These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other;
the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (New Revised Standard Version)
As we near the end of Advent and the anticipation of the Christ child, today’s Old Testament lesson is a reminder to us of a much earlier birth.
The birth of the twins Jacob and Esau from Rebekah and the patriarch Isaac, are part of the promise given to Abraham, which would find its fulfillment centuries later, according to Christians, with the incarnation of Christ.
In this time of year, we may commonly associate the season with an emphasis on peace and unity. Yet, we must bear in mind that the need to emphasize these positive elements arises because enmity and discord exists among us.
In our story for today, we are reminded that God also works within conflict, even family conflict, to further divine purposes and promises. God’s presence exists through times of strife and disagreement, just as much as it does in times of joy of celebration.
The sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau began within the womb and at their birth. Their adverse relationship and continual competition was something God used, and bent it toward the Lord’s good plans and purposes for people.
Just as Mary and Elizabeth were mothers central to the direction of God’s will accomplished on this earth, so Rebekah is a pivotal character in the early history of the people of Israel, and their covenantal promises.
And similar to Mary and Elizabeth in the New Testament, Rebekah in the Old Testament was given children by means of God’s gracious power. We are meant to see God’s sovereign authority over all things, including control of the future. The text of Scripture values faith, and trusting in divine promises.
The two babies, Esau and Jacob, are more than twins. They each are ancestors of entire nations of people: Esau of Edom, and Jacob of Israel.
Against all odds, Jacob is the one who kept coming out on top of things. His character reveals something of the nation of Israel’s understanding of themselves. Israel is a small, and by all appearances, an insignificant nation; and yet, they become identified as God’s covenant people.
The ways of the Lord are often quite contradictory to societal convention and cultural expectations. The smallest and the youngest, the least and the forgotten, become prominent in God’s economy of things. This is a common pattern throughout Holy Scripture. (e.g. Genesis 17:18-19; 42:6-9; 1 Samuel 16:10-13; 17:33, 50)
Even though the two of them are twins, Esau and Jacob have very different personalities and interests. Esau was an outdoorsman, a hunter, who wasn’t home much. He had an extroverted life which had him interacting with all sorts of different people, especially women from other places. Jacob, however, hung around the home tents, an introvert. He comes across a stereotypical mama’s boy.
Yet, despite Jacob’s continual conniving, and Esau’s constant disdain for his family’s heritage with God, the Lord nevertheless showed generosity to both brothers.
But for a long time, it seemed as if one might kill the other, or both of them may do away with each other. Yet, eventually, there is a reunion between the brothers.
Ultimately, their story as brothers ends without any more sibling rivalry or hatred. Instead, there is reconciliation, blessing, and peace, as they positively accept one another and share in the burial of their father Isaac.
Especially in this time of year, when families gather around tables to eat, watch football games together, and go outside for semi-ceremonial smokes and drinks – and all that goes with being together around family, there is the inevitable conflict.
And when it comes, each individual responds in their typical way of either avoidance, confrontation, or quick-fix resolution. But there is also another way to respond.
Know that struggle, rivalry, emotion, longing, and belonging are all part of our human experience. And God is just as much present within those times, as God is in the blessing before eating, or the spiritual conversation between friends, or the collective sojourn to church on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day.
The blessing and abundance of God comes through all sorts of means. The ways of the Lord are often beyond what we might think or believe.
This season is an opportunity to embrace the conflict and the struggle, in order to know God better, know friends and family better, and better know what it means to be blessed.
Almighty, ever-living, and ever-loving God, the Nativity of your Son draws near. May divine mercy flow from your Word, made flesh for us of the Virgin Mary, to us, your unworthy yet faithful servants. Let him establish his dwelling on this earth, and in our hearts, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 