July 14, 2024
Anything but Ordinary
“The Birth of Jacob and Esau”
Genesis 25: 19-34
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Genesis 25: 19-34
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other; the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
The Birth of Jacob and Esau Gen 25: 19-34
We had hoped things would be different for the next generation, but we soon discovered that it is not. Again, as readers we are told that the continuation of the promise is in danger. Ironically, because there is no child, just as there was no child for Abraham and Sarah. And like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac takes matters into his own hands, this time, thankfully praying to God instead of taking a handmaiden to see if she will bear the child. As readers we are told that God heard Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah conceived.
But unlike before when we had to wait for the birth of the child to know what would happen next, God tells Rebekah the plan. God lets Rebekah know that she is having a difficult pregnancy because she has two nations, warring inside her womb, that the older will serve the younger, giving us as readers a glimpse of what is to come for the next generation.
Then as readers, we get the most unflattering story of the children’s birth. We are told that one came out all red and hairy and the other came out gripping the first one’s heel, all of which would shape the children’s names. One is named Esau which means hairy and the other is named Jacob which means heel. The same root of this name can also mean “to supplant” or “to cheat.”, again giving us a glimpse of what is to come.
Next, we are told that the boys grew up, Isaac favoring Esau because he liked meat and Rebekah loved Jacob. Then after all this, we get this weird story about Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, and the story ends with the phrase: “Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
As readers, from beginning to end, in just these few verses, we have been on an emotional roller coaster and at the end of the text, as readers, we are still trying to figure out what is going on. We are still trying to figure out what any of this tells us about our God who is anything but ordinary.
And I’m going to tell you that is exactly the point…This story reminds us once again that as people of faith, there are no guaranteed perfect endings. This story reminds us that as people of faith that just because the promise was fulfilled in one generation doesn’t mean that there won’t be issues with the continuation of the promise for the next. This story reminds us as people of faith that human relationships are complicated. This story reminds us as people of faith that we as individuals, that the people we encounter are more than one facet of our character. This story reminds us as people of faith that things are not always what they seem. But most importantly, this story reminds us as people of faith that more often than we would like to admit, we allow outside influences like power, like rivalry, like unrealistic expectations, to shape our narrative, to shape the narrative. We allow outside influences like power, like rivalry, like unrealistic expectations to confuse our narrative, to confuse the narrative. This story reminds us that as people of faith we allow outside influences like power, like rivalry, like unrealistic expectations to unfortunately distract us from our narrative, to distract us from THE narrative, and in doing so we create more brokenness in the world rather than bringing about healing and wholeness for all of God’s people.
What I mean by this is that it is easy for us to sit here some two thousand years later and say, well what Jacob did was wrong. We knew he was going to be a bad person from the very beginning. He came out gripping his brother’s heel. That just goes to show he had plans to take over from the beginning. See, Jacob took advantage of his brother who was hungry and took what he wanted. Poor Esau.
Poor Esau…Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew?! The very thing which would shape his future, which would recognize him formally as the firstborn, he sold it for some stew because he was hungry, not dying of starvation. Esau had only been out in the fields, not gone for 40 days. So this birthright must not have been that important to him in the first place if that was all it was worth to him…a bowl of stew because he was hungry.
But you see, that’s the point. The author is playing on our preconceived notions of power, of right and wrong, of sibling rivalry, whether it’s real or imagined. The author is using all of it to show us, to remind us of the complexities of relationships, to show us how easily we can be, how easily we are swayed by outside influences when we allow them to shape our narrative, to shape THE Narrative.
Just look around us. All we have to do is look at current events to know this is true. This morning in response to the shooting at Former President’s rally yesterday, one of our KY congressmen said, “There is no place for violence in our political system. The rhetoric from the extreme left is dangerous.” Hello…. He is conventionally leaving out the hateful and hurtful rhetoric is coming from both parties.
And not only that Christian Nationalism is on the rise because people in power, people who think they know what is right, who think there is only one way, their way, to exist, to pray, to worship, to be, to whatever…I’ll let you fill in the blank.
All around us we see the narrative of God’s love and grace being distorted to serve power and might. And we as people of faith are letting it happen because we are allowing our preconceived notions to shape our narrative, to shape The Narrative.
In our text today, it is not that Jacob is all bad and Esau is all good. The author gives us enough details about both of them to let us know that is not true. Rather, with this story, the author is inviting us to sit with these flawed characters, to go deeper into their story, to struggle with the tension which surrounds them, and to discern where God is in the mix. Because that is what we are called to do every single day as people of faith. In our lives, in our communities, in our nation, in our world, as people of faith, we are surrounded by imperfect people, including ourselves. As people of faith, we are quick to make judgements based on little or no facts. As people of faith, we like to avoid conflict and instead choose to practice passive aggressive techniques with the best of them. And in the midst of all that complexity, all that conflict, all that tension, as people of faith, we find ourselves constantly asking. Where is God in all this?
In this story of Jacob and Esau, the author wants us to dig a little deeper, asking ourselves, “What am I supposed to be learning from all this? Asking, how can I avoid, how can I dismantle, how can I confront the unhealthy outside influences which distract me, distract us from the larger narrative of bringing about healing and wholeness for all of God’s children?
Because the author knows when we as people of faith are able to truthfully answer these questions, when we as people of faith are able and willing to confront the ways we allow power, rivalry and unrealistic expectations to shape how we view our world, we might just be able to understand Jacob and Esau a little better. We might just be able to understand the people around us a little better. We might practice a little grace for ourselves and for others. And in doing so. we might just change the world by loving ourselves, loving others like our God who is anything but ordinary. May it be so.
Amen.
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