Summer
Sermon Series: Wrestling with Jacob
Genesis 25:19-34
This morning we embark on our new
summer sermon series, “Wrestling with Jacob”.
The narrative of Jacob and his family weaves throughout the middle of the
book of Genesis and I have found it to be one of the most intriguing and
entertaining stories in our sacred text.
What is so wonderful about the Jacob story is how it seamlessly weaves
together humanity’s brokenness alongside the blessings of God. Much like the stories of David that we
studied last summer, Jacob is hardly one we would consider an upright, morally
sound, individual. And yet it is precisely
through this trickster of a character that the blessings of God come to the
people of Israel. Jacob is a person that
believers must figuratively wrestle with, and he does plenty of literal
wrestling himself, hence our series title “Wrestling with Jacob.”
Our story begins as all good Bible
stories do, with a perfect lineage. The
writers of the scripture want to remind us just where this family is situated
historically. Abraham of course, is the
father of the Jewish people and their particular faith tradition. It is with him that God made covenant to
select and bless a chosen people.
Abraham has two sons, Ishmael, born of his concubine Hagar, and Isaac
born of his wife Sarah. Isaac is the
beloved child of promise and most of you will recall the biblical narrative
where Abraham nearly kills him because he believes that to be the will of
God. (Already we are getting a sense of
the interesting family dynamics here!)
Isaac is 40 when he marries Rebekah, who is also of good stock coming
from the Aramean tribe, close relatives to Abraham and his people.
The stage therefore is set, for a
perfect and noble birth. But as usual,
best laid plans often amount to nothing.
Like many a modern couple, Isaac and Rebekah are relegated to waiting
and trying and still have nothing to show for their efforts. This is hardly the way to give birth to a
promised nation, and so finally Isaac turns to the Lord in prayer, asking for a
blessing on behalf of his seemingly barren wife. God answers the prayer, and after 20 years of
trying, Rebekah finally conceives.
It soon becomes clear that this is not
a normal pregnancy. Rebekah is pregnant
with twins and the two children wrestle inside the womb. The Hebrew verb used for “struggle” in verse
22 could also be rendered as “crush”.
The two children are literally trying to crush one another inside her
body. Any woman who has been pregnant,
can easily understand Rebekah’s fear and frustration at this nightmare
scenario. What pain and discomfort this
must have caused her! I can hardly
imagine trying to get through the day with that going on, let alone trying to
sleep at night!
Rebekah now turns to the Lord in
prayer with a question that would surely be on any of our lips “Why is this
happening?!?” Rebekah is offered an
oracle in answer to her prayers of frustration and fear. God makes it clear that there are two
nations, two distinct tribes of people, at war within her womb. The twins she bears will be divided, one
against the other. One of them will be
stronger than the other. And in a
reverse of common fortune and cultural tradition, the elder will be a servant
to the younger. Though I am certain
Rebekah was pleased to receive an answer from God, I imagine that it offered
her little comfort. No one wants to give
birth to children who will always be against each other. And no woman wants two nations, at war,
wrestling with each other, inside her very body.
Finally the time comes for the
children to be born. In what I imagine
was a painful, frightening, and uncomfortable process for Rebekah, the children
wrestle their way right out of her womb.
Esau is born first and the author tells us he came out red, his body
like a hairy mantle. This is confusing
for modern readers, as many of us start asking if Rebekah has given birth to
some sort of Sasquatch. What we are
missing here is all the Hebrew play on words.
Esau will become the Father of the Edomite tribe. The word for “red” is a play on the word for
Edom the name of the tribe. The word for
“hairy” is a play on the word Seir which is the region of the Middle East where
the tribe is located. Esau may very well
have been born red, (many babies are red right when they are born) and he may
very well have had a bunch of red hair, but he probably wasn’t some sort of
hairy monster baby. The writer just
wants to connect Esau strongly with the Edomite tribe.
Jacob is born second, hanging onto
Esau’s foot, his heel. The image given
is that the children are fighting their way out of the womb. It is a fight over who will be first, who
will inherit the rights of the first born.
Esau wins the birth order, but Jacob didn’t give up without a
fight. Jacob’s name of course is also a
play on words. Jacob’s name means “he
grasps the heel”. It also can mean “he
deceives.” In our modern use of language
one might say they named him “Heel” because he was a “heel”. As we will find out, Jacob can be a bit of a
jerk, and he was certainly jerking Esau around on his way out of the womb.
As the twins grow up the difference
between them is plain to see. Esau is a
man’s man who enjoys being outside tracking and hunting animals. Jacob is the quiet one, who enjoys spending
time at home in the tent. What would be
taboo today is hardly given a second glance as the author makes clear that each
parent has their favorite son. Isaac
loves Esau since he loves to eat meat. I
imagine that Esau was the stronger one, the bigger one, the man’s man and that is
why Isaac is drawn to him. Surely this
is the child through which God’s blessing will pass. Rebekah loves Jacob. I imagine she loves him because he is the one
staying at home with her; he is her helper around the house. He is the youngest, he is the smallest, and
he is her baby, a real momma’s boy.
Already we are getting a sense of the un-healthy family dynamics in this
royal household.
The relationship between the grown
brothers is evident in the next narrative the author offers. Jacob is back home making lunch while Esau is
out working in the field. Esau is hungry
and asks Jacob to share his meal.
Sensing an opportunity, Jacob offers Esau a trade: lunch for a birthright. Of course, we can all see that this is a bad
deal for Esau. The right of the first
born son is the right to double the inheritance amount. Only a fool would trade that away for the
momentary satisfaction of some lentil soup.
And yet that is exactly what Esau does, he swears away his birthright to
Jacob, eats his stew and bread, and goes on his way.
The Biblical narrative offers nothing
in way of commentary on this troubling family scene. As modern readers we are offended by the
actions of both of these brothers. How
could Esau trade away his fate, and as the author suggests, “despise” his
birthright? How could Jacob be so cruel
and greedy, as to trick his brother out of such a precious and valuable thing,
just because the guy was hungry? Our
moral barometers are left reeling. “How
can this be?” we cry, “Where is God in this story?”
But of course, like with any good
Biblical narrative, we don’t get any answer to that question. At least not any satisfactory answer. The only sign of God we have in the story so
far is the miracle pregnancy and the offering of the oracle “Two nations are in
your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be
stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.” “Is this how that comes about?” we ask
ourselves. Does God’s promise really come
to life through the questionable actions of Jacob?
Found out more next week as our sermon
series continues . . .
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