06 TOL'DOTE (Generations) Gen 25:19-28:9 Mat 13&14

[Bruce Bertram]

In this section of our dear Father's Word we hear of the birth of Jacob and Esau. When the boys are grown Esau trades his birthright (to inherit first and a double portion usually) to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Isaac is told by God not to go down to Egypt (there was a famine that led Isaac to consider this), and in a very key passage (26:4,5) tells Isaac that He will bless Isaac and Isaac's descendants. The promise of God is given to Isaac (not Ishmael) and is said by God to be due to the fact that Abraham obeyed God and kept God's "charge," His "commandments," and His "statutes." A very strong indication that God's Laws later given at Sinai were in effect way before Israel left captivity in Egypt. Isaac also repeats the mistake of Abraham in calling his wife his sister and reopens a group of wells that were originally dug by Abraham and had been filled in. Esau brings grief to Isaac and Rebekah by marrying Hittite women (from Canaan the son of Ham) see also Genesis 36:2.

This is also the section that speaks of Jacob 'stealing' the blessing that many suppose was supposed to belong to Esau. However, it seems that what really happened is that since Jacob had 'purchased' the birthright (including the blessing) from Esau for a bowl of stew, it is more probable that Jacob was simply ensuring that he would get what he paid for. Perhaps Isaac was determined to give the blessing to Esau in spite of the low regard in which Esau held his birthright. In any event, the blessing would've gone to Jacob anyway ("Jacob have I loved, but Esau I hated") because God would've seen to it that it went to Jacob without trickery on the part of Rebekah or Jacob.

In the Matthew section, Jesus explains why He speaks in parables, then tells a fairly long parable of four different types of ground, along with an explanation. This is followed by a series of parables describing what the kingdom of God is like. In chapter 14, we find out what happened to John the Baptist, we see the feeding of the 5,000, and Peter doesn't walk on water too well.

Shalom

[Bruce Bertram]

Tol’dote; Genesis 25:19-28:9; Malachi 1:1-2:7; Matthew 13 and 14; Romans 9:6-16; Hebrews 11:20; 12:14-17

3“Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4“I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” (Genesis 26:3-5 NASB95)

These few verses are a continuation of God’s promise first stated in Genesis 3:15. Abraham, and now Isaac, is singled out as branch of humanity from whom the seed of the woman, or the Messiah, will come. The key is verse 4, where God says that through Isaac’s descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This blessing is none other than the seed of the woman, Messiah, God with Us, Jesus the Christ.

Remember, pretty much everything in the Word happens against the backdrop of the promise. The Fall was a huge event that shattered paradise and the intimacy with Him that God had created; healing that fracture and restoring the intimacy is really the only important thing in the whole of the Word. God chooses a person or a people because He is, at least in part, blessing them by inclusion in the delivery of this promise. Israel is not only built up but also delivered through and because of the promised Messiah. The prophets speak of the promised Messiah and His kingdom constantly, and remind people of man’s part in this kingdom, which is to live by all the words that proceed from the mouth of God. The apostles were blessed by being around to see part of the realization of the kingdom Promise in living Technicolor right in front of them. Jesus tells them:

16“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:16-17 NASB95)

Living by His Law is the reason Abraham was chosen, Isaac was also obedient, and soon we will see that Jacob also does what his God tells him to do. It is not enough to know what is right; God requires that we do what is right also.

The promise given to Isaac is in turn passed on to Jacob.

3“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4“May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.” (Genesis 28:3-4 NASB95)

In some ways Jacob seems to be kind of a slippery person. I’ve heard sermons given where Jacob is painted as kind of a sleazeball trickster, who pulls a fast one first on Esau, his brother, to get the birthright (inheriting as the oldest), then on Isaac to ‘steal’ the blessing from Esau. Partly this comes from his name (it means ‘he supplants’) and part from events that surround him. I’ve thought he was a trickster too in previous readings of this section. This might be true, in some ways, but if so it seems to be par for the course for people in general and at that time in particular. Abraham and Isaac both play fast and loose with the truth when needed, and Rebecca is really the one who concocts the plan for Jacob to get the blessing. So in this reading I experienced a shift in my perception.

Instead of seeing Jacob as a tricky person because of extorting the purchase of the birthright from Esau, or dressing to fool Isaac, an alternate understanding could be that Isaac was trying to correct the problem of Esau and the sale of the birthright. By giving the blessing to Esau instead of Jacob, Isaac could either balance out or circumvent the sale and give his favorite son first place again. If this is true (and the text isn’t really clear) it sure puts a different spin on things. Seen this way, Rebecca was just trying to keep the blessing where it was supposed to go, that is, with her favorite son Jacob. Jacob was seemingly reluctant to go along with the program, but in obedience to his mother finally goes through with it.

Continuing in this line of thinking, Isaac seems to be trying to go around God and award Abraham’s blessing to a person that he felt deserved it, rather than asking God and putting things where He wanted. It wasn’t trickery on the part of Jacob and Rebecca to make sure that Isaac played fair. One of the major factors that caused me to rethink this passage is that God will confirm the blessing to Jacob in the next section of our reading cycle (peeking ahead a little). Does God do this in approval of the trickery? I think not. God does this because it is His choice to do so, and it was His choice from the beginning.

6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 9For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” 10And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” 13Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.” 14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. (Romans 9:6-16 NASB95)

God chose Jacob, but Jacob also responded to God. He was obedient to his parents, and we might even be able to see (even though not specifically mentioned in the text) that he bought the birthright because he wanted it and he saw that Esau didn’t care. Jacob might actually have seen the value in receiving the blessing of the promise and the kingdom, whereas Esau didn’t. Not everyone can see this promise or kingdom, nor recognize the King.

11Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. (Matthew 13:11-12 NASB95)

Jesus gives us a further example of people who see the kingdom and recognize the seed and people who don’t. The parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23) shows us that there are at least four kinds of people (I’m sure with graduations in between, too) in the world, three of whom either won’t receive or won’t hold onto God’s Word so that the Seed of the Woman and Kingdom of God can take root in them along with one type that does receive. Jacob seems to be one of those that receives (even though God also chooses), and Esau kind of summarizes those types of people who refuse to allow the seed to take root. For another example of those who refuse the seed and the kingdom see Matthew 13:53-58. At first we might think that it is simply a matter of misunderstanding on the part of those who won’t receive the seed.

14“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ (Matthew 13:14-15 NASB95)

But the emphasis is not on the brain, it is on the heart. It’s not a simple mistake of understanding that causes people to refuse the seed, but deliberately closing the eyes and blocking the ears. Hearing and seeing means not only that sound and light waves impact the senses, but that there is a response in the form of fruit (in the parable of the sower) or doing what God says.

41“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41-42 NASB95)

With these verses Jesus informs us that those who don’t hear and see are those who commit lawlessness; that is, living without following His laws in the same way as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hearing and seeing, and responding to what is seen and heard, is why God is pleased to call Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God sows the Word, and He chooses some to come into the kingdom, but people respond according to the condition of the heart. This is one of the mysteries of the kingdom; that some people refuse in spite of having eyes and ears.

Shalom

[Bruce Bertram]

Read Genesis 25:19 - 28:9; Malachi 1:1 - 2:7; Matthew 13 and 14; Romans 9:6-16; Hebrews 11:20; 12:14-17

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’ ” Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!” (Malachi 1:2–5, ESV)

God loved Jacob, but hated Esau. This doesn’t mean that God was more emotionally involved with Jacob or something. Love and hate are action words, not feeling words. Feelings can be (and usually are) included, but the words are primarily action words. To love is to act for the benefit of someone. Hate is withholding action to benefit, or even acting against someone’s benefit. God can act to benefit us, or He can withhold His benefit.

Every person born starts off with a full slate of benefits from God. We are born into this beautiful, marvelous creation and given the opportunity to have a relationship with the Creator. True, we have a curse to struggle under, but He also gives us the tools to overcome. Recognizing His love, and responding in love, is the desired goal. People, sadly, don’t always respond with love. Esau, for instance, seemed to go out of His way to do the opposite of what God wanted, as well as irritating his parents and his brother. So did God act against Esau from the start, or did Esau act against God after receiving the many good things God gave him? I think obviously the latter.

God made a nation out of Esau (Edom), so it isn’t as if God was hammering him all the time. But they were pretty much servants of Israel (as the blessing of Isaac foretold) and had a hard time of it throughout most of Scripture (through their own doing).

Esau does things that show his true colors. He sells his birthright for cheap. He tries to steal the firstborn’s blessing (which he traded away) by trading it for some food. Rebecca has to short circuit his theft by some counter trickery of her own. Esau marries women that his parents don’t approve of (Genesis 26:34-35). He sort of makes up with his brother (Genesis 33:4) but from Jacob’s viewpoint it was really touch-and-go. Later, Esau’s descendants stay in character, and do things like refuse to let Israel go through their land during the Exodus (Numbers 20:14-21). Sometimes they cooperate with Israel (2 Kings 3) and other times they league with other nations to attack Israel (2 Chronicles 20:2). As a rule they were a pagan nation, and caused Israel to falter in idolatry (2 Chronicles 25:20). Edom ends up serving Israel (1 Chronicles 18) as the prophecy said (Genesis 25:23) but they also revolt (2 Chronicles 21:8). Esau’s kingdom (Edom) lasted for a while (from the time of Jacob through most of the prophets, maybe seven or eight hundred years) but was eventually conquered and dispersed.

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” (Amos 1:11–12, ESV)

Loving Jacob means that God chose him for reasons of His own and did things to specifically assist him. Jacob responded by acknowledging God, seeking Him out, and doing what He commanded. At first God assisted Esau, and even allowed him to be the head of a nation (probably a side benefit of being Abraham’s descendant – you know, blessing the nations). But God did not continue to assist Esau (hating him - our Malachi reference above). He lay waste the hill country where Esau’s nation lived and left his heritage to the jackals of the desert.

For being hated by God, Esau and Edom sure had a lot of good things from Him. But they didn’t respond with a return love. God is a gracious God, and His first preference is to love people. But that love does not continue to flow if we hate Him. God defines for us what it means to love Him.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. (Deuteronomy 7:9–11, ESV)

Too often the human version of love means nothing more than expressing a sentiment or feeling. Like the guy in the TV commercial who says he loves his friend so he can get a Bud Light. Loving God requires something more. It requires actions that are in keeping with love. God’s law provides the framework for living out love, and teaching us to love God and each other. Love depends on how we act with Him. Do we love God? Do we conform ourselves to His will, which by definition is love itself? Do we follow everything God says, every word that proceeds out of His mouth?

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21, ESV)

Hating God means refusing to do what He says. Loving God means to obey. We get a classic lesson on hate/love by seeing what happens with Esau and Jacob. Esau goes one way, Jacob goes the other. Esau takes what God gives him and gives nothing back. Jacob takes what God gives him and gives it back to God. Esau has fruit (descendants), but doesn’t last. Jacob’s fruit is with us even today. People who hate fade away, those who love are established. God eliminates hate, by hating it. He causes love to grow by loving those who love Him.

So, which way do you want to go?

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3, ESV)

Shalom
Bruce