𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗼𝘁/ "Generations"
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟮𝟱:𝟭𝟵–𝟮𝟴:𝟵
This week we are jumping into Torah portion, Toldot. We see the story of Isaac and Rebekah since their marriage in the last portion as well as the stories of their twins, Jacob and Esau unfolding. There is so much to unpack within these Chapters, so I encourage you to read them in their 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵. Let's jump in!
𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. - 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 25:21
Right off the bat we begin to see a similar story from that of Abraham and Sarah, yet this time something stands out. We remember the story from a few Chapters ago, about Sarah being barren. Abraham has been given a promise of descendants, yet they have none. And from that we see Abraham and Sarah's servant, Hagar, conceiving a son - Ishmael. And as expected, lots of conflicts within this dynamic arise. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 - when we learn that Rebekah is also barren, we see Isaac 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 for her and the LORD answered him. This isn't to say Abraham didn't, but we don't see that in the text. Here we do. Why?!?! Maybe this is the first glimpse of what is 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 when one generation 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 to learn from the previous one. No doubt Isaac knew the turmoil that was caused with his half-brother and Hagar as it related to he and his mother, Sarah. And perhaps he took that lesson to heart. So instead of trying to 'fix' the situation themselves, he prayed. It's also interesting to note that the word used for '𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳' in our verse, is 𝗻𝗼̄𝗸̱𝗮𝗵̣ - and it means '𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳'. So Isaac didn't just pray in secret, he was praying where she would see it. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. Isaac didn't want his wife to feel like she was in this alone - which may have been how his mother felt when Hagar entered the picture. Wow.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺?” 𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋. - 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 25:22
We only get one verse further in our reading and we see Rebekah, going to 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 herself. Friends, I can so relate to this verse, as I find myself constantly going to 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋. Especially this year. When things don't make sense or when I am struggling with all the thoughts and feelings within my heart, He is my sounding board. He is the place where I know I don't have to pretend. He sees everything anyway, so there is no need to hide it. He can handle my honesty and my weaknesses. And I love, that in this verse, we see one of our Matriarchs doing the same. Maybe it was Isaacs prayer, in her presence, that stirred within her the desire to have her own relationship with the LORD. We never know what kind of affect our prayers over someone can have on their life, or the courage it could bring! 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨!!
And now verses 23-24.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳,
“𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘣;
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺;
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳;
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.”
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘣.
As one commentator noted, 'we have the first supernatural ultrasound!' The LORD told Rebekah she was carrying twins, and sure enough, she was! Enter Esau and Jacob. We see as the boys grow Esau is a hunter and Jacob stays within the tents. Esau gives his birthright away to Jacob for some red, red stew (believed to be lentil stew) and this is significant. As the firstborn usually received a double-inheritance - yet he sells it for mere lentils. I have to wonder, how many times I have done the same. As a daughter of the Most High, have I sold my birthright for that which is only temporarily satisfying? It's important to note that the 'supernatural ultrasound' the LORD gave Rebekah, also detailed this - that the older would serve the younger. We see this play out in the blessing that Isaac speaks over Jacob when he deceives him into believing he is Esau. Esau begs and pleads for even a 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 that Isaac surely has left. Some could say, he would have settled for a 'lentil' sized blessing. vs 38: 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘖 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘱𝘵.
vs 41: 𝘚𝘰 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣.” Even as I read over these words again, suddenly an image of a previous generation in our Genesis story came to mind. The story of Cain and Abel. Two brothers - one whose offering was accepted and one whose was not - when 𝘀𝗶𝗻 came knocking. You see, 𝘀𝗶𝗻 is 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 crouching at the door, just 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. And isn't it interesting that just like the lentil stew in the story of Jacob and Esau, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱.. We must learn from these truths!!
Oh friends, there is so much more to dive into, but I must end with these final thoughts. Just this week my daughter, Chelsea, shared a post that touched on her own generation story. One where she has learned to embrace the messiness of life - the imperfections of it, if you will. And I know she has learned that, not because I taught her, but because she has seen my struggle with it. She has learned from my mistakes, just as I have learned from my mother's, and so on and so on. We have chosen to not just go with the 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘰 of what has been, but have been willing to face it and change it where we can, all to ensure the 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 has a better foundation to build on. I see it in all of our children and I know it's because He who has promised is faithful!!! Shew. When I tell you I am in awe of how good God is, believe me, there is nothing that can compare with Him! As our Genesis story continues to unfold, we get to see that the covenant He had with Noah, followed by Abraham and even re-affirmed with Isaac is coming more and more into focus. Stay tuned, the future is so bright you aren't going to want to miss what comes next!
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. We truly have so much to be thankful for! To Him belongs the glory, forever!
