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24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ~ Genesis 25:24-28
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 25 where we find the once barren Rebekah pregnant with twins. As mentioned before, Isaac was born in the year 2109 BC and was married at the age of 40. Then, 20 years later Isaac's sons were born. All of those years Isaac prayed for his wife and the Lord answered with twins who will illustrate for us the difference between those justified before the Lord and those who are not. I am sure Abraham prayed, too, because he was still alive at that time, and he knew what it was to wait for the promised seed. Rebekah was the second barren woman in the line through whom the seed was to be perpetuated.
Previously, Rebekah had been told that "two nations were in her womb." At that time Rebekah could not see that the first nation, Israel, would come from Jacob. Neither did she know that the other nation, the Edomites, would come from Esau, Jacob's twin brother. Throughout their history, the Edomites would prove to be the enemies of Israel. This is why the prophecy that was given to Rebekah goes on to say, "And two peoples shall be separated from your body," which meant they would end up being at odds. Israel and Edom have never been able to live together. To this day, the Edomites hate the Israelites and they continue to war against them.
In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau."
Rebekah gave birth to twins. The Hebrew word for "twins" is the word from which we get the name "Thomas" who is noted in John 11:16 also as "Didymus" which also means "twin." Esau was the firstborn of Rebekah's two sons. When he came out, he was red. It isn’t stated whether the red is from the blood of birth adhering to his hair or if his hair was naturally red, but most believe that he was named red because he was a red hairy baby. Some Jewish scholars have noted that his red color was a precursor of the fact that he would be a shedder of blood, fierce, and cruel. This has been born out by his descendants since.
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob."
Jacob, the second born was prophesied to be served by Esau the firstborn. This was given as an indication of their future due to the fact that Jacob came out of his mother's womb holding Esau’s heel. Due to this event, he was given the name of Jacob which means deceiver. The idea behind the grabbing of his brother's heel was that Jacob would one day trip up Esau. This was fulfilled when Jacob deceived everyone in order to gain the blessings of the firstborn.
In v.27 of today's passage we read, "So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents."
In this one verse, many years had come and gone. The boys are now grown to where they are old enough to live and work alone. Here, in this first verse about their adulthood, God shows us two types or pictures in the two men. The first picture is of Esau whose name means "made" just as Adam was made from the dust of the earth. Esau is pictured as a complete man, one who obtained his living from the ground that had been cursed by God. As a hunter, Esau was like Nimrod and Ishmael who came before him. All three of these men picture for us the fallen and unregenerate man.
Jacob, on the other hand is noted as one dwelling in tents. Here, we see Christ, first dwelling in the tabernacle among the children of Israel who later He dwelt in the Temple in Jerusalem, and finally He put on a tabernacle of flesh and dwelt among us as John records in John 1:14 which reads, "And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth."
In v.28 of today's passage we read, "And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob."
The Hebrew literally says that Isaac loved Esau because of the venison in his mouth. On the other hand, Rebekah loved Jacob, but no reason is given. Rebekah's love for Jacob could have stemmed back to the prophecy that she was given before they were born. We don’t know, but please note it doesn’t say either parent didn’t love the other child. They merely favored one over the other which is never a good thing when training up children in the way they should go.
The difference between Esau and Jacob will be ultimately born out in our study. The difference between the two was determined by what they each valued to be most important in their lives. In their culture the birthright was normally given to the firstborn, but as we will see, Esau gave his birthright to his brother. Jacob was not a model of ethics or integrity, but he genuinely valued the things of God. The birthright was precious to him, in fact, he procured it by devious means.
In Hebrews 12:16-17 we read, "That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears."
Although Esau was exposed to much truth, he with determined willfulness turned his back on God and the things of God. As a result, he had no ethics or faith in the God of the Bible. He was defined by this world. When Esau finally realized what he had forsaken, he made a half-hearted attempt to retrieve it. Just because he sought for it with tears did not indicate sincerity or true remorse. Sadly, he found no place for repentance. He bitterly regretted, but he did not repent. He selfishly wanted God’s blessings, but he did not want to be defined by God.
