The Birth of Esau and Jacob
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?”1 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 you2 shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”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.3 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
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.
Footnotes
[1] 25:22
Or why do I live?
[2] 25:23Or from birth
[3] 25:26Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats (ESV)
Category: Scripture
45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way1 to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. 53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”261 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
(ESV)
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42 “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, 43 behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’
(ESV)
15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden1 whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel,2 and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD 27 and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32 So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
Footnotes
[1] 24:16
Or a woman of marriageable age
[2] 24:22A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams (ESV)
Categories
Going Deeper
Isaac (11.11.23)
Let’s take a moment to recap what we have learned about Abraham, as it sets up what we will learn about Isaac.
In Genesis 12:1-3, we read the first mention of God’s game changing covenant with Abraham: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The problem was Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were unable to have kids, and they were very old—we are talking 100 years old, old. The name Isaac, which means “he laughs,” was derived from his parents’ reaction when God told Abraham that he would have a son (Genesis 17:17; 18:12).
Isaac was Abraham’s second son; his first, Ishmael, was from Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, as a result of Sarah’s impatience in order to give Abraham a family (Genesis 16:1-2).
In Genesis 21, we read that Isaac is finally born, and hisarrival was so important Sarah insisted that Abraham send Hagar and her son away, ensuring the family inheritance would go to Isaac (Genesis 21:3-12). Everything would change through him. We must see a lifetime of anticipation for his arrival was heightened by the huge promise of God to bless the nations through him.
Now let’s read Genesis 22 beginning with verse 1:
Genesis 22:1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
The Hebrew word here for “test” doesn’t mean God didn’t know where Abraham was and so God had to do something to find out. It is God’s way of revealing something that He knows is already there. God knew Abraham was a man of great faith. So, He puts before him a once-in-a-lifetime circumstance that would put his faith on display.
How often are the hardships we face simply divine appointments of God for us to put on display our faith or the Gospel of Jesus? This is a great reminder to us.
Let’s see what God says for him to do:
Genesis 22:1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Notice something key here:
In the Hebrew language, this verse powerfully reveals four clauses that build a very emotional impact: your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac!
This is a way of highlighting how important Isaac is to Abraham and his lineage.
Genesis 22:3-8 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
A very important, and interesting, thing we find here. Isaac had to carry the wood. He had to labor up the mountain.
Genesis 22:9-10 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Many people have considered Isaac to be young here, but biblical scholars believe Isaac could have been as old as 30 because of when this happened in relationship to when Abraham died.
This means Isaac had all the power to resist this and flee or never go in the first place. But, not only is he going to be faithful to his father and carry the wood up the mountain, he is going to willingly be bound, lie down, and watch his father draw the knife of his death over his body without struggle or plea.
Genesis 22:11-12
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
Abraham was faithful in the end. He showed great faith in probably one of the hardest tests ever given to man. We are given many examples of faithful men and women willing to sacrifice themselves for God, but the faith of a father to sacrifice his one-and-only-son is much greater.
Genesis 22:13-14
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
God was faithful, also! He was faithful to fulfill His promise to Abraham that his heritage of the blessings of the nations would come through Isaac. I believe Abraham’s confidence in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises was the foundation by which Abraham built this faith.
On what is your faith built? Is it on what you can see and touch and produce yourself? Often these are the things we build our lives on. But this is not faith. The author of Hebrews defines faith like this:Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Our faith is placing our assurance, our confidence, on the things hoped for. In other words, it is the promised things of God that we place our living hope in. There is an assurance because of Who has promised those things—God, Himself. It is sure, because God is sure. He cannot, and will not, be thwarted, swayed, nor lazy. He will deliver on His promises. It is a conviction of things not seen—the things of God—God, Himself.
While we can’t see God, Romans 1:19-20 makes it clear that He can be seen through what He has made—His general revelation.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)
God is faithful. This is what Abraham’s faith was built on. Also, “Yahweh will provide!” This is Abraham’s proclamation and name for this place.
What is interesting is most of the time Jewish names were based on what had happened, not what would happen. The name that makes more sense is Yahweh did provide!
But Abraham sees something powerful. He sees that God is working up something much bigger. I’ll come back to this in a moment.
Can you imagine the celebration between father and son at the news that he need not die? Let’s consider this for a moment.
Turn with me back to the New Testament.
Matthew 3:17(NIV) and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
All through Scripture, we see God the Father’s beautiful affection and cherished love for His Son.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
One of the tools used to interpret Scripture deeper is The Principle of First Mention. This means the first place something is mentioned gives us a base to understand it elsewhere.
Did you know the first mention of the word “love” in the entire Bible is found in Genesis 22:2? It says, “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love’…” (RSV)
Because the Jewish people knew this word so well, they valued that a high form of love is found in the love of a father for his son. What this also points to is a love that is rooted in a son’s willingness to be bound and placed on the altar of death to be sacrificed in order to please the father.
It is an obedience that is not rooted in obligation, or in rule-keeping, like we so often find ourselves in trying to be obedient. Instead, this is rooted in sacrificial love—a sacrificial love that echoes all the way back to the source of true love, found in the Trinity, the ongoing relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Now, let’s look at how Isaac and Jesus are connected:
Isaac’s birth is miraculous. Jesus’ birth is miraculous.
We see Abraham’s deep love for his son. We see God’s deep love for His Son.
Isaac carries the wood of his own sacrifice up the mountain. Jesus carries the wood of His own sacrifice up the hill of Golgotha.
Isaac willingly climbs up into the altar to be slain. Jesus willingly allows Himself to be arrested, falsely accused, beaten, and placed on His erect altar to be sacrificed.
The place that Isaac was to be sacrificed is called Yahweh will provide. The place that Jesus was laid bare for the sins of His people was where Yahweh did provide.
God is carrying out His promise to Satan that He made in Genesis 3:15, where He promised to defeat Satan, and death, through the seed of the woman. God is carrying out His promise to Abraham by giving him Isaac and enduring Isaac, so the line to Jesus can continue.
Next, God reaffirms the covenant He made with Abraham within Genesis 26:3-5:
“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”
Though there are no overwhelming achievements to speak of concerning Isaac’s life, it was Isaac that God chose to continue the covenant line, the same line that would produce our Messiah, Jesus.
And for many generations, the Jewish nation described their God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For the next few weeks we will study his wife and sons and get to see another side of Isaac.
But for today, may our hearts be full of worship for God, as we see His hand on all these details pointing ultimately to Christ and our redemption.
By His grace and for His glory
Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine
Soldiers For Jesus MC
Chaplain Council
SFJbible.com