Esau Sells His Birthright

Story: Esau sells his birthright

Passage: Genesis 25:29-34

Characters: Jacob, Esau

Summary: Esau was hunting and was famished. He found Jacob cooking red stew and he asked for it. Jacob said Esau must first give him his birthright. Esau traded his birthright for some stew.

Notes: This is an interesting story. God told Rebekah before the twins were born that the older would serve the younger. Here we see God allowing that to play out. Esau was doing what he did best, hunting. Jacob was doing what he did best, cooking. Esau thought he was going to die without the stew. I sort of doubt he really was dying honestly. I think he was exaggerating a little bit. Some people think that when Esau said he was about to die, he actually meant that he would die down the road so there was no use for a birthright. I personally don’t think that is what he thought. Whatever the case though, he did not respect the birthright at all. He gave it to Jacob without thinking and then when he had eaten, he just got up and left like nothing had happened. A birthright was more than just getting the biggest inheritance, it was also very spiritual. Whoever possessed the birthright would become the next spiritual leader of the family. While it didn’t make sense at the time why Jacob would be chosen over Esau to be the spiritual leader, we see in later chapters that while Jacob’s actions were questionable at times, his character was far superior to that of Esau. Esau gave up a possession with eternal significance for a meal which would last him part of a day. After this story, Esau was known as Edom, which sounds like the Hebrew word for red. I wonder if people called him that to make fun of him for his decision.

Questions: Was Esau really about to die? Did Jacob really come up with that that fast, or had he been scheming for a while? Did Esau care about his birthright?

Lessons: Oftentimes we exchange something of eternal importance for a temporary pleasure. We see an extreme case of this here, and it is obviously portrayed as Esau made a big mistake. We should try and learn from his mistake and truly value the eternal gifts which God has given us. When we sin and put ourselves above God we are foolishly choosing the temporary pleasures of this world over eternal Lord of the universe!

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

Story: The birth of Esau and Jacob

Passage: Genesis 25:19-28

Characters: Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, Jacob

Summary: Rebekah was barren. Isaac prayed for her and she conceived. God told her that she had twins. He told her she had two nations in her womb, and the two nations would fight with each other and the older would serve the younger. She bore the twins. The first was hairy and was named Esau. The second was grasping Esau’s heel so he was called Jacob. Esau grew up to be a hunter and his father loved him. Jacob was a quiet man and lived in the tents and Rebekah loved him.

Notes: First of all, Isaac is a man of faith! We don’t read much about his faith, but in the previous chapter, he was in a field meditating. And now he prays to the Lord to let Rebekah have children. He knew who was really in control. Rebekah felt her children fighting in the womb and it freaked her out and hurt. God’s promise was interesting. He told her she had two nations in her womb. The older would serve the younger. God does not take birth order into account. Esau was born with so much hair it says it looked like he had a cloak. I’m not that hairy even after 21 years! Esau fittingly means hairy. Jacob came out grasping Esau’s heel. Their struggle in the womb never stopped. They were fighting as they were born and they would continue to fight their whole lives. Jacob means he grasps the heel. This was a pun because it also meant he who deceives. As we will see, this name was also fitting for Jacob! God apparently enjoys puns since he made Jacob be born in such a way that his name would describe him perfectly! Esau hunted. His dad liked him best because he enjoyed eating the game he would kill. Jacob was a quiet man. This makes him sound effeminate, but the Hebrew word used to describe him is the same word used to describe Job as blameless. So really, Jacob was a whole, blameless man who just preferred to stay close to home and cook. His mother liked him best. This favoritism is unfortunate, but it is the reality for many families today just as it was back then.

Questions: Why did God chooses to bless Jacob the second born over Esau? What did Isaac think of Jacob? What did Rebekah think of Esau? How hairy was Esau?

Lessons: God can heal! God responded to prayers for healing in the Old Testament, God responded to prayers for healing in the New Testament. There is no reason to believe that God does not respond to prayers for healing now as well. We need to actually believe that and live with the faith it takes to believe that God can heal! Also, no lessons are here yet about showing favoritism to your children, but we will see in the future that this causes conflict.

Abraham's Death and His Descendants

Story: Abraham’s death and his descendants

Passages: Genesis 25:1-18

Characters: Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael

Summary: Abraham took another wife and had a bunch of children through her. Abraham died at the age of 170. He was buried with Sarah by Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael’s descendants are listed.

Notes: Abraham took another wife and had a bunch of children. However, he knew that God’s promise was through Isaac and he left everything to Isaac. I find it interesting that Isaac and Ishmael both buried Abraham. Ishmael had been out of the picture for years. Obviously his relationship with Abraham was much stronger than his relationship with Sarah. He put aside his differences with Isaac and returned to bury his father. I wonder if Ishmael moved back in the vicinity of Abraham after Sarah died. I also find it interesting that after Abraham died, God blessed Isaac. God didn’t allow any doubts that His promise to Abraham would be through Isaac. Abraham knew that the promise would be through Isaac and he sent his other sons away into other lands before he died. This meant that there would not be sibling rivalry over who would own the land. It also continued to solidify the belief that the promise would be fulfilled through Isaac and not a different son. Ishmael had 12 sons. This fulfilled the promise in Genesis 17 that 12 princes would come from Ishmael. We read here about Ishmael’s death. The final verse of this passage is translated a few different ways in different translations. It can mean he lived in strife with his kinsmen, or it can mean he died among his kinsmen. I prefer the former. The Hebrew word used here implies conflict and violence. If the word was supposed to just mean that he died, the normal word for death would have been used. Instead a word was used which communicated that Ishmael was seen as inferior by his kinsmen. Once again, we see the story of a character who is not in the line of Jesus end quickly so we can get back to the main character, Isaac in this case.

Questions: Did Ishmael and Isaac get along at this point? How did Ishmael make it in time to bury Abraham? Why did Abraham feel the need to marry another woman? What family did she come from?

Lessons: There are honestly not too many lessons here.