April 20, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 25 (NIV)
The Death of Abraham
1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites……Continue Reading
Abraham married again and went on to have “6” more children. He left everything to Issac. He gave gifts to other sons and sent them away from Issac to the Land if the east. Seems was avoiding future conflicts between sons. Abraham was buried with his 1st wife Sarah in the cave he had bought from the Hittites.
Ishmael sons were hostile to all of the brothers.
Issac prayed to God for Rebekah as she could not get pregnant. She gave birth to twins. The Lord said to Rebekah you have 2 nations inside of you. Esaus came first and was a skilled hunter. The other son was quiet. Issac favored Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau traded his birthright for
Beefstew.says Esau depised his birthright and said since he was dieing he no longer needed it!
Genesis 25, Ephesians 5-6 and Luke 11-12.
Genesis: 25:24 – “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in the womb.”
A cool read considering I am a twin!
Genesis 25
It’s tough for me to say all that I see here in chapter 25. I have read it many times. Esau sold his birthright for a meal. Jacob seized on the opportunity. Easily understood. But I looked up the question, why did he despise the birthright, his inheritance? Was it just for food? Seems so.
Commentators agree, Esau lived for the moment, sought instant gratification, and failed to comprehend the significance of what he gave up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. But why?
Lord told Rebecca, there will be twins, and two nations. I once thought God made one evil, the other good, for whatever purpose, but that is not God’s nature. I believe God predicted it would be such.
Esau tended toward his dad, Jacob his mother, their parents favored them. There is nothing wrong being a huntsman, or cook. Rough hewn, or tender. But there were character differences beyond the obvious, and they chose their behavior.
Being so close to his father, Esau had to know his birthright, and the extreme value of it, the wealth, possessions, family status. Somehow, none of it mattered. Esau lacked an appreciation for an enduring gift, perhaps. Jacob was all too quick to see Esau’s vulnerability, and get the inheritance, as if he contrived for it beforehand. Esau, no ambition, Jacob full of it.
Both of them operated outside of what we would call a Christian spirit. God did not form them in the womb to fight, that nature was already in them. Esau chose a dark path away from the promises, but Jacob favored God. “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” was said of them centuries after they died, a statement of fact of what resulted of their progeny. It was not a prediction or edict from God, somehow hating and loving before the foundation of the world, ad nauseum. Edom was destroyed, and Israel exalted.
Still not so sure what to make of all this, other than we can be born equal, and choose good or evil. Sorry friends, I’m just a bit confused with what really made Esau despise his birthright. -reb
All those who pursue the flesh ultimately despise the Spirit/spiritual, because it points them to a reality opposed to the flesh. Imagine being told of all that God established through Abraham and the promises with it and hearing you are next in line and then saying, but I don’t want to be next in line. It’s like the son of a king not wanting to be king. That’s what was in Esau’s heart, so when Jacob offered something that appealed to the flesh…food..and he thought little of the spiritual thing that I can’t see or touch or be benefitted by..sure take it…I really don’t want it and it doesn’t matter anyway. That is what fleshly people, and us at times, think all the time….
Pastor, at best, that is the way I see it. Esau lived in the now, the immediate, that which satisfied the longing desire. (Gen 4:7 Cain wanted God’s approval with lackluster sacrifice, was warned that sin desired him, he must rule over it. Esau cared for none of it, but himself) ) He could not see the future, the value of the enduring legacy that would be his alone, promised not just by his father, or grandfather, but directly by God. He had no concept of the past either.
Ultimately, Esau found no use for the LORD God. Gen 26 he takes two Hittite wives, grieving Isaac and Rebecca, a hint of Esau’s appetite for immediate, unsatiable desire, away from God. As such, Heb 12 defines Esau as a fornicator and profane. Behind the lines of Scripture appears my answer, as 12:16 & 17 offer a snippet of Esau’s character “under his fig tree,” so to speak, the writer of Hebrews under divine inspiration tells us how that can happen to us today, in verses 12:1 – 15. This is what Esau failed to fo. And to be very clear, that cloud of witnesses is defined and exemplified in Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith.
Esau was fully equipped to be the father of Israel from birth, the history could have been different. What saith Scripture?
“King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul….
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
Thanks for helping me answer my question, Pastor! -reb
you are welcome….always best when that happens!
This is a chapter in which we must trust that God makes His decisions with His divine wisdom and goodness. So as for why He would choose Jacob over Esau even before they are born shows us that He knows the whole picture.
While Esau’s choice of putting physical, material wants before his spiritual birthright seems like a blatant and obvious misstep it certainly doesn’t seem like an upstanding choice for Jacob to underhandedly take the birthright either. Ultimately, while neither son look particularly great in this exchange, God knows our hearts and motivation so we trust that He knows and chose best to favor Jacob.
Genesis 25
Good thoughts Linda, Gordon, and Kelly, and Pastor for making things clearer about Esau and Jacob. It is sad how neither of them is worthy to carry on the line. Esau despises his birthright of being the oldest and Jacob takes advantage of him to give up his birthright for stew. Latter Jacob along with his mother trick Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob. It is too bad that it all happened like this. For the four of them are all guilty of sin for not fully trusting God and trying to help God or so they thought. Rebekah was told by the Lord that two nations dwell in her and that the elder will serve the younger. So latter she tries to help God by tricking her husband. Isaac knew the promise yet was so taken by his oldest son and the venison that he ignored God`s promise through the younger being Jacob. This all could had been different. Just think of how Isaac could have led his family with him following God`s lead then leading his own family. For one thing he wouldn`t have put his first born above everyone and there would had been more love in the family to each other and not a spilt in the family as can happen. As I know for I grew up in a family like that. My father favored the oldest son even over his wife and I was considered the least out of the five of us. And along that line my mother favored me above all others. So much so that she shared everything with me because she had a husband that she felt couldn`t talk to and would demean her. Even though she was a beautiful woman and cared and showed love to our family, he was an ugly man. He didn`t deserve her. So you see I understand the family that Isaac and Rebekah had. It changed a little perhaps after we came to Christ. For my sister { Susan} came to Christ. She was the youngest. Then I came to Christ in 1973 and after Susan died. Then my brother came to Christ a year or so latter. Then my mom 6 months after him. With my dad we think that he came to Christ at least before he died. The family dynamics pretty much stayed the same because of my father. Yet when mom had her first stroke dad called Melodye and not David and his wife. Melodye cared for my mom and dad and moved to help them. The Lord led us too help them and we gave up our place to move to their place where we now live. The only thing that we could do was to follow the Lord`s leading. I have probably shared too much so I will end here. May the Lord bless each of us as we seek to follow Him each day.
Thanks for sharing Dennis and certainly sorry that you went through that…
Genesis 25
Genesis 25
A sad chapter indeed. First Abraham, the patriarch of Israel passes. God blesses him to the end of his days and he blesses those who are associated with him, but no one compares to Isaac. He even creates geographic distance between those who would claim a significance being associated with Abraham, and Isaac, to make clear who the chosen one is. It is nice that both Ishmael and Isaac burry Abraham, hopefully revealing some reconciliation that happened between them. It is also sad that there is favoritism in Isaac’s family. It is an easy pattern for families to fall into as certain children share similar likes or talents or personality, but parents need to guard their hearts against it and find the value that is in each child and pursue equal relationships with all. And what is possibly most sad is that Esau let’s Jacob get away with his manipulation because he thinks so little of his birthright. One can imagine Isaac sharing the wonder of the promises given to Abraham that would flow through him to the next generation…but Esau just didn’t care…decided to go hunting instead. At least Jacob believed and valued the birthright to use a scenario to get it. Ends do not justify means though, so Jacob reflects a common patter in this family….let me help God along in His plan…
Abraham marries again and has more children.
I think God’s favoritism is different from man’s favoritism. We should not view God’s choice of Israel as a slight but just a step of fulfillment of His plan. God’s plan is that through Abraham (and his descendants) all nations will be blessed.
God said the older would serve the younger. “Jacob, I loved and Esau, I hated” isn’t about salvation, it’s about the lineage of His plan to save humanity. It’s the proof in the past of Jesus’ lineage and the truth of God’s plan for the future.
The human favoritism and foolishness just shows that God knew how it would work. The older shall serve the younger.
Esau gave up something that should have been extremely important to him just to fill his stomach. This exposed the fact that he did not care about his birthright. When we make rash decisions based on impulse, desire, and immediate gratification, our hearts are in the wrong place and we may suffer the consequences at some point in time.