Readings: Genesis 25. 19-34
Theme: A reflection on God and humanity
Prayer: O God, take my lips and speak through them. Take our minds and think through them. Take our hearts and set them on fire for your kingdom. Amen
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have taken it upon myself to read the entire Bible in one year. The program I am following gives you three Old Testament chapters and a psalm, plus one New Testament chapter. I t allows you to read the Sunday lectionary readings on Sundays. It starts at Genesis and Psalm 1 and Matthew, and in the two weeks since I began, I have read up to Genesis 36, Psalm 12 and Matthew 12. It has been fascinating to read the Old testament from the beginning and I have reflected upon the fact that as a preacher I normally stick with the Gospel of the day or maybe the epistle but rarely venture into the Hebrew Scriptures. There is so much in Genesis that would pay us to ponder and so today I have decided I would like us to pay attention to the Old Testament reading from Genesis, chapter 25, verses 19-34. What we have in this text is part of the story of Jacob and Esau and it is a rich story from which we can gleam much. In our reflection upon the story, I would like us to consider the story from two angles. First, from the perspective of God, and then from the perspective of the main human characters involved, namely Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau. Hopefully you will agree with me that there is much here to cause us to think and ponder and inform our following of Jesus.
In looking at this story from the perspective of God, the main thing I want us to remember is the absolute sovereignty of our Lord and the unpredictable nature of God’s action.
Sometimes when we look at the way God works, it seems to be totally absurd and not the way, if we were in charge, that we would do things. Who hasn’t at one time or another, thought that the way God is presented doing things in the Scriptures, or even in our own lives, is at best, silly and curious or at worst, downright absurd and even capricious? The unpredictable nature of God can be illustrated from the story in three ways.
We read that Isaac married Rebekah when he was forty years of age. It appears that she is barren, and he prays to God, and they are blessed when she falls pregnant. Now that is an amazing thing in and of itself but the thing to point out is how old Isaac is when the children are born. In verse 26 we read that Isaac was sixty when Esau and Jacob are born. So, from the time of the prayer to the time of delivery is 20 years! God’s timing is definitely unpredictable! It is a salient reminder to us of the fact that when we follow the Lord, we never control the timing. No matter how urgent our crisis or demand, God acts in accordance with God’s timing.
In the story Rebekah gives birth to two sons, Esau, and Jacob. Their father was Isaac, son of Abraham. We know that Jacob will go on to father Joseph, who via a coat of many colours goes on to bring the Jewish people to Egypt. Our text is part of a larger story of God’s dealing with the descendants of Abraham, a story with more twists and turns than could be imagined. A story which shows the unpredictable nature of God’s action. A story which continues to this day. And if you don’t think God works in an unpredictable manner – just look around you at the strange and wonderful collection of people assembled here today. For no other reason than in response to the call to gather and worship God are we here. If we were honest with ourselves, we would all testify to the unpredictable manner God has acted in each of our lives to bring us to this place at this time.
In the story we see God working with far from ideal circumstances. Two brothers, instead of lovingly sharing with each other conduct a deal where one gains from the other their birthright. All through the Scriptures we see God’s ability to turn circumstances where people have acted out of impure motives around to God’s design. And here is no different. God’s action is unpredictable and reminds us that God is able to turn even the darkest experiences we endure around so as to bring about the best.
That is not to say that God ordains the pain and suffering endured by us from time to time, but rather is saying that God is able to transform even the most horrific and tragic circumstances. And God sometimes does this in the most unpredictable manner. So, in reflecting upon the action of God in this story we see most clearly God’s unpredictability – in God’s timing; in God’s purpose and in God’s ability to transform circumstances. We are reminded that when we put our faith and trust in God, we are never the ones dictating or controlling the situations that we will find ourselves in. For me personally that is a most comforting reality and inspires me to let go and follow where God leads.
We now turn to look at the four main actors in the story – Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob, and how we might learn from their actions. Isaac marries Rebekah and then because they seem unable to have children prays to God. In a crisis it seems his first recourse is to seek God’s will. How often in our lives is God the last resort and not the first. And as mentioned before, they didn’t have children for twenty years. Imagine the faithfulness of Isaac and his prayer – to pray for 20 years for a child. Now I don’t want people to think that if you pray hard and long enough, God will grant your request – that’s not how prayer works. But I believe God does require us to be faithful – to seek God’s will and to persevere even if the road seems long and difficult; even if it seems impossible.
At the moment our Church faces difficult times with aging and contracting congregations; difficulties in attracting young people and making connections with the society at large, yet God is still God, and the requirements haven’t changed in being a disciple and in being God’s people. First and foremost is the need for us to remain faithful in prayer, putting before God our concerns and the needs of the world and always seeking his will. In this regard the story of Isaac gives us hope.
Rebekah, after a long wait, finally falls pregnant. It is twins and the two children are struggling in her womb. What does she do? She takes her complaint to God! We read her saying, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” One of the amazing things about the way people act in the Scriptures is that they are seldom afraid of laying before God their complaint. The Scriptures do not cover over the fact that people get angry at the way things happen and they take their anger before God. The psalms are full of complaint; the story of Job is a classic example of someone bringing their woes and troubles and anger before the Lord. And so, it is with Rebekah. Her pregnancy isn’t easy, and she lets God know about it. It’s about being honest before God. Sometimes we may feel that it’s not Christian to get angry or let God know about how we really are feeling, but if we don’t let God know then we are lying to God and not being true to the reality of the situation, and we are not letting God have a chance to transform us. Life at times is impossible and sometimes the best and only action available to us is to let God know: To come before God in times of celebration and in times of despair.
Both Esau and Jacob in the story come off second best. Esau because he puts his short-term desires before his long-term benefits and is prepared to sell his birthright for bread and lentil stew. I can relate to Esau because there have been many times in my life, when the desires of the moment have overcome my better judgement.
Times when like Esau I have acted mindlessly, with no thought for the future but only for the present. I am sure that many of you here today can also relate to Esau. It is so easy to be tempted by the flitting desires of the moment, only later to realize what we have done and to regret our behaviour. The story of Esau reminds us to be wary and to maintain a level-headed approach to life; Easy to say but not always easy to do. But then if it were always easy to be a Christian then everyone would be one. Jacob doesn’t come out of the story smelling of roses either. While he was quick witted enough to seize upon the situation and take advantage of his brother’s need; we must question whether he had the right to do so. While it is easy to judge characters from such a distance, and while we do not know the full history of their relationship, it seems to me that the moral and right course of action would have been for Jacob to share with his brother. I have three brothers and when we were growing up, there was no way I would have shared anything with them. We can relate to Jacob’s seizing of an opportunity to put one over Esau but does that make it right. Too often, our behaviour as Christians leaves a lot to be desired, in terms of generosity and compassion to others, and while God can use and transform Jacob in the larger story, I am reminded of the story of the sheep and goats from Matthew 25, where we are judged on our actions to the least of God’s people. There can be no doubt from the Scriptures that God sides with the poor and oppressed – with those in need, and this story from Genesis reminds us that even patriarchs like Jacob would get things wrong. So from this little story about the birth to Isaac and Rebekah of Jacob and Esau and the selling of Esau’s birthright, much can be gleamed. It shows us that the God we trust, and worship is a God who acts in unpredictable ways, in God’s timing, God’s purpose and God’s ability to transform circumstances. It reminds us of the good and the bad that exists in all of us, by showing us Isaac’s faithfulness in prayer, Rebekah’s honesty, Esau’s mindlessness and Jacob’s lack of compassion. May God strengthen us in all that is good and transform us when we act from sin.