*Below is Pastor Andrew’s teaching outline from Sunday’s sermon, not a word for word manuscript. This is meant as aid in seeing the thought and direction of the sermon.
Opening Ill: Family dynamics
“Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.” ~ Queen Elizabeth II
I. Isaac & Rebekah (19-23)
A. Introductions: Gen 25:19-20
Genesis 25:19–20 ESV
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.
B. A Praying Couple & A God who Hears.
Genesis 25:21–23 ESV
And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”
Rebekah’s Bareness
-Mirrors Sarah & later Rachel
-Hard contrast to the blessing of her family:
Genesis 24:60 ESV
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousand, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”
-Hard contrast to the promise of God to Abraham
Genesis 12:7 ESV
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So, he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 15:5 ESV
And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Isaac prays for his wife.
Genesis 25:21 ESV
And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
-Picture of faithfulness (It took 20 years from their marriage till the boys are born)
-Abraham didn’t pray for Sarah & Jacob will not pray for Rachel they come up with their own plans.
-The faith it takes to pray for 20 years without seeing the evidence. 9The text purposely hides his age til the end to build tension, it is a long road)
Application: Do we have a faith in God to pray that long and fervently for his work to be done. or are we consumed by a need for immediate results. (Patience is a key in this whole text which will be contrasted with Esau)
God answers and Rebekah conceives Twins (A blessing of the multiplication of the nations)
But her pregnancy is anything but easy or normal:
Rebekah prays for her distress.
Genesis 25:22 ESV
The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord.
-Her pregnancy is rough and tiresome
-She is at the end of herself because this isn’t how it is supposed to go
-How often do we get trapped in the brokenness of unmet expectations
-She conceives and receives the blessing from God, but it is not what she expected, but she doesn’t simply get upset she goes to God with her struggles and seek answers from Him.
-God answers her with a word of prophecy:
Genesis 25:23 ESV
And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”
This word from the Lord will be the central theme of Isaacs family.
They will be nations (God will fulfill the promise to Abraham and the blessing of her family)
-These nations will spend most of the OT in constant hostility: Israel & Edom
The younger will be chosen (A Common theme: Isaac/Ishmael, Ephraim/Manasseh, David/His brothers)
They will be a house divided. (As each parent chooses a favorite and each brother becomes his own)
-Not only will this prophecy be the central theme of the family it is a key theme to scripture itself as it highlights that it is God who works and chose not based on external human thought, but his sovereign plan.
Romans 9:10–13 ESV
And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
And as we unpack these two men in a moment we see all the more that it is by God’s design that he blesses not based on human thought, for these two brothers will spend most of their lives facing the harsh consequences of their own sinful desires and plans.=, but it is all a part of God’s plan to bring about the people of Israel and to bring them to this land and then through them to bring about the messiah who will save his people from the brokenness of sin and its eternal consequences.
So, we turn now to the children of Isaac & Rebekah
(Their only children/ they are the only monogamous couple among the Patriarchs)
II. Jacob & Esau (24-34)
A. An unusual Birth
Genesis 25:24–26 ESV
When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Esau: First born, red & hairy (The name is close to words for red & hair/hairy, (Edom/Seir) but there is no immediate)
Jacob: second born, takes by the heal (Cheats/heal grabber 27:36,)
-He & His children will be central figures over the coming 25 chapters
Their birth and names will be key themes brought up again throughout their ongoing narrative.
Names carry meaning and are not chosen lightly:
B. A Divisive Upbringing
Genesis 25:27–28 ESV
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
-They grow up to be very different people:
-Esau: Hunts and is seen as in many ways a man’s man.
-Jacob: is described as a quiet man who lives in tents (Though there is a play on words working her for the term also pays into the thought of perfect/blameless)
-They grow up to be loved by different parents
(Only the 3rd time we have seen love play a role in Genesis: Abraham w/Isaac & Isaac w/Rebekah)
-Esau is loved by Isaac
-Jacob is loved by Rebekah (Maybe she favored him because of the prophecy)
Now that’s a hard household to grow up in.
Raised int he same home with very different results:
They played favorites and it is evident throughout the text. Whether or not Isaac is privileged to the oracle of verse 23 we are never told, it is God who will bring things to pass, through the brokenness of this family.
-They grow up with very different temperaments
Esau is seen as an impulsive and unthinking.
Jacob is seen as patient and cunning (He outmaneuvers Esau)
Genesis 25:29–34 ESV
Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore, his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So, he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus, Esau despised his birthright.
Now this is a key event in the life of Jacob and Esau thus why it is shown here as our first real encounter with them in the Genesis narrative:
And it is centered around the idea of birth rights: It was not uncommon in these days for people to barter and selling different aspects of their inheritance before their parents’ death. It was well reasoned that a son may sell his shares of his inheritance to another brother. In Hebrew culture (Deut 21:15-17).
The first-born son is given a double portion of the fathers house. So, this isn’t a move to change places with Esau, but to enrich himself and look out for his long-term interests. Also, as we unpack the text it is apparent, he has been planning this for a while looking for an opportunity to arise to take proper advantage of his brother:
And as the text unfolds this is what we see:
Esau states: Give me red, red, (The Hebrew structure is meant to make him seem impulsive and unthinking)
-He just sees the soup and wants it (The assumption is he believes it to be something more robust than what he will receive)
-He believes the trade is of equal value (his future for the now, what good is the future if I die now)
-He is evidently not that dire based on the Hebrew text, he is being overly rash and not thinking clearly
(How often do we allow ourselves to be taken away in the moment and sacrifice the future for what appears of value now)
Jacob’s quick reply is: Sell/birthright & Swear/Me/ at once.
-He has been waiting for this moment and puts his offer out there
-He doesn’t force Him to take it though he is taking advantage of his brother
-The language shows that unlike Esau Jacob is cunning and thoughtful. He knows the value of what he seeks.
Esau quickly agrees only to find out in his haste that he traded it all away for lentil soup. His dismay is seen in the ending in which he doesn’t say another word he just walks away. With the text highlighting that Esau did not value his position and rights as he ought. rather than valuing his place he traded it for nothing more than a bowl of lentil soup.
Our text makes no comment here on Jacob or his actions but will unpack the long-term consequences of these actions as the text moves forward.
So, what are we to make of this new family and why does it all matter:
1. We see that the people of God’s grace and choosing are not all perfect angels. The people of God all begin as a bit of a hot mess. And full of broken spots.
a. Isaac is a man of prayer but not the perfect father
b. Jacob is a trickster who will suffer greatly for his actions all of which are necessary for him to grow into the man who wrestles with God.
c. Much like Abraham, the saints aren’t made in a day but grown over a lifetime of life with God, with all the ups and downs along the way.
2. So, this text isn’t telling us to be like Jacob or Esau but warning us to thinking bigger and trust in God for what is to come. We are to value the gift of God we have received.
a. The author of Hebrews uses this story as an encouragement not to turn from the faith but rather to cling closely to the gift of God’s grace we have received as his children and not turn back to the temporary pleasure of the world out of fear.
b. We should value the relationship we have with God and the blessing of being his more than the offerings of the world, that look satisfying but in the end are no more than lentil soup.
3. For in the end as the text reveals God doesn’t make choices based on external things, he makes his choice based on his divine grace and will, he is not wavering in his love for his own, but rather in Love sent his son to be the salvation of his own, and unlike Jacob, Jesus willingly sacrificed himself to bring live and blessing to us his family giving us a future and a hope we could not obtain on our own.
Transition: Jacob prepared a table to steal his brother’s birthright, Christ has prepared a table to give us his!
