Print this Page
May We Serve Thee On Bended Knee
Genesis 25:19-34, Genesis 26-33

How long oh Lord will we scheme,
And serve our own plans and our dreams,
Bring us to Thee oh Lord I plead,
That we may serve Thee on bended knee.

Twins were born to Isaac and Rebecca,
The Lord had said two nations are in your womb.
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the elder shall serve the younger.

And the boys grew and Esau was a skillful hunter,
Jacob was a quiet man and dwelt among the tents.
Isaac loved Esau but Rebecca loved Jacob,
And this would be the cause of their problems ever since.

Isaac loved Esau and he was the elder,
But Rebecca loved Jacob and he was the younger.
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew,
Esau came in from the country, he was hungry.

He said, quick let me have some of that red stew,
But Jacob replied, first sell me your birthright.
Esau said, I'm dying, what good is it to me?
But Jacob said, swear an oath and mine it will be.

So Esau swore an oath to him,
And Jacob gave Esau some stew and some bread.
He got up and left after he was fed,
So Esau despised his birthright.

How long oh Lord will we scheme,
And serve our own plans and our dreams,
Bring us to Thee oh Lord I plead,
That we may serve Thee on bended knee.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were weak,
He called for Esau to prepare him some meat.
Rebecca schemed with Jacob to prepare meat ahead,
So Isaac would bless Jacob, the younger instead.

In anger Esau was planning to kill,
His brother Jacob when his father was laid still.
Rebecca schemes again and sends Jacob to Uncle Laban,
But she would never see her son again.

How long oh Lord will we scheme,
And serve our own plans and our dreams,
Bring us to Thee oh Lord I plead,
That we may serve Thee on bended knee.

Laban had two daughters named Leah and Rachel.
Leah was the older and Rachel was the younger.
Jacob loved Rachel, worked seven years for her hand,
Laban deceived him, gave him Leah as he had planned.

Another seven years would Jacob work for Rachel,
After one week Laban gave her for his wife.
Now Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah,
And this would be the cause of much of their strife.

Leah had children but Rebecca was barren,
She said, Jacob give me children or I die.
Here take Bilhah, my handmaiden,
She will bear children for you and I.

And she bore Rachel and Jacob two sons,
Leah bore six sons to Jacob and a daughter.
In time Rachel gave birth to Joseph, her first son,
And later another would be born named Benjamin,

How long oh Lord will we scheme,
And serve our own plans and our dreams,
Bring us to Thee oh Lord I plead,
That we may serve Thee on bended knee.

Finally it came time for Jacob to flee,
To escape from Uncle Laban with his cattle and family.
For Laban had cheated and deceived him many times,
Jacob the deceiver must have pondered this in mind.

He now prepared to meet his brother Esau,
Out of fear, once again he plans and schemes.
He sent messengers and gifts to save shedding of blood,
But Jacob would spend the night alone with God.

And there he wrestled until the break of day,
His thigh put out of joint during the fray.
He would be crippled for the rest of his life,
But God blessed him and changed his name that night.

Now Jacob saw Esau coming with four hundred men,
He bowed himself down on the ground before him.
Esau ran and embraced him, they kissed and wept,
The hatred and anger Jacob feared was not kept.

So Jacob returned again unto Bethel,
And there he built an altar to God.
God said, Israel is your name, no longer Jacob shall it be,
The promises to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee.

Israel no longer now would scheme.
After many years, on the Lord he learned to lean.
And God blessed him and his family,
For he now served God on bended knee.