November 16, 2024
Last week we concluded the story of Abraham and Sarah with a bridge that included the genealogies of 2 of the 3 branches of his family: the children of Keturah and the children of Ishmael.
Today we begin with the “account of Abraham’s son, Isaac.”
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah but they had no children. Unlike his father, Isaac appears to have not taken additional wives or concubines in an effort to find a quick fix for this problem. Perhaps that is one lesson he learned – having more than one wife is never going to end well.
20 years went by and the Bible tells us that Isaac prayed on behalf of Rebekah and Yahweh answered his prayer.
Right from the start we know that Isaac and Rebekah are going to be in for a bumpy ride because “the babies jostled with each other in her womb.” The word jostled (NIV) or struggled (NKJV or NASB) or fought (CJB) literally means “to crush.” They struggled against each other so much, in fact, that Rebekah said, “if it’s going to be like this, why be pregnant?” So, she went to Yahweh and they had a conversation:
Genesis 25:23 - And Yahweh said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples shall be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger."
A word about Predictive, Prescriptive and Apocalyptic prophecy:
• Predictive Prophecy – God’s foreknowledge of future events based on what he knows and not because he causes it to happen.
• Prescriptive/Conditional Prophecy – Not all prophecies are inevitable. Sometimes they are warnings of what might happen if an individual or group continues down a chosen path. Conditional prophecies include the elements of human choice and accountability.
• Apocalyptic Prophecy – This type of prophecy is NOT conditional. They reveal God’s unchangeable plan for the resolution of the sin problem.
In our story today, Predictive Prophecy was employed.
The 1st son was born. He was red and hairy all over “like a garment” so they named him Esau.
As the firstborn son, Esau automatically held the “birthright.” In the Bible, the birthright symbolized inheritance, authority, and blessing. The birthright gave “head of household” status to the firstborn son, which included a double portion of his father’s estate. Additionally, the birthright placed upon the firstborn the responsibility of becoming the family’s leader and caretaker. The birthright represented both material blessings and spiritual responsibilities and in the case of Abraham’s family, a continuation of the Covenant.
The 2nd son was not far behind. As a matter of fact, when he was born, his little hand had hold of the heel of his older brother. They named him Jacob, “heel grabber – to trip or over throw”
And so the battle begins.
The Bible tells us that Isaac loved Esau more because he was a hunter, “a man of the field,” masculine and outdoorsy. He provided Isaac with fresh game.
Rebekah, however, loved Jacob more because he was a home body and had a gentle-peaceful spirit.
Twin brothers who looked very different, had very different personalities, chose very different professions and who were treated very differently by their parents….. Excellent! Better put Dr. Phil on speed dial!
Esau sells his Birthright – Genesis 25:29-34
Years went by….
One day Esau came in from hunting. He was exhausted and “starving.” Jacob was cooking some red stew over the fire when Esau came into camp.
“Give me some of that red stew you’re cooking because I am exhausted and starving!”
(that is why Esau was called Edom “red”)
Jacob saw his chance. After all, Yahweh had said that he would rule over his brother, why not give Yahweh a little help.
“No problem, dear brother…. How about we do a deal. A bowl of my stew for your birthright.”
“I am about to die here!! What good is my birthright to me if I am dead?”
“Great! Do we have a deal?”
“Deal”
So, Esau swore that the birthright now belonged to Jacob.
This exchange symbolized the value Esau placed on the birthright….. He sold it for one bowl of red lentil stew.
What he did next demonstrated his shortsightedness and disdain for his birthright – he ate, drank, got up and left.
Chapter 26 contains the only story devoted exclusively to Isaac. It is possible that the story occurred in the 20 years prior to Esau and Jacob’s birth. The Philistines certainly would have realized her status had the children already been born.
There was another famine in the land. Isaac went to Gerar, to the land of Abimelech, king of the Philistines (not likely the same Abimelech in Abraham’s story – Abimelech was probably a dynastic name).
Why Gerar? Because Yahweh had specifically told Isaac not to go to Egypt.
Genesis 26:2-5 - …. “live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."
Here God reiterated the 4 promises of the covenant:
• divine presence and blessing
• ownership of the promised land
• countless descendants
• a blessing to the nations through his descendants.
Unfortunately, Isaac will repeat his father’s failure of faith.
Isaac lived in Gerar for a long time. One day the local men asked Isaac about Rebekah. “She is my sister,” he said.
Why that response? Because “he was afraid that if they knew she was his wife, they would kill him, because she was very beautiful.”
Apparently, this deception went on for quite a while. One day, however, the king looked out the window and saw Isaac “caressing” Rebekah – and not in the way a brother would embrace a sister…. There was some canoodling going on in the garden!
Abimelech sent for Isaac.
“It is quite obvious that Rebekah is your wife and not your sister. Why did you tell us she was your sister?”
“I was afraid. I thought I would be killed if you all knew she was my wife.”
“Your dad’s name wouldn’t happen to be Abraham would it?” (the Bible doesn’t say that)
“What have you done? What would have happened if one of my men had slept with her? You would have brought guilt on all of us!”
Abimelech gave orders that no one should lay a hand on Isaac and Rebekah.
Lying/deception are apparently family traits - an inherited sin gene. Abraham did it. Isaac did it, Rebekah will do it, Jacob will do it, Laban will do it, Rachel will do it, Leah will do it, Jacob’s children will do it.
As the saying goes….. “The apple does not fall far from the tree.”
Isaac’s wealth grew and as a result the Philistines became jealous of his success. They filled-in all of Abraham’s well and Abimelech told Isaac to “move on.” No matter where he went, however, the Philistines were not far behind, quarreling over water rights. Isaac re-dug Abraham’s wells and twice more, dug new wells and named them – Esek “quarrel” and Sitnah “hostility” – declaring that they belonged to him. Every time the Philistines claimed the well to be theirs. Finally, Isaac found a place where the Philistines weren’t and dug another well – he named it Rehoboth “open space”. From there he went to Beersheba.
Genesis 26:24 - That night Yahweh appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."
So, despite Isaac, God remained faithful.
Meanwhile, Abimelech, his personal advisor and the commander of his army paid a visit to Isaac. In a break with custom, Isaac did not offer them his hospitality, instead he said:
“Why are you here? You have been nothing but hostile toward me.”
“It is obvious to us that Yahweh is with you, so we’ve come to make a covenant – you are not going to do anything to harm us, since we have not touched you and have done nothing but good toward you and have sent you away in peace.”
How convenient that neither party acknowledged their role in the conflict.
Isaac lied and was rightly sent away and then seemed to be surprised by the actions of the Philistines.
Abimelech also failed to admit that his men had harassed and chased Isaac all over Canaan.
How quick we are to re-write history when it reveals our flaws…….
At any rate, both parties agreed to their own awesomeness and made a covenant.
Chapter 26 concludes with another bridge - when Esau was 40, he married 2 Hittite women – Judith and Basemath.
The bridge offers us another insight into Esau’s character:
• He entered into a plural marriage.
• He disregarded the importance of finding a partner with the same cultural and spiritual background. Instead, he married pagan women who would not have shared the family’s commitment to Yahweh.
This would be a constant source of sorrow for both Isaac and Rebekah.
All this Isaac knew. He should have recognized that Esau was unfit to receive the birthright, but he was blinded by his favoritism. His poor judgment regarding Esau and Rebekah’s equally misguided favoritism toward Jacob set the stage for what’s to come.
Until Next Time………
