Genesis 25:11

The Bible says in Genesis 25:11-18 “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.” One thing that is interesting to notice about Ishmael is that it says about him in Genesis 25:17 when he died that he “was gathered unto his people.” This exact same phrase was said about Abraham when he died. It is a phrase that is speaking about life after death. Both Abraham and Ishmael continued to live. Death was not an end. Death was not a cessation of life. Death was leaving the body and going to live somewhere else.

By saying that he was gathered unto “his people,” we know that he is going where he is comforted and happy. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus have a great future in store for them. The place of happiness where Abraham and Ishmael went after their deaths is the same place that Jesus spoke of in Luke chapter 16. Jesus said in Luke 16:22-25, ”And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” This shows us that the Jewish people and Jesus Himself believed in the continued existence of Abraham in paradise.

Concerning Isaac and Rebekah, the Bible says in Genesis 25:19-23, “And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25:20 tells us one more thing about the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah. Isaac was willing to wait until the right person came along. He did not marry Rebekah until he was forty years old. After praying and asking for the Lord’s will to be done, it is also very important to be willing to wait.

The passage of scripture in Genesis 25:19-23 shows us something very important about both Isaac and Rebekah. They were both people of prayer who relied upon the Lord and who depended upon the Lord. When Rebekah did not have children, Isaac prayed to the Lord and asked for His help. It says in Genesis 25:21, “And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” And then after Rebekah was with child, actually twins, there was more kicking and discomfort than perhaps Rebekah expected because it says in Genesis 25:22 that “the children struggled together within her”, and she prayed about it. It says in Genesis 25:22, “And she went to enquire of the Lord.” That is a very good example of praying about everything that goes on in your life. The Lord wants to have that kind of relationship with every believer. He wants us to go to Him about everything, and to rely upon Him about everything. That is one of the reasons that it says in First Thessalonians 5:17, ”Pray without ceasing.”

The disturbance that was taking place within Rebekah’s womb between the two infants had a symbolic meaning to it. God explained to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” This verse is a good illustration that God knows everything. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows before we are born what is going to happen to us. That is because God is not limited by time. In a way we can say that the past and the present are all one as far as God is concerned. God already knew the choices that these boys would make, and therefore what their destiny would be. When God told Rebekah that “the elder shall serve the younger,” He was preparing her to be able to accept things that would be different than Rebekah would have expected. In her culture the oldest boy would have had a more prominent place in the family than the younger sons, but not this time. God had a different plan. Be ready for changes in life. Often things will not work out the way that you think they will. But if you trust in the Lord, you will know that things will work out just the way that they should in God’s plan.

Concerning Jacob and Esau, we find that God gave a symbolic meaning to the life of these two men. There is an important spiritual meaning to the fact that Esau lost his blessing, and Jacob inherited it. God wanted to make it clear that He would choose who would be saved, and that His choice would be based upon who has faith. The person who is totally of the earth and without faith will be rejected. In Romans chapter 9 the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit is explaining the difference between being related to Abraham physically and being related to Abraham spiritually. In order to inherit the blessing that was given to Abraham, it is not enough to be related to him physically: in other words it is not enough to be a descendent in the lineage of Abraham. The Bible says in Romans 9:6-13, “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And only this; but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by our Father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

The key verse in this passage is Romans 9:11. It says, “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.” When a human being is conceived in the womb, it has life because God has given life. And God has given life for a reason. Every life has a purpose. We may not know what that purpose is, but God does. God also knows the future. God knows who will accept Christ by faith and who will not. God calls everyone to be saved, but only some respond. One of the purposes for Jacob and Esau was to show that God knows who will get saved and who will not get saved. Salvation does not happen by man’s works.

Faith in Christ is faith in God’s promise of salvation, and this promise has a direct link to the promise made to Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham concerning a “seed.” God said to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” That seed is Messiah, Jesus Christ. Abraham believed the promise. Everyone who believes, whether Jew or Gentile, inherits the blessing. God wanted to emphasize this point with the birth of Jacob and Esau. One would expect that Esau would inherit the birthright because of his physical relationship to Isaac and because Esau was the eldest son. But God did not allow this to happen. God wanted to show that the physical linage is not what determines who inherits the blessing. Those who are physically related to Abraham, whether Jew or Arab, will not inherit the blessing simply because of their lineage. If that is all that they rely on, they will be like Esau.

It is important to point out that God created Jacob and Esau for a reason. Esau became a horrible person, and God knew it would happen. Before the twins were born God told Rebekah that there was something different about these two sons of hers. Everyone is a sinner. Because we are sinners, we are capable of great evil and great failure. We are born into the world and we each have our own weaknesses and tendencies. God is involved in all of this somehow. Except for the grace of God, we would all fail even more than we do. Because God is all in all, and because God is involved in everything that happens, God even uses the bad things that happen to bring glory to His name. Often human beings do not understand how this could happen, but God is in control. Everything and everyone shall praise Him. We will see at the judgment that God was and is in control. Every sorrow, every heart-ache, and every disaster God will use somehow and in some way. Some parents will have children, and the lives of the children will result in disaster. I do not know why, but God knows why. It will fit into His purpose somehow. Isaac and Rebekah were faithful and spiritual people, but their oldest son became a horrible person, forever to be known as a profane person who was a bad example to others. And yet it fit into God’s purpose for showing that salvation is by faith. Those who do not value spiritual truth will follow the same pattern of failure that Esau experienced. But even their lives will eventually praise God. At the judgment when the righteousness of God is revealed in the person of Jesus, every life no matter how it turned out will bear witness that God is just and true and good. Whatever happened, God knew it would happen. Whatever happened, God used it to fulfill His eternal purposes. And we will all praise the Lord Jesus. When bad things happen to you or to those whom you love, remember that God has allowed it to happen for a reason. God is in control of all things and all things will work out for His good purpose.

The Bible says in Genesis 25:24-34, “And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” Another thing about Esau is the fact that he is presented as a person of the earth who makes decisions for material reasons only. Esau’s physical needs were more important to him than his spiritual needs. Such an attitude will always ultimately lead to disaster. Esau’s misplaced priorities are used as a warning to believers in Hebrews 12:16-17. It says, “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

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