Why do you think that Isaac is so concerned that Jacob find a wife from among his family, instead of from among the Canaanites? (28:1-5)

What is the significance of Jacob’s dream? (28:10-15) What is God communicating to him through it? How does Jesus understand his own ministry, in light of it? (John 1:49-51)

After his dream, Jacob sets up a pillar, to commemorate that place, so that he will always remember the provision of God that he experienced there. (28:18-22) Why is it important to remember the provision of God in our lives? What are some ways that we can be intentional to remember the providence of God, and to commemorate it?

Jacob has always been a deceiver and a con man. But when he meets Laban, he finds that he is often on the receiving end of the deception. (29:15-30, 30:25-36, 31:38-42) Why do you think that God chose to have Jacob experience similar treatment from Laban that he had been doing to everyone else? Have you had an experience where God exposes you to people who have similar tendencies to you, in order to teach you, grow you, and refine you?

Jacob falls into many of the same sins that his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham fell into (adultery, polygamy, favoritism, resentment, rivalry, etc.). How do these few chapters serve as a cautionary tale for us? What would it look like to avoid (or repent of) these sins in our lives today?

All throughout these chapters, Laban is falling into all kinds of sin - greed, deception, theft, love of money, failing to love his family members, entitlement, threats of violence, idol worship. How does he serve as a cautionary tale for us? How can we be learning from Laban’s mistakes, so that we avoid them (or repent of them)?

It seems as if every character in these chapters is competing against someone else, or fighting and wrestling against them. (Jacob and Esau, Jacob and Laban, Leah and Rachel) Why do we tend to default toward these kinds of behaviors? How does the gospel of grace free us up from these kinds of sinful dynamics and behaviors?

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