Gen 25: Birth of Jacob and Esau

Recap of our Discussion on Aug 23, 2009
Genesis 25
The death of Abraham/
The birth of Jacob and Esau

1. Isaac is the chosen vessel for transmitting Abraham’s covenant. Does this mean that God’s promises exclude everyone but him?
- No, on a first look.
- This question is unanswerable.
- What are the promises of God?
- to make Abraham the father of many nations
- to bless Abraham and make his name great
- through Abraham to bless all nations
- Eventually through Christ, God’s promises are shared with all people.
-He promised Abraham he would be the father of nations.
- God’s promises are more universal (for example, pray and you’ll be heard). But the promise of that land is just for Isaac.
- This question is unanswerable. Let’s move on.

2b. What is Abraham’s role in the plan of God that runs through Genesis?
- His role is to be the father of many nations; to live in the land.
-They are creating the Jewish nation. That’s why he kept his family separate from other nations.
- Part of his role was to worship God.
-Did he also have a duty to teach his descendants about God?

3. In Gen 25:19-22 what difficulties and tests of faith do Isaac and Rebekah encounter in the birth of their sons?
- another barren woman
- babies jostling within her
- as parents, Isaac and Rebekah and pretty upset.
- One conclusion: obstacles do NOT necessarily mean that God is not fulfilling his promise. Don’t take an obstacle to be a “no” from God.
- Rebekah is a good listener – she hear’s God’s answer. It is easier to pray than it is to listen for God’s answer.
- Sasquatch (Esau) came out first. Remember that Rebekah was like a line-backer, as we learned in Gen Chapter 24.

5. What does Esau’s attitude toward his birthright reveal about his character (25:29-34)?
- Question – what does Esau mean by his statement “I’m about to die”?
One answer- it might be sarcastic, or he is over-dramatizing.
The birthright was an earthly, inconsequential thing to Esau. He didn’t have any faith- can’t look into the future. He is into instant gratification.

6. Do you know anyone, like Jacob, who appears, almost from the start, to struggle with a dark side and at the same time shows promise of great accomplishments?
- Well, nobody from our church.
- From the Bible – David is a prime example (David-Bathsheba-Uriah). Also, Abraham was not faultless.
- All of us make mistakes – some of the mistakes are found out.
- Political leaders can make terrible mistakes, but then still be able to accomplish many good things.
- It’s easy to condemn people for the wrong things they have done.
- We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t struggle with the dark side. Every day.
- These flawed people are still used by God. That gives us hope!

7. Because God has chosen Jacob to be the bearer of the family tradition, does that justify Jacob’s tricky ways?
- We’ll discuss this next time!