Episode 286 - "Esau despised his birthright" - Genesis 25

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

Gen. 25:7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

Gen. 25:12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

Gen. 25:19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 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 of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”

Gen. 25:24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Gen. 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Gen. 25:29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

I am not one inclined to believe that the Bible has filler, information that has no purpose. Genesis 25 has plenty of information that, on the surface, may seem irrelevant filler. Let me see if I can remind us of a few facts that might help us understand the purpose of some of this information.

First of all, we need to remember God’s promise to Abraham to give him a vast land and innumerable descendants. The LORD told Abraham that he would use him and his descendants to be a blessing to all nations. The problem for some time was that Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children and were getting old. They tried to help God by Abraham having sexual relations with Sarah’s servant Hagar. She conceived and had a son named Ishmael. But this wasn’t God’s plan. Ultimately, the LORD gave Abraham and Sarah Isaac. Isaac was the son of promise and the one through whom a descendant (the seed of the woman) would ultimately come to defeat the serpent (devil) and restore life and remove the curse upon the ground.

At this point in the story Sarah has died and Isaac has a wife through whom the reader should expect more descendants. But Moses tells us that Abraham took another wife and had multiple sons by her. The point of Genesis 25:1-6 is to explain that the LORD is fulfilling his promise by giving Abraham multiple descendants. However, they are not the children of the promise. So, they will not share the inheritance with Isaac. Therefore, Abraham sends them away from Isaac as he had done to Ishmael.

Genesis 25:7-11 clarifies that Abraham died and the LORD blessed Isaac. God’s plan of redemption and hope will come through Isaac.

Genesis 25:12-18 shows how even though Ishmael was not the son of the promise, the LORD still blessed him because of his relationship with Abraham.

Genesis 25:19-23 is interesting because now the focus is on Isaac. There is a brief mention that Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, was barren. But this detail is not dragged out and repeated as it was for Sarah. The resolution was simply that Isaac prayed for her and she conceived. It emphasizes Isaac’s relationship with the LORD and that the LORD answered his prayer. In verse 22, a conflict in this story develops when we learn that Rebekah has conceived twins and they are struggling within her. She inquired of the LORD why this was, and she received the answer that there are two nations within her, they will be divided, and the older will serve the younger. This is an important detail to remember for later. When they were born, the older was named Esau and the younger Jacob. Jacob was grabbing Esau’s heel. Bible interpreters have often suggested this as a foreshadowing of Jacob “tripping” his brother.

We know nothing about their childhood because the next thing we read about is what they are like as young men. Esau became a hunter, and Jacob was a “quiet man, dwelling in tents” (Gen 25:27). Esau was Isaac’s favorite because of the meat he brought home, but Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite. Already, we sense another conflict coming, right?

Genesis 25:25-34 is the core part of the story in this chapter. Esau had been out hunting and came home very hungry. Remember that he was the older son and therefore possessed the birthright, which would have entitled him to a greater inheritance and authority from his father. Jacob had made some stew, and Esau wanted some. Jacob would only give some to him in exchange for the birthright. Esau seemed to have no problem with that and, as Moses puts it, “Esau despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). This is the first incident in which we see how the older would serve the younger.

Even in the less exciting details of chapter 25, there is evidence that the LORD fulfills his promises and that his word is true. I like to be reminded of that. It encourages me to be thankful and trust in him.