Sermon - AudioGen 25-26 - Audio
Gen 25-26 - Daily Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
25:5-6 = Issac is clearly the chosen child of Abraham. This is shown by the separation of Issac from the other children.
25:7 = Abraham is one of the few people who lived past 120 years after the flood. For thoughts on this go back to the Genesis 6 week of our reading in the comments section.
25:12-18 = The generations of Ishmael are given rather quickly and with little storyline or attention. Again, Ishmael is clearly not the "chosen child" that the covenant is with.
25:21 = Isaac turns to pray, or call upon the Lord, much like his father did.
Q - Is our life one of prayer? Are we continually turning to God for answers and direction, thereby setting an example for those around us?
25:22-23 = The ESV Study Bible says it best "The observation that the children struggled together within her (v. 22) introduces one of the main themes of chs. 25–36. The relationship between the twin boys will be largely hostile. Conflict between brothers is a recurring motif in Genesis, beginning with Cain and Abel, and is a constant reminder of the negative impact of the fall on human existence. Yet the divine revelation that the older shall serve the younger (25:23) prepares the reader to expect that Jacob will have a significant role to play in the development of the unique family line in Genesis." Jacob will indeed wrestle with Esau, as well as God, but that's for a later chapter. God has chosen the younger Jacob.
25:25-26 - Take note that Esau came out before Jacob. Being the first among your siblings came with certain benefits and responsibilities. In fact there was much esteem, financial benefits, and recognition that came with being the eldest. The younger normally would serve the older, not in this story.
25:31-33 - Notice I did not say that Jacob was "loving." It's interesting to see the shrewdness of Jacob within these passages. His brother is dying...dying! Jacob's reply is a stealth stealing of Esau's birthright.
25:34 - Interesting thought on "Esau despised his birthright." = By despising the birthrights, Esau despises God. He exchanges the future for a bowl of soup. In Hebrews 12:16 the author of Hebrews is most likely speaking to Jews that became Christians who were being led back into Judaism. They were exchanging their future in Christ for their old ways (bowl of soup), much like Esau did. This was seen as immoral and an act of direct disobedience to God.
Chapter 25 - Even though these people in Genesis are "chosen," we obviously see that they continually screw up. I think this is a rather refreshing revelation!
Chapter 26 - We see that Isaac's walk is very similar to that of his fathers. His faults, Building an alter, the promise, a famine, and well digging are all similarities.
26:4-5 - Isaac is now directly given the promise of the covenant. We see God's thoughts on the life Abraham lived in 26:5.
26:7-11 - Sound Familiar? Generational sin at its finest. Rebekah is given away much like Isaac's mother was.
Q. What sin in your life is currently being passed on to your children? If you don't have children, what things would be passed on at this point? Is it ever to late to approach that sin, repent, and turn from it? What would that do for your family or future family?
26:8 - Semi-Funny Thought - So Isaac completely gives up his wife much like Abraham did and they are seen affectionately "laughing" together. I don't think my wife would be "laughing" with me if I did this to her. My how things have changed.
26:28 - Abimelech does a 180 from v16 where he sends Isaac away. He now wants to make sure that Isaac and him have a treaty. He sees that God is with Isaac, much like he did with his father Abraham.
26:35 - "What their Hittite daughters-in-law did to make life so miserable for Isaac and Rebekah is left unclarified, but already some of the costs of Isaac’s indifference and Esau’s rebelliousness are becoming apparent." - WBC
2 comments:
Several things; When Abraham gives all to Isaac and gets rid of the other brothers was that normal practice for that day? How much do we know about the culture of 2000 BC? ("we" meaning you because I don't know much)
Is it significant that they got sent to the East? Eden was in the east, they apparently exited the garden to the east, Cain went even farther east. Abraham went west and now he sends his non-covenental sons east. The NIV footnote to 25:18 is "Or lived to the east of". Any connection to celestial object worship? Of course later the Magi came from the east.
Interesting that Isaac and Ishmael were together again at Abraham's burial and that, given the dates later in the chapter Jacob and Esau were likely there, had known "Grampa Abraham" and were 15 or so. Must have heard all his stories.
Is there significance to emphasizing that Ishmael had twelve sons like Jacob did later? Maybe a parallel to satan's kingdom?
How about Jacob grasping Easu's heel? A connection to Genesis 3?
Note that Isaac was less truthful than Abraham, Sarah really was his sister while Rebekah was a first and second cousin to Isaac.
Isaac had to re-dig Abraham's wells - a hint that we cannot rest on our parents faith? Had to find his own way to the water of life?
Hi Tim,
In giving gifts i.e. their inheritance, Abraham is following the practice of the day. The main inheritance is for Isaac, the promised son and full heir. But giving lesser gifts to other sons is common. In "getting rid of the brothers" he is following his own practice that he began with Ishmael. There can be no question as to who is the promised one.
More importantly in this text, however, is the picture of God's promises being kept. God promises that Abraham will be the father of many nations. It is out of these sons that nations come.
Being sent to the east may be less based on some meaning than on geography. There is not much west before you hit the sea. The JPS Torah commentary tells us about the east, "...the land of the East The unique Hebrew phrase ’erets kedem may mean either “the land of Kedem,” a specific territorial entity, or “the land of the East.” In support of the former is the Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (20th cent. B.C.E.), which even gives the name of the ruler of this land not too far from Byblos in ancient Phoenicia. Elsewhere in the Bible the usage of kedem is vague and has a broad meaning covering a wide territorial expanse east of the Land of Israel from the Aramean area of the Middle Euphrates down to northern Arabia."
The word for heel in Genesis 3 and Genesis 25 are the same word in Hebrew. However, since Jacob's heel grabbing is seen as his attempt to keep his brother from being born before him, it is questionable that it links to Genesis 3.15 since the heel there is on that Satan attacks. The heel is not the heel of one outside of God's line of salvation, but central to it.
The re-digging of wells comes because the Philistines are jealous of Isaac. They want to get rid of him and so they harass him by stopping up the wells and he is forced to re0dig them. The hostility between Isaac and the Philistines both in these wells and in the others in verses 17-22 is a foreshadowing of the hostility that will be between Israel and the Philistines when they come back to the land after their time in Egypt.
Your idea of finding his own way to the water of life would make a good midrash.
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