Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] July 16, 2023 “Interesting Characters in Our Family Tree” Genesis 25: 19-34 – Common English Bible These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean and the sister of Laban the Aramean, from Paddan-aram. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, since she was unable to have children. The Lord was moved by his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the boys pushed against each other inside of her, and she said, “If this is what it’s like, why did it happen to me?”[a] So she went to ask the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; two different peoples will emerge from your body. One people will be stronger than the other; the older will serve the younger.” 24 When she reached the end of her pregnancy, she discovered that she had twins. 25 The first came out red all over, clothed with hair, and she named him Esau. 26 Immediately afterward, his brother came out gripping Esau’s heel, and she named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. 27 When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry 30 and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.[b] 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright[c] today.” 32 Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright. In your family tree, do you have any “interesting characters”? And who knows… In a few generations, you might be the “interesting character” in your family tree. Well, here’s a doozy. A liar and a cheat – even cheating members of his own family. A deceiving dirty-tricks scoundrel willing to stoop lower than anyone could imagine. And a patriarch of three religions. Our religion. Jacob. So, to recap the last few weeks: there’s Abraham who had a child with his wife’s slave Hagar, a boy named Ishmael. And then a boy with Sarah when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, who you may remember laughed at the absurdity of such an idea. When he was born, they named him Isaac; later, as a 12 year old, Abraham almost sacrificed him. At age 40, Isaac married Rebekah. They too had difficulty getting pregnant and waited twenty years until Rebekah finally gave birth to twins – Esau and Jacob. But in a sign of their feuding to come, they put up a terrible battle with one another in Rebekah’s womb, all the way through the birth canal as Jacob grabbed onto the heel of Esau in an attempt to hold him back so Jacob could be born first. Jacob never gave up trying to get ahead of his twin, and he used deception, dirty tricks, lying and cheating to do it. Today’s text is just the beginning of one of the most “interesting characters” in our family tree. As you heard, Esau and Jacob may have been twins but they were nothing alike. Esau was a big brute and not the brightest bulb in the box. He was covered in red hair, even at birth, and loved hunting. Esau was his father’s favorite because he hunted for his favorite wild game – venison. On the other hand, Jacob was smaller, quieter, and “the brains” who preferred hanging around the tents. And he was his mother’s favorite. I always liked this part of the story. When I was younger, whenever we had potlucks at church, I hung out in the kitchen drying dishes so I could listen to the gossip. Did you hear what Laverne said? Girl!... Or the equivalent of whatever plump German women said. I enjoyed staying in the kitchen while all the other boys played football in the cemetery behind the church. One other detail: My brother was covered in red hair and he loves farming, hunting, and fishing. I hate touching the worms. But that’s where the brotherly comparisons stop. I hate the idea that one brother, a twin at that, would deceive the other. Jacob just couldn’t get over how a brute like Esau would inherit the family fortune. So, he came up with a scheme to trick Esau out of his birthright. Esau went out on a long hunt and Jacob knew he would come back hungry. Jacob found just the right place so the smell of his cooking would waft onto the path on which Esau would be walking home, ensuring the smell would entice Esau. Famished, Esau demanded some of Jacob’s stew but Jacob said the price would be Esau’s birthright – the rights to the entire family fortune for a bowl of stew. Even though Esau was born only seconds earlier, Esau was the eldest and entitled to it all. But the hungry Esau reasoned that he wouldn’t need his birthright if he starved to death, so he agreed – not the brightest bulb… He was enraged when he realized he had been tricked, but an oath was an oath. That’s just part one of their story. Jacob wanted more. He had the birthright and the fortune, but now he wanted the power that came with being named the leader of the tribe. That power was conferred on a father’s deathbed. Without such a blessing, Jacob would have been rich but not powerful. So, years later, Isaac lay on his death bed. The time had come for the blessing that conferred power over the tribe. Esau may have been tricked out his birthright, but he wasn’t going to be tricked out of this one. To please his father and seal the deal, Esau promised Isaac that he would go hunting and bring back his favorite game – venison. However, Rebekah overheard their conversation and told Jacob and the two of them conspired to trick Isaac and steal from Esau. Here’s how: Isaac was blind. While Esau was out on his hunt, Rebekah told Jacob to slaughter a goat and she would cook it to taste like venison. They dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes so he would smell like his brother and put goatskin on his hands and neck so that when Isaac went to embrace Jacob, he would feel hairy like his brother. Isaac ate the fake venison, felt the hairy goat skin on his arms and neck when they embraced, but he was curious that his voice sounded like Jacob’s. He asked if that was really Esau. Jacob lied and, lowering his voice, said yes. And so, Isaac conferred upon Jacob the irrevocable blessing intended for Esau. Esau returned home with the venison and realized he had been tricked again. This time he was so angry he vowed to kill Jacob. But the story continues. Rebekah sent Jacob away to live with her brother, Laban. While living with Uncle Laban, Jacob fell in love with his daughter Rachel – yes, his first cousin, but at the time not forbidden. Uncle Laban agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel as long as he worked for him for seven years. Seven years went by, Jacob and his new wife consummated the marriage, but when the bridal veil was lifted for the first time, Jacob discovered he had just slept with Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Soap opera, anyone? Jacob was enraged that he had been tricked. Doesn’t feel very good, does it? Uncle Laban reasoned it would have been wrong for the younger sister to be married before the older, but he did offer that if Jacob worked for him another seven years, he could then marry the true love of his life, Rachel. By the way, married to two first cousins, sisters, at the same time. Jacob wasn’t simply going to let the deception go without revenge, so during those seven years, he ran a scheme against his uncle to steal his best sheep. Laban had agreed that he would keep all the white sheep and Jacob could have all the darker colored ones. Got it? Jacob painted the sheep so he could take them. Can anyone say dysfunctional family? Jacob and Laban lived together in an uneasy peace for six more years. One day, Jacob decided it was time to leave and try to reunite with his estranged brother Esau. But for whatever reason, he didn’t want to tell Uncle Laban he was leaving. So, while Laban was away, Jacob packed everything and everyone up, including Laban’s daughters. When Laban came home, he was angry that Jacob had simply left, but he was even more upset when he realized Jacob had stole all of his household gods – worth a lot of money. Laban raced after the traveling band and demanded his idols back, but Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel sat on them and proclaimed it was her time of the month so no one could touch her. You know the old saying, the family that steals together stays together. It was at that spot, a place known as Mizpah, that Jacob and Laban made a sort of peace with each other. They told each other “May the Lord keep watch between you and me while we are away one from the other.” We say that to each other at the end of every Church Council meeting. We hold our hands up to the Zoom screen and say this line to each other. I snicker to myself every time because it’s more than a blessing. It’s a warning. Laban and Jacob are really saying to each other, “I can’t keep my eye on you, but God will know what you’re up to.” And with that Mizpah Blessing, Uncle Laban went back home without his idols or his best sheep. The tricksters playing off each other back and forth. There is more to this story but I will get to that next week. What a family tree! When we tell family stories, we often clean them up a little, smooth out some of the rough edges. If this is the sanitized version, wow. But of course, there are plenty more stories in the Bible that are even more scandalous that this. King David alone will cause fainting and fury. I like these stories of real people because if God can use dirty tricks scoundrels like them, then surely God can use me. And you. And everyone we imagine to be outside the grace of God. And in that way, this story, and many others, isn’t primarily about us. It’s about the kind of God to whom we all belong. A God who loves me and who loves you. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even Jacob. So, was all that trickery and deception OK? Is the Bible saying it’s alright to do all those things as long as it’s for a good reason? I don’t think so. Jesus asked, “what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul.” I think this falls more in line with Paul’s statement to the Romans: There is nothing in all of creation that can separate you from the love of God. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Neither will lying, cheating, and trickery separate us, though I don’t recommend it as a philosophy of life. But I am grateful that no matter who we are on our family tree, God always has room for us. As well as all the dirty trick scoundrels to whom we are related.
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