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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday December 9, 2018
THE DEATH
OF ABRAHAM
Genesis
25:1-11
Genesis 25, verses 1-11 chronicles the final days and death of
Abraham the great patriarch of GOD’s chosen people. After the death of Sarah,
Abraham was married again, this time to a woman named Keturah, who is
indentified in the vertical genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1:32, as his concubine.
She bore him six sons during the final 37 years of his life.
The
names of Abraham’s and Keturah’s six sons were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian,
Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan (Arabic nations),
and from Dedan came the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites, all future
enemies of Israel, as well as were Midian’s sons, Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida,
and Eldaah.
Before Abraham’s death, he awarded all of
his sons, including Ishmael, gifts, and then sent them all off to live in the
east, away from Isaac. However, he left everything else that he owned to Isaac,
who was “the heir to the promise of GOD”, and as heir, Isaac was to stay put in
the land of the Canaanites, which was designated by GOD as “The Promised Land”.
After Abraham’s death, Isaac and Ishmael
buried him in the “cave of Machpelah”, which Abraham had purchased from the
Hittite, named Ephron (Genesis 23), as a burial place for, first, Sarah, and
then ultimately, for the rest of his family. And GOD poured out rich blessings
on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi, in the Negev, the place where GOD was
known to have responded personally, to HIS faithful.
ISHMAEL’S
DESCENDANTS
Genesis
25:12-18
In verses 12-18 we find the history of the descendants of Ishmael,
the son of Abraham and Hagar, who was Sarah’s Egyptian servant. Here we find a
horizontal genealogical list of his twelve sons from the oldest to the
youngest; Nebaioth, kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,
Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These twelve sons became the father of the twelve
tribes that continued to bear their names long after they settled in the
various places around the area from Havilah to Shur, between Beersheba and
Egypt. And although they all settled very close together in the direction of
Asshur, all of the brothers lived in hostility toward each other, and, toward
the rest of the known world at that time. Ishmael, their patriarch died at the
age of 137 and was buried with his ancestors.
THE BIRTHS
OF JACOB AND ESAU
Genesis
25:19-26
Here begins the history of
the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah. When Isaac was 40 years old
he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s
brother. Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and they all lived in Padan-aram
before she was brought to Beersheba by Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, 37 years
before Abraham died.
Rebekah is one of several women in
Scripture who were unable to bear children until GOD miraculously intervened.
Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and the unnamed mother of Samson, were all
mothers, who experienced humanly impossible births during their lifetimes.
Rebekah’s case, however, was unique in that, her pregnancy yielded “twin boys”,
named Jacob and Esau.
Scripture tells us that there was strife
between her two sons that began, even before they were born, and in fact, while
they were still in the womb. This, now famous, conflict continued on throughout
most of their lives, and even carried over into the lives of their descendants
in future generations. In fact, much of the suffering of the Israelites, who
were Jacob’s descendants, came at the hands of the Edomites, who were Esau’s
descendants. These storied conflicts are prominently chronicled throughout the
pages of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Joel (Joel 3:19).
Here in Genesis 25, verses 19-34, we see
the very origins of this conflict between two brothers who, even in their
physical appearances, were strikingly different (v.25). The LORD had already
foretold to Rebekah that she carried within her womb, two rival nations. HE
also told her that the descendants of her firstborn son, Esau, would be the
servants of her younger son, Jacob.
In this story of Jacob and Esau, there is
some confusion among many people today concerning the difference between
“birthright” and “blessing”. However, according to biblical tradition, and, in
Deuteronomy 21, verses 15-17, the birthright is determined by the “order” of
the births of the sons within a given family. It is the right of the firstborn to
receive a “double portion” of his father’s inheritance. This is something that
is laid out in the “Law that was given to Moses by GOD HIMSELF”, and therefore,
could not be altered by man.
In this account of the early life of Jacob
and Esau, we see that, because Jacob was able to recognize the value of “the
spiritual” over “the physical”, where his brother Esau could not, he was able
to gain Esau’s “birthright” away from him, by way of his own willingness to let
it go, and not so much by Jacob’s trickery.
This act of aggression by Jacob had
absolutely nothing to do with Esau’s “blessing”, however, because the father,
Isaac, still retained the right to “bless” his sons in any way he saw fit. That
is why, later on, when Rebekah and Jacob deceived an aging and blind Isaac
(Genesis 27), and stole Esau’s “blessing”, they took something from him that
they had absolutely no right to, whatsoever.
ESAU SELLS
HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB
Genesis
25:27-34
As Isaac and Rebekah’s sons grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter,
while Jacob was more of a homebody, or, as we might say today, “a mama’s boy”.
Isaac loved Esau in particular, because of the wild game that he would bring home,
which he loved to eat. However, on the other hand, Rebekah favored Jacob, who
enjoyed staying close to home and helping her with chores around the house.
One day when Jacob was cooking some “red”
stew, Esau arrived home tired and hungry after one of his hunts. Here in verse 30 we see the origins of how
Esau got his nickname “Edom”, which means “red”, as he requests from Jacob, a
bowl of this aromatic, delicious looking red stew. Jacob then cunningly
replies, “All right, but you must trade me your birthright for it”.
Surprisingly, a hungry Esau replied, “Look! I’m dying of starvation! What good
is my birthright to me now?” Jacob then insisted, “Well then, swear to me right
now that it is mine”.
Then Esau foolishly swears an oath to Jacob,
agreeing to thereby sell all his “rights as firstborn” to his younger brother.
He ate the “lentil stew” (and so the stew apparently didn’t even have any meat
in it) and went on his way, totally indifferent to the fact and ramifications
of what he had just done, all because he placed no value on spiritual things,
as his younger brother Jacob did.
When Esau ceded his birthright to his
brother Jacob that day, we are shown a picture of someone, who was seemingly,
totally indifferent (didn’t care one way or the other) to the far-reaching
effects, and impact of his decision. He seemed to have no idea that he had
given up the right to become the father of the Jewish nation, GOD’s chosen
people.
Jacob, on the other hand, whose name means,
quite literally, “the supplanter”, or “one who replaces”, would go on to father
the twelve sons, who would give birth to the twelve tribes of the coming nation
of Israel. This marked the beginning of the rivalry, in earnest, and it would forever
change, and quite literally destroy, the relationship of their families for
generations to come.
Rivalries brought on by jealousy and
deceit, are as old as humanity itself. The tragic case of Cain and Abel
(Genesis 4:6-16) give us our earliest glimpse of the destruction that these
things can have on family relationships. Many siblings since, have
contemplated, and even carried out murder, or suicide, because of their feeling
of being unequal to their brothers or sisters.
We as parents must be able to address our
children’s behavioral problems early, in a positive way that emphasizes their
strengths, and moves their minds away from those habits and behavior that can
one day bring harm to themselves and to others. Our goal must be to alter their
negative behavior, while, at one and the same time, preserving their positive
self image.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
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