Genesis 25:1-34 | Picking Favorites

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it and turn it to the book of Genesis. We'll be looking at chapter 25. If you don't have a Bible, you can use the pew Bible that's in front of you. Genesis is the first book in the Bible. The big numbers are the chapter numbers, and the little numbers are the verse numbers. We're going to be looking at the entirety of chapter 25 here, verses 1-34. If you don't have a Bible and you grab that pew Bible in front of you, we'd love for you to just be able to keep that Bible. Consider that our gift to you. We would love for you to be able to have a copy of God's Word that you could have for yourself and read and see what the Lord says to you. So again, we'll be looking at the first book of the Bible, Genesis 25. I'm going to read to us from verse 21.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her:Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. — Genesis 25:21-28 (CSB)

Let's pray. Lord, we pray now as we hear from your word that you would help us to not evaluate life based on worldly lenses, but to see how you see things, and in the light of your sight to be able to make wise decisions. We pray that you would help us now, as we hear from your word, to be wise. We only do that by your Holy Spirit. So we ask that you would help us now in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Choices That Define Us

I'll never forget sitting in New York listening to an older pastor mentor of mine preach a sermon, and he opened by saying, "Normally, you shouldn't have favorite children or grandchildren. You don't want to pick favorites, but when it comes to grandchildren, I do." His name is Elliot, and he's sitting right there, pointed at his grandchild in front of all of the other grandchildren. In our passage this morning, we see Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, even Esau pick favorites, and their choices reflect our almighty God's choice and how he'd accomplish his purposes in the world. In light of these choices that these human beings and that God makes, we get to learn more about what it looks like for you and I to walk faithfully in the Christian life.

With this sermon this morning, I want to evaluate three choices that we see kind of spring up in this passage. First, we're going to see Abraham's choice, Abraham's choice as it comes to the end of his life. Number two, we're going to see God's choice, God's choice in selecting Jacob over Esau even in the womb. And third, we'll see Esau's choice as he trades away his birthright in exchange for some stew.

Abraham's Choice: Legacy and Promise

Let's start with point number one, Abraham's choice. I'm going to read this entire section here from verses 1 to 18.

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah, and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East. This is the length of Abraham’s life: 175 years. He took his last breath and died at a good old age, old and contented, and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hethite. This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hethites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi. These are the family records of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their settlements and encampments: twelve leaders of their clans. This is the length of Ishmael’s life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. And they settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He stayed near all his relatives. — Genesis 25:1-18 (CSB)

Abraham's story that we've been tracking with for the last several months is finally wrapped up with this last story. And this passage tracks with Abraham's legacy. And it's a great one. I mean, this guy lived a long life, 175 years. He had many nations come forth from him. He marries another woman after Sarah passes away, and she bears some sons. You may recognize some of the names, like Midian, because they come up in later books of the Bible. And Ishmael himself has 12 sons, signifying this new nation that comes forth from Ishmael's line.

You know, it can almost seem as though God's promise for a people that he told Abraham, this people that would outnumber the stars in the sky, that would outnumber the sand on the seashore, is expanding out in real time. As you look at Abraham's life, I mean, you have major players in the biblical story, all appearing from Abraham, whether it's Ishmael, Midian, or Isaac. Abraham's line is expanding out and starting to cover the earth. Except that's not what God promised. God didn't choose Ishmael. He didn't choose Keturah's sons or anyone else to carry forward the promise of people, power, and blessing. And God's choice is reflected in Abraham's choice because while he had other children that Abraham certainly loved, Abraham had a favorite.

Verses 5 and 6 tell us that while Abraham loved his other children and gifted them with tons of gifts, he didn't view them as part of the promise. Just like Ishmael getting cast out from the land, he kicks out his other sons and grandsons out of the land as well, away from his son Isaac, so they would not overlap in their territory. In other words, Isaac is completely unique. He stands alone. There's no other inheritance for his other kids. In fact, he doesn't just send Isaac's brothers and sisters, half-brothers and sisters, anywhere. He sends them in a particular direction. You see what it says there in verse 6? It says that he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the east.

Now, cardinal directions are pretty hard for people my age. We're used to Google Maps orienting the entire world to wherever direction we're facing, because, you know, we are the center of the world. I remember during an evening service asking the people in the room how many of them knew where north was in this room, and the only person that knew was Connie, right? Where's north? Yeah, that way. Right. That's the only way north is, right? And the reason is because directions matter, right? Not just because you know how to use an atlas in the inevitable end of our technological apocalypse, but because it situates you in a world outside of yourself, right? It makes sure that north is north no matter which direction you're looking. But these cardinal directions do more than just that. It also carries biblical significance. Abraham sends his other sons east, right? North is this way, so east is this way, right? East. He sends them eastward.

See, there's another time in Scripture, even in this book, where you see children cast out eastward. And it happens in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis chapter 3. After Adam and Eve commit sin and are cursed by God and clothed with animal skins, it says that the Lord God sent him away from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. — Genesis 3:23-24 (CSB)

So you have this land, this Eden, this land of blessing, and God kicks out Adam and Eve eastward, east of Eden. This is exactly why even in the Jewish temple, the Holy of Holies would have a veil covering the entrance to the most holy presence of God. And that veil would be facing east, covered separation. See, Abraham sending his kids eastward is no accident. It's a sign. It's a sign that the promises that were given by God to Abraham will be channeled through one child, Isaac, not his other kids. Abraham had a favorite, not necessarily because of personal preference, because if you remember in Genesis 17, Abraham even begs God, "Why don't you just let Ishmael be acceptable to you?" And it's clear that Ishmael loved his dad. They probably had a relationship. I mean, Ishmael is present at Abraham's burial in verse 9.

This favoritism isn't because of personal preference. It's because of God's promises. See, Abraham ends his life as a man of faith. He makes difficult choices, even of separation, if it means being clear about God's promises. There's an inside and there's an outside. There's Eden. There's a land outside of Eden. There's a promised land and there is the land of the east. In other words, there is a line that divides the people that are inside the promise and those that are out. It's part of the reason why we want to be intentional about church membership here, because we want to dictate who is or is not part of the kingdom. We don't believe that we have the authority to cast someone out of heaven. We want to make sure that we're clear about those who are inside walking faithfully with this church versus those who are walking with the world. Those are inside the promise and those east of Eden are separated because they are determined by those who have repented of their sins and trust in Christ alone.

It says that Abraham died an old and contented man. You know, J.C. Ryle was an old pastor. He said that there are two things said to be rare sights in the world: one is a young man who is humble, and the other is an old man content. It says here that Abraham's content, not because the choices weren't difficult, they are, but because he knew that he was banking his life on the promise of something greater. There are so many here who have spent your life trusting that you are destined for something greater than this world, that the blessings of God are worth giving up everything for. And that satisfaction doesn't happen from seeing your 401k come to fruition. That kind of satisfaction doesn't come from seeing a clean health bill every single year when you go in for your physical. That satisfaction doesn't come from seeing anything realized in this present life.

Abraham doesn't die old and contented because he lived a nice and comfortable life. He doesn't die old and contented because he saw all of God's promises realized. He dies old and contented because after decades of anxious wandering, he can finally rest knowing that God will continue to fulfill his promises as he always did. He's able to be buried with his wife in a foreign land, knowing that the Lord would continue his work through his son, which is exactly why the Lord blesses Isaac. And it seems like Isaac is going to be going through a very similar pattern to his father.

God's Choice: Sovereignty in the Womb

This brings us from point one, Abraham's choice, to point two, God's choice. Look at verse 19.

These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. — Genesis 25:19-22 (CSB)

Isaac marries Rebekah. We saw a story last week. But Rebekah is childless, and Isaac prayed to the Lord, and God heard him. Now I want to be really careful in not drawing a straight line between prayer and conception. So many churches lead people astray by treating prayer like a cheat code or incantation that guarantees particular outcomes. Isaac prays to the Lord, and the Lord answers. But the Lord didn't answer right away. I don't know if you notice in verse 26, it says that Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born. So, I want you to do some basic arithmetic with me, okay? Isaac was 60 when his kids are born. He was 40 when he married Rebekah, which means he waited how long? 20 years. His father had to wait 25 years. Isaac had to wait 20 years. Now, with Abraham, we got to see what that journey looked like over the course of 10 chapters. With Isaac, we get to see that happen in one verse. And yet the length of time is still extremely long. In other words, childlessness that he's experiencing here is not the direct result of prayerlessness. Be very careful in drawing a straight line between prayer and particular outcomes. This isn't about a person's inherent righteousness or guaranteeing a certain result. It's about God's purposes and God's timing. You could pray for something for 20 years and then have God answer with a yes. You could pray for your whole life, and maybe he'll never answer it till the day that he returns. In every single scenario, though, God hears you, and God's designs are beyond our understanding.

Rebekah conceives. She's able to have children, but she doesn't have a smooth pregnancy. You see a stomach ache that's happening inside of her. She goes to the Lord to ask, "What's going on?" This is God's answer in verse 23.

And the Lord said to her:Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. — Genesis 25:23-26 (CSB)

These kids are beefing with each other inside the womb. They're fighting, they're wrestling with each other. And so, Rebekah asked God, "What's going on?" And God says, "Two nations going to be separated. The older is going to serve the younger." That's not exactly what you would expect when you're experiencing stomach ulcers, right? You're going to have children that fight each other or aches in your belly. But the pain inside Rebekah's womb should remind us backwards as well. Pain in childbearing. Does that remind you of anything? Should remind you of Genesis 3, of this curse that God said would happen. And these two nations that struggle with each other, it sounds like the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Two nations that'll be fighting against one another. God promised in Genesis 3:15 that there would be hostility between the serpent's seed and the woman's seed. Before Jacob and Esau are even born, God already had his purposes set for what he would accomplish. And he intended that his promise would go through the younger one, through Jacob, and not through Esau. And this happens before Jacob and Esau are born.

To put it even stronger, in Malachi 1:2-3, God goes as far as to say that "he loved Jacob and he hated Esau." Paul picks up this idea in Romans chapter 9 by saying:

For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand— not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger. As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau. — Romans 9:11-13 (CSB)

This isn't about just two infant babies in the womb having some kind of sibling rivalry. This oppression, this struggle between these two brothers, has been baked into God's promises from the very beginning, all the way back to Genesis 3:15. Not just that, that's why there is struggle between Jacob and Esau: it is because of God's promises. Notice how Rebekah's asking, "Why is there this struggle within me?" And God says, "Because of this promise that I've given, that the older will serve the younger."

Sometimes people will debate exactly how God's providence, or his control over all things, and how our decisions that we make as single creatures are interrelated. Sometimes we could feel like in order to affirm one, you have to deny the other. So you have God's control over all things—some people will call that sovereignty or providence, whatever word you want to use for that—and we'll talk about human responsibility or choice or free will, or whatever you may want to call that. And you start to think that if one is true, that must mean that the other is not true. So, if God is in control of all things, then we're just robots that are going along with our pre-programming. Or if we're ultimately responsible for our own decisions, then God can't possibly know the future or that he needs to wait on our response in order to make his plans. I just want to be super clear that neither of those choices are true in the Bible. In fact, the Bible teaches that God is in control of all things. He works all things together for the good of those who love him. That he loved Jacob and hated Esau before they were born. He knew exactly how the timeline of biblical history would play out. And at the same time, you and I are morally responsible for the decisions that we make. In other words, God is in control, and you and I are responsible. The Bible teaches both. In fact, often you'll see that the Bible teaches both side by side. In fact, that's exactly what happens in this passage as well. So, as I talk about God's choice, I just want that to overlap with our last point here, our third choice, or third point, Esau's choice.

Esau's Choice: Trading the Eternal for the Immediate

We get to see God choose in our previous section. Now, we're going to see man choose. Look at verse 27.

When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright. — Genesis 25:27-34 (CSB)

His boys grow up. Esau's a hunter. Jacob's a quiet homebody. And the parents pick their own favorites, right? Isaac loves Esau because he loves to eat, right? Rebekah loves Jacob. But one day, Esau comes in exhausted. Jacob is making lentil stew. Esau, the red man, asks for the red stuff because he's exhausted. And Jacob says, "Only if you give me your birthright, this right to be the firstborn, to inherit Isaac's promise." And Esau makes the deal. He trades away his birthright in exchange for some bread and some lentil stew.

I know what you're thinking. I mean, how could anyone give up anything for lentils? I mean, what a terrible meal. How good would that stew have had to have been to be willing to give up the promise of everlasting blessing, of people, place, and power, in exchange for some beans? And the answer is that it wasn't. For one, lentils just aren't it. It'll never be it. But more importantly, that choice is supposed to look insane, supposed to look crazy. It is never worth giving up your inheritance for anything in this world. It doesn't matter if it's lobster or filet, you don't give it up. And yet, Esau does it. And so do we.

Think about how many times you and I have traded the promise of eternal life in exchange for the treasures of Egypt, where we've looked at what's immediately in front of us, fixated on it, justified it. I mean, do you see Esau's insane thought process here? "I'm going to die anyway. Are you really going to die if you don't eat your bean stew? What good is a birthright if I'm dead?" The point isn't an answer to that question, but the absurdity of the question itself. It shows just how skewed Esau's perspective was. He thought he was going to die. And because of the pressure of the immediate, Esau trades away the eternal. What is your lentil stew? What's the thing that makes you see red? Where you're tempted to look at the everlasting treasure of Christ and the gospel and trade it away for some beans? We call this inward desire for sin, the appetites of sin or the passions of the flesh, that our hearts are drawn towards evil. We're attracted to it. We crave it in our hearts. And those choices are not robotic. We consciously, individually, willingly trade away our promises for our appetites. What choice will you make? Esau didn't just pick lentils because God had somehow set out the dominoes of life to lead to this compromise. When Esau stands before the throne of judgment, he has no excuse for the choice that he made. And God planned this forfeiting of his own birthright before Jacob and Esau were even born. You see what the Bible's doing? It sets forth God's control of Esau's destiny, and Esau signed away his own destiny. Both are true at the same time. God's word keeps both God's control and man's choice side by side.

And so, here's the thing for you and I this morning: What choice will you make? This is not a question of whether or not you take some sovereign magic eightball and shake it up to see what God had already decided for you. You need to make that decision. What will you do? Will you follow the God of the promise, or will you compromise and trade away those promises for the things of the world? This is precisely why we want to take holiness so seriously. We want to be able to follow the Lord and not make dumb decisions. I mean, that's exactly what we read earlier in Hebrews 12:16-17 about Esau who trades away his birthright in exchange for a single meal. Next week we'll see how he gets rejected because of that decision. Sorry, in two weeks we'll see that decision. See, when you and I exhort one another to follow Christ, to make the right choice, when we discipline, when we address sin in each other's life, what you're doing is two things. Number one, you're trying to help someone make an educated choice, trying to remind someone you have agency for the decisions that you make. You don't just default to whatever your heart's desire. Especially if you're in Christ and you have the Spirit, you have the capability of making decisions to resist temptation. 1 Corinthians tells us that there is no temptation that is overtaking you that is uncommon to man, but that God is faithful in the time of temptation.

No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it. — 1 Corinthians 10:13 (CSB)

You will always have a choice. But the other reason why we discipline and address sin is because we need to remind each other that we have something better than lentil stew. We have a blessing that's beyond any of our comprehension. What will you choose?

The Gospel's Invitation: A Different Choice

Now, you may be hearing this and reflecting back on your life, and you may think, "Esau's me. I've picked the world over and over and over again." And the good news for you and I is that you can still make a different choice. Esau is designed, is presented as an example of what the Lord has planned, but also who you can choose not to be. See, all of us have been cast eastward out of the land of promise. All of us have traded the promise of Eden in exchange for the treasures of Egypt. And all of us deserve to be punished in hell forever for our disobedience and sin. But the good news of the gospel is that God had a greater plan. That he made a promise even in the very beginning that he would redeem you and I by sending Jesus Christ, the only man who never sinned. The only man who never made this terrible exchange, who lived the perfect life that you and I could never live. And on the cross, God poured out the penalty, the punishment for sin that you and I deserved, on the cross, on his body. And at his death, the veil that covered the Holy of Holies that was facing east was torn from top to bottom, opening the way for sinners like you and I to be able to enter back in.

See, the good news of the gospel isn't about you just kind of discovering your destiny and becoming the person that you were destined to be. The good news, this offer of the gospel, is that that veil is open. That even if you were cast out to the land of the east, when you hear that gospel call and you respond, you can enter through the veil of his flesh and enter into that promised rest right now. You can choose to turn away from your sin and to trust in Christ. And the reason why you can enter through that veil, the reason why you can make that kind of choice and trust that God won't turn his back on you, is because the reason why God saved you wasn't primarily because of that choice that you made or something that he sees in you, like, "Oh, you're really a good person at heart," but because of his eternal plan, because of his promises, because God loves us. See, it's not because Jesus died for you that God then loves you. It's not like you turn from your sin and you trust in Christ, and suddenly God flips the other side of the coin and he goes from a frowny face to a super happy one, stoked that you're around. No, it's because God loves you that he sent his Son to die for you. His love precedes his salvation because God cares for his children. This is precisely why Jesus can say in John 6:37 that "all the Father gives to me comes to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."

Now, the truth is, while we live in this life, while we're in this present moment, I have no idea what God's plan is. I don't have some crystal ball under this pulpit that lets me know who's in and who's out. What I do know is that offer, that choice is before you right now. The question isn't whether or not you're destined, but what you decide. What will you pick? One preacher likens salvation to a door, right? And on the front of that door of salvation, it says, "Whoever wills, whoever chooses may come." And then once you've entered in, you enter into salvation. You enter into that promised land. You turn around and you look at that same door, and on the doorpost it says, "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world." The choice that you and I make confirms the almighty God's choice before the foundation of the world. What will you choose? Will you seek momentary contentment in exchange for some bean stew? Will you die a contented man, trusting that God's promises are always true? Will you choose the stew of sin or the marriage supper of a lamb? Will you choose the tomb of death or the waters of baptism? Will you choose the promise of Christ or the curse of death? That choice is before you. Make the right one. Let's pray.