Genesis 25:27-34

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Gen. 25:27-28)

If you have siblings or if you are the parent of more than one child, you already know that every child comes out of the womb with certain traits. Their differences are quickly evident! Children raised in the same home can be polar opposites. Frankly, I LIKE that! I LOVE that both of my girls are so different in personality. The blessing is that they are the same in their spiritual bent: they both love the LORD. However, because their personalities are so different, they have their unique way of serving the LORD. I can’t imagine loving one more than the other, but as a teacher I have frequently observed parents favoring one child over others. Some have actually praised one while putting down the other in front of me!

In today’s passage, we have Esau, the jock, the hunter, who appealed to Isaac’s need for a manly son - not to mention his appetite for game! Rebekah, on the other hand loves that Jacob was a homebody - the contemplative type, who apparently preferred being in the kitchen to supplying it. The fact that the Bible is so upfront about the preferential treatment each boy received indicates that it actually contributed to the poor relationship between these two and caused them to work against each other. Isaac seems to have certainly encouraged the independent spirit of Esau, who was guided by fleshly appetites, rather than spiritual discernment:

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom). (vs.29-30)

Esau appears so crass here, that you can almost see him charging in, scratching himself and belching in this scene. He apparently was used to having what he wanted went he wanted it! He was someone who would have appreciated fast food! However, Jacob, the heel grabber, with cunning, quickly seized the moment!

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”


 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”


 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.


Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.


 So Esau despised his birthright. (vs. 31-34)

Now, there is nothing that would indicate that Esau could not have eaten without Jacob’s permission - he just apparently didn’t like serving himself. So it certainly didn’t take much for Esau to give up his rights to the blessing of the firstborn son! Jacob, recognizing the gluttonous weakness of his brother, knew he could take advantage of the situation. We have to wonder what manipulative skills he had picked up from watching his mother... We’ll see evidence of that in her later.

The use of the word despised tells us very strongly that it was not just a matter of Esau not caring about the birthright - he actually scorned it! So, the picture we’re given of Esau is not pretty! He is crass, rude (notice he got up and left as soon as he was finished without so much as a word of thanks), and he’s a disrespectful, glutton. Hebrews 12:16, which Beth Moore points to, sheds further light on Esau:

See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.


That is quite an indictment! As I mentioned at the beginning, children come with a certain package of traits, because we are all uniquely designed and gifted by God. However, we also know from experience and observation that the environment plays almost as strong a role in the shaping of personality and values. We are only given snapshots of what went on in this home, but I keep going back to verse 28, which seems powerfully placed here: Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Is it just me, or is this a glaring warning to parents???

The thing about God’s love, and what I personally experienced the minute my second daughter, Emmy, was born, is that it does not divide when shared, it multiplies! God just increased the size of my heart when I saw Emmy - He did not diminish my love for Molly! I am amazed by this as a teacher, as well. There are certain children who are more difficult to love, but when I commit them to prayer, God gives me His heart and vision for them. And I find that prayer is something I have to do diligently, over and over DAILY, to avoid showing any favoritism in the classroom. So certainly, as a parent, if we see ourselves leaning one way or the other, we need to ask God to help us! The relationships in and futures of our families depend upon it!

Off to work with prayer for ALL of my kiddos!

 

Genesis 25:19-28

After learning briefly about the line of Ishmael, God’s Word now turns to the line of promise.
This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. (Gen. 25:19-21)

Have you ever noticed how many women in the Bible have trouble conceiving? Sarah was barren for most of her married life, and now we see that Rebekah also suffered from infertility (and let’s not forget Rachel and Hannah). She and Isaac had been married nearly 20 years by this time. Isaac knew that God had promised that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars - he believed the promise he’d been raised on, yet the promise was not to be fulfilled on his time schedule, but God’s. God was stretching his faith, even as He had done with Abraham.

We are told that Isaac prayed to the LORD for Rebekah, and that the LORD answered and she became pregnant. While we would like to know the exact details of this answer to prayer, the Bible doesn’t tell us. Did Isaac wait for 20 years before he finally prayed? Did he just pray once? I would imagine that he had been praying for many years, before God finally answered. This birth would continue the line of the promised Messiah, so there was not going to be anything ordinary about it! It would be clear when these babies came that it was of God! Those of us who have waited what seems like an eternity to see a promise of God fulfilled in our lives can attest to the fact that when we finally received the promise, there was no doubt that it was a God thing!

So, Rebekah is confused when she finally gets pregnant that there is so much activity within her:

The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her,


“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; 
one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”


When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. (vs.22-26)

Right off the bat, we can see signs of the differences between these two, and can tell there will be a competition between them. Esau was red and hairy (hence his name, which means hairy)! It cracks me up to picture him, because my Emmy was a hairy baby, too! Jacob (which literally means heel grabber, or conniver/deceiver ) is grabbing Esau’s heel from birth! He wanted all that his big brother was entitled to!

The most foreboding part of this story is in the next two verses, where we see their differences so clearly:

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (vs 27-28)

The Smothers Brothers made sibling rivalry famous with their line, “Mom always liked you best.” But there is nothing funny about this particular competition for the love of a parent. Esau was a man’s man and the pride of his father, while Jacob was more of a mama’s boy, who probably liked to stay close to home. Anyone with brothers and sisters understands the feeling of competition for parental approval. And certainly any parent can understand how this would impact a marriage! We tend to think that twins are joined at the hip - many even sharing a secret language. But often there is a natural comparison that goes on that can be damaging, not only to each child’s self-image, but to their relationship with their sibling. This is definitely a cautionary tale for parents, and we will see the ramifications of parental favoritism in tomorrow’s passage. Family dysfunction is nothing new!

 

Genesis 25:12-18

Before moving on in the story of Isaac, this chapter gives a brief genealogy of the line of Ishmael.

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.


These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them. (Gen.25:1-12)

Here is the beginning of Arab/Jewish hostilities. They have been opposed to each other ever since the time of Ishmael and Isaac. While the Jews trace their lineage to Abraham through Isaac, the Muslims believe that their ancestor, Ishmael, was the son of promise. Think about the funeral for Abraham, and imagine how difficult that must have been. Even though Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, he was never the son of promise, and he knew it. Beth Moore reminds us that he had Abraham’s name but not his presence for all of those years. Imagine the root of bitterness that had taken hold in his heart! We all know people who have chosen a life of bitterness and resentment - people who live in a perpetual state of discontent, because they continually focus on what they lack rather than on the blessings. Age does not seem to heal this tendency, it merely exaggerates it!

Many of us hang on to resentments toward our parents and their failure to provide either physically, emotionally, or spiritually what we feel we needed from them. Some may have been abusive or negligent, but even the best parent fails us in some ways. Parenting is the most difficult task we are given! And, I know, for me it is the area of my deepest insecurities. You always seem to be second-guessing your decisions and the way you are disciplining. And you really don’t know until the children are fully grown whether or not what you have done has worked! We live in an era when psychology has ruled, and we have looked intently at the possible ramifications of our decisions, and yet, we, too, have blown it many times.

Our parents weren’t as equipped, and frankly, they did NOT make their children the center of their universe (which was probably the one thing we should learn from them). I don’t know about yours, but my parents certainly did not have a clue about raising children in the LORD! They did not even call Him “LORD” until I was a married adult! I’m thinking they did pretty darn well, considering! We need to extend our parents grace for their failures! My mother lamented that she had not known the LORD when we were little, but the LORD gave her a verse that she clung to:

I will repay you for the years the locust has eaten... (Joel 2:25)

So what can we learn from this story of Ishmael? Bitterness is an inherited trait! A parent who lives a life full of complaining, anger, and resentment will leave this legacy to the family. Ishmael certainly passed down his resentment and anger to his sons. What kind of legacy are we leaving for our children? What are they hearing from our mouths? Do they see us as grateful, trusting God, and realizing that He is the God who works all things together for good to those who are called according to His purposes? (Rom 8:28) Or do they see us as discontented, always putting others down, jealous of the success or blessings of others?

I’m kind of glad that the Bible portrays no perfect parents, except for God the Father. He has given us many stories of what NOT to do, and His example of perfect love, compassion, forgiveness, partnered with justice and righteousness. Let’s commit ourselves to His example! And then forgive ourselves (and our parents) when we (they) fall short!

 

Genesis 25:1-11

We are going to take two days to visit this next passage, first looking at the death of Abraham and how it affected his family, and then, tomorrow, we’ll look at Abraham’s obituary. In verses 1-6 we are told that Abraham remarried a woman named Keturah (there’s a piece of biblical trivia) after the death of Sarah. It’s often pointed out that a man who has been happily married will remarry quickly after the death of his wife. Men need a woman! Isn’t it interesting that his second wife gave him six more sons! Now, think about how impossible it was for Sarah and Abraham to have a son, yet in his old age everything seems to be working like crazy! Why did God allow Sarah and Abraham to wait so long for their Isaac? Well, God was purposely building Abraham’s faith and working out His character in Abraham during those barren years. I like the way Beth Moore expresses this:

“The most profound things God promised were often fulfilled against the greatest odds and through the most difficult hardships. To God, faith is often the point - God does nothing cheaply. Perhaps the divine nature of a promise fulfilled guarantees its expense. We may receive a hundred unexpected things from God with delightful ease while the fulfillment of some things we believe He promised us proves virtually impossible. You see, the impossibility is what makes the fulfillment of the promises fall under the God category. God makes promises man simply can’t keep.”

Even with all of those sons, Abraham recognizes who the son of promise is:

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. (vs. 5-6)

Abraham did not shirk his responsibility to his other sons, but he made sure that they were not around to interfere with Isaac’s right to the promised land.

And, finally, we come to the end of Abraham’s life:

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. (vs. 7-11)

I’m so thankful that Abraham died a nice quiet death and just “breathed his last.” Finally, he was at home! Today, however, I want to focus on verse 9: His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him... There is nothing like a death in the family to bring everyone back together! It absolutely necessitates that people put aside any differences and come together to honor and mourn the deceased. Remember that the last time Ishmael and Isaac had been together, as far as were told, was the day of Isaac’s weaning celebration, when Ishmael tormented Isaac, and so was sent away with his mother. But at the end of Abraham’s days, Ishmael returned to bury his father. I wonder if he made it to Abraham’s deathbed before he died... At any rate, he and Isaac are brought face to face for a reconciliation. Jon Courson focuses on this passage in his commentary, in a special study he calls, “Someone’s Gotta Die.” He writes:

“While it’s sad that it took the death of their father to bring them together, I’m glad it took that, for in their story we see that if there is ever to be reconciliation between you and the son or daughter who is estranged from you, between you and the mother or father who doesn’t understand you, between you and the friend who betrayed you, between you and the spouse who hurt you - someone has got to die. There is no other way.”

How many of you are feeling some conviction at this point??? I’m raising MY hand! Courson points out that it took the death of Jesus to reconcile us to God, and that if we ever want reconciliation to occur (and, admittedly, we may NOT at this point), someone is going to have to die - and I think that means ME! This is such a huge concept, and so hard to do, much less even WANT sometimes. Yet, Courson points out that there are several reasons why it has to happen: 1) reconciliation delights our Father (reconcilers have died to self and put others first); 2) reconciliation defeats our foe (Satan LOVEs division, especially in the body of Christ, so our when we take the step of reconciliation we foil his plan); and 3)reconciliation destroys our flesh (the cross is the ultimate place where we crucify our flesh and exchange our own will for His). There is nothing more awful than a bad relationship, whether one of outright enmity or one of just painful silence.

Since WE are the ones reading this, that tells me WE are the ones who need to die! If you are like me, this is going to take prayer first just to have my heart changed to even WANT to do God’s will in this area! Pray for me and I’ll pray for you!!!
 

Genesis 25:1-11 Part 2

Are you a reader of obituaries? Sometimes I’ll scan the obituaries of our local paper, because they are usually at the end of the local section. Some are very elaborate, detailing the person’s birth, childhood, schooling, military service, marriage(s), employment, survivors. Others simply report the death, as if the person had not lived a life. Oe thing you never see is something like this: “Bill was a great guy, if you don’t count the times he screamed at his kid and the two times he cheated on his wife, Betty;” or “She was a mean old broad, who hated everything and everyone, and who loved to gossip and put others down.” No, obituaries usually only note the positives of a person’s life - thankfully! Even the nastiest person is made out to be a saint at his or her death. And that is what we see in Abraham’s “obituary,” too!

We have seen the weaker side of Abraham recorded for all to read for posterity in the book of Genesis. We know how he made Sarah lie about being his sister TWICE to save his skin. We saw how he stumbled in his faith when he agreed to take Hagar. He was NOT the perfect saint. One of the things that makes the Bible so authentic and obviously God-inspired is that none of the “heroes” of the Bible are perfect, except for Christ. The rest all have their sinful sides fully displayed. Yet, God promises that our sins have been forgotten once we are His - they have been removed as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

When Abraham died he was 175 years old. If you look back to when God first called him in Genesis 12:4, you’ll see he was 75 when he first responded to God’s call. So, what do you suppose he did with his first 75 years, when he was living in a pagan polytheistic culture? Apparently is doesn’t matter to God, or to us, or it would have been recorded. But, I’m certain we would find that Abraham had plenty of “issues” in his past. Even during his 100 years of walking with God that were recorded, we have seen his failures, but none of these are included in his “obituary.” Hebrews 11, which is called “The Roll Call of Faith,” dedicates 12 verses to Abraham that show us what God remembers and wants us to remember about Abraham. The writer of Hebrews is making the point that people have ALWAYS been saved by faith in God, not by their own righteousness:

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (vs. 8-10)

In these verses, Abraham is commended for his obedience to follow God’s call on his life and for having a heavenly perspective, living contentedly as a stranger just passing through this earth on his way to a better place.

By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children—and Sarah herself was not able to conceive—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. (vs. 11-12)

Here we see God wants us to remember the faith of Abraham that believed nothing was too hard for God, including providing children through a barren old woman! And, finally, he is remembered by God for passing the test of his lifetime:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (vs. 17-19)

Twelve verses, more than given to any other Bible “hero,” tell us what God remembers and considers important for us to remember about Abraham: his faith in a faithful God, who is supreme, sovereign, and even able to raise the dead! Because, it really isn’t about Abraham - it’s about his GOD!

If you struggle with what you consider your lack of faith, or if you feel like you are not cutting it as a Christian, or if you struggle with feeling truly forgiven for those horrible skeletons in your closet, take hope from Abraham’s obituary! What is God going to remember about you?? He’s going to remember what HE has done IN you - not what you did for Him! Because Jesus died so that we might wear robes of His righteousness, God no longer sees those ugly things in our past - He is seeing us through Christ. Have no doubt that even now He is preparing a terrific obituary for you!

Have a great weekend!