39. His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.
40. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."
41. Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42. When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you.
43. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
44. Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides.
45. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
46. Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hatred leading to the intent to kill. Esau already has killed his brother Jacob in his heart. This reminds me of Cain...
I wonder what it was from Hittite women that made Rebekah so angry.
As I read more and meditate the Bible, the major theme I get is reconciliation. There are tons of broken relationship, starting with God and Adam & Eve. Through Christ all relationship can be reconciled.
This story is another example of how these brothers will come to reconciliation.
That's a really good point about reconciliation.
Another realization I had from this chapter is how easy it was for the Jews to become strict rule followers. Look at how SPECIFIC and UNFORGIVING the RULES are for birthrights and blessings. It's understandable how Pharisees came to have an important role in Jewish society. However, the problem was that the rules became so secularly over-interpreted that they lost any holy meaning. But I really empathize with why the Jews were so surprised and even outraged to suddenly hear Jesus telling them that their God-given rules had no importance.
Post a Comment