Part 1 – Flexibility Training – Reading
We don’t get to spend much time with Isaac and Rebekah, as we did with Abraham and Sarah. But we do get to know them at least a little. At first, Isaac is a man of great faith. We’ve already seen how he was willing to give his life when God asked for it, as well as him honoring his father’s choice of bride for himself. Of Rebekah we learned she was a woman of faith, ready to go marry a man that God has apparently chosen for her. We also saw she was an industrious, helpful young woman. And in this chapter, we’ll find Isaac praying with dedication for his barren wife, for twenty years!
But then, once the twins arrive, we find out that Isaac was a passive father who favored his outdoor son. Meanwhile Rebekah was a conniving, deceitful woman who trained her favorite son to follow her example. The Bible does not try to paint the Patriarchs (basically the first four generations of Abraham’s family) as being anything other than the people they were – sinful men who struggled to live lives of faithful obedience to God. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes not.
Read Genesis 25:19-34.
By the end of chapter 25 we also have a pretty good idea of the character of the twins as well. Esau lived only in the moment and gave no thought of family responsibility or duty. Jacob learned his mother’s lessons well and took advantage of every opportunity to establish that one day he would be the one in control of the family, not his older brother.
Wondering about the birthright? In this time, the birthright was not as clearly spelled out as it was in Moses’ time. But from what it became, we can get an idea what it was and why Jacob wanted it. The birthright of the oldest son would grant him 1) the authority of the head of the clan, 2) a double portion of the property inheritance, and 3) the position of spiritual head of the family. That is definitely worth bargaining for. One wonders with that much at stake why Esau would be so willing to part with it, and after eating, not give it a second thought.
PART 2 – Strength Training – Memory & Thinking
We continue to add to our list of verses we know from memory.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
1 Peter 3:5-6 This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
There are many references to the two brothers and their respective legacies. Esau’s personal future was a prosperous one. He amassed a great fortune. But the nation that descended from him did not remain faithful to God. Jacob also ultimately succeeded wonderfully, but he raised his sons to honor the God of his fathers. Later in the Bible it says that God “loved” Jacob, while He “hated” Esau. Most of the commentaries agree that this love and hate is a way to say that Jacob was chosen while Esau was rejected.
Romans 9:10-13 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Obediah 1:10-11, 18 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them... The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.
Malachi 1:2-5 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”
Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’ When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”
Part 3 – Cardio Training – Prayer
As you pray today, ask God to show you those areas in which you think more of our own ambitions that the needs of others. Ask God to show you what lessons you can learn from Jacob and Esau, as well as from Isaac and Rebekah. You might start like this:
Dear Father, there are so many times I act out of selfish desires just like Jacob did in requiring his brother to give up something precious for a simple bowl of stew. There are other times I act carelessly in regard to my responsibilities, as Esau did. Forgive me for these failures to live up to Your standards. Show me where I need to change…
Part 4 – Endurance Training
Character is created one decision at a time. Keep studying the Bible, learning from the successes and failures of the people God called. Keep thinking about the verses you have memorized throughout the day to help you with your decisions, both big and small.
An Extra Lap
Did it bother you that God loved Jacob but Esau He hated? This is one of those big ideas of the Bible that people have through the years debated and pondered. God loved Jacob and chose him to be the recipient of blessing. God rejected Esau. On the other side of the issue is each man being held accountable for the choices he made in life. Jacob taught his sons to serve the Lord while Esau married ungodly women of Canaanite descent, raising children who did not hold to the faith of their fathers.
If you want to ponder this idea further, check out this post.
Faith Gym 