WHAT IS BIRTHRIGHT BIBLE STUDY
ESAU AND JACOB BIRTHRIGHT STORY
Great to have you back! You've probably been wondering through
the last chapter, how exactly does a younger son actually obtain his older
brother's birthright ... You're about to find out.
Before we go into the story, there are
a few things that may help you to understand it from different
perspectives. Think for a moment about what the Lord said to Rebekah when
she was expecting. We may want to ask first, why was she the one God told
about Isaac's sons being two nations instead of telling Isaac? Well, let's
think back further. Does God have favorites? Heavens no, you say, clearing
your throat with certainty. If you were asked, who do you think God
favored, Cain or Abel, would you say God felt the same about each of them?
What about Ishmael and Isaac?
To help you understand even better,
think of someone who has two children. They are born from the same parents,
however they are completely different. From their personality to their
appearance to their ambition to - you name it, they're like night and day.
Do you have a favorite? Instantly we say, nope, because we don't want to
hurt anyone's feelings, or our pride wouldn't want anyone to think badly of
us for it. But in truth, there are many reasons why we have favorites. It
may be because they're the youngest, oldest, smartest, whatever...est. Well,
we are made in God's image. We all know we have favorites, just as God did,
does, and will. And God admits it outright. Noah was certainly one of
God's favorites Genesis 6:8. He refers to Jacob as the "apple of His eye"
Deuteronomy 32:10. And the Israelites are His chosen people, are
they not?
Deuteronomy 14:2.
Now, we're not saying that God trusted
Rebekah over Isaac or anything of that sort, but remember Isaac favored
Esau. After all, Esau was the firstborn. Esau was the picture of strength,
being an outdoors-man and hunter. And Isaac, although he was Abraham's son
and the one that God chose to carry his promise through, he didn't have the
magnitude of faith that Abraham had. Abraham loved Ishmael, but he had no
qualms about banishing him to the wilderness to make the path that God
planned for Isaac free of obstacles. What we're saying is that God knew
Isaac was blinded by his favoritism for Esau and He used Rebekah as a tool
to be sure that the birthright, the inheritance, the blessing, followed the
branch of Isaac's bloodline that He intended. There are many ways to look
at things, and many people would prefer to call the manner in which Jacob
received the blessing and birthright a deception. But from Rebekah's view,
it was a means to an end that God had confided to her.
ESAU
AND JACOB BIRTHRIGHT LESSON WITH ESAU AND JACOB BIRTHRIGHT EXPLANATION
Let's get back to our story now and
find out how it all unfolded.
It just so happened that when Isaac
grew old, he became blind. He told Esau that he thought he was going to die
soon. He told Esau to go hunt some venison so that he could eat it and
bless him before he died.
Rebekah overheard what Isaac told Esau
and when he left to hunt, she told Jacob that Esau was about to receive his
father's blessing. She told Jacob to go and get two baby goats and she
would make them taste like Esau's venison. Then Jacob would take it to
Isaac and he would bless Jacob instead.
But Esau is covered with hair and I'm
not, Jacob said. If my father touches me and thinks I'm deceiving him, I'll
get a curse, not a blessing. Rebekah told Jacob that if Isaac cursed him,
the curse would fall on her, and to obey what she said. She cooked the
meat, gave Jacob Esau's good clothes and made coverings for his hands and
his neck with the skins of the goats.
When everything was ready, and before
Esau returned, Rebekah sent Jacob in to Isaac with the food. Jacob said,
It's me, Esau. I have the venison for you to eat so your soul can bless me.
Isaac said, How did you find it so
fast? And Jacob answered, The Lord brought it to me. Isaac said, Come
close to me so I can touch you and see if you're Esau. Jacob went to his
father and Isaac touched his hands. He said, The voice is Jacob's voice,
but the hands are the hands of Esau.
Isaac blessed Jacob, ate the meat and
drank wine. He told him to come near and kiss him. When Jacob kissed
Isaac, he smelled the scent of Esau's clothes and blessed him saying, my son
smells like a field that the Lord has blessed. For that reason, God give
you of the dew of heaven, and the richness of the earth. Let people serve
you and nations bow down to you. Be ruler over your brothers and let them
bow down to you. Let anyone that curses you be cursed and let anyone that
blesses you be blessed.
No sooner did Jacob leave his father's
presence with Esau's blessing, than Esau arrived himself with his venison
prepared and asking for Isaac to bless him. Isaac asked, Who are you? I'm
Esau, he answered.
Isaac was very troubled. Then who was
it that brought me meat and I just blessed him? He will be blessed. When
Esau heard what his father said, he cried desperately and asked Isaac to
bless him too.
Your brother came and cleverly took
away your blessing, Isaac told him. Esau tried again saying, But isn't he
still Jacob? He has taken my place twice now. He took away my birthright,
and now he has taken away my blessing. Don't you still have a blessing for
me? And Isaac answered Esau, I've made him ruler over you and have blessed
him with corn and wine.
BIRTHRIGHT BIBLE STUDY WARNING
ESAU AND JACOB BIRTHRIGHT BLESSING
Why couldn't Isaac just go ahead and
bless Esau too, you may wonder. Don't forget, God's covenant wasn't meant
to be split in half, or for that matter, divided in any way. Even though
God used Rebekah to execute the means by which Jacob received God's promise
to Abraham, the spirit of the promise still abided in Isaac, and once the
covenant was passed on by way of blessing and birthright to Jacob, Isaac
didn't have the power or the authority to provide a portion of it to Esau.
Isaac may have also remembered that he received the promise instead of
Ishmael, who was his father's oldest son and that Abraham protected
his possession of it.
However, Esau persisted, Please, just
one blessing father, he cried sincerely. Isaac answered, You will live from
what the earth provides and from the rain of heaven above, and by your sword
will you live and serve your brother. And someday when the opportunity
arises, you will forgive him.
Esau hated Jacob with perfect hatred
because of the blessing that he received. Esau said to himself, My father
will die soon, then I will kill my brother Jacob. Esau told Rebekah what he
thought and she told Jacob what Esau was planning to do. She sent Jacob
away to her stay with her brother Laban in Haran until Esau's anger had
diminished.
And that's how Jacob took Esau's
blessing. It was meant to be from the start, when God told Rebekah that the
older would serve the younger. Jacob having hold on Esau's heel when he was
born was another indication that perhaps the baby was trying to pull his
twin brother back so he could be born first because he was rightly the true
heir in God's plan.
When you know the history of
something, it makes things much easier to understand. The terrorism crisis
that the world experiences daily in our modern world stems from this hatred
that began in the days of Ishmael and Isaac, and of Esau and Jacob.
Why don't they just get over it, you
ask. For goodness sake, it's been four thousand years. The answer to that
folks is one word ... Beliefs. You see, Islam (the Muslims, or descendants of
Ishmael and/or Esau) believe that the promise was with Ishmael which was
passed down to the Arabs instead of to the Jews through Isaac.
BIRTHRIGHT BIBLE STUDY DEBATE
ESAU AND JACOB BIRTHRIGHT CAUSED DIVISION FELT TODAY
Just what is this "Islam" and who are
the "Muslims"? You have never seen either word in the Bible because they
didn't exist in Biblical times, but what follows is a short version of who
they are.
The descendants of Ishmael were so mad
at God for making the promise to Isaac that they believed in a number of
other gods. They were an uncivilized people who believed in vengeance and
violence much as God described Ishmael's character and destiny before he was
even born. It wasn't until the 7th century A.D. that Islam was
created. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. For many Muslims, their purpose is to
join together to wage "holy war" against the descendants of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. They believe that one of its earliest prophets, Mohamed, whom
you may have heard of before, was carried by Allah (their god) to Jerusalem
and he ascended into heaven on his bicycle – or whatever – where the Dome of
the Rock now stands.
At any rate, what started out as
sibling rivalry has over thousands of years progressed into religious
conflict that threatens the world even today. Islam believes in a
continuing struggle (a never ending war) to kill or convert everyone who
isn't Muslim. You must agree this is consistent with what the Bible
says: The fight over the promised land will never be settled peaceably
(Zechariah 12:2-3).
In our next story you'll find out what
Jacob's ladder is and what happens to him when he travels to Haran in refuge
of his loathing brother Esau. Don't miss it in our next Daily Bread.