Jacob & Esau (Genesis 25; 27)

The story of God’s faithfulness to Abraham continues as we venture into the lives of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25 and 27. Isaac prayed that God would bless their family with an heir, and God responded. We witness God's sovereignty in the lives of brothers Jacob and Esau as God's promises are fulfilled. 

Earlier in Genesis 25, God revealed to Rebekah that she had conceived twins, and that in the end, the older would serve the younger. Before either had done good or bad, God chose Jacob to become the nation of Israel. (Rom. 9:10-11) In His kingdom, the ways and logic of the world do not prevail; God destined Jacob to be the one whose lineage would one day bring us the promised Savior, Jesus.  

God’s ways came to pass in accordance with His own wisdom and will. Isaac blessed Jacob as an act of passing on the covenant of his father Abraham. Nothing could intercept God’s promise to bless Abraham’s family through Jacob; in the opposite way, no scheming on behalf of this family could interfere with this blessing being passed down to the younger son. 

Each member of Isaac’s family had to trust, by faith, that God’s ways were best, however confusing His plans seemed. In the end, God’s plan to provide the way to redeem and restore mankind through the lineage of Jacob would be accomplished. Just as Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob and even Esau had to surrender to God’s plans by faith, so, to do we surrender to God’s plan of restoring all things through His Son, Jesus. In Him, we receive the birthright promised to Abraham in its greatest and fullest measure, as God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

True salvation comes to all who place their trust in Jesus. Pray that your children, whose hearts have been entrusted to you, would hear of God’s sovereign goodness and surrender their lives to His will. May they place their trust in Him and receive the ultimate gift of everlasting life through His Son, Jesus.

Christ Connection: God’s covenant with Abraham continued to the next generation. Esau sold his birthright, giving Jacob the right to the wonderful blessings God promised to his father Abraham. Through Jacob’s family, God would send the promised Savior to bring blessing and salvation to the world.