Day 30 – Esau & the Birthright

Genesis 25 starts with lots of names but don’t worry about understanding all of that. Read it, of course, and work out what’s going on, but the focal point of today’s readings can be found in verse 19 onward.

• Well, Abraham, it was good knowing you, but we’re moving on from looking at his life today. You’ll see in Genesis 25:8 that he dies in today’s passages. Think about what you have learned about him in the last few weeks. Do you now know why Abraham is such an important figure in Jewish (and Christian!) history? Have you learned anything particularly new about his life?
• As I mentioned earlier, don’t worry about remembering the names of Abraham’s other children, or the tribes of Ishmael. It’s fascinating that we have this information, but for the purposes of this reading plan, we can set that aside.
• The attention instead turns to focus squarely on Isaac. What problem did Rebekah have that Issac prayed for? How did God respond?
• What did God say about the twins in verse 23? Why is the second child going to be more blessed than the first born? Normally, the first born child would receive something called a “birthright”. That means more inheritance, blessings, and some other stuff. Here, however, things are different. God is saying that the older (Esau) will instead serve the younger (Jacob). We find out how this works out as the story unfolds over the next couple of days.
• Describe Rebekah’s twin sons and their names. If you have a study bible, you may find it’s particularly helpful at the moment. If not, try looking it up online. Are you more like Esau or Jacob? I hope your parents don’t have favourites like theirs did!
• Explain the story of Esau and Jacob in your own words. What did Esau give away? What was his priority? Was it wise? Do you think he later regretted it? The passage in Hebrews might shed some more light on this, if you want a sneak peak, but we’ll find out more tomorrow.
• Have you ever thrown away God’s teachings when a short-term gain seemed more appealing? Think about where you are most challenged in this area. Perhaps when you’re with non-Christian friends? When your parents tell you you can’t have something? When you know your internet use isn’t being monitored? Be honest with yourself and pray for strength to make wise choices.
• The Romans passage refers to something called “election” – the teaching that God “elects” or “chooses” who will be saved before they are born. It’s sometimes called predestination. Esau made his own decisions to swap his birthright for a meal, but it was part of God’s plan to bless Jacob. This idea can be tough to get your head around. It’s too deep a topic to discuss here, but I have a helpful book you can borrow if you’re interested in it, and you can chat about it with me or Mel if you’d like.

Siblings fight, don’t they? Anabel, Harry and Jonah… something tells me that from time to time you’ve probably all fallen out with your brother or sister! There doesn’t seem to be much love lost in the brief passages we read today too. They were even fighting in the womb before they were born, according to verse 22!

I found a great little video online which you should watch – it’s tagged below. Watch it! Really! It’ll help explain the story really well, as well as giving you a few spoilers for tomorrow’s passages. If you like the video, there’s a bunch more about stories we’ve read (and will read) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLactllEFMk_I0LqO5DebtTLDjFcLajXGB