Reheating The STEW
It’s been nearly ten months since the election of Barack Obama in November of 2008. At the time of the election I was writing a series of pieces comparing the election to the story of the twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles – I called this series STEW.
Last Episode of the Story before the Election Break: Jacob Gets Everything
Like most everyone else who voted for Obama, I was in a state of amazement as I watched his acceptance speech on the night of the election (you can read about my reaction in my STEW election-break posting called “STEW: Part Three – Welcome to the WE generation” ) and ended up pausing the series while I worked on other things.
After a long break, we continue the story…
The story of these two brothers begins in The Book of Genesis, chapter 25, and today we pick up the story in verse 25 and continues until verse 34…
The Twins – Jacob and Esau
The Book of Genesis tells us about the Patriarchs of the Hebrews – the first three males of a divinely chosen people and a line of blessing that will culminate in God’s Eternal Kingdom with His Messiah on the Eternal Throne – and it starts with three generations of one human family; beginning with Abraham – the Father of Faith, his son, Isaac – The Child of Promise and then Jacob, who became Israel, the Father of the Twelve Tribes.
Now Jacob, the third of The Patriarchs, was born with a twin named Esau. [You can find the story in Genesis 25:21-28] and they wrestled violently in the womb causing their mother, Rebekah (played by Madonna in a previous episode) great distress and pain during her pregnancy.
When she inquired of The Lord why her pregnancy was going so bad The Lord told her:
“Two nations are in your womb;
And two people shall be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger.”
When she gave birth, indeed she had twins – the first child to be born was Esau, who was already covered with red hair, followed by Jacob, holding onto the heel of his twin Esau.
It’s important to note that there is a tradition that believes that Esau was so restless in the womb that he was literally trying to fight his way out of Rebekah and if Jacob hadn’t held him back Esau would have killed his mother in an effort to be born early, and that is why the struggle in the womb and why Esau came out first with Jacob holding his heel.
This tradition could also explain why Jacob was his mother’s favorite son.
Esau grew up to be a hunter and outdoors-man, was a very hairy man and dreamed of moving to Alaska; while Jacob grew up a peaceful, smooth-skinned man and dreamed of going to Washington DC.
Now, in those days and according to their customs, the first-born male got the entire inheritance – everything – land, animals, money, servants… and in this family it also came with the Divine Blessing that Abraham had first received for El Shaddai, The Almighty God. In this case, that meant that Esau, by birthright, was entitled to the complete inheritance when Isaac died.
Jacob understood this very well, and Esau really couldn’t care less…
One day Esau (played by John McCain, poor, sold-out John McCain) came back from hunting and smelled something delicious cooking. Following his nose he found his brother Jacob cooking a pot of red lentil stew. “I’m starving, let me have a swallow of that red stuff…” he told his brother, and Jacob, not being in a giving mood, said, “Sell me your birthright first.”
Esau, letting his appetite overcome his good sense, figures that a birthright is worthless to a dead man, and agrees.
After making Esau swear an oath, Jacob served him some stew and bread, which Esau ate quickly and then went on his way.
Little did Esau know that El Shaddai, who watches over everyone, saw what Esau had done and heard the oath Esau made, and knew that Esau despised his birthright, and had also despised The Almighty God.
To Be Continued…
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