The Birth of Jacob And Esau

INTRO

Most people look at the sin and the fall, but we know that there’s so much more through Christ.

TEACHING

Genesis 25:7–9: Verses 7–9 reveal that Abraham died when he was 175 years old, and he was buried in the cave of Machpelah where Sarah was buried. Verses 12–18 provide the record of Ishmael’s sons, and verses 19–26 provide the record of the sons of Isaac. Because of the conflict between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman, Christ, there was this constant tension, and we’ll see that today.

Genesis 25:21: “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.”Abraham modeled prayer, his servant modeled prayer, and now Isaac prayed becauseRebekah was barren.Why did he pray? He was carrying the seed, and if Rebekah was barren, there would be no descendants.The Lord heard his prayer. Praying means intercession; Isaac went to battle on behalf of his wife.Rebekah was barren for at least 20 years after their marriage. Constable said, “God closed her womb for that time, so that the chosen family would recognize her children as the fruit of His grace, rather than simply the fruit of nature.”¹Maybe God waited so He could get the glory, so everyone could see Him intervening. Bruce Waltke said, “Theirs is not a natural but a supernatural seed.”²

Genesis 25:22: Obviously Rebekah was pregnant with at least two children. She inquired of the Lord. This wrestling of her children was painful, which pointed back to Genesis 3:15–16: “I will intensify your labor pains.” Rebekah was feeling the physical pain of Adam and Eve. She was carrying the Seed, but it was not easy. The pain continued throughout her life, as shown when Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob marries a Hittite woman, what good is my life?” (Genesis 27:46). Rebekah’s whole purpose in life was to be the Seed bearer. She felt this tension in the beginning (Genesis 25:22) and the end (Genesis 27:46). But just as Abraham had to walk by faith, so did Rebekah. All of us have to go through our own tensions. In her case, her two boys were always fighting. Rebekah endured the pain because she was called for a purpose—to carry Jacob and Esau.

Genesis 25:23–26: God reminded Rebekah of her purpose: two nations would come from her womb. Prophetically, the younger would take the lead. There were indeed twins, as Rebekah already knew, in her womb. Esau meant hairy one. He was also called Edom, which meant “reddish” (v. 30). Jacob came out grasping Esau’s heel. Jacob meant heel holder. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Genesis 25:27–28: Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man, or a plain man, who stayed at home. Abraham died when the twins were about 15 years old, so they got to spend time learning from their grandpa and hearing his stories. Surely, Abraham talked about the land and the blessing. Isaac had a heart for Esau because he liked the food Esau hunted. Isaac was already going down the wrong path. Isaac went for the fleshly things . . . the “taste” of wild game. Rebekah loved Jacob. Parental favoritism always divides the family. Bruce Waltke said: “A marriage made in heaven can end in dysfunction when a spouse gives priority to taste in the mouth over a voice in hear.”³Isaac’s whole taste for food trumped the perspective of the seed. God was using imperfect people, and with time, their perspectives got skewed. I think Rebekah saw it coming the whole time. Constable said: “Adam failed in eating, Noah in drinking, and Isaac in tasting.”⁴I think if it wasn’t for Rebekah, who knows how this could have ended up. God used a woman to sustain the seed. We tend to think of the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—but if it wasn’t for Rebekah, Isaac would have been in trouble.

In God’s plan, you may not ever be the name that everyone knows, but you can play a super important role in keeping it going. We can see a parallel here with the Prodigal Son and the Father’s heart—Esau, the older brother, and Jacob, the outcast. Jacob was plain; he was civilized, domesticated, a homebody. In the NET Bible, David Sharpe said Jacob’s name implied he was calm and even-tempered.⁵That same language could also imply “blameless.”⁶In Proverbs 29:10, the same word is translated “upright.” This implied the mentality that this upright person Jacob is.

Genesis 25:29–32: Jacob cooked the stew because he was a plain person, a homebody. Esau, the hairy outdoorsman, came in from the field. Esau was exhausted and famished, so he needed food. This action was premeditated on Jacob’s part. It was extreme. In this culture, the birthright was essential. In Understanding the Genesis, Sarna described the importance of a birthright, which included the privilege of being chief of the tribe or family. The one with the birthright was the bearer of the blessing of Yahweh’s promises. He received possession of land. He held the covenant fellowship which God intended for the firstborn. He received a double portion of inheritance. And he was the spiritual leader of the family.⁷

Genesis 25:33: Jacob was smart; he made Esau swear. Esau gave up his birthright because he looked to the flesh. The second you look to the flesh, you begin to function in the seed of the serpent, not the Seed of the woman. You have to have a spiritual perspective. Be careful about giving up what God is entrusting to you. He’ll just give it to someone else. If you don’t walk it out, He’ll find someone else.

The firstborn of the womb was important. The firstborn of the womb was always consecrated to the Lord. In Exodus 13:12, Moses relayed God’s command: “You are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s.” Deuteronomy 18:4 further specified, “You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock.” But Esau effectively said, “I don’t care.” That’s functioning in the seed of the serpent, functioning in the flesh. Esau didn’t present anything to God; he just wanted to know what he could have for himself. In 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, Christ is identified as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Did Jacob and Rebekah force the hand of God to get the blessing? Or were they just aware that something wasn’t right, and they were ready to take the opportunity when it presented itself?

Genesis 25:34: Esau despised his birthright because he gave it up. And when Esau gave it up, Jacob got it. Was Jacob in the wrong? Remember the Amorites who hadn’t sinned enough (Genesis 15:16)? Maybe this was God’s way of continuing the promise. We don’t have to agree with it or understand it. It was the prophetic word that God spoke to Rebekah playing out. Constable pointed out that Jacob’s “scheming to obtain the birthright and the blessing was unnecessary, because God had already promised that he would become the dominant nation.”⁸Did Jacob need to scheme to make it happen? Dr. Constable would say no. Perhaps God prophesied it simply because He knew it was going to happen, even though Jacob’s scheming was wrong. Whatever your view, the incident seems to show that God’s plan doesn’t always have to be pretty in our eyes. Sometimes you can’t see what God’s doing right now.

CLOSING

It might not look pretty, but God was setting the stage for the Seed to continue. And in this case, it was coming through Rebekah and Jacob.