Isaac's Children

Genesis 25:21-34. It would seem that the story of Isaac should be chronicled immediately following his father’s death, but Moses is in a hurry to tell the more eventful, and perhaps more significant story, of Isaac’s twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Derek Kidner comments that “The succession is so important that the story of the heirs interrupts Isaac’s story.”

Barrenness is again an issue in this family, and Isaac prays that God will give children to Rebekah. Fortunately, he and Rebekah did not have as long to wait for their prayers to be answered as his parents had waited. Rebekah became pregnant, a pregnancy that must have become quite uncomfortable, since the Scriptures describe twin babies “jostling each other within her”. In her discomfort she asked why such a thing was occurring, and God revealed to her that she actually was carrying twins. From her body, two nations would be born, nations that would not be cohesive (“two peoples from within you will be separated”), and incredibly, the younger child would have precedence over the elder.

These twins could not have been more dissimilar. The older son, Esau, was hairy and red, and no doubt, stronger. The second son made his mark on the family situation early, as he grasped his elder brother’s heel as they exited from the womb. Their different natures and interests would not have bound them naturally together. Esau was an outdoor athlete, a hunter who won the favour of his father. Jacob, was quiet and steady, preferring to live in the comfort of the tent community, and he was his mother’s favourite.

Their natures were so different, in fact, that Jacob was able to take advantage of his brother’s weakness. Returning home fatigued and hungry from a day out hunting, Esau was willing to sell his birthright to younger brother, Jacob, for a bowl of stew. The text tells us that “Esau despised his birthright.”

My modern western mind looks askance at what happened here. Jacob decidedly took advantage of his brother’s weak character, and finagled the family inheritance from him. Jacob appears to me to be devious and hateful while Esau appears to be weak and shallow, willing to give up his future to assuage his growling stomach. The birthright that Esau was so ready to relinquish indicated his status as the first-born son and meant the future headship of the family, as well as the eventual inheritance of a double share of the estate (Deut. 21:17). In Esau’s case, though, this inheritance also involved the special covenantal relationship with God that had been initially established with Abraham, and then with Isaac. The promises of God were at the heart of this birthright. Esau’s flippant contempt of God’s promises was at the heart of his willingness to trade them off for a bowl of soup. It seems that Moses regards Esau’s attitude toward the birthright as a far more serious sin than even Jacob’s conniving (Gen. 25:24).

I would like to leave the story as it stands, but of course, I cannot read this passage without thinking of the Doctrine of Election, and Paul’s reference to this story in Romans 9:10-16. Why did God chose to bless Jacob over Esau? What caused Him to exercise His sovereign will so that Jacob became a patriarch of Israel? What does he mean, when Paul writes, in reference to this story, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”? Paul asks the question for me: “Is God unjust?” Both the Genesis account and the Romans commentary clearly indicate that God has the sovereign right to do what He wills. And Paul emphatically says that we do not receive God’s favour and forgiveness on the basis of our own merit. I can live with the fact that God is sovereign and has the right to show mercy to whom He will show mercy, but does He really hate some people? Is He unjust?

This issue was poignantly expressed to me recently by a young philosopher, who said, “What if I’m an Esau?” Theologians have written reams on Romans 9, and argued over Paul’s meaning. I do not have the training nor the inclination to explain the theological intricacies of this passage, but I am thankful for John Stott’s explanation of some of these issues in his commentary on the book of Romans. He writes: “The second Scripture says: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. This bald statement sounds shocking in Christian ears and cannot be taken literally.” Stott goes on to explain that Paul is using the Hebrew tool of antithesis to show preference. He compares it to Jesus’ statement in Luke 14:26 that we cannot be his disciples unless we hate our family members. Jesus does not mean that we are literally to hate our family, but rather, He forbids us to love them more than we love Him. So Paul is using a literary device to say, not that He hated Esau, but that He chose to give precedence to Jacob. Esau himself would receive a blessing, but his descendants would not be God’s chosen people. Professor Doug Stuart points out that the inclusion of Esau’s descendants in Genesis 36 indicates that, although Edom is not God’s chosen nation, the blessings to all nations promised to Abraham in Genesis 12 are available to Edom as well. The listing of Edomites shows, as Stuart says, that “God cares for them too.”

Actually, I find the Doctrine of Election comforting. If my standing with God were based on my merits, I would fall. When I can throw myself on His grace, knowing that He loves me in spite of myself, I can rejoice and worship. There is no way I can completely understand God’s sovereign will in election, but I can rest in the fact that God is full of grace and mercy, and He will not reject the contrite in heart.

Stott says that it is essential to remember two truths in regard to election. (1) Jesus taught the doctrine. “I know those I have chosen.” (John 13:18) (2) “Secondly, election is an indispensable foundation of Christian worship, in time and eternity. It is the essence of worship to say: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory.’ (Ps. 115:1) If we were responsible for our own salvation, either in whole or even in part, we would be justified in singing our own praises and blowing our own trumpet in heaven. But such a thing is inconceivable…. Why? Because our salvation is due entirely to his grace, will, initiative, wisdom and power.” (Stott, Romans, p. 268)

I do not fully understand God’s ways. But God would not be God if He were not sovereign. Scripture reveals enough of His love and grace for me to trust that He will not make arbitrary choices, but will work out His will in human lives in a way that is just and merciful.

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