|
Lessons For
The 21st Century From OT Saints And Sinners
The Son Who Couldn’t Win
Genesis 25:19-34; 26:34-28:9
Introduction: Master Storytellers
Both of my grandpas were great story tellers. My Grandpa
Cotant had great stories of growing up on the farm, lessons
he had learned from watching the various signs of nature and
even some pretty gory stories of farm accidents. My Grandpa
Harry told stories of his adventures to what seemed to me
to be the far-away city of Detroit. For a boy growing up in
Michigan, his stories of sitting in the diner and talking
to the Detroit Tiger players who also ate there sounded like
the ultimate dream come true.
There
is something special about a good story teller that sparks
our imaginations even as we are held spellbound, hardly able
to wait for the next part of the story to be told. The greatest
teller of stories in history is God Himself. The Bible is
His storybook—especially the yellowed pages of the Old Testament—and
His true stories outshine the most delightful of fairy tales.
As we continue our journey through some of the great stories
of the Old Testament this summer, let’s keep a picture in
our minds of our childhood storyteller. Let God assume that
role. Let Him be the One who spins the magical tales in your
mind. Let Him break you down to the point of sorrow or cause
you to soar with hope. Open your imagination as well as your
Bible and relive those days when you sat, perhaps with your
grandpa, transfixed—enraptured—as God unfolds His great story
for you.
What
is it about a good story that captivates us? It’s many things:
characters and plot, drama and intrigue, depth and complexity.
It’s the story’s ability to get us involved as we identify
with people and their situations. Ultimately, it is the life
lessons the story teaches—powerful lessons, timeless truths,
persuasive principles.
All
of these are true of the great stories of the Old Testament.
The Apostle Paul recognized the valuable significance of what
were, even then, ancient accounts. He writes,
For
everything that was written in the past was written to teach
us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the
Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4 NIV
Paul
would have read these stories on what were probably worn and
tattered scrolls, carefully rolled out on a table. Paul found
hope and encouragement in those stories from Israel’s’ past.
That is our goal, too. We want to build reservoirs of hope as we look at some of the fascinating
scenes found in the Old Testament.
In
our account for today our main character is definitely never
going to be the role model for Prince Charming. He is unmistakably
human. He has glaring incapacities, over-powering vices and
is hopelessly inept. He is one of the sons of Isaac—a burly
man named Esau.
Observations About A Rejected Son
Esau’s
story is a tragedy. In spite of his considerable advantages,
he just couldn’t win. Some people would say he was cursed
by bad luck. Indeed, his life story reads like a doomed voyage
in which everything goes wrong. We will see the tragedy is
the result of bad choices made by Esau and his parents.
Esau’s
Birth And Childhood
For
those of you who aren’t familiar with Esau, his story is told
in Genesis 25-28. Esau’s birth was the answer to many years
of prayer offered in patience as Isaac’s wife Rebekah remained
childless for twenty years. During her pregnancy Rebekah became
concerned by what felt like a strange struggle in her womb.
She wondered why this was happening to her and went to inquire
of the Lord. He answered her prayer with an answer that probably
didn’t help at all to settle her anxiety.
And
the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two
nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be
rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your
older son will serve your younger son.” Genesis 25:23 NLT
As a person now waiting to become a grandpa, we have
received the early sonograms where you can almost see there
is a baby.
This
is better than any sonogram. God tells her there are two babies
but He goes on to prepare her for the shock that is ahead.
While most twins are very close, she and her sixty-year-old
husband are going to have twins who will be rivals, with the
younger son dominating the older. This pattern of behavior
will carry on for generations. Even the birth itself illustrates
the struggle.
And
when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that
she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth
and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named
him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping
Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years
old when the twins were born.
Genesis
25:24-26 NLT
There
aren’t any accounts of the childhood years for the twins.
I imagine there must have been those squabbles most brothers
have, but do you suppose they might have been more intense?
Was there any one tent big enough for the two of them at the
same time? There are indications this may have been the case
because the two of them developed very different interests.
As
the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an
outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring
to stay at home. Genesis 25:27 NLT
There
is nothing wrong with the distinct differences in their personalities.
Wise parents recognize the differences in their children.
There is a big problem, however, in how this plays out in
the dynamics of this covenant family home. Isaac and Rebekah
play favorites with their sons. Isaac loves Esau and Rebekah
loves Jacob. Isaac loves the wild game that Esau brings home
for to eat and Rebekah loves the gentle, helping spirit of
Jacob around the tent. This may have seemed innocently minor
at first, but the winds of favoritism will blow hard against
Esau in the days ahead. Just because Judaism identifies God
as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob doesn’t mean this covenant
family home is exempted from problems. They have big problems
that carry over to the next generation when Jacob gives his
favorite son Joseph a special coat that sets him apart as
a target for his jealous brothers.
Esau’s
Birthright and Perspective
Because
Esau was the eldest son he enjoyed the privilege of the birthright.
We don’t really understand how special this privilege was.
Commentator James Hastings sheds such much needed light on
the subject.
To
the birthright belong pre-eminence over the other branches
of the family. To the birthright appertained a double portion
of the paternal inheritance. To the birthright was attached
the land of Canaan, with all its sacred distinctions. To the
birthright was given the promise of being the ancestor of
the Messiah—the “firstborn among many brethren”—the Saviour
in whom all the families of earth were to be blessed. And
to the birthright was added the honour of receiving first,
from the mouth of the father, a peculiar benediction, which
proceeding from the spirit or prophecy, was never pronounced
in vain. Such were the prospects for Esau.
James Hastings, The Greater Men &
Women of the Bible: Adam – Joseph, p. 451
We
would say that Esau had the world at his doorstep. No one
could stop Esau from enjoying the benefits that went with
having first place in the family. No one could stop him, that
is, except for himself. Do you remember what happens on a
seemingly ordinary day over a seemingly ordinary pot of stew?
Let’s resume the story.
One
day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from
the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m
starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau
got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
“All
right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn
son.”
“Look,
I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright
to me now?”But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your
birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling
all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then
Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal,
then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as
the firstborn. Genesis
25:29-34 NLT
What
is a bowl of stew and a loaf of bread compared to one’s entire
future? To a man like Esau, this one meal was everything.
Esau saw only one thing—his empty stomach and how to satisfy
it. He stands as a visible warning to the dangers of instant
gratification. This account provides a revealing insight into
Esau’s perspective on life and faith. Future, spiritual priorities
were not as important as immediate, physical comforts and
pleasures. Esau becomes the poster boy for godlessness.
Make
sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded
his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.
Hebrews 12:16
NLT
As
Esau cradles his precious bowl of beans, he willingly and
defiantly thumbs his nose at his spiritual inheritance and,
in the process, blasphemes God. This is a dangerous thing
to do. In speaking of the sacrifice of atonement, a differentiation
is made between the person who sins unintentionally and the
one who sins intentionally—like Esau.
One
and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally,
whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien. But anyone
who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes
the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people.
Because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his commands,
that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him. Numbers 15:29-31
NIV
With
this one defiant act, Esau gives away his rightful place to
his brother Jacob.
Esau’s
Struggles and Marriages
It
seems that Isaac was blind to Esau’s apathy toward his birthright.
When Esau began looking for a wife, Isaac again sat quietly,
unaware and uninvolved. Even though Isaac’s father Abraham
had been a tremendous model of a good father when he helped
find Rebekah as a wife for Isaac (see Genesis 24), he gives
Esau no such guidance. As a result Esau brings home not one,
but two ungodly wives.
When
Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women—Judith
daughter of Beeri and Basemath daughter of Elon. These women
brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis
26:34-35 NCV
Why
did Esau marry these women when he was forty? It may be that
he was trying to please his father by marrying at the same
age as he had. But, he failed in his attempts because his
foolish marriages resulted in a tense divide of disappointment
as the daughters-in-laws brought much sorrow. We are left
to imagine all that this communicates, but when you pause
to reflect, you can’t help but feel the pain this brought
to the family.
Esau’s
Relationships And Reactions
Even
though Esau had brought grief to his parents, he has one last
chance to gain their parental favor. Isaac, recognizing that
death is drawing near for him, wants to honor his first-born
son with the parental blessing. This is the crisis point for
Esau—the climactic scene in his story. Will Esau retake first
place? Will he finally make a break through as a winner? The
drama unfolds in four brief scenes.
1st Scene—Genesis 27:1-4
The
now old, weak and blind Isaac calls Esau and instructs him
to go hunting and then prepare the game for him.
Prepare
me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat,
so that I may give you my blessing before I die.
Genesis 27:4 NIV
Esau
jumps at the opportunity to regain his privileged position.
2nd Scene—Genesis 27:5-17
In
a television drama it always seems as though there is someone
standing around the corner to overhear what is thought to
be a private conversation. That’s exactly what happens here.
Rebekah was listening as Isaac gave the instructions to Esau.
She immediately goes to Jacob with a plan to help her favorite
son. She instructs him to bring two choice goats that she
will make to taste like wild game so Isaac will bless Jacob.
Jacob
is concerned about the plan because his skin is so smooth.
All Isaac needs to do is feel his skin and he will know it
isn’t Esau. Like a devious mother in a soap opera Rebekah
is ready for this problem. She will use the skins of the goats
to make his hands and neck feel hairy and Jacob will wear
some of Esau’s clothes so he will smell like he has just returned
from a hunting trip. With the preparation complete, Jacob
picks up the tray and goes to his father.
3rd Scene—Genesis 27:18-29
Jacob
enters the tent. “My father,” he says.
Isaac
may be blind but his hearing is still good. He senses something
is wrong. “Yes, my son. Who is it?”
Jacob
now plays out his part in the deception. “I am Esau your firstborn.
I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of
my game so that you may give me your blessing.”
Isaac
still isn’t sure. “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
Jacob’s
deception deepens as he answers, “The Lord your God gave me
success.”
I
see Isaac freezing for a moment filled with doubt. Then he
says, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether
you really are my son Esau or not.”
Jacob
does as instructed. I think his heart must have been pounding
as Isaac’s fingers inspect his skin. Did he look his father
in the face? Or, did his eyes drop to the ground.
As
his fingers move across the goat skin on Jacob’s hands, Isaac
observes, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands
are the hands of Esau.” Then, with his head cocked as a blind
person does so he can see with his ears Isaac asks, “Are you
really my son Esau?”
The
deception moves to the final stage as Jacob slips his hands
away from his father and says, “I am.”
Isaac
eats the food prepared for him. He calls for his son to come
and kiss him. As Jacob does so, Isaac smells the clothes and,
convinced it is Esau, pronounces his blessing on Jacob. With
the deception complete and the blessing given, Jacob slips
off stage as the fourth and final scene waits to unfold.
4th Scene—Genesis 27:30-40
Esau
returns from a successful hunt convinced that everything is
about to turn around for him. I hear agonized wailing coming
from the tent as first Isaac and then Esau realize the deception
that has taken place. Esau accuses his brother of being well
named because Jacob deceptively gained the blessing. The problem
for Esau is that he accuses Jacob of deceiving him twice.
Esau
said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived
me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken
my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved
any blessing for me?" Genesis
27:36 NIV
Jacob
didn’t take his birthright. Esau foolishly gave it away. Deception
is clearly involved in the second act of making sure the blessing
attached to the birthright has been acquired, but Esau has
no one to blame but himself.
People
are often bothered by the deceptive plot hatched by Rebekah
and Jacob. Certainly the blessing could have been obtained
in some other way. But, it offers evidence to me of how real
the account is. If the writer of Scripture were making up
the story, he would be sure to make God look good in the account.
The story line, however, has God blessing Jacob in spite of
the deception. The people in the story display huge character
flaws but God chooses to bless them anyway. I’m glad because
if God’s blessing required me to be faultless, I would be
in trouble.
Esau
receives what he had chosen for himself. He receives the second
blessing which left him feeling very empty—and angry!
Epilogue—Genesis 27:41-28:9
Esau
determines that once Isaac has died that he will kill Jacob.
Once again Rebekah hears about the plot. She goes to Isaac
using Esau’s wives as the reason why Jacob should be sent
to her brother so that he can marry the right kind of woman.
Isaac agrees, blesses Jacob and sends him on his way.
Esau
makes one last pitiful attempt to save his position in the
family. Once again he makes a thoroughly misguided, foolish
choice. Seeing that the idea of Jacob marrying within the
family pleases his father, he decides to follow the same course.
Finally seeing how displeasing his choice of wives has been
to his parents he marries Mahalath—who is the daughter of
Isaac’s half-brother and long-standing rival Ishmael. Esau
couldn’t have made a worse choice. He is the son who couldn’t
win.
Some Lessons From A Wounded Struggler
This
story is a classic tragedy, but as is the case in all tragedies
there are some lessons that make their way through the smoke
and debris from which we can learn.
Lesson 1: Instant
Gratification Is A Dangerous Reason For Making A Major Decision
All
of Esau’s troubles began when he rashly traded his future
for a bowl of instant gratification. He lived to regret that
decision for the rest of his life. The writer of Hebrews observes,
Look
after each other so that none of you fails to receive the
grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness
grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no
one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright
as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward,
when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It
was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter
tears.
Hebrews 12:15-17 NLT
We
are in danger of making the same mistake. We deceive ourselves
into thinking that just one time won’t really matter that
much. We mistakenly think we can bend the rules—surely God
will understand—and nothing will really change in the long
run. Clearly God is able to turn our messes into His blessings.
He did that for Jacob. From Esau we learn that it just doesn’t
always go that way.
Don’t
make the same mistake. Before you trade your future for instant
gratification let that decision sit on the stove and simmer
for a while. You may find out that what looks so inviting
is really a brewing batch of poison.
Lesson 2: Parental
Favoritism Has A Damaging Effect On The Whole Family
This
story is defined by members of the family taking sides. Esau
being pitted against Jacob and Isaac against Rebekah is a
plot reworked everyday by writers of soap operas. The problem
is that this destructive story line is actually lived out
by families every day. It is so easy to indulge the likable
child and push away the troublesome one.
The Smothers’ Brothers achieved success for their
musical comedy but at the center of everything was the charge
made by Tommy to Dick that, “Mom
always liked you best.” People laughed but that charge was far too real for
many people who felt the pain of being the overlooked child.
The
pain is one that carries through generations. In Genesis it
begins with Isaac being the child of promise for Abraham and
Sarah over Ishmael, it moves to Isaac and Rebekah being split
in their affection for Jacob and Esau, and culminates in Jacob
singling Joseph out as being the most special of his twelve
sons. At each stage the mess gets bigger. As parents we must
seek God’s grace to love and nurture each child equally and
to make repentant changes when we fail.
Lesson 3: Unconditional
Acceptance Is A Longing In The Heart Of Every Child—And No
One Ever Outgrows It
Isaac
took the time to counsel Jacob about choosing the right kind
of woman to marry. He never did that with Esau. As a result
Esau made choices that grieved his parents. At the end of
the story Esau is a disappointment to his father, a failure
to his mother and he is a forty-year-old man still yearning
for the approval of his parents.
Parents,
give your children the unconditional love for which they long.
Take the time to pay attention to the cries that may only
be heard from their hearts. In doing so, you will give and
be the blessing your children need.
Conclusion: Your Heavenly Father Blesses You
You
may never know the blessing of your father or mother. You
can know that blessing of your Heavenly Father. In fact, He
longs to give you His blessing. You can have that blessing
as you come to the Communion Table this morning. You may wonder
if you are acceptable to Him. It is here at this table that
He says to you, “I love you. I’m so glad you are my child.
Come, sit, eat and have fellowship with Me!”
| 