Recap: (For Genesis chapters 1-18 see Genesis 18 recap).
So far in the second section of Genesis, we have looked at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham’s move to the area between Gerar and Beersheba, the birth of Isaac and the driving out of Ishmael, the offering of Isaac, the death and burial of Sarah, and the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.
Read Genesis 25:1-34
1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
Who was Keturah? We don’t know, and most of her children are not mentioned again. Midian is a name that will crop up again, so his son’s too are recorded. It seems that Abraham also had concubines (v6), but their names and the names of their children are not considered important. (Some think that Hagar and Keturah were referred to here as concubines.)
We should note here that as we travel through the bible, names are not unique to only one individual. Even Jesus was a common name amongst children of his time. So when trying to trace family lines we must be careful to avoid confusing similar (or similar sounding) names.
What is important now is to watch where Abraham’s inheritance (and blessing) goes.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
The ‘the land of the east’ is a vague description and generally could mean anywhere to the east of Canaan. Today this would be Jordan, but could include Syria to the north, Iraq to the east and the whole Arabian Peninsula to the south.
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
Ishmael returned for his father’s funeral and perhaps was looking for at least a share in the inheritance. He may have presented his credentials and family tree to substantiate his claim. Moses possibly had those documents available when he was assembling Genesis to be able to include the details here.
If he came to claim an inheritance, he was disappointed. Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac (v5) which may well have led to v18: where we read that Ishmael’s descendants lived in hostility towards all the tribes related to them.
12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go towards Ashur. And they lived in hostility towards all the tribes related to them.
At the time of Abraham’s death, Ishmael would have been 90 years old and his twelve sons would have been grown-up and recognised as tribal rulers in their own right (v16). Where they generally lived is difficult to place specifically and could be anywhere starting from the land to the east of the present-day Suez Canal, to Arabia, spreading out south of Canaan. Possibly straddling the trade routes from Egypt that eventually head north to Assyria (Ashur) on the east side of the River Jordan.
With origins in Mesopotamia, and a mother and wife from Egypt, Ishmael was well placed to engage in trading activities himself. Joseph would be sold to Ishmaelite merchants on their way to Egypt. (Genesis 37:28)
The term Arab also meant Nomad, so they may well have been a fairly mobile nation.
It is to these Twelve Tribes of Ishmael (and so to Abraham) that some present-day Arabs trace their ancestry, but Arab nations today are made up of a very varied genetic mix, and we shouldn’t forget the other children of Abraham, also occupying the ‘lands of the east’ (v6)
And they lived in hostility towards all the tribes related to them. (v18)
As prophesied by the angel in Genesis 16:12 ‘He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers.’
This may be a source of the Arab-Israeli, and inter-tribal conflicts that seem impossible to settle even today.
Our attention is now returned to Isaac.
We are told in v11 that Isaac was living near Beer Lahai Roi. This was the well that the Lord revealed to Hagar in the desert and was probably about 60 miles to the south of Beersheba.
19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
It appears that as time went by Aram Naharaim was incorporated into a larger area which was then referred to as Paddam Aram. Isaac was forty when he married Rachel but for the first twenty years of their married life they had no children. Now sixty, Isaac is concerned that the Lord’s Blessing has been withheld – where are the countless generations that had been promised to Abraham? So:
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to enquire of the Lord.
It had taken a long while for Isaac to learn to ask the Lord for help. Not so with Rebekah. She didn’t understand what was happening so she went straight to prayer.
23 The Lord said to her,
‘Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the elder will serve the younger.’
The Lord knew precisely what was going on: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, ( Jeremiah 1:5 ) so he explained to Rebekah what would become of her children. There would be two boys; but instead of the firstborn receiving the name, blessings and fortune of his father, the normal system would be reversed and the younger would receive the inheritance. Worse than that, similar to the fate of Abraham’s other children, the two brothers would be separated, and in addition, the elder would be subservient to the younger.
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
The name Jacob means ‘he grasps the heel’, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
Not a very promising name, but as it turned out, quite accurate.
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
I find it fascinating how children in the same family (even twins, as in this case) grow up with such different personalities. These children, born into a prosperous family, obviously didn’t need to work, and could therefore do what they wanted.
Can anyone describe the sort of life Jacob led ‘content to stay at home among the tents.’?
These two verses also draw attention to the problem that exists in many families – what is that? (Favouritism)
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ (That is why he was also called Edom.)
A natural request for something that would have cost so little. But scheming Jacob sees his chance:
31 Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’
32 ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’
33 But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Esau had a simple lifestyle and couldn’t see himself running the family business. He honestly didn’t think the birthright was that important.
Why was it important? (God’s plan – Children of Israel – David – Jesus)
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
Many people today have an ‘Eat, drink and be merry – for tomorrow we die’ attitude. You could argue that it is scriptural: see Matthew 6:25-34
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
How should we live in the light of that?
Esau is careless of the future, and sells it; but Jacob – who has his eye on the main chance, and buys the birthright, surely cannot be commended for his underhand methods?
It is true that at the time of Esau’s birth ‘The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the elder will serve the younger.” ’ (Genesis 25:23)
Who is right and who is wrong? Jacob or Esau?
Can we adopt devious means to bring about the plans of God?
