Sermon
of July 10, 2005
Presented by Rev. Chuck Ericson
Scripture lesson: Genesis 25:19-34
“A Battle from the Beginning”
I briefly mentioned this passage awhile ago when I was talking in a sermon about the long heritage and story of the family of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca and then Jacob and Esau and Joseph after them. I alluded to the struggles between these two boys, Jacob and Esau, that begins here in this passage. It’s really a continuation of a long-standing story of family discord.
If you remember last week, we heard of the birth of the young Isaac and how his mother Sarah had grown jealous, because he was playing with Abraham’s other son, Ishmael. So, Sarah got upset and a big discord set in in the family, over the two boys, Isaac and Ishmael. Well now here we are, a couple of chapters later, and there’s a new argument and a new struggle going on between two boys again, the sons of Isaac and Rebecca. One will become the patriarch Israel. Later on, Jacob will have a dream and have a struggle of his own by a river, and he will be renamed Israel by God. And so he will actually be considered the father, or the founder, of Israel. He, as Israel, will be the father of Isaac, who will become the father of Joseph and the other eleven will become the twelve tribes of Israel, and become that great nation. Esau will become the founder of the nation of Edom. Remember that word earlier that the word “Edom” is like red, because he was having this red stew, and he was kind of reddish-looking himself; he will become the founder of this nation Edom.
And a great rivalry will develop between these two nations, as was predicted earlier in the passage. Edom and Israel will become hated rivals in the history of that part of the Middle East, so long that it will last until at least 500 B.C. It’s now somewhere around 1800 B.C., so 1300 to 1400 years, somewhere around there, this rivalry between the descendants of the two boys will take place. In fact, when Babylon comes in and takes over Israel and deports many of the Israelites to Babylon, Edom takes the side of Babylon against Israel. So the descendants of Esau take sides against the descendants of Israel. It’s all written up in a book called “Obadiah” which is in the Prophets. You know the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others – well after the prophet Amos and before Jonah, there are 21 verses, just one chapter, Obadiah. My seminary professor said the book of Obadiah is 21 glorious verses about how “I hate the Edomites.” The vision of Obadiah thus says the Lord God…on and on for 21 verses, how awful are the Edomites. It begins here with the struggle between Jacob and Esau. So I’d like to take a look at this for a few moments. I want to take a few moments to discuss what we can gain from this about how we live in our families today.
I think one of the key things here is that in our families, and also in other relationships, one of the things we should be careful not to do is to jockey for position, and see who’s number one. It’s good in horse racing, obviously, to jockey for position. It’s good in other sports to try and be number one; that’s a goal of sports. It’s good in business to try and be the very best you can in your business. It’s good in academics; it’s good in school to try with all your heart to be the very best, to be number one if you can. Only one person is going to be number one, but when we try to be the best, when we try to be number one in the important areas of our lives, it means we’re using the abilities and the gifts that God has given us and we’re trying to use them to the fullest; we’re not squandering them. We’re using what God has given us: our brains, our bodies, our spirits, our creativity to be the very best possible person we can be as God has created us. So it’s good in all those areas. But it’s not a really good idea to try to figure out who’s number one in family; who’s the best. It can only lead to trouble, as it shows here.
Now remember, when they’re being born (Jacob and Esau), twins, obviously one of them has to be born first, but Rebecca senses there’s a struggle going on inside before they’re born. And as they’re born, the story is told, that Esau is born and then comes Jacob and he’s holding onto the heel of Esau – trying to change places with him. It’s in the Bible. Being number one starts right at the moment they’re born, struggling to see who’s going to be number one. And the result of this is, over the years between the two boys: anger, animosity, maybe even hatred, contention – instead of what you would think brothers should have: love, mutual respect, mutual encouragement of each other to be the best that each one of them can be. It reminded me of two of my uncles who grew up in the same household, both nice men, both good men, but always in the family it seemed like the family perceived that one of them was really the best; one of them was really number one and the other one didn’t amount to very much. That’s what I grew up with, thinking that was the case with these two brothers. Only when I grew quite a bit older, I learned from one of my cousins that that wasn’t the truth. Really, each one of them was a fine man. Each one of them was number one, but in different ways, in different areas. Maybe one was more in his professional life; the other was more in his family life. They were both good, it wasn’t that one needed to be number one over the other. It’s a good story here, about Jacob and Esau (even depending on how you take that thing about grabbing the heel), it’s a good story because it reminds us that nothing good can come out of trying to decide who’s number one.
But we can also learn that seeking preferential treatment isn’t really good in families, and that’s a little different. I think of the number one as who’s the best, and I think of the preferential treatment idea as who’s the favorite. It’s clear in this passage that Esau is the favorite of his father, because he’s a hunter and he brings home good game and his father likes eating the good game. And Jacob is the favorite of his mother. In fact, his mother later on concocts all kinds of schemes to try and get Jacob to get not only the birthright that he got here, but all kinds of other rites that normally should have been due to the first son. So, Rebecca certainly favors Jacob, while Esau is favored by his father Isaac. It’s like, remember the Smothers Brothers: “Mom always liked you best. Mom and Dad, they got you a dog – and all I got was a chicken.” The whole routine, it was very funny back in the 50’s or 60’s. But it’s true, when we sense that somebody is not only number one but the favorite of the mother or the father or the grandparent or whoever it is, nothing good can come from that. I kid with my children about that. I tell them, when they’re by themselves, you’re really my favorite. Your older brother and sister are no match for you: I have to pay insurance for them, they have cars, they have a college education to pay for and you’re my favorite right now. But I’m not going to tell you which one I’m talking about.
I also have to be careful. I’m not supposed to have favorite church members – I’m not supposed to. But let me see, how about that, you’re all here today! We know that when you sense somebody else is the favorite, it doesn’t leave you with a good feeling. So, trying to pick out who in the family is number one or who’s the favorite – no good can come from that. The real lesson we learn here, I think, is that within families but also in other relationships – it can apply in work, it can apply at church – is that we shouldn’t seek to be in competition with each other, about who’s preferred, who’s number one, who’s the best. We should look at the fact that each of us shines in our own way, and when we put those talents and characteristics together, only good can come from that.
Now think again about the descriptions of Jacob and Esau here. Esau’s a great hunter but Jacob knows how to cook good food – what a great plan! One can hunt, one can cook the food. Esau is outgoing and aggressive and he stays outdoors; Jacob stays indoors in the tent with his and is quiet and he’s sensitive – another good combination. Every household needs somebody who can sort of think things through and somebody who can go out and act. Great combination. One is a talker, one is a fighter. Maybe fighting is not great, but still having one who can talk through a disagreement and one who, if they have to, can stand up and stand tall and stand strong against a threat – that’s probably a good combination to have for safety in a family. So, it’s really a wonderful combination. If they only could have worked together, instead of thinking that one has to be better than the other in certain areas. If they could have just said: Look, what a wonderful combination we are; I can hunt and you can cook. I can act and you can talk; I like it outdoors, you like it indoors; I can be aggressive, you can be sensitive and thoughtful. What a great nation they could be together.
The good news today is that the simple message we learned from Jacob and Esau – that they didn’t learn, and their descendants didn’t learn 1300 or 1400 years or more until Edom was eventually no more – the good news is that within any good relationship, seeking to find the good in the other, and how they compliment you and how they compliment each other, is the greatest of all gifts. For spouses to see, for example, that I can take care of the bills but you can mow the lawn or do the grocery shopping, or whatever. Or, for children to see how each one can contribute, in a way, in a family. Or at work, how different talents can all work together, instead of all trying to see who’s the best at one little thing. Or, in church, to realize that we don’t all have to think the same in a board meeting, or have the same talents. Some can get out and put up the tent and all those things, and others can think through how we plan to get the tent up, and how the fair going. And all of that is needed. The most important thing is that we learn to understand and see and appreciate each other’s talents and abilities, and see them not as a threat because they’re something different, but as a welcome gift that can compliment our own. And then, instead of contention and fighting and struggling, there is peace in churches and families and communities – and beyond.