Editorial note: This is a transcript of an audio Bible talk, lightly edited by Claude AI. Misspellings have been corrected, paragraphs and sentences have been formed for readability, and scriptures quoted or referenced have been highlighted. Banter, asides, and conversational interjections between participants are marked as such. The content and argument are entirely the speaker’s own.
Jacob, Esau, and Isaac: A Study in Genesis 25
God’s Presence in Withholding and Giving
God is transcendent but also present. Where is God here?
God is here, first of all, in withholding the pregnancy — withholding the birth of children, as He did beforehand with Abraham and Sarah, and as He would do so many times in scripture. The Lord withheld something. From whom? From two godly people. Godly Isaac, who was praying to the Lord.
When Rebecca first meets Isaac, what is he doing? He is praying to the Lord. When we meet him here, what is he doing? He is praying to the Lord. And the Lord answers him — and yet he had to pray and pray and pray and pray. He had to pray for twenty years before.
And sometimes the Lord says no to some couples, some people. He says no all the time. But God is here. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that a comfort — to know that in withholding something and in giving something, the Lord is here, His sovereignty is here?
“And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren… And the Lord was entreated of him. And Rebecca, his wife, conceived.” — Genesis 25:21
The Lord who withholds is also the Lord who animates us to grow through prayer. He is there, giving us pressure — this intense pressure — all these questions running through: Why can’t I? Why am I not at this certain stage in my life already? Everybody else is racing ahead of me. But the Lord was holding back, holding back. Meanwhile, He wanted to hear the prayers. He wanted to animate the prayers of His servant Isaac.
God’s Presence in Conflict
“And the children struggled together within her.” — Genesis 25:22
You might say the Lord is not there in struggle — that He is reconciling, that He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. But remember what the Lord said when He comes:
“I have come not to bring peace on the earth, but a sword.” — Matthew 10:34
It is division, and division is of the Lord. So the Lord is present again — in a strange way to our minds. We want the Jesus of the storybooks: perfect hair, always smiling, tame, domesticated, never allowed to be God. But here we find the true God: the God who holds back and the God who causes conflicts. None of those things are easy. Is it easy to not come into the fullness of who you are as a woman, as a man, as a husband, as a wife? But we have to say, it is the Lord’s will. And I will battle through believing that and praying to the Lord.
We cannot say the Lord is only present when He answers prayer. He is present when He holds back. How wonderful He is.
Rebecca’s Question and God’s Answer
The children struggled together within her. Why? That was the question Rebecca asked.
Rebecca has been formed by her father — a man with a very godly name (I must remember to look that up). She has spent twenty years already with righteous Isaac. The Lord is in her life, and as a result of that, she goes to the Lord — not to the witch doctor or the psychiatrist or whomever. She goes to the Lord and says, “There is conflict. Why is there conflict? Is there something wrong with me?”
“And she said, ‘If it be so, why am I thus?’ And she went to enquire of the Lord.” — Genesis 25:22
She is a godly woman who receives not only an answer to prayer, but a special revelation. And the Lord speaks to her directly.
“And the Lord said unto her, ‘Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.’” — Genesis 25:23
Nations and Separation
Where is the Lord in today’s world? Each of the nations of the world, biblically understood, is of the Lord. We see nations attacked today on every side. The forces of the age are trying to merge all the nations, trying to erase the nations. But all through scripture, from Abraham onwards — in the aftermath of the Tower of Babel — God is a nation factory. The Lord has ordained the nations as such.
And again, with Abraham’s son, we have two nations. So as we look around, we have to say by faith that the nations God has ordained are units created by Him.
There is a movement to erase nations and erase all differences. But the Lord says no — it is ordained in His word that the unrighteous and the wicked cannot dwell together. They must be separated. We see the Lord’s ordination in the justice system: the righteous must be separated from the wicked by the punishment of the wicked.
The Elder Shall Serve the Younger
“And the elder shall serve the younger.” — Genesis 25:23
There is an egalitarian bent in our society, but here we are given more information. God has said that the elder — who is not merely one person but is representative of a nation — shall serve the younger, who is likewise representative of a nation. And we have to grasp this by faith, because we do not necessarily see it as a present reality.
How can we say Jacob represents the righteous and Esau the unrighteous? We know from the New Testament:
“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” — Romans 9:13
“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.” — Hebrews 12:16
God does not hate the righteous — He hates the wicked. Esau is profane: profanos, in front of the temple, outside the temple. He wants nothing to do with the things of God, places zero value on God’s word. There is no need to belabour that point.
Jacob: The Plain Man
Can we say Jacob represents the righteous? Let us look at the text.
“And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” — Genesis 25:27
In other translations: even-tempered, quiet, peaceful, of a quiet disposition. But to get to the nub of things, we need God’s own assessment. The Hebrew word translated “plain” is tam — complete, perfect, sound, wholesome. It is the same word used of Job:
“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright.” — Job 1:1
Job is an ish tam — a tam man. A righteous man. It is curious, is it not, that our translations often obscure this?
Esau: The Hunter
“And Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field.” — Genesis 25:27
You might think: hunter? I was expecting a robber, a villain. What does it mean that he was a hunter in this context?
The Bible gives us two hunters before Esau.
First:
“He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” — Genesis 10:9
Nimrod put his face up to God’s face: I will hunt what I like, I hunt men, I am a tyrant. He built city after city, tyranny after tyranny. He was a hunter before the Lord — in the face of the Lord.
Second, there is Ishmael:
“And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.” — Genesis 21:20
“And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” — Genesis 16:12
Ishmael was an archer — his face set against all men. This is a huge clue. It was not a good thing for Esau to be a hunter. He was placing himself in the company of those who rejected the covenant — who were tyrants, who acted out of their own will: I will do what I want, when I want, by force.
Did Esau hunt to serve people in the marketplace? Absolutely not. His father was phenomenally rich — wealthy enough to send camel loads of gold to secure Rebecca as a bride. Abimelech himself came to Isaac and said:
“We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee… Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” — Genesis 26:28–29
“And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.” — Genesis 26:16
This is a king telling Isaac he was too strong for them. Isaac did not need to hunt. Hunting was non-economic — it served no one in the marketplace. Its economic value was essentially zero, as demonstrated when Rebecca was able to recreate Esau’s game instantly with a kid from the flock and a few herbs.
Esau simply liked hunting. He indulged himself in macho pursuits, rich enough not to have to work. He is rich enough not to work, doing what he likes, pursuing macho pursuits, spending a lot of time alone.
[Aside/Application — speaker’s note:] Does this ring a bell? Think of men who spend hours alone playing video games — simulated kingdoms, simulated hunting. Serving no one except themselves, in a non-economic world. These are Esaus, unless the Lord intervenes. Spoiled, emotionally unstable, strong physically perhaps — but not serving anyone.
Furthermore, if Esau wanted to inherit his father’s estate, what did he need to do? Learn the business. And how do you learn the business of your father? By working with him — year in, year out, seeing the whole operation. Did Esau do that? No. Whenever he needed money, he brought game to his father. And his father indulged him.
Jacob: Dwelling in Tents
“And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” — Genesis 25:27
People hear “dwelling in tents” and scratch their heads. But the Bible tells us of the first man to dwell in tents and keep flocks — and it joins those two things deliberately. Jacob is locked on to his father. He is locked on to his father’s business. He is in the encampment, wanting to learn, wanting to serve, wanting to keep the wealth that his father and grandfather accumulated.
Those tents were not just a tent and a latrine. There were thousands of head of flock, hundreds of workers — Abraham had three hundred fighting men alone. This was a workplace. Jacob was at the heart of it: seeing the raising, the trading, the deal-making, the disputes, hearing his father teach the law. He was serving.
That is a radically different picture from Esau. Radically different.
The Name Jacob: Not “Deceiver”
“And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob.” — Genesis 25:26
Left, right, and centre you will hear: “Jacob the deceiver.” But that is what Esau called him. Why take the word of a fornicator? Why take the word of a profane man who despised his own oath as his character witness? And yet the Christian church has taken this lie and pressed it to its breast, closing off the godly witness of Jacob to us.
What does it mean to grasp the heel? It means to supplant — to be behind someone and drive to be first. To supplant is not evil in itself. If a wicked king is supplanted by a good king, is that a bad thing?
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” — Proverbs 29:2
What we find in the story of Jacob is the story of supplanting — of the righteous, by God’s ordination, working to take the place of the profane.
God spoke directly to Rebecca and told her: the elder shall serve the younger. Jacob was not taking anything that was not already his by divine ordination. You cannot steal what is already yours.
Isaac: The Most Troubling Character
Now we come to what I consider the most relevant and troubling character: Isaac.
“And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.” — Genesis 25:28
Isaac — a godly man whom God named Himself for. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A man answered in prayer. A man always praying. And yet this man was a profane man at this point — not profane in his worship, but profane in his favouritism.
He loved the son that God hated. Why? Was it because he thought Esau had a heart of gold? Was it because he wanted Esau to be converted? No.
“Whose god is their belly.” — Philippians 3:19
He just liked the taste of the game. He indulged Esau because of appetite. And by doing so, he was effectively cutting off the line of the Messiah — trying to give the birthright and the blessing to a son who was profane, who had no interest in the covenant.
Just as Eli indulged his sons, just as David indulged Adonijah and Absalom — good men can have a corner they keep for themselves, a place where they say, “This is not for God. This is for me.” And the stakes could not be higher. The inheritance built up over generations — the management of that inheritance — the very line of the Messiah — was in peril because a good man liked a particular dish.
Isaac’s behaviour is recorded. He will have to live that down before God. These are the stakes.
Jacob’s Bind — and His Response
Jacob was in a terrible bind. The Lord had spoken. The promise was given. And yet his own father, a godly, powerful, wealthy patriarch — a man who dealt with kings — favoured the rival, the unrighteous son. To not receive approval from your father is very hard. Very hard.
But what did Jacob do? Did he write anonymous attacks against his father? Did he start a social media campaign? No. He asked: what is God’s duty for me right now? And the answer was: serve. Be faithful in little. If you want to be first, you must serve.
He was found in the place of duty. He was found in the place of service. He was found doing business. Anyone who can purchase a birthright worth — in today’s terms — hundreds of billions, for a bowl of soup, is a man who has faithfully spent time at his father’s side, learning the business from the ground up.
“And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” — Genesis 25:31–32
Applications
Believers are to orient themselves toward conflict — not with the godly, but with the ungodly. We are to expect it, and to ask: how can I put myself in a position where God’s blessing will enable me to gain the upper hand? Because it is an awful thing for the righteous to serve the ungodly. It is a terrible thing for the unrighteous to bear rule. That is not what God has ordained.
“The meek shall inherit the earth.” — Psalm 37:11 / Matthew 5:5
God has ordained that the righteous shall inherit the earth, shall judge the earth, shall rule the earth. So no matter where we are right now, we must orient ourselves toward that goal.
Jacob did what he could in his lifetime — just as Joshua did what he could in his lifetime.
“Then came near the heads of the fathers of the children of Gilead… and they spake before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes…” — (Joshua era, land allotments)
But the prophecy — that Jacob’s descendants would rule over Esau’s — did not come to fulfilment until David:
“And he put garrisons in Edom… and all they of Edom became David’s servants.” — 2 Samuel 8:14
It was only with David that the children of Israel brought the Edomites, the sons of Esau, to tribute. Generations. You might say: I live in a time when the righteous seem far from ruling. Do what you can in your generation. Do not despair.
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity… The meek shall inherit the earth.” — Psalm 37:1, 11
We cannot despair. If Isaac — otherwise a good and pious man, a man in a position of power and influence — if following Isaac would have meant the end of the promise, then following good men who say “the righteous will not inherit” will kill the faith just as surely. The faith will die. But God never permits that ultimately.
Who does Isaac represent in our day? Very good, pious men of influence — men with large online ministries, books, influence in the church — who nevertheless do not believe that it is the righteous, the tam men, who should inherit and bear rule. They believe it is a matter of indifference. As long as their belly is filled, they are content. And these are not non-Christians. Isaac was named by God. But they will rob you of the reality that the righteous are to be stronger and to rule, and that the unrighteous should serve them.
We need to be like Jacob: responsible, provident, running businesses, serving people in the marketplace, learning our trade, bearing the responsibilities we have right now, meditating on God’s word, and above all — gripping the promise tight.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” — Psalm 24:1
“The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.” — Psalm 37:29
Though that seems very far off, we take the actions we can take now to bring it to pass — obediently and faithfully, just like our holy father in the faith, Jacob.
Questions and Discussion
[The following is a recorded discussion period following the main talk.]
Mike: Nathan, I appreciate you bringing out the side of Jacob that I have very rarely heard. I tend to think of Jacob later in his life — before Penuel, before he met his brother — as somewhat of a scoundrel, perhaps with his mother’s instigation. But I appreciate how you brought the other perspective: that it was God who had ordained him, that the elder shall serve the younger. I need to ruminate on that and how it applies to my context here in the States.
Nathan: Absolutely — do what Mike does and ruminate on it. Don’t take my word for it. You have got to ruminate.
[Banter — brief exchange of greetings with Christine and the Beyond family.]
Mike: I am changing the subject slightly. I have been reading Rushdoony’s commentary on Revelation and it fits very well with what you have been doing in Exodus. There are so many ways it ties up — some of the plagues are literally the same. I would recommend it to the people who have been going through Exodus with us.
Nathan: I highly recommend it. What is the plan then for the podcast?
Jeremy (referenced, not present): [Nathan notes Jeremy is strongly encouraging him to get content out.]
Nathan: The plan is to go through the story of Jacob and keep on going — Jacob, then the sons of Jacob, Joseph, and on to Moses. That would be the plan. But I think my strength is taking a scripture and going through it, looking at it this way and that way, rather than trying to treat an overarching theme. I just do not get anywhere with that.
Mike: What you did there does fall into three parts — the three characters: Jacob, Esau, and Isaac — and then a summary of how to be that Jacob character. You could easily make three points there. You do not have to change what you said.
Nathan: Yes, there is so much passivity in the church. And I think another reason Jacob is resented is because he fought — he fought for something, he went for it, he persisted, and he was a businessman. But the Bible nowhere condemns Jacob. The chapter headings that say “Jacob deceives Esau” are not inspired, whatever their source.
Genesis is full of what we might call morally complex accounts. They are not easy moral tales with neat endings. And I think Isaac is the most interesting and most relevant character — the most troubling. So much of the church’s progress toward the inheritance has been blocked, not by pagans, but by very good and otherwise pious men. If Jacob had heeded Isaac, the promise would have been over. No Messiah. The world would have died in darkness. Those were the stakes.
And everything hinged on the most trivial of reasons: Isaac just liked the taste of wild game. Just as stupid as that. The most dangerous villain in this story is emphatically Isaac — a good man. But you cannot follow men. You will die in a ditch spiritually if you follow men. You must follow the word of God.
Mike: That is a timely reminder, Nathan. Currently the minister I sit under in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church has been voted in as moderator of the General Assembly — and he has publicly and repeatedly rejected Rushdoony. It is very hard. The lifeline is the word of God itself, and how the Lord opens the mind and heart and applies His word. It is very precious.
Nathan: The fear of man is a snare.
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” — Proverbs 29:25
[Discussion continues — Mike describes his home fellowship and a recent study on the trials of Christ.]
Mike: Several people in our group had never realised that Christ had been put on two trials — one before the religious leaders and one before the civil magistrates. And when we looked at the crowd’s cry, “Let his blood be on us and on our children” — some of them could not believe it.
“Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” — Matthew 27:25
Nathan: Praise the Lord for your ministry, Mike.
[Brief personal banter — Nathan references Tiffany; Mike closes in prayer.]
Mike’s closing prayer:
Our Heavenly Father, our Lord and our God, we are so thankful that You have caused Your word to be preserved, to pierce our souls, to convict us, and to encourage and exhort us in faith — to see Your goodness, Your love, Your provision, and how You are for us, and that Your blessing cannot be revoked. Your blessings are marvellous, Father.
I pray for my dear brethren who are present here this evening, and I pray that You would continue to pour out Your encouragement and grace on the Beyond family. I pray, Father, that You would make their path straight and that the entire family would soon be able to gather. Give them strength, protect them in every way — John Michael and Joshua. Everybody still in England, Father, watch over them.
Thank you for Christine and her always good and searching questions. Bless her, Father, as she continues to follow the path You have ordained.
Father, I thank You for my precious brother Nathan. I pray that You continue to shape and mould his soul. I pray that You use Tiffany in that process, and that You would continue to use him for the encouragement of Your people — that we may all grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus.
In His name I ask all these things. Amen.
Scripture References
The following scriptures were quoted, referenced, or directly applied in this talk:
| Reference | Subject |
|---|---|
| Genesis 16:12 | Ishmael: a wild man, his hand against every man |
| Genesis 21:20 | Ishmael dwells in the wilderness and becomes an archer |
| Genesis 25:21 | Isaac entreats the Lord for Rebecca; she conceives |
| Genesis 25:22 | The children struggle together within Rebecca |
| Genesis 25:23 | The Lord’s word: two nations, the elder shall serve the younger |
| Genesis 25:26 | Jacob grasps Esau’s heel at birth |
| Genesis 25:27 | Jacob a plain (tam) man; Esau a cunning hunter, a man of the field |
| Genesis 25:28 | Isaac loved Esau for his venison; Rebecca loved Jacob |
| Genesis 25:31–32 | Jacob purchases Esau’s birthright |
| Genesis 26:16 | Abimelech: “Thou art much mightier than we” |
| Genesis 26:28–29 | Abimelech acknowledges the Lord’s blessing on Isaac |
| Genesis 10:9 | Nimrod: a mighty hunter before the Lord |
| Job 1:1 | Job: a perfect and upright (tam) man |
| Psalm 24:1 | The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof |
| Psalm 37:1 | Fret not thyself because of evildoers |
| Psalm 37:11 | The meek shall inherit the earth |
| Psalm 37:29 | The righteous shall inherit the land |
| Proverbs 29:2 | When the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn |
| Proverbs 29:25 | The fear of man bringeth a snare |
| Matthew 5:5 | The meek shall inherit the earth |
| Matthew 10:34 | I came not to bring peace, but a sword |
| Matthew 27:25 | His blood be on us and on our children |
| Romans 9:13 | Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated |
| Hebrews 12:16 | Esau: a profane and sexually immoral man |
| Philippians 3:19 | Whose god is their belly |
| 2 Samuel 8:14 | David subjugates Edom; all Edomites become David’s servants |