21 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. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 The LORD said to her,
"Two 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."
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them." Genesis 25:20-26
For twenty years, Isaac and Rebekah tried to have a child. Many people these days give up having a child after a few years- imagine trying for 20 years! Being hopeful every month for 20 years and then having the time of the month come and be disappointed over and over. And then it finally happened, they conceived. Having been pregnant a few times myself, the feeling of a baby moving inside is truly unique. Many times it's downright uncomfortable. So to have two babies moving against each other... I imagine many times Rebekah thought herself terribly unlucky to have such activity in her womb.
Then God told her there were two babies, and she became excited- not only was she going to give Isaac an heir- but there would be two of them. All her patience resulted in two babies at once. What a true blessing for her. She carried her babies to full term, and gave birth to Esau and Jacob.
"The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. )
31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 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." Genesis 25:27-34
The firstborn son in a family was entitled to all that belonged to their father. When their father passed on, all that was his would pass to Esau. But at this point, Esau gave his right to everything to his brother Jacob- all for a bite of stew. Esau feared he was about to die from hunger, and if he had died, the birthright would have passed to Jacob anyway, so he traded his birthright for a meal. Once he had finished eating, he realized what he had done, and this really caused him to resent Jacob. Jacob was already his mother's favorite, and that had to hurt Esau, so to now be second to Jacob in the eyes of their father had to be something. This was kind of the beginning of the end for the relationship between Esau and Jacob.
It's interesting how one thing- one short conversation or interaction can affect the relationship forever between two people. I do wonder what it was that made Jacob ask for the birthright in exchange for food. And I wonder if he knew that the realtionship with his brother would be forever damaged by that specific moment in time. This is a helpful reminder to me to always think before I speak. Think to make sure that what I say does not affect my relationship with someone else.
There will be more to come from Jacob and Esau. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment