| Gen. 25:22-23 |
"But the children struggled together within her; and she said, 'If all is well, why am I this way?' So she went to inquire of the Lord.
And the Lord said to her:
'Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from
your body;
One people shall be stronger than the
other,
And the older shall serve the younger.' "
 Note: God showed Rebekah from the start He preferred the younger.
|
| Gen. 25:24-26 |
"So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name *Esau. (Lit. Hairy) Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called *Jacob. (Supplanter or Deceitful) Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them."
 Note: What a terrible thing to name your son.
See (The Second Son)
|
| Gen. 25:27-28 |
"So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob."
Note: Isaac was thinking of his stomach in his old age, not the welfare of his heritage with the God of his father Abraham.
|
| Gen. 25:29-34 |
"Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, 'Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.' Therefore his name was called *Edom. (Lit. Red) But Jacob said 'Sell me your birthright as of this day.' And Esau said, 'Look, I am about to die; so what profit shall this birthright be to me?' Then Jacob said. '*Swear to me (Take an oath) as of this day.' So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." |
| Reference: |
Heb. 12:16-17
"lest there be any fornicator or *profane (godless) person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, thought he sought it diligently with tears." |
| Gen. 26:34-35 |
"When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah."
Note: Esau had no concern for his heritage, and intermarried. |
| Gen. 27:1-10 |
When Isaac was old, and nearly blind, he told Esau to get game, and prepare a meal so he could bless him. But Rebekah heard and commanded Jacob to get two kids so she would prepare the food and have him blessed instead. |
| Gen. 27:11-13 |
"And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, 'Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.' But his mother said to him, 'Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.' "
Note: Rebekah was willing to carry the curse to have Jacob blessed. |
| Gen. 27:14-29 |
This tactic worked and Isaac gave Jacob the blessing.
"Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother's sons bow down
to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!"
|
Gen. 27:30-45 |
But when Esau came in shortly after, and found out what God had allowed to happen, he wanted to kill Jacob. |
| Gen. 27:46 |
"And Rebekah said to Isaac, 'I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?' " |
| Gen. 28:1-4 |
"Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and *charged (commanded) him, and said to him: 'You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
May God Almighty bless you,
And make you fruitful and multiply
you,
That you may be an assembly of
peoples;
And give you the blessing of Abraham,
To you and your descendants with you,
That you may inherit the land
In which you are a stranger,
Which God gave to Abraham." |
Gen. 28:5-14
vs. 15 |
Jacob obeyed his father and mother, and God came to him in a dream of a ladder that reached to heaven. God said:
"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." |
Gen. 28:16-22
| Jacob awoke and poured oil on the stone he slept on as an offering, and vowed to give God a *tenth (tithe) of all.
See (Tithes - And Offerings) |
| Gen. 29-30 |
Jacob reached his destination and saw Rachel. He served Laban as a shepherd seven years for her hand, but Laban gave him Leah instead to keep him there as he was blessed through Jacob. Then he fulfilled her week and served another seven years for Rachel. But as Jacob hated Leah, and loved Rachel, God closed Rachel's womb and allowed Leah to bear children. In time their maids were given to Jacob to bear for them, and he had 11 sons. Laban also deceived Jacob with his payment in the flocks by having his sons take them away. So God had Jacob put up rods so that the flocks would bear streaked, speckled, and spotted to increase Jacob's wealth. |
Gen. 31
vs. 24
vs. 32 |
Jacob fled when Laban was away, but Rachel stole Laban's household gods unbeknownst to him.
When Laban came, God warned him in a dream not to harm Jacob.
About the idols Jacob said, 'With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live.' And, not finding the idols, Laban departed. |
| Gen. 32-33
| Jacob fought all night with a Man and was blessed by his name being changed to *Israel. (Lit. Prince with God) He then made peace with Esau and they parted from each other. |
| Gen. 35:17-18 |
"Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her. 'Do not fear; you will have this son also.' And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni (son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin." (son of the right hand)
Note: If Rachel had not stolen her father's idols she would not have died, but Jacob, not knowing, cursed her. God had mercy, and let the child live. |
