Genesis 25:19-21

2008.Apr.12 02:56

Prayer for Kids

Read Genesis 25:19-21 | Full Chapter

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
(Genesis 25:19-21, ESV)

Back to barrenness. Hmmm.

Having and trying to have children has a strong emotional component; it’s likely that Rebekah and Isaac have become very frustrated over the years of trying to have children and not being able to. But, in the end, they do have two sons.

There’s probably a half-dozen lessons in this: patience, seeking God’s help through prayer, not blaming God, three other lessons left as an exercise to the reader to fill out the half-dozen.

Barrenness, in the sense of not being able to have children, can symbolize a number of other things, especially as relates to “my plans”. I plan to do this or that but I keep running into walls. When Paul and Timothy "passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia" (Acts 16:6, NASB) , that’s an instance of a barren plan. The intention and desires are there, but something keeps it from happening. In this example, that something is God’s will, but it’s often “other stuff” that gets in the way.

It’s seems to me, perhaps inaccurately, that the best way to deal with barrenness is not to get caught up in it. In other words, ask God to heal whatever is the problem, when appropriate, and then go on. It’s so easy to get focused on being frustrated with the one issue that won’t work out. Again, I look at Paul and his various compatriots in Acts. When they have to leave a city, or don’t get to go on to one, they don’t obsess with that city, with that barren country, rather they go on to the next place. They keep fulfilling the specific will of God in their lives, not so much by looking for “open doors” and all that, but by being persistent in the practice of sharing the gospel of Jesus, regardless of location or situation. God can keep me from acting in certain places and environments, if I am acting continuously according to his directions to me; but it will be of no benefit for him to direct me to a situation if I am not anyway doing his will.

So, to return to Rebekah and Isaac, my hope is that they didn’t allow this lack of children to keep them from pursuing God’s will in all other areas of their lives. Still, that doesn’t mean they stop hoping nor that they stop "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving [letting their] requests be made known to God" (Phillipians 4:6, ESV) .

Genesis 25:22-28

2008.Apr.18 19:47

The Younger of Twins

Read Genesis 25:22-28 | Full Chapter

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger."
(Genesis 25:22-23, NASB)

Rebekah has now conceived, after a period of barrenness, as it were. But a new problem arises. She’s pregnant with twins (that’s not the problem), who are struggling with each other. I’m going to just take that point as it is, since I have no idea what that would feel like, whether such a feeling is common with twins, etc. Understandably, this bothers Rebekah a bit, and not only because it’s probably causing her to feel more sick than hormonal changes alone. So, she asks Yahweh what this is all about.

Yahweh explains that this is just the beginning. Out of these two children are going to be borne two powerful nations, one of which will serve the other. Perhaps God chose to let them wrestle for illustrative purposes; one does not imagine that the brothers’ struggle is because they understand all this. Shoot, even I don’t understand all this. Add to that a reversal of the “normal order” in this society, in which the eldest son generally holds authority. In this case, it will be the younger son who becomes more powerful.

This seems to be a bit of prophecy for the sake of prophecy (or whatever is the right term when Yahweh just tells one person directly). That is, there doesn’t seem to be a particular warning here, just a “this is the way it’s going to be.” On the other hand, it may be an intentionally self-fulfilling prophecy, which I’ll explore a little later in this article.

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
(Genesis 25:24-26, NASB)

The two kiddos are born, Esau and Jacob, in that order. I think it’s interesting, though I’m not sure to what purpose, that Jacob is holding on to Esau’s heel. I guess if their lives had gone differently, this might have been more interpretted as a show of love and cooperation between the two. Alas.

Isaac and Rebekah are fairly old by this point, although spring chickens compared to Abraham and Sarah when Isaac was born. Nothing particular to say about that point.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
(Genesis 25:27-28, NASB)

The two boys are different (surprise, surprise). Esau likes the outdoors, Jacob tends to stay at home and is probably more “intellectual” of the two. Esau becomes Isaac’s favorite, while Rebekah prefers her younger son. According to the text, Isaac’s preference is straight forward: he likes the meat of the animals Esau hunts. Rebekah’s is not explained that I’ve noticed. However, as I touched on earlier, I wonder if her favoring Jacob is due in part to Yahweh’s explanation about the struggle between the two during her pregnancy. That is, does she prefer Jacob because she knows that he will become the more powerful of the two?

Whatever their reasons, favorites is a dangerous game, that is, playing favorites. It’s quite natural, I imagine, that a parent will have more in common and/or be closer to one or another child. The trouble (I think) comes when a parent translates that natural connection into actively acting for the better of one child at the expense of another, for no other reason than that preference (Having not raised any children, I take a moment to comment that I may be quite misguided on these assertions). As we will see, Rebekah in particular goes down that road, and although I don’t think I can prove it, I get the impression Isaac does as well. Trouble, naturally, ensues.

Genesis 25:29-34

2008.Apr.26 00:07

Well, that was stupid

Read Genesis 25:29-34 | Full Chapter

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. ) 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.
(Genesis 25:29-34, NIV)

Welcome back to Biblical patriarchs being morons. In this short story, Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for some bread and stew. My understanding is that the birthright entitles the first born male to a double portion of the inheritance. I imagine it also includes some status, including possibly being heir to the headship of the family. If that assumption is wrong, it nevertheless stands that the birthright is a big deal, both socially and economically.

Esau’s logic is not irrational, i.e. if he dies of hunger, the birthright is useless to him; however, one of his axioms is foolish. He concludes that his death from starvation is imminent. There is first no indication of that–after all, he is able to talk and reason (if poorly). In addition, surely he could have found some other food. It is his emotions, I guess, that inform him he needs this stew. After all, it smells good and he really is hungry. But the price is far too steep.

So, Esau is foolish, and Yahweh’s prophecy to Rebekah is one step closer to fulfilled, but what about Jacob? Jacob achieves great success in his life, and while I think God blessed him greatly–for God’s own reasons–one of Jacob’s primary skills is cunning, to such an extent that it often seems to me deceitful (and maybe it is). I would not be surprised to find that Jacob planned this particular encounter. It seems to me that either he knew precisely what he wanted, or else he was being flippant (in which case, Esau was made that much more the fool).

I think this narrative qualifies as purely a “Here’s what happened” narrative. Except maybe for the presentation of causes and effects of foolishness, I don’t see a particular chord of morality to this story. Jacob, in my opinion, cheated his brother, but, then Esau made it exceptionally easy. In the end, though, I’m not sure the birthright really gains Jacob anything.

Genesis 26:34-35

2008.Aug.01 14:49

They Brought Grief

Read Genesis 26:34-35 | Full Chapter

When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
(Genesis 26:34-35, NASB)

What to do with this passage. One of the key points is that Esau marries Canaanites, which has not been and will not be a popular move throughout the Old Testament. The basic problem here is that the Canaanites were by and large idolaters, and were likely to get their Abraham-descendant spouses interested in the same. The advantage of following a polytheistic religion is that you can easily adopt in other gods. For a monotheist, this is not an option, doing so entirely invalidates your faith (Of course, as with everything, all that is subject to interpretation; trinitarian view is naturally perceived as polytheism by some).

Actually, all this hits into a major point of why Yahweh chose to single out the Israelites. Remember, up through Jacob, who is renamed Israel, the marriages tend to stay “within the family”. Judaism is not a religion that easily assimilates or is assimilated into others. In fact, if you were going to “make up a religion”, I wouldn’t think Judaism would be an easy one to propose. History, of course, proves me wrong; I like to think that’s only because Judaism (and Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaic Law and prophecy) is true. Anyway, it seems to me that an emerging culture and nationality built around a monotheistic religion is going to have a much better chance of getting going if those who marry in come from a pretty similar background.

Remember, these comments are primarily just thoughts as I go through this Bible study.

Then again, it’s possible that the reason Esau’s wives grieved Isaac and Rebekah is something totally different, possibly even that the grief was to things that happened to Beeri and Elon, not things they caused. If I was a Biblical scholar, I might be able to feel more confident about what exactly is going on, but, alas.

On something of another track, neither Esau nor Jacob seem to take their parents emotions very seriously. Esau, in (possibly) marrying against his parents wishes (which is not inherently wrong) is following a course that will include him disregarding his birthright. Jacob, likewise, is willing to trick his brother to take that birthright and deceive his own father. They both seem a bit lost on the honoring parents concept. I wonder if Esau ever considered his parent’s advice on marriage.

Genesis 27:39-40

2008.Sep.19 20:00

The Blessing on Esau

Read Genesis 27:39-40 | Full Chapter

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. "By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."
(Genesis 27:39-40, NASB)

Isaac has agreed to give Esau a blessing, after Jacob stole the intended blessing via deception. For whatever reason, Isaac considers his blessing on Jacob to be a done deal with which Esau is just going to have to live. One of the key points in the blessing of Jacob is that he would “be master of [his] brothers” (Genesis 27:29, NASB). Isaac, who is apparently too far gone to figure out with which of his kids he is talking, must remember this element of the blessing, because his blessing of Esau includes such an acknowledgement.

The blessing also says that Esau and his descendents will live with some trying elements. In particular, they will not live on particularly fertile land, and that they will have to be warriors. This isn’t all bad. First, the quality of Esau’s (and Jacob’s for that matter) is never mentioned. Happiness is not the concern of this blessing, but rather material success. Ability, likewise, is not mentioned. So, Esau’s father has not cursed him to unhappiness; I could say that he has rather blessed Esau with an alternative. “Life will have some difficulties, son, but you can thrive in this situation.” For Esau, survival by sword, instead of agriculture, might well be a blessing.

But there’s yet one more huge element. “It shall come about,” says Isaac, “when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.” Life, yes, will be full of challenges. Subject of your younger brother, your success will not be as easy. And, yes, you will even accept this for a time. But only for a time. There’s always the temptation to cry out “How long?” The Bible has several instances of this question. But there’s also the hope that what Esau lost by his foolishness will be ultimately restored.