Sibling Rivalry

“SIBLING RIVALRY”EPISODE 3

A Little Genealogy

CAST OF CHARACTERS• Isaac – Laughter

• Rebekah – Ensnarer (Trap Layer)

• Jacob – Supplanter (Con-Artist)

• Esau – Hairy, also Edom – Red

• Leah – Weary

• Rachel – Ewe (Lamb)

A STRUGGLE BEFORE BIRTH

Read Genesis 25: 19-23

Rachel’s Pregnancy

• Why did God allow her to conceive?

• Was it an easy pregnancy? EXPLAIN. What was the conflict?

TWINSRead 25:24-28

The Twins

• Esau was a rough and tumble hunter and an outdoorsman. His daddy was crazy about him.

• Jacob was quiet (sneaky) and loved to stay at home. His mama loved him.

The Big “BUT”

• Vs 28

• And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his

venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Most sibling rivalries are a result of the environment that

parents have set up.

THAT WAS SOME GOOD RED PEA SOUP!!! OR CHILI…

Read 25:29-34

Esau did not take this stuff seriously.

• Obviously, Rebekah taught Jacob how to cook.

• “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

•What was the exchange?

REWINDLet’s take a look at Isaac

Isaac• Blessed of the Lord and the

blessing of Abraham is upon him.

• Tries to pass off Rebekah as his sister while in the land of the Philistines, but he got caught making out with her.

Isaac• Prospered in that land as a

foreigner because of God’s covenant with him.

• He dug wells and all of them were plenteous, and the Philistines (natives) were jealous and stopped them up.

FAST FORWARD40 years later READ 25:34-35

Dysfunction• Esau is probably resenting

Rebekah’s favoritism, so he marries not one but two Hittite Women.

• The HCSB version says in verse 35 that Esau and his wives made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

ISAAC’S REQUESTREAD 27:1-6

REBEKAH AND JACOB’S SCHEME

READ 27:6-17, 22-23

Even though this was a blessed family that was in covenant with God, they

had a lot of dysfunction…

Dysfunction

• Esau purposely marries the kind of women that his mother hates.

Dysfunction•Rebekah –the trap layer-

uses her favorite son to destroy her husband’s plan to customarily bless the older son. She wants to set Jacob ahead of Esau.

Dysfunction• Jacob (the slick son) agrees

to lie to his father in cahoots with his mother in order to cheat his brother.

Dysfunction• Esau is duped out of his

birthright that he never valued to begin with – his stomach was worth more than his inheritance.

Dysfunction•After realizing what he lost,

Esau not only has a grudge against his brother, he vows to kill him in verse 41.

Dysfunction• This scheme forces Jacob

to leave home, and we never read where Rebekah sees her son again.

Had this happened…•Rebekah would have lost

both of her sons that day: one to murder and the other to capital punishment

Had this happened…• The promise given to

Abraham through the seed of Isaac would have been lost.

QUESTION:

•What 5 devices did Jacob use to deceive Isaac?

ANSWERS

• 1. Goat skins

• 2. Pot of stewed Goat

• 3. His brother’s clothes

• 4. Alcohol

• 5. Blatant Lies

QUESTION:

•Describe to me Jacob’s 4-part blessing:

4-Part Blessing• 1. Agricultural Prosperity

• 2. International respect and success

• 3. His elder brother would serve him.

• 4. He would have the ability to bless and curse like his grandfather.

QUESTION:

•Describe to me the 4-part ANTI-BLESSING that Esau receives.

4-Part ANTI-Blessing• 1. He would live away from the

richness of the Land and the dew of the sky – DESERT.

• 2. His younger brother would be the master of the clan.

• 3. He would have a life of violence.

• 4. (Actually a Consolation) – He would some day – through rebellion, break Jacob’s yoke from off His neck.

MORE CRAZY…

• Read 27:46

• Trying to live her life vicariously through her son, she lays such a guilt trip about whom he marries.

MORE CRAZY…

• Read 28:6-9

• Esau gets back at his parents by marrying two Canaanite women, one of whom is the daughter of his half brother.

MORE CRAZY…

• Jacob flees to his uncle’s house where he is taken advantage of and duped into marrying a woman he does not want.