Twenty-second Sunday of Pentecost

Jacob Gets A New Name

Genesis 32: 22 - 31

Like his grandfather Abraham and his descendent, Moses, Jacob had a lifelong one-on-one relationship with God.

This story takes place after Jacob has received Isaac's blessing and is returning home with wives, children, and flocks, in order to reconcile with his brother, Esau, whose birthright and blessing Jacob had obtained through false pretenses.

Jacob was afraid that Esau would treat him as badly as Jacob had first treated him, so he took his family back across the Jabbok River for safety.

His twelfth son, Benjamin, the second son of his wife, Rachel, had not yet been born.

Jacob had many special experiences and visions of God. Why were Jacob's sons so surprised when one of them, Joseph, became a dreamer and visionary?

The Israelites who followed Moses back to the Promised Land and the modern country of Israel are called after Jacob's new name.

1. Where did Jacob spend the night?

[Jacob spent the night alone, across the Jabbok river from his wives and children.]

2. Who came to fight with Jacob during the night?

[A man came to fight with Jacob during the night.]

3. What did Jacob ask the man for?

[Jacob asked the man for a blessing.]

3. What did the man do before he blessed Jacob.

[The man changed Jacob's name to Israel.]

4. What did Jacob say after he received the blessing?

[Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive."]

5. How did Jacob walk when he left Peniel?

[Jacob walked with a limp.]

Calendar | HomePage | References and Resources | Reformation Day Lesson | Pentecost 20 Art