Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 25 and 26)

Abraham's Family

Often times when we think of Abraham, we think that he had two sons and two wives. This chapter tells us differently. After Sarah dies Abraham takes another wife named, Keturah. She bore him six more sons. However when Abraham died, he just gave them gifts and sent them their way. Everything else he gave to Isaac. So, just for the record, Abraham had a total of eight sons that we know of.

When Abraham died both Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. At this point, it seems that the two half brothers get along long enough to bury their father. There is no mention of Abraham's other six sons. The Bible does not say what happens to his wife Keturah. But I think I can safely say that none of them seem to be buried with Abraham and Sarah.

One other point of interest to me is that God bless Ishmael with twelve sons. Also, Ishmeal lived out the rest of his life in hostility toward all of his relatives. I am sure that this included Isaac.

Isaac's Family

These chapters also tell us about the birth of Jacob and Esau. Rebecca inquired of God about what was going on inside of her and God explained that she had two nations within her.  God told her that the older would serve the younger and that one people will be stronger than the other. When it was time for birth, the first one was red and hairy so they named him Esau. I'm guessing here that Esau means hairy. When the second one came out, he was holding on to Esau's heel. So, they named him Jacob, which means heel grabber or deceiver.

So, even at birth, the stage is set for these two brothers. Esau becomes a skillful hunter and Isaac prefers Esau. Jacob is content to stay at home and prefers Rebecca. I am sure that this drastically affected their home life. You don't get the picture that Jacob and Esau were buddy buddies and played together with each other. It seems as though they have been raised differently. Esau with his father and Jacob with his mother. So with this kind of division, it is easy for Jacob to be a cook and to take the birthright from his brother.

The Search for Water

This is my first time realizing how much early Israel and the surrounding people looked for water. These  chapters mention Krohnert two times I would say about six or seven times about wells being dud. Each one got its own name and they named wells based on struggles. 

The last one in Chapter 26 is named Beersheba meaning they found water. The fact that they named it, "they found the water," lets me know that there is a struggle To find water. 

Overlap

These chapters also say that Abraham live 175 years. Isaac was born when he was 100 years old. Isaac married Rebecca when Isaac was 40 years old. That means Abraham was 140 years old when Isaac married Rebecca. Isaac was 60 years old when the twins were born Which means Abraham was 160 years old. So Abraham live for 15 years when Jacob and Esau were around. Pretty cool! I didn't know that before. 

Like Son Like Father

These chapters also tell us that God talks to Isaac and tells him that he will bless him because of his father. His father obeyed God, did everything God asked, kept his commandments, his decrees, and his instructions. When there was a famine in the land, God told Isaac, not to go to Egypt and to live where God told him to live. Isaac seems to be just as obedient as his father.

In these chapters Isaac did the same thing Abraham did. He said his wife was his sister But the king saw Isaac with Rebecca and fussed at him for lying. God also blessed him with riches just like his father. His wife was also barren like his mother. Rebecca was beautiful like Sarah. 

Deceit in the Family

These chapters start with telling the story of Jacob deceiving his father and taking the blessing from Isaac. Since God let Rebecca know when she was pregnant with her twins and that the older should serve the younger, why did she help God out and have Jacob deceive Esau? And, in this story, Jacob seemed a little bit leery about lying to his father about who he was but his mother Rebecca encouraged him to do what ever she said. However, Once the deed was done, I noticed that she told him that he should leave that it was to cover what he had done. In other words, she shifted the blame on him and let him carry it as though he was the one who decided to do it. Yet she was the one who chose to get him to lie. 

A Change in Tradition

I noticed something else as the story continues. I noticed that when Jacob saw Rachel he kissed her and wept aloud. However when his mother Rebecca saw Isaac she covered her face so there was something different in the tradition there. I wonder why. I also noticed when Jacob told Laban his story of how he deceived his brother, Laban says, "oh you really are a part of my people." 

I wonder what went on in Laban's head at the time he said this. I wonder if he purposed in his heart to deceive Jacob to teach him a lesson because Jacob deceived his brother. Or perhaps he was just as deceitful as Jacob. So I'm sure Jacob was not surprised when Laban deceived him. Perhaps Laban is, in essence, acknowledging that there is lying deceit on their side of the family.

The Lessons for Me

I'm guessing my lesson here is that God does not always pick what appears to us to be the right one. Nothing seem to be wrong with Esau but God looked on the heart of both of them. It seems at the time when Jacob was in Bethel, or what he named as Bethel, when he was sleeping on a rock and saw the ladder going to heaven that he did not accept Isaac's God Prior to this time. Because he established a condition for God and said if God does what Jacob desires, then Isaac's God would be Jacob's God too. 

There is so much for me to learn here. I am seeing in the story that God is not accepting those who appear to be pure but those are willing to follow him. He accepts those who he has plans for... In words he chooses... it seems. 

These stories are rich with the detail and are worth reading again and again. Each time I read them I get something different. This time I am into to the characters that each person plays. Each person's character showcases their strengths and weaknesses. And the writers in the Bible do not bite their tongue. They say what is whether it is right or wrong. The lining and the deceiving is very strong. It is passed on from generation to generation. Yet in spite of this character flaw, God speaks to each one of them and reaches out to them and communicates with them. Each one is used to build a nation that lasts throughout biblical history and even into today. And spite of their flaws they were able to preserve the story that God wants to tell through humans. I look at this and I understand that each of us today can be used by God and spite of our very prominent weaknesses. I believe that God has an overall plan and we can fit into this plan when we keep our ears open to his voice. And, we can act on his voice and spite of pitfalls. These stories teach me this.

That's it for today.