an animal for him to eat and enjoy.
Rebekah knew that it was time for
Isaac to give the birthright
blessing.
Rebekah asked Jacob to get two
animals so she could cook the meal before Esau returned.
Then Jacob would receive the
blessing.
Jacob dressed up like Esau and
brought the meal to his father.
Isaac gave Jacob the birthright
blessing.
When Esau returned, he was very
angry with Jacob.
But the birthright went to Jacob
because he kept the Lord’s commandments and Esau did not.