25:1-6Abraham took another wife, Keturah, after Sarah died. Although the sons and grandson of Abraham and Keturah received many gifts from Abraham, all his property and authority went to isaac, his principal heir.
Life Application Study BibleGenesisChapter 25
Genesis 25
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 47, 48, 49, 50
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25Genesis 25
7. Abraham dies
12 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3fokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leurnmites. 4Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. 5Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. 7Abraham lived for 175 years, 8and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. ishmael’s Descendants 12This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant. 13Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ®Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.*
E. THE STORY OF ISAAC (25:19—28:9)
Isaac inherited everything from his father, including God’s promise to make his descendants into a great nation. As a boy, Isaac did not resist as his father prepared to sacrifice him, and as a man, he gladly accepted the wife that others chose for him. Through Isaac, we learn how to let God guide our life and place his will ahead of our own.
1. Jacob and Esau
1919This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21]saac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23And the Lor told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 24And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25The first one was very redat birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.* 26Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.* Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
Esau Sells His Birthright
2727 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 2°Esau said to Jacob, “I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31”All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
2. Isaac and Abimelech
isaac Deceives Abimelech ? 6 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So
Textual footnotes
- 25:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means “hair.”
- 25:26 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “hee!” and “deceiver.”
Life Application Notes 4 notes
25:21As Isaac pleaded with God for children, so the Bible encourages us to ask and even plead for our most personal and important requests. God wants to grant our requests, but he wants us to ask him. Even then, as Isaac learned, God may decide to withhold his answer for a while in order to (1) deepen our insight into what we really need, (2) broaden our appreciation for his answers, or (3) allow us to mature so we can use his gifts more wisely.
25:31A birthright was a special honor given to the firstborn son. It included a double portion of the family inheritance along with the honor of one day becoming the family’s leader. The oldest son could sell his birthright or give it away if he chose, but in so doing, he would lose both material goods and his teadership position. By trading his birthright, Esau showed complete disregard for the spiritual blessings that would have come his way if he had kept it.
25:32,33Esau traded the lasting benefits of his birthright for the immediate pleasure of food. He acted on impulse, satisfying his immediate desires without pausing to consider the long-range consequences of what he was about to do. We can fall into the same trap. When we see something we want, our first impulse is to get it. At first we feel intensely satisfied and sometimes even powerful because we have obtained what we set out to get. But immediate pleasure often loses sight of the future. We can avoid making Esau’s mistake by comparing the short-term satisfaction with its long-range consequences before we act. Esau exaggerated his hunger. “t'm dying of starvation!” he said. This thought made his choice much easier because if he was starving, what good was an inheritance anyway? The pressure of the moment distorted his perspective and made his decision seem urgent. We often experience similar pressures. For example, when we feel sexual pressure, a marriage vow may Seem unimportant. We might feel such great pressure in one area that nothing else seems to matter and we lose our perspective. Getting through that short, pressure-fitled moment is often the most difficult part of overcoming a temptation.
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Personality profile · page 49
Profile: Jacob
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are among the most significant people in the Old Testament. (t is important to realize that this significance is not based upon their personal characters, but upon the character of God. They were all men who earned the grudging respect and even fear of their peers; they were wealthy and powerful, and yet each was capable of lying, deceit, and selfishness. They were not the perfect heroes we might have expected; instead, they were just like us, trying to please God, but often falling short. Jacob was the third link in God’s plan to start a nation from Abraham. The success of that plan was more often in spite of than because of Jacob’s life. Before Jacob was born, God promised that his plan would be worked out through Jacob and not his twin brother, Esau. Although Jacob’s methods were not always respectable, his skill, determination, and patience have to be admired. As we follow him from birth to death, we are able to see God’s work. Jacob’s life had four stages, each marked by a personal encounter with God. In the first stage, Jacob lived up to his name, which means “he grasps the heel” (figuratively, “he deceives”). He grabbed Esau’s heel at birth, and by the time he fled from home, he had also grabbed his brother’s birthright and blessing. During his flight, God first appeared to him. Not only did God confirm to Jacob his blessing, but he awakened in Jacob a personal knowledge of himself. In the second stage, Jacob experienced life from the other side, being manipulated and deceived by Laban. But there is a curious change: The Jacob of stage one would simply have left Laban, whereas the Jacob of stage two, after deciding to leave, waited six years for God’s permission. In the third stage, Jacob was in a new role as grabber. This time, by the Jordan River, he grabbed on to God and wouldn't let go. He realized his dependence on the God who had continued to bless him. His relationship to God became essential to his life, and his name was changed to Israel, “he struggles with God.” Jacob’s last stage of life was to be grabbed—God achieved a firm hold on him. In responding to Joseph's invitation to come to Egypt, Jacob was clearly unwilling to make a move without God’s approval. Can you think of times when God has made himself known to you? Do you allow yourself to meet him as you study his Word? What difference have these experiences made in your life? Are you more like the young Jacob, forcing God to track you down in the desert of your own plans and mistakes? Or are you more like the older Jacob who presented his desires and plans before God for his approval before taking any action?
Strengths and accomplishments
• Father of the 12 tribes of Israel
• Third in the Abrahamic line of God’s plan
• Determined and willing to work long and hard for what he wanted
• Good businessman
Weaknesses and mistakes
• When faced with conflict, relied on his own resources rather than going to God for help
• Tended to accumulate wealth for its own sake
Lessons from his life
• Security does not lie in the accumulation of goods
• All human intentions and actions—for good or evil—are woven by God into his ongoing plan
Vital statistics
• Where: Canaan
• Occupation: Shepherd, livestock owner
• Relatives: Parents: tsaac and Rebekah. Brother: Esau. Father-in- law: Laban. Wives: Rachel and Leah. Offspring: Tweive sons and one daughter are mentioned in the Bible
“What’s more, I am with you, and! will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15).
Key verse
Jacob’s story is told in Genesis 25-50. He is also mentioned in Hosea 12:2-5; Matthew 1:2; 22:32; Acts 7:8-16; Romans 9:11-13; Hebrews 11:9, 20, 21.
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Study feature · page 50
ISAAC'S MOVE TO GERAR Isaac had settled near Beer-lahai-roi (“the well of the Living One who sees me”), where his sons, Jacob and Esau, were bom. A famine drove him to Gerar. But when he became wealthy, his jealous neighbors asked him to leave. From Gerar he moved to Beersheba.