Genesis,
chapter 25
Genesis
25:1 ¶ Then again Abraham took a wife,
and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bare
him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the
sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and
Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
6 But unto the sons of the concubines,
which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son,
while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. 7 And these are the days of the years of
Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a
good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried
him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the
Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10 The
field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried,
and Sarah his wife.
Abraham’s
second wife, or third, if you count Hagar, (concubines are a type of lesser
wife, a cultural phenomenon not ordered by God) is named Keturah and she gives
him Midian, the father of a tribe who will later be a problem for the
Israelites trying to get into Canaan and once they are in the Promised Land.
But, a priest of this tribe will provide a wife for Moses and be his sanctuary
in the wilderness after he flees from Egypt.
But,
keep in mind that, like we do, people give names to their children that are
often known and already existing, in use by others. For instance, Cush had
grandsons named Sheba and Dedan in Genesis 10:7. There is a man named Sheba who
rebelled against King David in 2Samuel 20. In modern times we have examples
where a former Rock and Roll performer and wannabe politician named himself
Jello Biafra after a secessionist Nigerian state, Biafra. On a soberer note
there are many children named after famous places like London, Brooklyn, Paris,
and even India. So, while naming customs were more based on religious reasons
in the ancient world and for reasons of already having an ancestor with that
name we must be careful about making genealogical links as a matter of fact
between two people or a person and a tribe bearing the same name in the Bible.
Still,
Keturah most likely was a Canaanite who had Sheba and Dedan as part of her own
heritage and passed these respected names down through her son, with Abraham’s
supposed blessing and involvement, of course.
It
must be remembered, as stated in verse 5, that all of Abraham’s inheritance
goes to Isaac so that it is the Jews, not the Arabs, who were given the land of
Canaan. As stated before all of these promises are in Christ so that the
fulfillment of that promise of land will not be complete until Christ
physically returns. The political Israel of today is a puny representative of
this enormous grant of land from the Nile to the Euphrates. See previous
comments on this subject.
Abraham’s
wives other than Sarah are called concubines. Abraham lived 175 years and gave up the ghost which is his spirit
(see Luke 23:46) and was gathered to his
people. Gave up the ghost is a reference to dying that is used later for
Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Ananias, and Herod. Gathered
to his people is referenced again for Ishmael and Jacob at their deaths.
Abraham
is said to be eminent in Paradise, the garden of God, when it was in the heart
of the earth, separated from Hell, and called Abraham’s bosom (see Luke 16.)
Paradise comes from a Persian word meaning a walled garden or a hunting
preserve. The garden of God, called Eden, was once on the earth but, after
Adam’s fall, was hidden by cherubim (see Genesis chapters 2&3, Ezekiel
28:13, 14; 31:8,9). Jesus went to the heart of the earth, to Paradise,
Abraham’s bosom, the garden of God, to preach after the Cross. (see Luke 23:43;
Matthew 12:40; 1Peter 3:19; 4:6). Paradise was separated from Hell and is now
taken up into Heaven because of Christ (Revelation 2:7) which we can see
because Paul went “up” there as stated in 2Corinthians 12:4.
Why
is Paradise called Abraham’s bosom? Because Abraham represents all of those who
believe God. Salvation is predicated upon believing what God said. It is as
clear as a bell.
The
Greeks, flowering as an intellectual culture much later around the 5th
century BC, had great contact with the Ancient Near East as mercenaries,
traders, and settlers before that and derived their concept of Hades from the
Hebrews. Greek philosophers stated that they did not know the origin of their
mythology but the first mention of Hades is in Homer, writing perhaps in the 9th
century BC, nearly a thousand years after Abraham’s life and three hundred to
four hundred after Moses’ put the account in writing. The 9th
century BC is also the time when most scholars believe that the Greeks derived
their alphabet from the Phoenicians who we will see derived it from the Hebrews
who got it from God at Mount Sinai. Before then, picture writing was used by
the cultures of the world, from the Sumerians on the plain of Shinar, called Cuneiform,
to the Egyptians, called Hieroglyphics, to China, and even down to the
civilizations of South and Central America over two thousand years later.
As
an example of Greek involvement in the Near East, when Nebuchadnezzar and
Pharaoh Necho’s armies fought at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46) both sides used Greek
mercenaries extensively. In addition, a prophet lamented how Hebrew
children had been taken as slaves to Greece. (Joel 3:6). There were Greek
cultural influences in the Near East and Greek language influences as well.
However, the Greeks who wrote about Hades wrote after this period of time and
were influenced by what they learned from the Hebrews as they were by what they
learned about other cultures’ practices and beliefs. The Greeks themselves even
admitted they learned a great deal in Egypt and the Near East. In the later
Greek myth, Hades was a place for not only the wicked but the good persons’
souls to abide after death while Tartarus was where their supreme god, Zeus,
cast the Titans, giants, and there were different places for enjoyment and
punishment based on a person’s behavior in life as well as their relationship
to the gods. In the Ancient world, then, it was understood that the abode of
the dead, good or bad, was in one location.
Isaac
and Ishmael bury Abraham with Sarah. It is probably the last time the Jew and
the Arab will cooperate in much of anything.
God’s
ministry of reconciliation, of reconciling mankind to Himself, was carried on
in a dramatic way through Abraham. Abraham remains an important figure in human
history. Abraham believed what God said. Do we?
James
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled
which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Genesis
25:11 ¶ And it came to pass after the
death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well
Lahairoi. 12 Now these are the
generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s
handmaid, bare unto Abraham: 13 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, 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and
Massa, 15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur,
Naphish, and Kedemah: 16 These are the
sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their
castles; twelve princes according to their nations. 17 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. 18
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.
Genesis
25:19 ¶ And these are the generations of
Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: 20
And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter
of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. 21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife,
because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife
conceived. 22 And the children struggled
together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to
enquire of the LORD. 23 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. 24 And when her days to be delivered were
fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an
hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 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. 27
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field;
and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of
his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
This
passage of Scripture starts off with an account of Ishmael’s death and of his
progeny who grew to great numbers and occupied what has come to be known as
Arabia. Then, an account is given of the birth of Esau and Jacob. Esau was his
father’s favorite while Jacob was his mother’s favorite. Esau was an outdoors kind
of guy who liked to hunt and Jacob hung around the house or tent. He was
probably a big help to his mother and a “momma’s boy.” As we will see though,
he was not a wimp or a “simpering milquetoast.” The elder shall serve the younger is a prophecy of Esau playing
second fiddle to Jacob. He will be willing to give up his birthright for a bowl
of stew and Isaac will be tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob.
Esau
will lend his name to Edom which eventually will be known as Idumea.
Genesis
36:1 Now these are the generations of
Esau, who is Edom…8 Thus dwelt Esau in
mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
Ezekiel
35:15 As thou didst rejoice at the
inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto
thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and
they shall know that I am the LORD.
The
kingdom of Edom no longer exists but its geography lies within the southern
reaches of the country known as Jordan. Some commentators believe that it is
the location of the wilderness where the survivors of the Beast of Revelation’s
final fight against the Jews will flee in Revelation 12. There lies the famous
rock city of Petra. Esau’s legacy then runs throughout history and Jacob and
Esau will be united in a manner of speaking in the end, if this is correct.
Why
is Jacob favored over Esau? Esau was a carnal man who was willing to give up
his birthright to appease his appetite and lost his blessing. Jacob was clever
and crafty, which we think of as not being very good character traits
especially since he used them to obtain a blessing from his father by deceit
and treachery. Why did God choose Jacob over Esau? The history of the carnal
man of uncontrolled appetites is a history of war and rebellion. It is a
history of corruption and injustice. Esau represents what is wrong with
charismatic leaders who cause young women to think things they should not and
cause young men to deliver up their common sense to follow blindly. He is a man
of the earth, a natural man.
1Corinthians
2:14 But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The
natural man is lusty and everything he sees exists to serve him; either his
appetites, his sexual lust, or his need to dominate others for fear of being
dominated himself. He is praised in our literature and media and millions will
follow him. The trouble is that he would trade God’s inheritance for another
meal, approval and validation from others, and a chance to have what he wants
at the moment. He despises what he calls, “pie-in-the-sky religion,” and
concerns himself only with satisfying his immediate needs in the here and now.
He could not envision eternity for all he was worth. He cannot even perceive of
the idea of God usually. He is too busy putting food in his belly, perhaps a
beer, glass of wine, or liquor to his lips, or pursuing the latest tech gadget
or get rich scheme to even consider the fate of his soul. The question you
should ask yourself, young man, is, are you an Esau?
Hebrews
12:14 Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the
grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby
many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright. 17 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.
On
the other hand, Jacob, though clever and resourceful, deceitful even, who will
wrestle with God Himself, can be molded into God’s man. Full of flaws himself,
character flaws, fearful and uncertain at times but obedient as often as he can
be, in the end, God’s choice of him to further God’s work of reconciliation, of
bringing mankind to God, bears fruit in Joseph and his brethren, the forebears
of the Hebrew “race” from whence the Redeemer of mankind comes and from whom
God’s ministry of reconciliation flows.
Genesis
25:29 ¶ And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau
came from the field, and he was faint: 30
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. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy
birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I
am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he
sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 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.
The
narrative of Jacob and Esau is provided as an introduction before Moses returns
to the story of Isaac. These passages are a foundation that will explain why
Jacob and Rebekah felt justified to deceive Isaac and rob Esau of his legal
due. The point here is that Esau did not regard his birthright and sold it to
Jacob. In the ancient heathen world and even up to today in some countries the
oldest son was to inherit his father’s property and religious duties within the
family. Esau was willing to sell his sacred right and privilege to his brother.
The
question will become, now that Esau swore to give up his birthright and sold it
for a bowl of stew, how to get Isaac to bless Jacob first and grant him the
birthright.
Sod, we
can figure out from the context is made or cooked. Notice how sod is used again in 2Chronicles 35:13.
Sodden used to be the past participle of to seethe or boil. Sod is short for
that.
Exodus
16:23 And he said unto them, This is
that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto
the LORD: bake that which ye will bake
to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay
up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exodus
23:19 The first of the firstfruits of
thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s
milk.
Pottage
is soup or stew.
2Kings
4:38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal:
and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting
before him: and he said unto his servant, Set
on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
Esau
will sell his birthright for a bowl of red stew and Edom comes from that. Edom,
according to Strong’s dictionary, means red.
This
is why the Red Sea is called the Red Sea.
1Kings
9:26 And king Solomon made a navy of
ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
What
is the birthright that Esau surrendered to Jacob for a meal? As the oldest Esau
was, by custom, to inherit his father’s wealth and be head of the family, and
his father’s standing before God. It was also of religious significance among
the heathen, as the eldest son would inherit the family, the wealth, and the
religious responsibilities to maintain the family gods and the family fire as
De Coulanges tells us in his book The
Ancient City. Later, Jacob’s son, Reuben, will forfeit his birthright by a
grievous sin against his father. Esau surrendered his birthright to be the head
of the family for a meal. Of course, we know that God chose Jacob but in
retrospect Esau gave up the privilege of having the Messiah come through his
lineage, of having God come to earth to live as a man, the Son of God and the
Son of man in one person, through his descendants, for a bowl of soup.
Notice
it says that Esau despised his
birthright. Despise is a synonym of hate
in the Bible. It simply means to hold in contempt or to disregard or to
view someone lower in your eyes than they should be naturally.
Proverbs
5:12 And say, How have I hated
instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
Amos
5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days,
and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Matthew
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Despise
is the opposite of honoring someone or something, meaning to hold them in low
esteem.
1Samuel 2:30
Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house,
and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD
saith, Be it far from me; for them that
honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
Understanding
this will help you understand difficult verses such as this where in comparison
to Christ it is said;
Luke
14:26 If any man come to me, and hate
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,
yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
We
can find examples in this in Americans who despise
their right to vote and don’t do it, not out of protest, but just because
they don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s not worth the trouble to them. We find
examples of this in Christians who despise
uniting with other Christians in worship as the Church, not because they
have moved to a new place and don’t know any Christians or believe that that
institutional churches are not Biblical, but, because it’s too much trouble and
they’d rather sleep in.
Esau
is an example of a great many people in the world throughout history. And so,
it is said that God held him in contempt, as well;
Malachi
1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and
his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Romans
9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated.
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