Gen 25:19-34 - Trade of a Lifetime: Birthright for Stew - The Mysteries of God's Word

What if the fate of an entire nation began with a simple bowl of stew? Join us on this week's episode of "Mysteries of God's Word" as we uncover the dramatic story of Genesis 25:19-34. We embark on Isaac's journey as he steps into his role as patriarch, facing the challenge of his wife Rebekah's barrenness with unwavering faith. Witness the miraculous conception of their twin sons, Esau and Jacob, and the divine revelations received by Rebekah. The fierce struggle of the twins, even in the womb, sets the stage for a lifetime of contention and prophecy-fulfilling events, right down to Jacob's significant grip on Esau's heel at birth.

Get ready to explore the cultural weight of the birthright and its implications within the family structure of biblical times. We'll dissect the personalities of Esau, the skilled hunter favored by Isaac, and Jacob, the thoughtful schemer cherished by Rebekah. The pivotal moment when Esau trades his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew reveals his disregard for his inheritance and foreshadows the future tension between the brothers. We'll analyze this momentous exchange and its lasting impact on their family dynamics. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Welcome again to the Mysteries of God's Word. This week we're in Genesis, chapter 25, starting at verse 19, and we'll be discussing Isaac taking over as the patriarch as well as the birth of his first two sons, starting in verse 19. These are the generations of Isaac, abraham's son. Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Armenian, of Paddan, aram, the sister of Laban, the Armenian, to be his wife, the Armenian to be his wife. In our opening two verses we see a summary of how Isaac, how, when he was 40 years old, he took his wife Rebecca and took the place of Abraham as patriarch. In verse 21, we read and Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, husband seeking the Lord for his family when things are not going well, rather than blaming himself or his wife Rebecca. Isaac is seeking the Lord in this matter with regards to Rebecca's barrenness, and he acts in faith. We see throughout the Old Testament different places where the Lord allows for the barrenness of a woman to bring about an act of faith that results in a child that will follow God and point others to God. This, of course, is always in God's timing and according to his purpose. And in Isaac's case this took 20 years after he was married to Rebekah, after he was married to Rebecca. Isaac had married Rebecca when he was 40 years old and she hadn't given birth for almost 20 years. But the Lord heard his prayer and the Lord granted his prayer. In God's timing and in his goodness. God granted Isaac his prayer, verse 22,. The children struggled together within her and she said If it is thus, why is this happening to me? So she went to inquire to the Lord and the Lord said to her Two nations, even in the womb of Rebecca and the Hebrew word here used for struggle means to crush or to oppress these brothers were crushing each other in the womb. Their struggle was so painful for Rebecca that she felt she needed to seek the Lord as to why this was happening. Rebecca says If it is thus, why is this happening to me? This is a cry from Rebecca, not understanding why she's in such discomfort and pain, and the context of this statement suggests that Rebecca believes God is still cursing her life. We might even paraphrase this If God answered the prayer of Isaac concerning a child, why is there such terrible pain that is accompanying my pregnancy? And so Rebekah goes to the Lord and she seeks him in prayer, just as she had been taught and had seen her husband Isaac do many times Verse 24,.

Speaker 1: 4:22

When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb Verse 24. Came out with his hand holding Esau's heel. So his name was called Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them. In these verses we learn that Esau and Jacob are fraternal twins. They're not identical twins, they're fraternal twins. And even though they're twins, esau is technically the firstborn. He came out of the womb first and the name Esau is a wordplay on the Hebrew word for red, which is similar to the word Edom as well. Edom eventually becomes Esau's nickname and it's why his descendants are called the Edomites. Now, jacob's name is a wordplay on the Hebrew word heel. It means that he grasps at the heel. It's also been suggested that holding on to the heel of his brother Esau was a figure of speech at the time. That meant to deceive, because Jacob would use trickery to take his brother's birthright and his brother's blessing in the future. Certainly there's an implication that Jacob was at his brother's heels, but regarding the naming of Jacob and what it means, what we know certainly is that Jacob's name comes from the fact that he was holding on to Esau's heel as he came out of the womb Verse 27,.

Speaker 1: 6:18

When the boys grew up, esau was a skillful hunter. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Here we see the vast differences between Esau and Jacob. Esau was a skillful hunter, he was rugged, he was strong and he preferred to get away into the wilderness. The word that we see translated, field here, is often translated country, land or wild. It could best be said that Esau was a man that knew how to live off the land, said that Esau was a man that knew how to live off the land. Jacob, however, was a quiet man and he dwelt in the tents. Contrasted to his brother Esau, who liked to go out and into the wild and hunt, Jacob preferred to stay at home, staying in the area of the tents, and this use of the word quiet here implies that Jacob was more thoughtful than his brother Esau. Like his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, jacob was more pastoral, keeping flocks near the tents. Finally, we see that the affections of the parents were split on the boys and this certainly added to their conflict and their rivalry.

Speaker 1: 7:47

Verse 29. Once, when Jacob was cooking stew, esau came in from the field and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob Let me eat some of that red stew, for I'm exhausted. Therefore his name was called Edom. Jacob said Sell me your birthright now. Esau said I'm about to die Of what use is my birthright to me? Jacob said Swear to me now. So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Speaker 1: 8:38

In these last few verses we see that Jacob was cooking a stew. We might see it as a soup. It was made of lentil beans or small, small beans that are very common in Egypt and Syria. This lentil soup is very tasty, particularly when accompanied with melted butter or pepper or oil and garlic. It's a primary food for all peoples of the Middle East. And Esau came in from his normal activities in the wilderness and he was exhausted. He saw this red lentil stew that Jacob had made and he tells Jacob to give him some because he's so exhausted. This is why his name was called Edom. After this, esau is nicknamed Edom, to both remind him and his descendants forever that he sold his birthright for a bowl of red stew. And Jacob says sell me your birthright now.

Speaker 1: 9:40

Culturally, the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance the position of spiritual and physical leader of the family. So they operated as both the priest and the king of the home. And even though Esau and Jacob were both born the same day, because Esau came out of the womb first, it gave him the right of birthright. And we see that Jacob takes advantage of his brother's weak physical state and he bribes him with a bowl of red stew. So Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Finally, we see in verse 34 that Esau despised his birthright. After eating and drinking, esau got up and left without a word to sayised his birthright. After eating and drinking, esau got up and left without a word to say about his birthright. And because he said nothing, he became known as someone that didn't take responsibility for his position or for his role in his family. Thank you for joining me this week. I hope you join me next week when God makes a promise to Isaac.