FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 25: Esau & Jacob
PART
2B: Gen 25-28 – Isaac's Story
Ch.25:
Esau & Jacob born to Isaac; Esau sells Jacob his birthright
Ch.26:
Isaac in the Land
Ch.27:
Isaac's blessings of his sons
[Isaac
& Jacob overlap in that much of Isaac's story involves the
early years of Jacob. Isaac's death is found in chapter 36]
FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 25: Esau & Jacob
v.1-6
Abraham's Wider Family
v.7-11
Abraham dies and is buried with Sarah
v.12-18
Ishmael's Twelve Sons
v.19-21
Isaac is Childless & Prays
v.22-26
The Twins Esau and Jacob
v.27,28
Family Differences
v.29-34
Esau sells Jacob his birth-right
v.1-6
Abraham's Wider Family
v.1
Abraham
had taken another wife,
whose name was Keturah.
v.2
She
bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian,
Ishbak and Shuah.
v.3
Jokshan
was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were
the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites.
v.4
The
sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida
and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
v.5
Abraham
left everything he owned to Isaac.
v.6
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.
[Notes:
From
v.6 we might assume that Keturah and Hagar be alternatively considered
wives and/or concubines. This is confirmed in 1 Chron 1:32. Keturah
has six sons but only two of them have their sons listed. Whether
the others died early or had no children, we are not told.]
v.7-11
Abraham dies and is buried with Sarah
v.7
Abraham
lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
v.8
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.
v.9,10
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.
v.11
After
Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near
Beer Lahai Roi.
[Notes:
Abraham
has lived 75 years after Isaac was born. Isaac & Ishmael come
together to bury him in the same cave Sarah had been buried in.]
v.12-18
Ishmael's Twelve Sons
v.12
This
is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Ishmael,
whom Sarah's slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
v.13-15
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.
v.16
These
were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve
tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps.
v.17
Ishmael
lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and
died, and he was gathered to his people.
v.18
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.
[Notes:
The
twelve princes of Ishmael seen earlier are listed. Ishmael lived
to a good age.]
v.19-21
Isaac is Childless & Prays
v.19
This
is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Isaac.
Abraham
became the father of Isaac,
v.20
and
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah
daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and
sister of Laban the Aramean.
v.21
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.
[Notes:
The
story reverts to Isaac who has married Rebekah but she too, like
Sarai, is barren. Isaac prays for her for what would seem to be
twenty years [compare v.20 & 26]. Eventually she conceives.]
v.22-26
The Twins Esau and Jacob
v.22
The
babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this
happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord .
v.23
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.”
v.24
When
the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her
womb.
v.25
The
first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy
garment; so they named him Esau.
v.26
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.
[Notes:
The
kicking of the baby in her is so intense she asks the Lord what
is going on and He gives her this remarkable prophecy:
•
She is
carrying what will become two nations, i.e.
twins.
•
One will
be stronger than the other and it will be the older [first born]
who will be weaker and serve the younger [second born].
The
first born is red haired and named Esau which is thought to mean
‘hairy'.
The
second born came out grasping the heel of his brother and was
named Jacob and a footnote declares, ‘Jacob
means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he
deceives.' In observing Jacob's life as he grew he was truly
a grabber (all out for himself) and a deceiver, i.e. he was aptly
named.]
v.27,28
Family Differences
v.27
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.
v.28
Isaac,
who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
[Notes:
Esau
was an outdoor man, and Jacob a home man. Esau loved by Isaac,
Jacob loved by Rebekah. Sadly a divided family.]
v.29-34
Esau sells Jacob his birth-right
v.29
Once
when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country,
famished.
v.30
He
said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm
famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
v.31
Jacob
replied, “First sell me your birth-right.”
v.32
“Look,
I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birth-right to
me?”
v.33
But
Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling
his birth-right to Jacob.
v.34
Then
Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank,
and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birth-right.
[Notes:
This
episode reveals the sort of sons these men were. Esau is only
concerned with gratifying his human desires at whatever cost,
and cares nothing about his birthright – about being part of the
family chosen by God with special rights that go with being the
first-born. Jacob, on the other hand, is an opportunist and ‘buys'
the rights of the first-born with a meal he is cooking.]
Lessons
or Challenges to Ponder from Genesis Chapter 25
1.
When Abraham eventually dies at a good old age, he is wealthy
and a formidable character in the land. He is an example of a
man of faith blessed by God. And us?
2.
The account of Ishmael that follows is an interesting parallel
with twelve sons to Abraham's grandson, Jacob, and his twelve
sons. It is as if God honours the two sides of the family tree,
even if one (which grows into the Arab nations) comes from human
endeavour while the other comes from the life-bringing work of
God.
3.
The greater part of this chapter shows us the development of Jacob
the twister and Esau the indifferent. The amazing thing about
all this is that God knows what each can grow into and so chooses
Jacob over Esau. This the start of the awareness that God ‘chooses'
those He knows will respond (eventually) to Him.
Continue to Chapter 26