Genesis 25

Sunday Morning Bible Study

May 13, 2007

Introduction

This morning we’re going to be saying goodbye to our old friend Abraham as we see the torch of faith being passed on from one generation to the next.

:1-6 Abraham remarries

:1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Sarah is dead. Abraham is 140 years old and he doesn’t want to live alone. He remarries.

Keturah – Q@tuwrah – “incense”

:2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

There’s an old song we used to sing with the kids, “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham …”

Zimran – Zimran – “musician”

Jokshan – Yoqshan – “snarer”

Medan – M@dan – “contention”

Midian – Midyan – “strife”. He would be the father of the Midianites, Arabs, sometimes the enemies of Israel.

Ishbak – Yishbaq – “he releases”

Shuah – Shuwach – “wealth”

These are names associated with various Arab tribes, a fulfillment of:

(Gen 17:4 NKJV) "…you shall be a father of many nations.”

You might be tempted to look back at the story of Abraham and Sarah and conclude that the whole problem of Sarah getting pregnant was Sarah’s problem. Now Abraham gets remarried and is able to have all these kids. But don’t forget what the Scripture says:

(Rom 4:19 NASB) And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;

What God did to allow Sarah to get pregnant was to give life to both Sarah and Abraham’s bodies. The life that God gave to Abraham’s body seems to have kept going as he fathers six more sons.

:3-4 … grandsons… more descendants…

:3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

Sheba – Sh@ba’ – “seven” or “an oath; a nation in southern Arabia

Dedan – D@dan – “low country; a place in south Arabia

Asshurim – “guided”, “steps”

Letushim – L@tuwshim – “hammered”

Leummim – L@’ummiym – “peoples”

:4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

:5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

:6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

Abraham has the clear understanding that the land of Canaan belonged to Isaac. He loves and takes care of his other sons, but clearly demonstrates that he believes God’s promise about Isaac.

Apparently there are some of the Jews that feel this was a mistake since the Arabs ended up getting all the oil! J

:7-11 Abraham dies

:7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.

:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

gathered to his people – this might be a reference to Abraham going to paradise, but it almost might be a reference to the burial customs of the day. The dead body was placed in a cave until it decomposes, and then the bones would be put into a common pit.

:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,

:10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

Both Isaac and Ishmael participate in the burial of their father. It seems that the two brothers have reconciled.

Isaac would be 75 years old, Ishmael would be 89 years old.

:11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

Beer Lahai Roi – “well of the Living One seeing me”. This was the place where Hagar had been stopped by the angel when she first fled from Abraham and Sarah while she was pregnant with Ishmael. She realized that God had seen her and cared for her.

This appears to be the place where Isaac had been living when the servant Eliezer brought Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24:62).

:12- Ishmael’s lineage

:12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham.

the genealogy – towl@dah – descendants, proceedings, generations, account of men and their descendants

We’ve seen in the book of Genesis that this is more than just a list of the Ishmael’s descendants. This is very likely Ishmael’s own contribution to the record of Genesis. These next few verses are Ishmael’s own account of his family, added to the record by Moses as he compiles the various accounts together.

:13-16 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael

We now get the names and tribes of the Ishmaelites.

:13 … by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

:15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

:16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.

:17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

:18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

Havilah is far to the south, halfway into Arabia. Shur is in the Sinai peninsula.

NOTE: Translation is sometimes a tricky thing. I found at least four different ways (including NKJV) to translate the last phrase, depending on how you translate two of the Hebrew words (“he died” and “in the presence”)

he died – naphal – to fall, to fall (of violent death); to fall prostrate; to settle; to fall upon, attack

in the presence – paniym – face; presence, person; in front of, before

(Gen 25:18 NIV) …And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

(Gen 25:18 NLT) …The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.

(Gen 25:18 NASB) …he settled in defiance of all his relatives.

Even though they’re all a little different, the translations all seem to point to a fulfillment of what the Angel of the Lord told Hagar about Ishmael before he was born:

(Gen 16:12 NKJV) He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

Where did the Angel tell this to Hagar? At Beer Lahai Roi. I think the coincidence of this description of Ishmael with the place Isaac was living at is too much to pass by.

God is not just a God who sees. He is a God who keeps His promises.

:19-26 Isaac’s family

:19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac.

Now we move on to Isaac’s story.

:20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

:21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

It seems that after Isaac and Rebekah got married they had a problem. They couldn’t get pregnant. I imagine Isaac must have been thinking about what his mom and dad went through to get pregnant.

Before you jump to the conclusion that all Isaac had to do was pray in order for Rebekah to get pregnant, we need to do some math. How old was Isaac when he married Rebekah? Forty years old. Look at verse 26 – how old was Isaac when the kids were born? Sixty years old. How long did Isaac pray for his wife? Twenty years.

Lesson

Persistent prayer for problems

We all face problems. The issue is what are you going to do with the problem?

Abraham and Sarah had a unique solution to their infertility – they brought another woman into the marriage. Bad idea.

Isaac now has the same problem, and he prays.

It’s a challenging thing to pray for the same thing over and over again without seeing anything happen. You go through all sorts of inner questions and turmoil. Are you praying for the right thing? Should you quit? Does God even still care?

Isaac continued to pray.

Sometimes as you continue to pray for the same thing, you realize that your motives aren’t right. You’ve been praying for that big promotion, but the more you ask, the more you realize that it’s just about your pride. You’ve been praying for God to change your wife so she’ll stop being a nag about things, when you realize she actually has a point and you’re the one that needs changing.

Isaac continued to pray.

He didn’t give up on his wife just because it seemed like she had a problem. He prayed for her. Does your spouse have a problem???

Isaac prayed until God answered … with twins!

:22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

I hear it isn’t easy being pregnant.

Illustration

CHILDREARING Q&A

Q. Should I have a baby after 35? A. No, 35 children are enough.

Q. I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move? A. With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q. How will I know if my vomiting is morning sickness or the flu? A. If it's the flu, you'll get better.

Q. What is the most common pregnancy craving? A. For men to be the ones who get pregnant.

Q. My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational. A. So what's your question?

Q. My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right? A. Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q. When is the best time to get an epidural? A. Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q. Does pregnancy cause headaches? A. Pregnancy causes anything you want to blame it for.

Rebekah’s “fun” pregnancy - she doen’t have two kids fighting inside her, has “two nations” struggling inside her.

NOTE: Isaac isn’t the only one in the family that prays. So does Rebekah.

:23 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."

God gives Rebekah insight into the future of her sons.

Lesson

Election

There is a doctrine in the Bible called “election”. The idea is that God has chosen us. In fact, the Bible tells us that God chooses us even before we were born.

Now why some folks struggle with this, I simply don’t know. When I was in Jr. High, I went through a batting slump to end all batting slumps. Every time I got up to bat in softball, I struck out. I didn’t hit a single pitch. I’d get up to bat and wondered why I ever bothered. And what was worse came during recess when it was time to pick teams. I rarely got picked anywhere else but last.

So I wonder why people struggle with the idea of election. I kind of like the idea that God picks me. That’s what election is all about, that God picks me. He wants me on His team. That’s supposed to be a good thing.

Paul tells us that the events happening in Isaac and Rebekah’s life are a lesson to us about “election”, the fact that God chooses us before we were even born.

(Rom 9:6-16 NKJV) But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, {7} nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." {8} That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. {9} For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son."

It takes more to be saved than just to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. You must be in the category of the “children of God” and not “children of the flesh”. We’ve already seen in the life of Abraham that Ishmael was the child of the “flesh”, whereas Isaac was the child of “promise”.

{10} And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac {11} (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), {12} it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."

Before Esau or Jacob were born, it was determined that one would be stronger. It was determined by God that the younger one, Jacob, would rule over the older one, Esau. Paul reminds us that this was determined before they had done anything good or evil in their life. It was simply a choice of God.

{13} As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." {14} What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!

This certainly doesn’t seem fair.

{15} For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." {16} So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

There is a sense when it comes to God’s choice that He simply chooses whom He wants to choose. He is God. He has the right to choose.

Here’s how it works: When I finally get to the place where I realize that I need Jesus in my life, I will also be eventually finding out that it was God all along who brought me to that place.

(John 6:44 NKJV) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

(1 John 4:19 NKJV) We love Him because He first loved us.

On the other hand, we often see God’s choice being linked to His “foreknowledge”.

(Rom 8:29 NKJV) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son

It seems that since God knows what is going to happen, He makes His choice based on that knowledge. God knows you will choose Him, and so He chooses you.

So what really came first? Me choosing God or God choosing me? I’m getting a headache.

Are you not yet a Christian? Do you wonder if you are chosen by God?

I only know of one way to find out. You must choose Him. When you open up your heart to Jesus, you will find that God has already chosen you.

(John 6:37 NKJV) "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

:24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

:25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.

Esau – ‘Esav – “hairy”

:26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

heel – ‘aqeb – heel

Jacob – Ya‘aqob – “heel catcher”, it can also be translated “may God protect”

:27-34 Selling the birthright

:27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.

Some take this as if Esau was the “manly man” while Jacob was a “girly man”. I’m not so sure…

mild – tam – perfect, complete. The word is found 13 times in the Old Testament. In the book of Job (7x), Psalms (2x), and Proverbs (1x) it is translated “blameless” every time. It is found twice in the Song of Solomon, where it is translated “perfect”. This is the only place where the word is translated “mild”.

Also, the word “but Jacob” could very easily be translated “and Jacob”, not giving a contrast between Esau and Jacob, but simply a description of them.

It seems to me that this could be translated, “So the boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was a blameless (or perfect) man, dwelling in tents.”

Maybe the translators just have a hard time calling Jacob “perfect” or “blameless”.

It seems that Esau was a guy who liked to sleep under the stars and Jacob slept in a tent. Esau was a hunter, Jacob was a shepherd.

:28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

:29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

:30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom.

Edom – ‘Edom – “red”

:31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day."

birthright – b@kowrah – birthright, it comes from the Hebrew word for “first born”.

The birthright was the place of the “first born”. It meant that when dad died, he’d be the head of the family. It meant that when dad died and the inheritance was divided among the children that the first born got a double portion, twice as much as the other heirs (Deut. 21:17).

Archaeologists have found ancient documents (tablets of Nuzi, northern Iraq) showing that the birthright could actually be sold from one brother to another. A father could also choose to give the birthright to a son other than the firstborn.

:32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?"

Esau is hungry and doesn’t want to wait until he can cook his own food. At that moment, his inheritance didn’t seem so very important. Esau was a man focused on the “now” and not the future.

:33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

:34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

despised – bazah – to despise, hold in contempt, disdain

My question – was there more to the birthright of Esau than just inheriting twice as much gold and property from his pop?

There would be a spiritual aspect for Jacob and Esau because they were in the line of Abraham and Isaac. Look at the inheritance of Abraham:

(Gen 15:1 NKJV) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

God is part of the inheritance.

Note: Even though Abraham gave gifts to his other sons, the bulk of the inheritance went to Isaac:

(Gen 25:5 NKJV) And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

It’s into this family that Esau and Jacob are born, and Esau has this incredible privilege and spiritual heritage as the firstborn son in the family of God.

Lesson

Your inheritance

What kind of inheritance are we leaving for our kids?

The world says, “Don’t force your religion on your kids, let them make up their own mind.”

Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

But that privilege didn’t mean much to him.

Illustration

In His Mother's Steps

Davida Dalton writes: It was a busy day in our Costa Mesa, California home. But then, with 10 children and one on the way, every day was a bit hectic. On this particular day, however, I was having trouble doing even routine chores-all because of one little boy. Len, who was three at the time, was on my heels no matter where I went. Whenever I stopped to do something and turned back around, I would trip over him. Several times, I patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied. "Wouldn't you like to play on the swing set?" I asked again. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, "Oh, that's all right, Mommy. I'd rather be in here with you." Then he continued to bounce happily along behind me. After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, I began to lose my patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When I asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at me with sweet green eves and said, "Well, Mommy, in preschool my teacher told me to walk in Jesus' footsteps. But I can't see him, so I'm walking in yours."

Lesson

Trading the birthright

The writer of Hebrews warns us:

(Heb 12:16 NKJV) lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Esau is the person who only lives for the moment. All he cares about is filling that craving inside of him. He’s the person who doesn’t care his future, just as long as he can get another high.

Seeing my inheritance is in Jesus, have I been willing to sacrifice my birthright for a bowl of stew?

Samson had a great heritage, but he traded it all in for sex.

Judas betrayed Jesus for just thirty pieces of silver.

Do I see the bigger picture? Am I living my life for the short-term or am I aiming at the long term? Am I living my life for success in this life, or success in heaven?