Parashat Toldot (Offspring)
Beresheet (Genesis) 25:19–28:9
Haftarah: Malachi 1:1–2:7
In my most recent blog entry I wrote about the fact that both Abraham and David were wholly committed to God’s lineage through which His Seed of Promise — the Messiah — would come. While they may not have been fully aware of it, they were important, key players in God's plan of redemption. In our Scripture reading this week, we read this very interesting account:
Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac; and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples will be separated from your body;
and one people will be stronger than the other; and the older will serve the younger.”
When her days leading to the delivery were at an end, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
Genesis 25:19–26
I believe that this account is very important for many reasons. The main reason is that it shows, once again, that God alone chooses who will continue the lineage of redemption; He decides through whom His Seed of Promise will come! The second reason is that it explains why Jacob “deceives” Esau twice. Two pressing questions come up, however, as to why Rebecca did not tell Isaac about the word that she received from God, and why Jacob did not simply tell Isaac that Esau sold the first born right to him. These are important questions, which we do not fully understand.
Regardless, I believe there are a few additional points of interest in this account. For one, I find it interesting that the children were already struggling in Rebecca’s womb. Is it possible that the struggle we find here was not just about the right of the first born, or the right of the blessing, but the right of the entire inheritance, which included land? Is it possible that this was the continuation of a struggle that began with Isaac and Ishmael, which still exists today?
Another interesting point is why God chose Jacob. The Haftarah Scripture portion tells us it was because of His love for Jacob: “Yet I have loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). I believe Jacob’s name, “Ya’akov” (יעקב) in Hebrew, holds significance and can shed light on why God chose him and loved him. The root word for Yaakov in Hebrew is עקב (akev), which is heel, from which the name "יעקב" (Ya’akov/Jacob) is derived. This is yet one more amazing hint of the “seed” that would be the source of redemption, which continues through Jacob’s lineage. The name here is not coincidental, as it reminds us of Genesis 3:15, where the LORD says that He will put enmity between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed, and that her seed will “bruise [the serpent’s] head” while the serpent will “bruise [the woman’s seed’s] heel”. The second point related to his name is that it can also mean, “to follow”. I believe that the “following” here is two-fold: first, it refers to following the linage of the blessing. Secondly, it also speaks to Jacob’s role in following after God, which is a command that continued on to the children of Israel, who were Jacob’s direct descendants.
What can we say, then, about Esau? I find it interesting that Esau did not choose to follow God. In fact, not only did he want to kill his brother, but he also took wives from the daughters of Canaan after he saw that it was against his father Isaac’s will. We read that:
So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Genesis 28:8–9
Returning to the Book of Malachi, when we read that God loved Jacob, we also find an interesting and important reference to Esau:
The pronouncement of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi: “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated (שָׂנֵ֑אתִי) Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.”
Malachi 1:1–3 (emphasis mine)
Most Bible translations will translate the Hebrew word “שָׂנֵ֑אתִי” (saneti) as "I hated". However, in a deeper search of that word, I found in the Hebrew dictionary that it can also mean "to change" or "not to choose". This sheds light on what can be a difficult Scripture verse for many people. Instead of hating Esau, it is entirely possible that God simply changed the right of the first-born and did not choose Esau to fulfill this role, but instead chose Jacob to receive and honor the inheritance.
Again, we find that God’s will is always supreme to anything else; it takes precedence over cultural norms, our human sense of justice and fairness, and even family relationships. While we may not be able to understand why God does things a certain way, we can choose if we will submit to His will or rebel against it. The choice is yours… will you follow Jacob’s footsteps, choosing to follow and work for God, or will you follow Esau’s footsteps?
Shabbat Shalom,
Moran
4 Comments on “Why Jacob and Not Esau?”
Dear Moran,
It’s always very interesting to hear you expound upon the account of Jacob and Esau, and how Abraham’s perfect faith in God’s word moved forward in Isaac , to establish His chosen nation.
This is such a vitally important section of scripture as it pertains to God’s great purpose for Israel and the outcome of what is happening on the whole planet, even now.
I’ve also wondered why God didn’t reveal his plan to Isaac and Rebekah together , concerning Jacob and Esau.
I don’t claim to have a special understanding here, only thoughts that have entered my mind many times;
I wonder if God gave instruction for His plan to supplant (replace) Esau with Jacob by the voice of Rebekah as an act of mercy and grace , to spare Isaac from participating ( knowingly )in the process.
By Gods wisdom, he caused Issac’s sight to fail at this point in his life’s journey. I believe this also was a merciful act of kindness , to help Isaac navigate the process by faith (not sight) as concerning his favored son, Esau. I know that God often intervenes in our very lives to bring about His purpose apart from any action on our part, because he knows our deepest self and he knows how to deal with each of us on a very loving and personal level, when, if left to handle things on our own we would fail .
Perhaps God , in his mercy kept Esau from telling his father that he willingly sold his birthright to Jacob. Maybe it would have broken Isaac’s heart to hear that Esau simply did not believe in or even care about the dynamics of such a consequential act.
For whatever reasons God had, in his perfect judgement , he revealed His plan to Rebekah in advance, which is why she favored Jacob, and because of His revelation to her, she commanded Jacob to take the actions that he took in obedience to her..Thus, the founding of the nation of Israel, was brought about by God’s voice , through Rebekah, a Syrian woman, a woman of perfect faith in God’s word.
Were Jacob’s actions a result of his perfect faith in God’s word through his mother’s voice, or a pack of lies, deceiving his old ailing father ?
To believe the latter would be a blatant disregard for God’s Word of revelation to Rebekah.
By God’s revelation to Isaac, Isaac had the final say in his family when he spoke to Esau about the matter.. Gen 27:36-40
Isaac’s prophecy was fulfilled during the reign of Joram. Edom ( Esau’s descendants) freed herself from Judah’s control.. 2 Kings 8:20-22
Edom became a vassal state of Assyria, about 736 BC
After the conquest of Babylonia, and the downfall of Judah, in 586 BC Edom rejoiced. Psalm 137:7
Isaiah 14:26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth…
An evolutionary work by God to make known to the whole earth, the two Abrahamic covenants that will prevail on this earth as the kingdom of God.
The sons of Abraham will return to the earth with the Messiah Yahoshua, to judge nations as to their treatment of Abraham’s seed, of which will be greatly reduced in number.
The Holy One of Jacob will rule the earth from Jerusalem, among a remnant of Abraham’s seed. Isaiah 10:16-22
Mary, I respect your reverence for God’s authority and sovereignty to choose what he wants. In this case, choosing Jacob to be the leader/favored son.
I often looked at Jacob on a bad light when I was younger because of how he tricked his father. Now that I’m middle aged and have read the Bible more, I realize the foolishness of Esau shows he wasn’t exactly the innocent victim.
That being said, I think it’s feasible that Rebekah and Jacob took things into their own hands and used the wrong method to get the right result. I say this because although neither God nor Isaac is shown to have rebuked or condemned what they did, there also is nothing overtly stating that God ordained or approved of the trickery they used. Perhaps he simply allowed it.
Just something to consider.
That being said, God is God, so he’s in charge. If Jacob and Rebekah sinned or used poor judgment by tricking Isaac, apparently God forgave them and continued with his plans for Jacob. So we have no right to hold it against them. It could be an example of God’s mercy and grace when his children make poor choices. Lord knows he had to show me grace!
Your thoughts on God being merciful to Isaac by allowing the trickery because God knew Isaac would or did struggle with the idea of Jacob being favored is interesting and also feasible. The thought that Isaac’s heart would break if he knee Esau was so casual about relinquishing his birthright is interesting and feasible too.
I guess we’ll never know. Things that make you go hmmm. 🙂
Rereading the Scriptures and the commentary and comments here have me also rethinking the story as understood in my youth.
Now, I see Jacob’s hand on Esau’s heel at birth to more of a covering than it was the prophesy fulfilled in the literal sense.
Esau’s heel was already bruised (he relinquished his birthright as opposed to Jacob doing the actual bruising). So, Jacob put his hand over the bruise, i.e., covering Esau’s sin and his place and purpose (as a brother should).
Jacob was chosen. It went against the cultural law of the time, but his position at birth and in the earth and to Israel was established and ordained. The method is contradictory because a new “law” was being established in the bloodline, and, thus, the world to usher in a new world in its Savior.
“The first shall be last” doesn’t speak to how it will happen, just that a new order is established in He Who sent us! Perhaps the “disjointing” of Jacob’s hip is the sign of a “crippling”of established “order” for God’s Order.
Jacob limped, so Israel could walk and Jesus could run (& rule)!!
I am encouraged by this point of view!
I do believe that although Rebecca and Jacob conspired deceitfully to carry out their plan Isaac is a picture of blindness not only in the physical but spiritually as well, which led to him being deceived. When we are “spiritually “ blind and do not ask for discernment from the Holy Spirit we are going to miss the opportunity to do Gods perfect will.