Ep. 13. Genesis 24-25 Isaac/ Rebekah/ Twins

EPISODE 13

ISAAC/REBEKAH/TWINS: GENESIS 24-25

I won't keep you long today, but you need to notice a couple of things in today's reading. In Genesis 25, Abraham remarries after Sarah's death and has six more sons. We know God has already declared Isaac to be the only son of Abraham, so Abraham is obligated to send the other six sons away because they can't be counted as heirs along with Isaac.

The next thing we read about Abraham is that he died at 175. The timeline in the Bible is complicated to follow at times, but it is entirely doable. In this case, the author of Genesis, likely Moses, kills off Abraham and moves on with the story of Isaac. Abraham lived long enough to meet his grandsons and be involved in their lives for fifteen years, but if we read the text casually, we will conclude that Abraham died before the twins were born. That isn't the case. And remember, Shem, the son of Noah, is still alive and kicking, too. But we haven't seen him since chapter 11.

In Genesis 25:23, God speaks to Rebekah, "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." Abraham's older son was skipped over, and the blessing went to Isaac, the son of promise. Here, we see that before the twins are born or had done anything good or bad, "the older will serve the younger." The blessing of God will often travel through the second-born son. This will be a theme repeated throughout the Scriptures.

The big story of this section is that Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of stew. Indeed, though he was "famished," he wasn't in danger of dying. Yet he despised his birthright and gave it up for supper. This again has ramifications far beyond the storyline of Esau and Jacob and reaches all the way to the first-century Jews in danger of denying their birthright. You see, "to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promise. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever." The author of Hebrews pleads with the Jew to believe in Jesus the Messiah, "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it, many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears." That is to say, Esau's forsaking his birthright is analogous to the Jews rejection of Jesus and the salvation he brought with him. But later, when Esau sought his blessing, there was none left for him, and so those Jews who harden their hearts against Christ will find themselves cut off from the blessing, though they may seek it with tears. We must resist the temptation to make this a broadly applied text, for though there will be many people who reject Jesus, the immediate context in Hebrews 12 seems to be the Jews.

ADDITIONAL READING: Hebrews 12:14-17; Romans 9:1-5; Genesis 27:30-38