Jacob and Esau - Part 2

Genesis 25:29-34

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.

*Note: After Esau begged for the red stew Jacob was preparing, we are told Esau was also known as Edom. The word “edom” is Hebrew for “red.”

I remember growing up in church and going to Sunday School. We learned all the “Bible Stories” including this one about Jacob and Esau. For the most part, the story as told to me included the description of Esau as a foolish young man who cared more about eating a bowl of stew than he did about the inheritance he was entitled to receive from his father. We were also taught that Jacob was a bit of a con man, a selfish person who didn’t have anyone’s interest at heart but his own and took advantage of others’ weaknesses. But I think there is far more to the story than Esau being a man who’s more focused on food than fortune, and Jacob being a man who’s more focused on falsehoods than fate.

Let’s look at the clues we’re given in the above verses that tell us more about the characteristics of these twin brothers:

1. Esau has just returned from the open country, and we’ve already been told that he is a skillful hunter. How do people become skillful hunters? My brother hunts deer with a bow and arrow, and although some technology has changed since Esau’s day, the basic premise is the same today as it was then. To become skillful, hunters spend quite a bit of time outdoors familiarizing themselves with the area; they search out and frequent the locations where animals can be found; and they patiently wait for the wild game to be in the right place and position in order to make a successful kill. In fact, my brother has been known to stay in a tree stand for hours, almost motionless, waiting for a deer to wander into the area he is staking out and stand close enough for him to target and hit cleanly with an arrow. So, we can make an accurate assumption that Esau isn’t as brash and impulsive with everything as we’re led to believe if we simply thought he sold his birthright for a bowl of stew because his stomach was growling. No, as a hunter he has learned the game of patience and perseverance. He also isn’t likely to cower in fear of many things if he spends all his time outdoors hunting, tracking, and hiking through wilderness.
2. Jacob is preparing a meal. We’ve already been told in Genesis 25:27 that Jacob was a quiet individual who preferred to stay among the tents. If he stays by the tents, where coincidentally his mother Rebekah would also be found spending the majority of her time, then cooking would be a natural hobby for him just as Esau’s natural hobby would be hunting if he spends all of his time in the open country. If Jacob is a quiet individual, he’s probably more likely to be extremely observant of the people and activities surrounding him in the communal society where he lives. Since Esau spends most of his time outdoors, he is probably more likely to be focused on his own exploits and adventures in the wilderness than he is to be worried about the details and goings on at camp.
3. In Genesis 25:28, we are given a few key details about the parents of these twin boys and how their devotions are divided between the two sons. Nowhere are we told that one parent is unloving toward either son, but we are told that each parent has a favorite. Isaac has a taste for wild game, and he loves Esau. Most likely, Isaac took an interest in Esau’s skill as a hunter. I’m sure when Esau returned to their settlement, he and Isaac would talk about the day’s events, and Isaac probably lived vicariously through the kills and adventures his son had in the open country. Esau likely gravitated naturally toward spending time with his father when he was not out in the open country hunting.
4. We’re also told in Genesis 25:28 that Rebekah loves Jacob. She’s already been told by God that Jacob will be the one to rule over Esau, and that means Jacob will somehow usurp the authority and position of leadership that is supposed to be given to Esau as the eldest son. It makes perfect sense that because she knows the destiny of the two boys, Rebekah would raise Jacob in a way where he should (a) expect to receive his father’s blessing and the birthright owed to Esau, and (b) be ready to lead his people, therefore spending time with them learning their daily chores and customs rather than venturing out in the open country in adventurous pursuits like Esau.

If Jacob was not told about the prophecy his mother received from God, why would he ever think Esau would sell his birthright to him over a bowl of stew? It’s obvious Jacob knew he would be the one, despite their birth order, to receive their father’s inheritance, but he failed to wait on God to supply the avenue. He looked for an opportunity to take the birthright from his brother, and for all we know he may have even tried to do just that before the incident mentioned above. But I doubt he was a selfish individual who only cared about himself and was constantly looking for a way to con his brother. I think Jacob, being quiet and observant and close to his people, and most likely focused on trying to grasp what it meant to be such an integral part of God’s plan to create a nation unto Himself, was not so much a con man as he was a man with a heart for God who just didn’t know how to patiently wait.

Genesis 25:34 tells us Esau despised his birthright. I don’t think that means he hated his birthright, or that he loved stew to the point he thought trading in his future inheritance was worth it to enjoy some meat and potatoes in broth at dinner time. It seems Esau was simply away from the camp and his people long enough to not care about the future or what his role might be in that future. The further Esau wandered from focusing on God and His plans to build a nation, a kingdom for Himself, and turned to focusing on fun, adventure, and hobbies that didn’t have anything to do with God, the less invested he was in God’s plan and in God Himself. Esau didn’t hate his birthright, he was just too entangled in so many pursuits that didn’t have God at the center to be able to recognize his birthright for what it was. So the Bible is correct in saying he despised it. If you’re self-centered and care more about the things that temporarily satisfy you than you do about loving others and loving God, then you might as well hate Him and His plans for your life.

We’re all guilty of the characteristics both these men displayed. Do you know what your talents and abilities are, and do you have every confidence that God wants to use you to further His kingdom, yet like Jacob you don’t have the patience to wait on His timing or for His plans to unfold the way He wants them to? And like Esau, how many of us have wandered far from focusing on God and our relationship with Him just so that we can pursue our own interests and enjoy activities that, although not always bad, are not the best use of our time?

It seems that Jacob had a heart for God and wanted to be the leader God had chosen him to be, but he lacked the trust in God necessary to allow God to work out His plan in His time. Esau cared more about satisfying his own needs and desires and focusing on temporary things than he cared about the future of his people and what God’s role might be for him.

So in the end, Jacob’s heart was in the right place but he failed to honor God’s authority; Esau’s heart had wandered from God, and as a consequence he was left unprotected and unsheltered by God and lost his inheritance. We will discuss more about the effects of Rebekah’s probable prophetic revelation to Jacob, and the weak points of each brother’s personality as a result, in Jacob and Esau – Part 3.

Jacob and Esau - Part 1

Genesis 25:21-27

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. 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, "To 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 hell; so he was names Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. the boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, wihle Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The first thing to note about the story of Jacob and Esau, twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebekah, is that they were the grandsons of Abraham, Isaac's father; Abraham was the man with whom God established His first covenant with humanity. The story of the Jewish people, of the nation of Israel, in Old Testament times is a story where God calls out one man, Abraham, and commands him to leave the land where he has settled and go to a new land God will show him so that God can create for Himself a separate nation from among all people. It is God's plan to use Abraham to start this nation so that Israel, the descendants of Abraham, will be separate and holy through laws, customs, and commandments given to them by God. It is with Jacob's and Esau's grandfather that God established a bloodline extending nearly 2,000 years through which Jesus Christ is eventually born and a new covenant is established with humanity. The old covenant with Abraham (also called the Old Testament) will be fulfilled through a new covenant with Jesus Christ (also called the New Testament) whereby all humanity, not just the nation of Israel, will be given the opportunity to enjoy a relationship with the Lord. The death and resurrection of God's sinless, perfect, and holy Son Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, opened a new door in human history. It all started with Jacob's and Esau's grandfather -- Abraham.

Abraham's son Isaac is married to a woman named Rebekah. After 20 years of barrenness, she becomes pregnant with Abraham's grandsons. She felt them "jostling" each other within her, and this feeling must have been more than mere discomfort as it is physically disturbing enough to alarm Rebekah and cause her to question "Why is this happening to me?"

I have been pregnant twice. Both times I miscarried. I can tell you after the first miscarriage, the second time I was pregnant I was overly cautious of everything; I watched what I ate, I exercised but made sure not to overexert myself, and I religiously took the vitamins prescribed to me. I followed the doctor's orders without deviation. If there was any type of physical discomfort at all, any little twinge of pain or sudden weird feeling, I was calling my doctor, my mother, my friends, and then Googling anything I could think of just to receive reassurance that everything was ok. And yes, prayer was a constant during those times. In the end, I miscarried and everything wasn't ok.

Now take the feelings of anxiety and eagerness over every little thing I felt, and multiply them times 100 for Rebekah. She was barren for 20 years. She lived in a culture where there was no occupation for her to take up. The only purpose she was seen to have was that of wife and mother. In her culture of the Old Testament, her main duty was to give her husband offspring to carry on his name and bloodline. Being the wife of Isaac, the son of Abraham whom the God of the universe established a covenant with, I'm sure Rebekah felt more than enough pressure to perform her duty.

I'd do the same thing Rebekah did if I felt "jostling" going on in my womb. I'd go to God and inquire about it. I, too, would be wondering why I am experiencing trouble with a pregnancy that is so important to God's covenant and for which I have waited so long to fulfill my role. God is right there to answer Rebekah. I believe her critical part in the history of the nation of Israel, and her sincere desire to know why she might fail through no fault of her own, made God tender enough to her question of "why" for Him to reveal to her the prophecy of the two nations that will descend through her sons.

God explained to Rebekah that the jostling happening in her womb is due to the position these two brothers are fighting for. Only one can emerge first from the womb and claim the birthright owed him. Rebekah, now privy to the future, knows the younger child will be the greater leader. The two nations to be established through her sons are the Jewish nation of Israel (through Jacob) and the mountain stronghold nation of Edom (through Esau). God later changes Jacob's name to Israel, and his 12 sons become the founders of the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel (Genesis 32:28). The Edomites plague the nation of Israel for centuries until they are finally destroyed.

Well that's a lot to be happening inside a woman's womb.

That brings us to the second important thing to note abotu the story of Jacob and Esau. It's a dangerous thing to know the end at the beginning and not be given the route in between. Rebekah knows what is coming, she just doesn't know how it will be accomplished. That's where our trust in God must step in. We are promised things in scripture, but we don't always know how God will accomplish the things He promises. It is extremely interesting the way the favoritism splits for each son between the two parents. Isaac favored the eldest son Esau, Rebekah favored Jacob. We know that Rebekah is aware that Jacob, her youngest son, will rule over Esau. No doubt the prophecy Rebekah was given in order to comfort her in her time of need was twisted by her as soon as the babies were born. Right from the start, knowing their futures, I'm sure Rebekah favored Jacob for that very reason.

It's no secret that in most families each parent has a favorite child. Parents everywhere are probably shaking their heads right now and saying to themselves, "No, I love my kids equally the same." Well I'm sure you do, but I was born and grew up in a family just like everyone else, and I know from firsthand experience my mother favored my older brother. I have no doubt that at an early age, because I knew my mother had chose my brother as her favorite, I turned to my father for comfort and this, in turn, is most likely what compelled him to favor me. (Not to mention the protective instinct a father has when his daughter is crying out for help because her older brother has her in a headlock!) I'm certain that when Rebekah began to favor Jacob it caused Isaac to favor Esau. Each choice consequently brought about characteristics in their sons that may not have existed otherwise.

Isaac loved the taste of wild game. Because he favored Esau, he most likely pushed his son to excel in the things he loved. Wild game means hunting, becoming knowledgeable of the outdoors, being skilled as a "man of the open country" -- exactly as Esau is described. Jacob most likely was raised by Rebekah to usurp the power his older brother should rightly have been given by their father when he died simply because, in their culture, birth order dictated Esau (as the eldest) be given these rights. Again, Rebekah knows that Jacob is destined to be the greater leader served by his older brother Esau, but God did not reveal to her His plan to make this prophecy come true. So Rebekah keeps Jacob close to her and he is described as a "quiet man, staying close to the tents." I have no doubt that Jacob was told by his mother, especially the older he became, that he would be the leader of a great nation and his older brother would be his servant.

We will discuss the reasons why I believe Rebekah revealed the prophecy she was given to Jacob in "Jacob and Esau - Part 2."