God’s Choice Will Stand
Genesis 25:19-26
Genesis 25:19 starts a new section in the book of Genesis: “This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac.” As we have seen, these sections are marked by the Hebrew word תּוֹלְדוֹת (tôlḏôṯ), translated genealogy, generations or history. This is a title for the history that will follow. The three largest sections—the generations of Terah (Gen. 11:27-25:11), the generations of Isaac (Gen. 25:19-35:29) and the generations of Jacob (Gen. 37:2-50:26)—focus on Abraham’s family history and their relation to the promises of God. “Genesis highlights the righteous and chosen line through whom Israel, and ultimately the Christ, would come, and minimizes the non-elect lines. Their family histories are very brief, whereas the family histories of those chosen of God are expanded,” (Joe Anady).
The main human character in each major section is the son. Thus, the generations of Terah (Gen. 11:27) are about his son Abraham; the generations of Isaac (Gen. 25:19) feature the story of his son, Jacob; and the generations of Jacob (Gen. 37:2) are the story of his twelve sons, especially Joseph and Judah.
So even though this section is titled the history of Isaac, we are really looking at the beginning of the story of Isaac’s son, Jacob, which will carry us through Genesis for another ten chapters. The story of Jacob, like the repeated story of the nation of Israel is one of exile and return. Jacob, though he is set to inherit the promise of God to give his descendants the land of Canaan, is forced to leave it for twenty years. He lives in exile and serves his uncle Laban in Padan Aram. At two crucial junctures in his journey God reveals Himself to Jacob, first as he leaves Canaan and then as he returns. The literary structure of these chapters highlights the creation of the tribes of Israel by placing the birth of Jacob’s sons at the center point[1].
The story of Jacob begins with God’s choice of Jacob and ends with God’s choice of Jacob’s descendants, the nation of Israel. This is the point of the narrative that the Holy Spirit highlights through the apostle Paul in Romans 9. It is always important to pay attention when the New Testament gives us an inspired commentary on an Old Testament passage. There Paul indicates that this passage illustrates “that the purpose of God according to election might stand” (Rom. 9:11). God’s purpose according to His choice will stand. This story is about God, His choice, His will, His purposes.
God’s sovereign election has been apparent in Abraham and Isaac’s stories already. It was the LORD God who called Abram from Ur of the Chaldeans and promised to bless him. God chose Sarah, not Hagar to be the mother of the child of promise. God chose Isaac before he was born as the heir of the covenant promises. God’s sovereign providence was clearly active in choosing Rebekah as a wife for Isaac. In today’s passage (Genesis 25:19-26) we again see God’s election in the birth of Esau and Jacob:
19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Our text divides into three parts: Isaac prays for his family and the Lord answers (Gen. 25:19-21); Rebekah inquires of the Lord and the His answer (Gen. 25:22-23); The boys’ birth and characters (Gen. 25:24-28).
1. Isaac prays for his family and the Lord answers (Gen. 25:19-21)
“It is remarkable, indeed, that for a second time the wife of one who perpetuates the line of promise should be barren” (Leupold). God had promised Isaac numerous descendants just like his father Abraham (Gen. 17:19; 26:4). If God has promised, why is it postponed? Genesis 25:21 says, “Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren.” Why the barrenness? Why the waiting? Why did God ordain that the patriarchs wives would be unable to bear to children? Certainly, the LORD could have had them marry women with fruitful wombs. And couldn’t the LORD have overturned their barren condition much sooner than He did? God waited until Sarah was 90 years old before she gave birth to Isaac. Moses reminds us that “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife” (Gen. 25:20). Genesis 25:26 will say that “Isaac was sixty years old” when Rebekah finally gave birth to her twins. That’s twenty years of barrenness—twenty years of waiting and hoping, twenty years of disappointment and shame. Why?
The answer from Genesis is that these women were barren so that their barrenness could be overcome by God. They were barren so that the power of God might be put on display as the He overcame their weakness. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac after being barren till the age of 90, it was abundantly clear that it was the LORD who did it. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for her to conceive. And yet the LORD visited her and enabled her to conceive so that His promises might be fulfilled in God’s perfect timing. The same was true of Rebekah. After 20 years barrenness, “Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (Gen. 25:21).
Rebekah’s barrenness seemed to be an obstacle to God’s promise of descendants to Abraham and the extension of God’s blessing to the world through those descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:4, 22:17). Isaac, who was born to parents beyond the age of childbearing, believes two things: God has promised descendants to him, and God can provide. Isaac believed that the fulfillment of the promise was in the Lord’s hands. So he prayed. That’s a good reason to pray by the way. Someone might ask “why pray if God is sovereign and does according to His will?” But listen, that’s exactly why we pray, because everything depends on Him. Didn’t Jesus teach us to pray, “Thy will be done”? (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2).
The waiting, the prayer, the answer was all to show that it was indeed the work of the LORD. The barrenness was for a purpose. Rebekah and Isaac were tested and strengthened in the waiting through prayer. And the power of God was put on display, as He demonstrated that He is able to bring life from death, something out of nothing. Through the waiting and through their prayers God was working out His purposes according to His will and His timing. God’s purposes according to His choice will stand.
Next we see …
2. Rebekah inquires of the Lord and His answer (Gen. 25:22-23)
A second problem arises with Rebekah after she conceives. Genesis 25:22, “But the children struggled together within her.” The word struggled is a strong word. It means to break, crush, or oppress. This was no small problem. It was a painful one. It felt as if there was a war raging within her womb. The verse continues, “and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?”” If God has promised and God has answered our prayer, why am I in such pain? What is happening to me?
Like her husband Isaac, Rebekah seeks the answer from the Lord, “So she went to inquire of the LORD” (Gen. 25:22). Moses doesn’t give us the details here. Because it says “she went to inquire” it may be that she sought out a man of God or a prophet. 1 Samuel 9:9 informs us: “Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.” God called Abraham a prophet in Genesis 20:7. Even though Moses has already told us about Abraham’s death and burial, this event actually takes place fifteen years before he died.
The important thing here is the answer that she receives from the Lord. Genesis 25:23, “And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”” The first message is that Rebekah is to be a mother of twins who will be the ancestors of two nations. The second part includes the fact that these two peoples will be separated from one another. The word “separated” carries the emphasis that these two nations shall have nothing in common. They shall “separate” because they are so radically different and shall remain apart for ever. The third part of the message is that one of the two shall exceed the other in strength: one strong nation, one weaker nation. And the last part indicates a reversal “the older shall serve the younger.” Ordinarily pre-eminence would seem to be associated with the first-born. Here we are clearly told that this rule is to be reversed.
These two peoples, together in their mother’s womb, would be separated from her body, and their conflict would separate them from each other. First, Jacob will flee from Esau; then the peoples that would proceed from them, the nations of Israel and Edom, would live apart from each other and in tension. Jacob, and the nation proceeding from him, would occupy a place of superiority over the older son, Esau, and the nation proceeding from him. Israel would rule over Edom (Genesis 27:29).
Notice that this was determined before the children were even born. In Romans 9 the Apostle Paul referred to this incident as an illustration of the principle of election:
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” (Romans 9:10-12).
While we must acknowledge that God in His omniscience knew all of the deeds of both these sons from eternity past, Paul says that the choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with their works. Jacob was chosen in the womb and without regard to the works he would do in the future. In other words, God’s election was not based upon “foreknowledge” as it is sometimes taught. God’s choice was determined by His will, not by man’s works. (Deffinbaugh).
Contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t choose people for salvation based on His knowledge of who will choose Him. Many say that God, in His foreknowledge, looks down through history, sees who will decide for Him, and puts them on His list. But that contradicts what Paul states in Romans 9:11, that God determined that Esau would serve Jacob while they were still in the womb, before they did anything good or bad, so that “the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls.”
Steven Cole writes about how this bothers a lot of people “because it humbles our pride and strips us of all glory, but it’s one of the most rewarding concepts in the Bible to lay hold of. It means that your salvation does not depend on you and your feeble hold on God, but on God and His firm grip on you. It means that you don’t have to perform or measure up to be accepted by God. It casts you totally on God and His sovereign grace, which is a good place to be. It floods you with gratitude as you consider His mercy in choosing you in spite of your sin.”
God’s purpose according to His choice will stand.
Finally we see …
3. The boys’ birth and natures (Gen. 25:24-28)
The Lord fulfilled his promises to Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 25:24, “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.”
The first child is born red and “like a hairy garment all over” (Gen. 25:25). The color, true to the history of Esau and the nation of Edom, indicates a bloody passion (Genesis 27:41). Herod, who ordered the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, was a descendant of Esau (Matthew 2:16-18). The name Edom, is a play on the word “red” (’adom). Edom’s territory, Seir, is a play on the word “hairy” (se‘ir). The narrator will use his description of Esau as being like a “hairy garment ” later in the episode of Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27:11, 15).
The second child is born grasping onto the heel of his brother, and the name given to him indicates his posture. The name Jacob is a play on the word “heel” (‘aqeb). Esau breaks from the gate first, but Jacob isn’t far behind, and in the years to come he will catapult himself to the lead as he grasps for position by cunning and deceit.
Jacob was not the traditional choice. Esau was the first-born. Tradition would make him the greater and the one through whom the blessing of inheritance would be passed. Jacob was not the traditional choice, he was God’s choice.
Jacob was also not the logical choice. Isaac favored Esau. Look at their natures in Genesis 25:27, “So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.” From that description it appears logically that Esau would be the stronger and more capable man. Jacob was not the logical choice, he was God’s choice.
And Jacob was not the favorite of his father. Genesis 25:28 says, “And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” The war between the twins in Rebekah’s womb spills over into the favoritism of their mother and father, who each pick their favorite in opposition to each other. Jacob was not his father’s choice, he was God’s choice.
Why? Because God’s purposes according to God’s choice will stand. The book of Genesis describes to us the beginnings of our redemption in Christ Jesus. And one thing is very clear. It is all according to the choice of God’s will. It is all by God’s grace. God showed unmerited favor to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He worked in a through them in such a way so as to prove that it was He who was at work. The Lord brought life from barren wombs, determined the destinies of men and nations, and chose that which was weak according to the world to shame the strong.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians,
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption– 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Cor. 1:27-31).
As we come to the Lord’s table today, put your hope in Christ Jesus. Only the Lord Jesus Christ has become for us “wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Without Christ we are lost, condemned and under the just wrath of the Holy God. Our sins have convicted us. Eternal death is the sentence. But in His grace God sent His sinless Son to take our place and die for our sins upon the cross. He finished the work of redemption and His righteousness is accounted to all whom God will call, to all who will believe on the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have believed on Jesus Christ to save you from sin, if you have trusted in Him as Lord and master, we invite you to give thanks and remember His sacrifice for you at His table today.
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[1] Grant shows the chiastic structure of the Jacob narrative as:
A Births / Jacob and nation chosen (25:19-24)
B Digression: Isaac (and Rebekah) vs. the Philistines (26:1-33)
C Jacob steals Esau’s blessing (26:34-28:9)
D Encounter with angels at Bethel (28:10-22)
E Arrival at Haran / Conflict with Laban (29:1-30)
X Rachel vs. Leah: Birth of sons (29:31-30:24)
E’ Defeat of Laban / Departure from Haran (30:25-31:55)
D’ Encounter with angels at Mahanaim and Peniel (32:1-32)
C’ Jacob reconciles with Esau (33:1-17)
B’ Digression: Dinah (and Jacob) vs. Hivites (33:18-34:31)
A’ Births and deaths / Establishment of chosen nation (35:1-29)
