The Un-Series: Week 4 Day 1

Genesis 25:19-28 (ESV)

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“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.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Abraham was the man that God chose out of obscurity and promised to make him into a great nation. Abraham believed God, but as time wore on, he and his wife Sarah got a little antsy. Unfortunately, rather than continuing to wait and trust God, they took matters into their own hands and forced a slave woman to have a child for them. This led to many problems. Eventually the promised son, Isaac, was born to Abraham and Sarah. Here we see Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, facing the same issue his parents had, they couldn’t conceive. Thankfully, Isaac did not try and take matters into his own hands, like his father did. Isaac simply prayed for his wife. In a similar way, when Rebekah was facing trouble in her pregnancy, she turned to God and asked Him for guidance.

Unfortunately, as we will see this week in the life of Jacob, one of Isaac and Rebekah’s sons, that fully relying on and trusting in God was not the route he usually chose. Jacob continually tried to grasp for the blessings of God, rather than trusting Him.

As we begin our study this week, take special note of your own tendencies. As everyday troubles arise do you turn to yourself or God?