6/26/22 - Sibling Showdown - Genesis 25:19-34 - Pastor Hudson Garcia

I have loved this series in Genesis because we have looked carefully at the origin story behind God’s plan to redeem and restore all of creation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What has been most shocking to me is how the all-powerful God of the cosmos chose a family to start His plan of redemption. As I get older, I become more aware that one thing is true about every family….they are all dysfunctional. Now, this fact is no surprise to the Biblical authors. We have seen some incredibly dysfunctional family dynamics so far in Genesis. This week, the dysfunction continues. 
 

Genesis 25:19-34 begins by moving the narrative forward. Now, it is Abraham’s son, Isaac’s, turn to trust in God for the promise He made to his father. Isaac’s story begins similarly to his father's, Isaac’s wife Rebekah is barren. After forty years of praying to God, Rebekah conceived. This pregnancy was unusually difficult, so she sought a word from God, which foreshadows all that is to come….
 

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”
 

This prophecy would come true in many ways. Rebekah gave birth to twin boys and these brothers were opposed to each other in every way. The plot comes to a head when Esau comes in from the field and begs Jacob for some stew. Esau begs as he believes he is on the verge of death. Jacob takes advantage of the situation and makes a deal with his starving brother, your birthright for my stew. Esau takes this horrible deal, and the author of Genesis gives a short commentary, “Thus Esau despised his birthright.” 
 

In this event, Jacob is given the rights of the first born and becomes the heir to the promise that God made to Abraham. We learn in the following chapters that Jacob is renamed Israel and his immediate descendants become the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 

This story becomes a pillar for understanding God’s sovereignty in remaining faithful to His promise to Abraham and how that promise became the hope for our salvation today. We can stand firm in times of trouble because we serve a God who is faithful to His promises.
 

This theological understanding of God should lead to practical application in every believer's life. How much more can we persevere in holiness and in the spiritual battle, knowing that the victory is ours and that the end is already written?