Seder 22: Genesis 24---A Biblical Love Story

 Genesis 24 tells the story of how Isaac and Rebekah came to be husband and wife.  Verse 67 concludes the chapter, the second longest chapter in the Pentateuch (after Numbers 7):

"Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her.  So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

This is the first mention in the Bible of a man's love for a woman.  Rebekah filled a void in Isaac's life and played a key role as the next matriarch of the family.  

There is a rich body of tradition about the tent of Sarah.  According to one tradition, after Sarah's death her disciples kept her tent ready for whoever its next occupant would be.  Another tradition imagines that a cloud of God's presence hovered near the entrance of the tent while Sarah was alive, and it returned when Rebekah arrived.  Such traditions point to how important Sarah and Rebekah were in the plan of God.  

Every married ouple has a story about how they met, married, and grew closer over time.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 13, 2024, Kyle Kettering related his story and opened the floor for others to do so as well.

Seder 25: A Chronological Question in Genesis 27

 As Gen 27 opens, we read that  "Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see."  How old was Isaac at this point?

From numbers given later in the book of Genesis, it appears that Isaac's son Jacob was 77 when he left home in Gen 28.  Since Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born (Gen 25:26), Isaac was no older than 137 when he blessed Jacob in Gen 27.  Although Isaac talked in Gen 27:1-4 as if he were on his deathbed, he lived another 43 years after that to die at the ripe old age of 180.

So what prompted Isaac to impart his blessing at that particular time?   The text of Genesis does not say, but the age 137 will ring a bell for careful readers of Genesis.  Isaac's father Abraham was 137 when his mother Sarah died at age 127 (Gen 23:1).  Also, Isaac's brother Ishmael was 137 at his death (Gen 25:17).  So perhaps Isaac was thinking of these previous events when he reached age 137.  He may have been feeling old because Ishmael had died at that age.  

Some Jewish commentators wondered if perhaps Isaac was feeling old because Ishmael had just died.  They reckoned Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac, so there is a tradition that Isaac was only 123 when he blessed Jacob.  That tradition raised a question:  If that was the case, what did Jacob do for 14 years after receiving his blessing and before leaving home?

The traditional answer is that Jacob studied for 14 years at the school originally founded by Shem and later carried on by Shem's descendant Eber.  The Bible says nothing about such a school, but there are legends about Abraham and Isaac having studied there.  In Jewish tradition this hypothetical school is pressed into service to provide answers to certain perplexing questions raised by details in Genesis.  

One such question was about the identity of Melchizedek.  A tradition arose that Melchizedek was actually Shem, and one reason Abraham respected him was that he had studied under him.  

Another question was about what Isaac might have done right after the events of Gen 22, since Isaac isn't mentioned returning from Mt Moriah with Abraham in Gen 22:19.  Perhaps he spent some time at the school of Shem and Eber.

A third question involves the means by which Rebekah "inquired of God" during her troubling pregnancy (Gen 25:22).  That kind of language is usually used in the Bible when a person seeks answers from some authorized representative of God----e.g., a priest.   But what representatives of God were around then?  Perhaps Rebekah consulted with a descendant of Shem.  

There is a further tradition that during her pregnancy, Jacob would kick whenever she passed this school, while Esau would kick whenever she passed a pagan temple.  This tradition is an example of attempts to provide a rationale for the fact that the futures of Jacob and Esau seem to have been to some extent predetermined (Gen 25:23).   

Seder 24: Jacob Esau, and Predestination

 In Gen 25 we read about the births of Jacob and Esau and the later rivalry between them, no doubt exacerbated by their parents' show of favoritism (v 28).

Even in the womb the two seemed to be in conflict (v 22), leading Rebekah to seek God's counsel on what was happening.  This message was communicated to her:

"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger" (v 23).

As we learn later, the two peoples are Israel and Edom, and Israel later does end up being the dominant one of the two (see e.g. 2 Sam 8:13-14 for an example during the time of King David).  

In Romans 9 Paul uses the examples of Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau as examples of God making choices on which children of the patriarchs would be part of the line of promise.  In verses 10-13, he writes that 

"when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, thought they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad---in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls---she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.'  As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.' " 

Here it is helpful to keep in mind that God's plan is to bring blessing to all peoples, and he called a particular line of people in order to carry out that overall purpose.  So Israelites are not more important than Edomites.  The two peoples just have different roles, and God has made sovereign choices about where everybody fits in.  The people in the world include both "chosen" and "unchosen", but the important thing is to not be part of the "antichosen"---those who oppose God's purposes. 

The prophecy in Gen 25:23 does not imply anything about the relative value of Jacob and Esau---they just have different roles in the overall scheme of things.  We do get a possible hint later in chapter 25 on why their roles would differ.  Esau, by "despising his birthright" and choosing marriage partners not approved by his parents, seemed to show a lack of interest in the family's special calling.  

Seder 22: Abraham's Servant Succeeds---Gen 24

 In Genesis 24, Abraham's servant is focused on his assignment to find a bride for Isaac.  We might view him as a forerunner of John the Baptist in his role as a "friend of the bridegroom" (John 3:29-30).  

The servant convinces Rebekah's family that Rebekah is indeed God's choice for Isaac's bride.  Rebekah shows herself to have the character of Abraham when she agrees unhesitatingly to return with the servant to marry Isaac (v 58).  

Christian teacher Ravi Zacharias, in his book I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah, noted several factors that increased the chances for success in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah:

• They did not make the decision to marry entirely on their own.  Both families were involved, and God's guidance was sought. 
• Both Isaac and Rebekah were both of strong moral character and ready for marriage.
• They made a commitment.  Commentators have often seen significance in the order of events described in Gen 24:  "she became his wife, and he loved her."  They made a commitment to each other, and love followed.

Seder 21: Gen 24---A Marriage Made in Heaven

 In Genesis 24 Abraham, at age about 140 (about 3 years after Sarah's death), sends his trusted servant on a long journey back to Abraham's homeland to find a bride for Isaac.  A woman willing to travel back with the servant and marry Isaac would have to be someone like Abraham (Gen 12:1-4), leaving family and homeland behind for a divine purpose.  

And indeed, this chapter emphasizes the parallels between Abraham and Rebekah, the woman brought back by the servant.  In particular, Rebekah exercises the kind of "radical hospitality" that characterized Abraham (vv 15-21).

The servant was convinced that God had chosen a special wife for Isaac, and he was determined to find that person with God's help.   He prayed for a very specific sign that would identify the right woman (vv 10-14).  And despite the servant's presumptuousness, God honored his prayer.  

Jack Starcher commented on this incident in a message at Church of the Messiah on Aug 8, 2020.  He noted God's commitment to working through his human "imagers" (Gen 1:28; 1 Cor 6:1-3).  He asserted that God has a "suggestion box" and invites us to use it.  If we pray according to his will, God will grant our request or do something even better.