Day 21- Genesis 27

In this chapter, Isaac calls for Esau and instructs him to go out and hunt.  Esau is to catch some wild game and cook some of Isaac's favourite food, and Isaac would in response give Esau his blessing.
Rebekah hears this and convinces Jacob to deceive his father and take his brother's blessing by dressing him in goatskin and cooking Isaac's favourite food.
The whole time that Jacob is in there with Isaac, Isaac suspects that it is not really Esau.  He questions him 4 times. (vs 18, 20,21, 22-24)

In Isaac's blessing for Jacob, God's earlier promises to Rebekah are fulfilled.

"May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.  Be lord over your brothers; and may the sons of your mother bow down to you." vs 29

Esau returns only to discover that the birthright he sold to Jacob had really gone to Jacob.  Because of this, Esau decides that he will kill Jacob after mourning for his father.  Hearing this, Rebekah sends Jacob to live with her brother to save his life.

Once again, we see the disfunction in this family.  In chapter 25, it was about the favouritism, in this chapter, its about the lack of communication in the marriage.  It is also about the favouritism because Isaac and Rebekah pit their sons against each other.  Rebekah must have told Isaac when God told her that "the older will serve the younger."  Isaac knew what God had spoken about his sons.  He probably should have listened to that as a message to acknowledge Jacob as the one who should receive the birthright.
Rebekah should have trusted that God would follow through on his promises, instead of teaching Jacob to be deceitful.
Isaac and Rebekah taught Esau and Jacob deception and dissension, which in the end leads to a chasm between the two brothers and eventually dissension between the nations of their descendants.

Day 20- Genesis 26

Seems that Isaac takes after his father.
Due to a famine, he heads to where Abimelech reigns as king.  When the men there see Rebekah and ask Isaac about her, he answers, "She is my sister" because he was afraid. " The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
You'd think he would learn from his father's mistakes.
But God is still following through on his promises, and he's blessing Isaac and continuing to follow through on his promises to Abraham by blessing Abraham's descendants.
Eventually, Abimelech asks Isaac to move on because he has become too powerful and successful and that is intimidating.  Especially when you know God is on their side.
"We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; " vs 28

Once again, this reminded me to pray that I learn from my mistakes, and ALWAYS trust that God will take care of me.

Day 19- Genesis 25

Rebekah was barren, just like Sarah had been.

God answered Isaac's prayers and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.  Already at that point, the two boys were fighting within her (vs 22).  So Rebekah asked God why, and he answered her plainly.
"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 older will serve the younger." vs 23


Jacob and Esau grew to be opposites.  Esau was an outdoorsmen and Jacob stayed indoors.  You could say Jacob was a momma's boy.  Rebekah loved Jacob and Isaac loved Esau.  Blatant favouritism expressed in families never turns out well.

I've always pictured Esau as a massive redhead.  If you've ever seen this years' "How to Train Your Dragon," the main character's father (who is voiced by Gerald Butler.. of course) is basically what I've always imagined Esau to look like.

Jacob seems more like a skinny, quieter, shy boy, momma's boy..

Esau is the firstborn of the twins.  In those days, the firstborn sons would receive the inheritance, and would be given a blessing by their father.  Esau didn't really care about being the firstborn, or he didn't seem to respect the honor of being the firstborn.
"Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.  He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look I am about to die,' Esau said. (what a drama queen!) 'what good is the birthright to me?'
Vs 29-32

Jacob understood the honor and importance of the birthright.  There are a few thoughts about Jacob's actions in this passage.  Did Jacob see that Esau obviously despised his birthright, and decided that he would be a more appreciative recipient?
Because Rebekah loved Jacob, she probably told him about God's reply to her earlier inquiry. (the older will serve the younger).  Was Jacob acting this way, trusting that God would fulfill his promise?
Maybe he didn't even care about what God had in store for him at this point of his life, and he was just selfishly trying to take something that had yet to be given to him.

Why does God choose Jacob? Why does he tell Rebekah that the older will serve the younger? Is it because God is all-knowing and he knew that Esau would reject his birthright?  God's ways are not the ways of the world, is it because he sometimes chooses the unexpected person to fulfill his promises and carry out his will?

This passage brings up another question..
We are heirs with Christ, so what birthrights are we willingly forfeiting because we are stuck in the moment thinking about "what I want/need RIGHT NOW"?