Genesis 25:19-34--The Birth of Jacob and Esau

Daily Readings

•  Day 1: Genesis 25:19-34  
•  Day 2: Genesis 26:1-6
•  Day 3: Genesis 26:7-35
•  Day 4: Genesis 27:1-29
•  Day 5: Genesis 27:30-46
•  Day 6: Psalm 15

Genesis 25:19-34
World English Bible
19 This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife. 21 Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her. She said, “If it is like this, why do I live?” She went to inquire of Yahweh. 23 Yahweh said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb.
Two peoples will be separated from your body.
The one people will be stronger than the other people.
The elder will serve the younger.”

24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. 26 After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 The boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he ate his venison. Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Jacob boiled stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

31 Jacob said, “First, sell me your birthright.”

32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?”

33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”

He swore to him. He sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.
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We see a genealogy here to end the official story of Isaac, though Isaac is still a main character in the lives of Jacob and Esau for a while, but the narrative wants us to know that we are to pay less attention to Isaac and more attention to one of his two sons that is going to be born and the struggle between them.  Why?  Because Isaac's purpose has mostly been fulfilled in that he and Rebekah have two sons (twins) and these two sons will both be leaders of great nations, but only one of them will be chosen by the LORD, and that Election has taken place since they were in the womb, even before that.  The New Testament authors cite this passage when teaching about the doctrine of Election.

Before that though, we get a little bit more insight into the family history of Isaac.  The family of his wife (and therefore his family, since they were cousins) was of the Aramean or Syrian people.  This is another group of people that we need to keep an eye out for in the Old Testament, and this explains why they probably thought they had some claim to the Land.

Rebekah was barren, but the LORD heard the prayers of Isaac (and remembered His covenant promise), much like for Abraham and Sarah with the birth of Isaac.  We will see barrenness leading to miraculous births throughout the Bible and we are to take note of any time that the LORD does this, as God is doing something great.

In this case, God answers with twin sons, but it was obvious that they did not get along with each other, even from the time they were in the womb together.  They were always fighting and struggling with each other.  There was great pain and discomfort within Rebekah to the point where she wanted to die instead of have a pregnancy filled with pain like this.  We do not get any indication that she understood the covenant promises of the LORD or even had a strong relationship with Him (we would expect to hear that the LORD heard her cries and prayers, but we do not see that, we see it is Isaac who cried out to the LORD and the LORD heard him).  She may not even realize she is praying when she is asking "Why is this happening to me?," but the LORD is gracious and answers her.

“Two nations are in your womb.
Two peoples will be separated from your body.
The one people will be stronger than the other people.
The elder will serve the younger.”

That should be a familiar story for Isaac as he was the younger and more favored son, but he is going to make the same mistake as Abraham and show favoritism to the son that the LORD had not chosen.  Rebekah is going to cling to this promise though and she will be close to Jacob (the younger).  We get the impression that Esau (the older) is more like his father Isaac and Jacob (the younger) is more like his mother Rebekah.  Though they were twins, they could not have been more different from each other.

Esau was red all over (that is what his name means--red) and he was covered in hair like he was wearing a hairy garment, even from the time he was born.  Jacob was grasping at Esau's heel as they came out, but Esau's hand came out first and thus he was the firstborn.  Isaac waited sixty years to see the birth of these two sons, which seems old to us, but at least the LORD did not make him wait until he was 100 like he did with Abraham.  The LORD has been gracious in giving Isaac more years with his sons and soon-to-be grandchildren.

Esau became a hunter and a man of the field (like Isaac), but Jacob stayed home living among the tents (like Rebekah).  We then learn something about Isaac.  He loved Esau because he loved venison, and Esau was the hunter who would bring venison to him.  That's a sad commentary as the father's love is based of which son can give the father the things he hungers for.  Our hearts sink when we read these verses because we know the LORD has already declared that He has chosen Jacob, so Isaac is not helping anything by choosing Esau as his favorite and letting Rebekah choose Jacob as her favorite.  Not only does it keep the rivalry going between the sons that has been going on since they were in the womb, but it now pits Isaac and Rebekah against each other.

For now though, we will focus on a story that shows how Esau despised his birthright (he was entitled to a larger share of the inheritance because he was older, if only by a few seconds).  Esau had been out in the field all day and came home famished (it's unclear whether he was actually dying of hunger or if he was being more than a little dramatic here, but I lean towards the later option).  Jacob had been making some red (lentil) stew--this is the other reason Esau, later called Edom, is associated with the color red).  He begs Jacob to give him some of the red stew because he is famished (dying of hunger).

Jacob shows no compassion and instead uses it as a chance to get something he wants in exchange.  He tells Esau that he will sell him a bowl of stew for the price of his birthright.  Esau despises his birthright and says, "What good the birthright to me?  Behold, I am about to die."  (Dead men inherit nothing, and Esau did not trust God to keep him alive to see his inheritance).  Jacob makes Esau swear a binding oath first and then gives him some stew.  Esau ate and drank and then went on his way like nothing important had happened there because he despised his birthright.  He didn't fight for it to say that there's no reason that Jacob could hold him to that kind of promise under duress if he was truly dying.  However, this shows us something important about Jacob--he understands that there are things that are meant for him to have, but he is unwilling to wait to see God give him those things in His way and in His time.  Jacob thinks that he needs to manipulate people and circumstances to bring about the will of God in his life (we'll see this lesson reinforced by his mother, which is why I think it's fair to say that he was a lot like her).  Jacob also doesn't really have a real relationship with God for many, many years (we'll see the LORD change his name at a certain point in his story to indicate this change in nature and identity in him, yet, even after that point, he gets called by his old name when he is acting in this old, sinful way).