Hello, welcome to Bible Wisdom Today, for those willing to think deeply. My name is Stan 

What is your favorite way to relax?

One of my favorite forms of relaxation is watching an hour of crime drama at the end of a busy day. 

I know that some may question that choice. “Why would you watch such darkness? Doesn’t it weigh you down?” Well, sometimes it can be incredibly dark. Even though the plot lines and characters are different, I often come to the same conclusion: there is no end of ways that we can screw up our lives.

At times, I feel like these dramas of human failing are an unintended sermon for me. They are modern day retellings of the stories of Genesis. Throughout Genesis we hear the repeated drumbeat of human rebellion, as individuals try to design their own preferred future. We also see another force, a stronger force: the reaching out of the heart of God. Despite human failing, revolt, and apathy, God never gives up. He continues to reach out in love and patience. The tension between these uneven forces drives the story of the Bible. The comforting truth is that God is smart enough and patient enough to overcome our short-sighted desires and manipulative schemes.

These stories of Genesis are not just ancient campfire tales. We can see this dynamic repeated in our own lives as well. God never takes 'No' for an answer. Our resistance is not the end of the conversation, but only the starting point where God pursues his purpose in our lives. There is no end to the ways we can screw up our lives, but there is also no end to God’s relentless grace.

The Big Picture View of Genesis

Today, we finally conclude the story of Abraham and turn the page to the next chapter in the Bible’s story. Our author indicates this movement in Genesis 25 verse 19, “This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.” These opening words, “this is the account,” is a recurring refrain that introduces each separate narrative section of the book, dividing Genesis into 10 sections. The primary noun, translated here as “account,” is the Hebrew word toledot, which is derived from the verb meaning “to give birth.” As a noun it is translated by various translations as “generations,” “account,” “history,” or “family history.” In some cases, what immediately follows this announcement is a genealogy, where the word “generations” makes sense. In other places, this introductory formula is followed by a story, and translators sometimes render it differently in those places. This variety of translations, however, obscures the consistent use in Hebrew which draws attention to the structure of the book. The New International Version uses a uniform translation, “This is the account.” 

This change from one section of Genesis to the next provides a good opportunity for us to review where we have been and look forward to what is yet to come. When we take a bird’s eye view of Genesis, we see that there are five sections which tell the human story before Abraham and five sections which tell the story of Abraham and his descendants. All these sections except the first one are named for an individual character but then tell the story of those who came after him. We just finished the toledot section of Terah, which tells the story of Abraham. The next section was named for Ishmael and gives a brief record of his children, and now we come to the toledot of Isaac, which is mostly about his son, Jacob. Still to come will be the toledot of Jacob’s brother Esau, giving his genealogy briefly, then Genesis concludes with the Jacob section, recalling the story of Jacob’s children, particularly Joseph.

In each of these sections, we find the dynamic tension between these two forces, the reaching out of the heart of God and the rebellion of the heart of humanity. We see God carrying forward his purpose for humanity, narrowing the focus from all humanity down to one chosen man, whose descendants will bring God’s blessing to all humankind. Simultaneously we read the record of human disobedience, murder, pride and schemes. In this toledot of Isaac we will see Jacob’s tumultuous life, his scheming character, and the poetic justice he reaps in the home of his crafty father-in-law. Throughout, God continues working so that things turn out the way he intended all along. 

God works out his purpose despite Rebekah’s misery

We begin with the story of how God works out his purpose through Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, despite her misery

Let me read from Genesis 25, beginning in verse 19.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 
 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 
 The LORD said to her,
 “Two nations are in your womb,
 and two peoples from within you will be separated;
 one people will be stronger than the other,
 and the older will serve the younger. ”
 Genesis 25:19-23

It is the pattern in Genesis for the author to begin each new toledot section with a quick look back at the previous section He does that here with a reference to Isaac’s father, Abraham, and a quick retelling of his marriage to Rebekah.

We learn first that Rebekah is childless. She had left her family home with their blessing ringing in her ears, “may you increase to thousands upon thousands” (24:60), but now, she would be satisfied with just one child. Residing in the tent of Sarah, she shared her mother-in-law’s personal misery. One thing she did have, though, was a husband who prayed for her. God answered his prayer and Rebekah’s outlook brightened. We read later that Rebekah gave birth 20 years after their marriage. Rebekah’s childlessness was a long-term feature of their marriage.

The two parents must have been overjoyed at the impending birth, but that joy was short lived. Rebekah traded her misery of childlessness for the misery of pregnancy. The narrator tells us that the babies jostled each other within her. This is his way of telling us that she had a multiple pregnancy. The word “jostled” is stronger than the English word might indicate. The twins inside struggled violently, they smashed and crushed each other. This suggests that Rebekah suffered great pain, to the point that she wondered if there was any point to continue living. 

Rebekah responded appropriately, however. She went to inquire of the LORD. There is nothing said here to point to the strange divination practices of the nations around. We do not even read that she went to inquire of a prophet, which became the standard practice in Israel’s later history. Rather, it seems that she inquired of the LORD directly. We do not know what Rebekah said to God, but we do read what said to her. Its meaning is not totally clear, but God does make clear that she has two babies within who will become two nations. One will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger.

Rebekah does not question the oracle of God. She seemed content enough with God’s explanation that she could endure her painful pregnancy, but this struggle in the womb was a sign of further struggle to come. Why would God choose the younger one for prominence, in opposition to the culture of first-born privilege? How would that come about?

Let’s read further, beginning in verse 24:

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
Genesis 25:24-26

From the day of their birth, the oracle of God begins to be fulfilled. The first twin is born red and hairy. The Hebrew word for “red” sounds similar to Esau’s alternate name, Edom, and “hairy” sounds like the name of his eventual home, Seir. Meanwhile, the etymology of the name Esau is uncertain. The author’s wordplays are not only clever, but they suggest cultural bias against this firstborn from the beginning. Being a hairy man marked Esau as a wild man, outside the ordered domestic life in the tents of the patriarchs, and driven by primal, physical appetites and immediate gratification. 

Esau’s twin brother couldn’t have been more different. When Jacob is born the author continues his wordplay. Jacob enters the world on his brother’s heel—literally. He is born grasping Esau’s heel, so he is named “heel grabber.” Beyond its obvious meaning, this also was a well-known idiom. If you grabbed someone by the heel you could overthrew them. From his infancy, Jacob was known as a someone who would gain his footing in life by tripping up others to get ahead. Jacob was a deceiver.

These twins were not identical; they did not share a special bond or a secret language. Esau is born looking like his destiny—rugged and uncivilized. Jacob is born acting like his destiny, grasping and scheming from his first breath. From the moment of their birth, God’s plan for these two was already in motion.

Years of sterility and a miserable pregnancy had appeared to threaten God’s promise of a vast lineage, but God never takes ‘No’ for an answer. Despite Rebakah’s years of misery, God sovereignly chooses the younger to carry forward his program of blessing.

God works out His purpose despite the twin’s rivalry

As they grew, the twins’ individual characteristics became even more obvious, but God continued to work out His purpose, despite their rivalry. I will read again, beginning in Genesis 25:24.

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 
 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) 
 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright. ”
 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
 So Esau despised his birthright.
 Genesis 25:27-34

Esau became a hunter, which really pleased his father, since he had a taste for wild game. Jacob, on the other hand, was happy to live among the tents. He was destined to become a herdsman, like his father and grandfather. Though they came from the same womb, these boys lived worlds apart. In addition to their innate differences, there also was obvious parental favoritism, which sets up the dynamic for serious family conflict. 

The author’s word-play continues to add extra layers of meaning to the scene beside the cooking fire. Jacob was cooking stew. The basic meaning of this verb is simply “to cook,” but a secondary meaning is “to become heated” emotionally or even “premeditated malice.” We even see this sort of double meaning in English. The older meaning of the word “seethe” is simply “to boil” but that meaning has mostly dropped away. Today we speak of someone “seething in anger.” They are silently suppressing their anger, but it is in danger of boiling over at any moment. This was the case with Jacob. He was boiling in anger, not only cooking up a meal, but cooking up a way to trick his brother.

Esau arrives home, exhausted and famished. His language is coarse, animalistic. When he says, “Let me have some of that red stew,” he uses an uncommon Hebrew word that completely strips away his human dignity. The classic rabbinic commentary on this verse[1]  relates this word to the force feeding of animals. Esau gasps breathlessly, uncouthly, “Quick! Let me open my mouth wide so you can pour in some of that red stuff!”

Jacob was quite willing to provide food for Esau—but at a price. A price he had already calculated. “First sell me your birthright.” Jacob does not offer his brother a gift or even basic hospitality. Instead, he uses the formal term, sell, referring to a legal commercial transaction. His brother’s hunger is not a call to compassion, but an invitation to exploitation.

Jacob’s use of the additional word “first” suggests premeditation. He had already planned out this exchange, waiting for the right moment. Had he heard from his mother that he was chosen by God for preeminence before they were born? Or is Jacob simply acting in complete ignorance for his own benefit, but yet working out the purposes of God? One thing that is for sure. Jacob speaks from a position of strength. Esau was in need, “Please, let me have some of that stew.” Jacob’s tone, however, is aggressive, dictating the terms so he can get his hands on his brother’s birthright.

In Ancient Near Eastern custom, the first-born son was considered the first fruits of his father’s strength. This brought considerable financial advantage, since the first-born received a given a double portion of the inheritance when his father died. This was the portion of his inheritance that Esau sold to Jacob, but there also was a second part of the first-born’s rights. That was not financial but positional. Typically, upon the father’s death, the oldest son became the patriarchal head of the clan, the chief executor of the estate, and master over his siblings. This positional transfer was signified with a patriarchal blessing, the father’s death-bed wish. As we will see later, Jacob intends to have his father’s blessing as well.

Esau exaggerates both his hunger and his imminent death. “Look, I am about to die.” This is similar to our idiom, “I’m starving to death.” We seldom are. Then Esau continued with the obvious question, “what good is the birthright to me?”

“Swear to me first,” Jacob replied, curtly. His words were cold, calculating, intent on cashing in on his brother’s foolishness. Jacob knew that a nod and a handshake would not do. He enforced a formal oath. Only after Esau’s formal oath did Jacob feed him. Jacob’s actions were entirely legal, but deeply unbrotherly.

After Esau’s oath, the Hebrew text ends with five unmodified Hebrew verbs, delivered in rapid staccato rhythm. English translations add minor connecting words to smooth out the prose but the original text says simply:

“ate…drank…rose…went…despised.”

This final word relays the evaluation of the narrator. “Esau despised his birthright. It is extremely rare to find explicit moral commentary in Hebrew narrative. But what about Jacob who despised his brother? The narrator does not offer his explicit judgment here, but he does not let Jacob get away unmarked. He tells a decades-long story of retribution for Jacob, implicitly indicting his actions.

Jacob thought he was being clever, but God had already declared that the older would serve the younger. His grasping was unnecessary to secure what God had already intended. Similarly, Esau showed profane apathy toward the promised inheritance of God. He was willing to give it all away for a bowl of lentils. In their rivalry, these two brothers worked toward the same end, to create a future of their own design, but God never takes ‘No’ for an answer. Their selfish motivations could not derail the decree of God.

God works out His purpose despite Isaac’s fear

As we turn to Genesis 26, we begin the only chapter dedicated completely to the actions of Isaac. Although this section of Genesis is called, “The account of Isaac,” the subject is really Isaac’s son, Jacob. At first, this chapter seems out of place between the story of Jacob’s exploitation of his brother and the following story in chapter 27 or Jacob’s deception of his father, but we will see a strong theme of deception in this also. Just like the temperament of Esau and Jacob opposed the purpose of God, Isaac’s character threatens to unravel God’s plans as well.

Let me read Genesis 26: 1-6.

Now there was a famine in the land —besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions. ” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
 Genesis 26:1-6

Our previous story about Jacob and Esau ended with a bowl of stew. This story begins with a famine. The narrator is careful to point out that this is not the same famine from Abraham’s time, although there will be some similarity in the characters and their actions. Abraham had lived through two famines. During the first he moved to Egypt; during the second he moved to Gerar, a city on the southern border with Canaan, the last way station before beginning the desert trek toward Egypt. Now, God tells Isaac specifically not to go to Egypt, so Isaac made his temporary home in Gerar. There Isaac met the Philistine king of the city named Abimelech. A king with the same name featured in Abraham’s story, but this is probably a different person, perhaps his son, since this is at least 75 years later. Abimelech must have been a throne name, like Pharaoh, since several hundred years later, the fugitive David spends time in another Philistine city ruled by another King Abimelech[2].

God takes the occasion of famine and Isaac’s migration to reconfirm his covenant directly with Isaac. These verses alternate between the past and the future, representing a profound theological truth. Abraham’s death does not require a new covenant, simply the continuation of the original and its fulfillment.

God’s words here sound much like God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 22, after his faithful obedience in offering Isaac. That is the only occurrence where his promise is referred to as an oath, like here. The reason God would bless Isaac is because He had sworn an oath to Abraham and because Abraham had obeyed. Isaac had witnessed that obedience up close and personally. In this way, God encourages Isaac to live up to the same standard of obedience and pass on this legacy to his descendants.

Part of God’s promised blessing was that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants, but now Isaac’s actions nearly bring judgment on one nation, the Philistines of Gerar. Let me read that part of the story, beginning in verse 7.

When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister, ” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? ”
 Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
 Genesis 26:8-11

A simple conversation with the townspeople becomes a discussion of the beautiful Rebekah. The citizens are not specifically threatening her, but Isaac feels threatened. He resorts to deception like his father, “She is my sister.”

Most scholars take the three wife/sister narratives in Genesis as variants of one single tradition, but an increasing number of scholars have begun to treat them as unique stories containing common ideas. This episode refers specifically to the previous occasion with Abraham. The fact that Isaac lived in Gerar a long time indicates that Rebekah was not really as threatened as Isaac imagined. Unlike Sarah, who was taken into the king’s household, Rebekah remained safe. Like his son, Isaac’s deceit was unnecessary.

Abimelech discovered the truth by accident, unlike the Egyptian Pharaoh and the earlier Abimelech who found the truth about Sarah through divine revelation. The New International Version says that he “looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife, Rebekah.” Other translations will say something similar, indicating a level of physical intimacy beyond a brother and sister.

In seeking his own safety, Isaac had put the entire city in jeopardy of retribution. Abimelech understood this when he said, “You would have brought guilt upon us.” Throughout the cultures surrounding the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, adultery was considered a great sin, in a category of its own. Not only was it a personal offense but a religious violation, incurring a divine penalty on the entire city. Abimelech’s kingdom already had experience with another Hebrew trying this same ruse and bringing a real physical plague from God on the royal house. 

Isaac stood before the discerning king, accused and convicted. His fear had placed this foreign nation in danger of retribution. Where was God’s promise that Abraham’s family would be a blessing to the nations? 

God protected Abimelech from guilt and God protected Isaac from the consequences of his lie. Further he blessed Isaac, as we read in verse 12, “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.” The famine was still raging beyond the region of Gerar, but Isaac, now turned farmer, brought in a bountiful crop

Isaac’s fear and deception threatened to derail God’s promise of blessing, but God refused to take ‘No’ for an answer. He not only protected Isaac; He blessed him a hundredfold right in the middle of a famine.

God works out His purpose despite the Philistines envy

Let me pick up the story where we left off in Genesis 26:12.

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us. ”
 Genesis 26:12-16

When an outsider moves in and prospers, the local citizens often feel resentment. The Philistines envied Isaac. Isaac prospered in two ways, as a farmer and as a herdsman. In the process he also accumulated a sizeable workforce. The people of Gerar resorted to vandalism to motivate Isaac to leave. Abraham’s previous water rights seem forgotten. Wells were essential for Isaac to water his crops as well as his livestock.

Interestingly, it is Isaac’s prosperity, not his deception, that made him unwelcome to Abimelech. “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” This story of Isaac the patriarch surely encouraged a later generation of Israelites who had been feared in Egypt, then expelled.

“So,” we read further…

 Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
 Genesis 26:17-22

Isaac does not flee immediately to his homeland. Rather, he voluntarily relocates nearby, to the valley of Gerar, whose waterway varies from a deep stream to a completely dry creekbed, depending on the amount of rain.

To his credit, Isaac, does not respond in anger, but quietly goes about redigging and reopening the wells his father had dug but later had been filled in. Renaming them the same names as his father was his way of reclaiming ownership over them. Isaac clearly knew the names and locations of his father’s wells. This was essential knowledge in that dry environment.

In addition to reopening old wells, Isaac’s servants also dig three new ones. Isaac gives a name to each. The first two were named “challenge” and “opposition,” but the third was named positively, “open spaces.” God has not forgotten his promise of blessing. The Israelites in the wilderness would again identify with Isaac, constantly moving to find water. Would God watch over them also?

Finally, Isaac moves farther away to Beersheba, where his father had established his secondary outpost. While Gerar is located below Canaan to the southwest; Beersheba is set on Canaan’s border to the southeast. Let me read from verse 23 onwards.

From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 
 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. 
 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away? ”
 They answered, “We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the LORD.” 
 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.
 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba
 Genesis 26:23-33

When Isaac first married Rebekah, we were told that he was making his home in Beersheba (Gen. 25:11). Since the famine is presumably over, Isaac now returns home. The first night home, God appeared to him. He reaffirms with Isaac his promise to Abraham. Isaac’s response is to build an altar. His servant’s’ response is to dig another well.

King Abimelech now visits Isaac at his home in Beersheba. If Isaac’s heart sank at the prospect of another confrontation, he certainly did not show it. “Why have you come to visit me? You don’t even like me. Last time you sent me away?”

Abimelech responds, “We see how much the LORD is with you. There should be an agreement between us. Let’s make a treaty that you will do us no harm, just like we also treated you well and sent you away peacefully.” Hmm, that last part was not strictly true, but still there were good reasons on both sides to make peace.

Isaac prepared a feast and the next morning they swore an oath to each other. That same day, Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, and Isaac gave this new well the same name as his father’s well, Oath. Now there were two reasons for the name Beersheba, the well of the oath. One for the oath between Abraham and Abimelech and one for the oath between Isaac and Abimelech. 

The Philistines envied Isaac’s wealth and opposed him at every turn, refilling Abraham’s wells with dirt and forcing Isaac to retreat further into the wilderness. But this was not the end of God’s promise to Isaac. Despite the Philistines envy, God would not take ‘No’ for an answer. He made room in the desert, guided his servants to find water, and turned a pagan king into a witness to God’s blessing.

Final comments

Today we have seen a variety of ways in which circumstances and choices threatened God’s purposes. Rebekah’s sterility and end

 pregnancy jeopardized the vast lineage God had promised. Jacob’s scheming only supported the choice God had already made to continue his plan through Jacob. Isaac’s fear and duplicity risked upending God’s blessing to the nations and the Philistines envy endangered Isaac’s very life. Throughout, God never allowed human actions to disrupt his plan. This is a word of encouragement to us. We may intentionally rebel against God or foolishly ignore His way, but God will ultimately use our actions to produce His good purpose. As you look at your own life right now, are you trying to design your own outcomes? Are you letting fear dictate your choices? The comfort of Genesis is that even when we push back, God refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer. There is no end to the ways we can screw up our lives, but there is also no end to God’s relentless grace.

In our next episode, we again join Jacob, as he completes his takeover of all the rights of the first-born, deceiving his aged, blind father to give him the patriarchal blessing. You won’t want to miss this story of conniving and immediate justice.

Speaking of not missing an episode, did you know that you can receive an alert whenever a new episode is available? Simply go to the podcast web page, biblewisdomtoday.com/newsletter. By providing your name and email you will receive automated alerts to new episodes and the occasional newsletter. Thank you for being part of this Bible Wisdom Today family!

[1] Genesis Rabbah 63:12
[2] See the superscription (title) of Psalm 34