DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible - Flipbook - Page 52
G enesis 26
34
And the Lord 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.”
24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did
indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with
thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.* 26 Then 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.
23
Esau Sells His Birthright
27 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. 28 Isaac loved
Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Re
bekah loved Jacob.
29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from
the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 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?”
33 But 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.
34 Then 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.
Isaac Deceives Abimelech
A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in
Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king
of the Philistines, lived.
2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do
as I tell you. 3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and
bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your
descendants,* just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4 I will cause
your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will
give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations
of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me
and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” 6 So
Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he
said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought,
“They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” 8 But some time
later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw
Isaac caressing Rebekah.
9 Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously
your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
“Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac
replied.
26
25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means “hair.” 25:26 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew
words for “heel” and “deceiver.” 26:3 Hebrew seed; also in 26:4, 24.