MORNING MESSAGE: John Cline
Genesis 25:19-34; 27:1-46
Reader: Prof Anna Lartey
Facebook asks its users to give a summary of their lives, including their relationship/love status. For example, the user can put down “single”, “married”, or “in a relationship”, etc. In 2007, Facebook introduced the “It’s Complicated” option which allowed the user to be ambiguous, particularly when in a long-term relationship that was challenging. The phrase “It’s complicated” became a running joke in tv sitcoms and in society. In 2013, Facebook (for some reason) changed the “It’s Complicated” status to “In a Complicated Relationship”. As we heard two weeks ago in Bola Olabimtan’s Lenten Devotional, brothers Esau and Jacob had a “complicated relationship”. Today, we will look at the origins of that complicated relationship.
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. 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. (Genesis 25:19-26)
A few words to make sense of what we just heard because there was a lot in there. First,
Isaac married Rebekah, the great-niece of his father Abraham.
It was vital that Isaac marry from his own clan, not a Canaanite, because that way he would not be led away to worship Canaanite gods and God’s covenant promises would be secure. Second,
Like her mother-in-law, Sarah, Rebekah also had trouble getting pregnant, for a period of 20 years.
But unlike his father Abraham, who sired a child by a concubine, Isaac instead went to the Lord in prayer asking for a child and the Lord granted him and Rebekah that request as Rebekah became pregnant with twins, who jostled within her, giving her a very painful pregnancy. She then prayed, inquiring of the Lord what was happening. Third,
God gave to Rebekah a word of prophecy that she would have twins, that the older son would end up serving the younger son, and that they would be the “fathers” of enemy nations.
We will touch on that in just a minute. Fourth,
The older son was born, his body was red – “Edom” being the word for “red” in Hebrew – as well as hairy.
He must have been a sight; the kind of newborn which you look at and say, “Oh, that’s a baby!” Red-skinned and covered by hair. Fifth,
He was given the name “Esau” which means, “hairy”.
And sixth, as for Jacob…
The younger son was born while grasping the heel of the older son, so he was named “Jacob”, a name that literally meant “he grasps the heel”, but also in Hebrew, was a linguistic idiom word standing for “he deceives”.
This was a prophetic statement about the things Jacob would do. Well, Esau would grow up and become the father of a nation of people who became known as the “Edomites”. Edom is known to us for 3 reasons:
1. The nation of Edom stood in the way of the Israelites (who were the descendants of Jacob) entering the Promised Land.
God prophesied this. Edom was located on the south-east side of the Dead Sea, on a trade route known as “The King’s Highway”. The Israelites in their exodus years asked for permission to go through Edom on “The King’s Highway” on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan, but Edom refused them permission threatened to attack them if they dared try. Then, centuries later in the second century B.C…
2. During the Maccabean wars, the Edomites were subjugated by the Jews and forced to convert to Judaism. The Edomites were renamed Idumaeans by the Greeks. With the rise of the Roman Empire, an Idumaean whose father had converted to Judaism was named king of Judea. That Idumaean was known in history as King Herod the Great, the tyrant who ordered a massacre in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the Christ-child.
So, Jews were correct in not accepting Herod as fully Jewish. Today,
3. Edom’s capital city of Sela is a world heritage site, Petra.
Petra is built in the red-sand rocks of southern Jordan. After Herod’s death, following a second prophecy by God in Ezekiel 35, the Edomites disappeared from history. Thus, prophecies concerning Esau serving Judah, and their family nations always being at war, with the family of the older brother never gaining the upper hand all came true. Going on,
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. 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 25:27-34)
The birthright gave a double portion of the family estate to the oldest son, as well as leadership within the family. In modern times, things are changing, but still favouritism towards the oldest son is prevalent around the world, no matter how much we may disagree with it. Heck, it was only in 2015 that the British throne finally changed its rules in the Succession to the Crown Act, which ended the centuries-long system of prioritizing sons over daughters. Now, regardless of gender, the oldest child will take precedence in the line of succession and become ruler of the British crown. Birthright still matters, though.
But Esau “despised his birthright”, the Bible tells us, selling it for a bowl of stew. The phrase, “he sold it for a bowl of stew” is understood in English to imply that a person has seriously undervalued something of great worth, perhaps due to an immediate or temporary need or desire. “He sold it for a bowl of stew” is an idiom similar to sayings such as a person “sold something for peanuts” or “for a song”, when he or she prioritized short-term gain over long-term benefit. It would apply to a person selling an investment for a quick profit, only to look foolish later when the investment skyrocketed in value. Esau, as the episode makes clear, was not spiritually fit to be the bearer of the birthright of Abraham’s seed so we should resist having sympathy for him. He was too much a slave of the moment to become the forward-thinking leader of the people needed for God’s covenant to continue on. In fact, when Esau lost his birthright, it was not an injustice that had been dealt to him because he had decided to “despise his birthright”. All for a bowl of stew. By contrast, Jacob, the brother whose name meant “he deceives”, saw the value of the birthright and desired it, and then used deception to get it. Esau’s foolishness is referenced in the Bible, e.g.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 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. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. (Hebrews 12:14-17)
We Christians should rejoice that we have an inherited “birthright” through Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son of God, who received and then has given to us all the benefits and possessions that belong to God the heavenly Father. There is no birthing order or gender that determines our gaining of God’s blessings and inheritance. It is for all who have faith in Jesus, both males and females. It is not only males who are considered “sons” in Christ, but females as well, praise God!
So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)
The word “sons” in the New Testament is an inclusive word referring to both male and female believers, thus Paul could write,
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So, you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:4-7)
God’s plan was that the family line of Abraham would culminate in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, not through Esau, but through Jacob. It is difficult emotionally for us to read that the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were anything but wonderful. Abraham later did become a faithful servant of God and his son, Isaac, while spoken of in neutral terms in Genesis, loved YHWH God. As for Jacob, well, he lived out his name, “he deceives”, as we will hear now read…
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” (Genesis 27:1-4)
Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to Esau, the son he preferred and loved the most. When Esau left to hunt game for his father Isaac, Rebekah seized the opportunity to have her preferred, more loved, son, Jacob, do some more deceiving. She called Jacob to tell him,
“Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” (Genesis 27:8-13)
So, Jacob went and did as Rebekah told him, and he brought meat back to his mother who prepared some tasty food, “just the way his father liked it”. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau and put them on Jacob, so that he would smell like Esau to his elderly, nearly-blind father Isaac. Rebekah also covered Jacob’s hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed Jacob the tasty food she had made. The deception was in full mode! We read,
He went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.” Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so, he proceeded to bless him. “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “I am,” he replied. Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.” So, he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him. (Genesis 27:18-27a)
The blessing Jacob received from Isaac was crucial because it marked the chosen heir of Abraham’s covenantal promise. This blessing, like the obtained for a bowl of stew birthright, designated Jacob as the one through whom God would fulfill His promise of a great nation with land for his descendants as well as power and importance. The “blessing” was a divine decree, not just a mere wish. It could not be recalled. It was a finalizing of the birthright privileges – and Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob all understood its binding import.
After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.” Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came, and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?” Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So, what can I possibly do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. (Genesis 27:30-38)
Ok, now you can feel sorry for Esau and have some sympathy for him. He was blindsided by what had happened for he assumed the blessing of his father would come to him. Receiving a blessing from one’s father was a high honor, and losing a blessing was tantamount to a curse. Esau’s father Isaac tried to lessen the sting of him losing the all-important “blessing”. While it was true that the blessing deceitfully given to Jacob could not be revoked, perhaps there might still be some future good things in store for Esau. Isaac struggled to bless his son.
His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.” (Genesis 27:39,40)
If you jump ahead in reading Genesis, you will indeed find that Esau would become a wealthy and powerful man. At the moment, though,
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” (27:41-45)
We will pick up this story next Sunday but let’s face it, Esau was not worthy of the grace of God, but neither was Jacob. The “heel grabber” would get the birthright and Isaac’s blessing through cheating, deceitful actions but God was gracious to him. That is still true for us when people today act poorly. So, why are these terrible stories in the Bible? For us to learn from, for our benefit.
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did…These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. (1 Corinthians 10:6,11)
Was Esau a bad person? The Bible seems to indicate that he was a careless fool, at the very least, but you can decide for yourself. How about Jacob – was he a bad person? Today’s passages would say, “yes” but as we move deeper into Genesis, we will see that he will change. In fact, God became so impressed with Jacob that He renamed him, “Israel”, a sign of God’s respect. So, the story is not yet over. As we have already heard from Bola, the complicated relationship of Esau and Jacob will resolve in unexpected and good ways. Let’s pray. Amen.
