Jacob and Esau

Dear Brothers and sisters,

Within the Christian Church we frequently talk about brotherhood and lately include sisterhood as well. Without much questioning we assume that this term describes a loving and respectful relationship. But whoever has brothers and sisters in his/her family often has very different stories to tell: stories of rivalry and jealousy  and not getting along at all until maybe as adults with a bit more distance between each other, things improve.

As I said in my last sermons already, the OT portrays our reality very openly and therefore is not about holy families or perfect relations among siblings, but shows family life as it is till our days with its ups and downs, its love and fighting.

In this weeks parasha we meet with a rather extreme example of a broken family.

The problems start when Rebekka, wife of Isaac, finally gets pregnant after a long time of infertility. Like in Sarahs case, her pregnancy is depicted as a miracle of God, not the natural consequence of human potency in order to emphasize: the existence of all of Abrahams descendants including the existence of the people of Israel until now is a miracle, owed to Gods mercy and not to the natural course of history.

Now as I said, Rebekka is pregnant, expecting twins. But already in her womb they start fighting, kicking each other madly, and in their birth Jacob holds on tightly to the heels of his brother, yet does  not succeed in becoming  first. However:  His name bears witness to this incident, Jacob meaning the Fersenhalter.

As the brothers grow up they develop very differently:
Esau becomes a rough, hairy guy, a hunter who loves nature and spends most of his time outdoors. A son very much to the liking of his father.
Jacob on the other hand  becomes a quiet man, a shepherd, guiding and protecting the life of his flock and always remaining near the tents of his family. His mothers darling.
In Jewish tradition Esau has been a wild, uncontrolled man from the beginning, living up to his own desires only. Whereas Jacob is said to have been near to Gods will always, a very favorable view on Jacob, yet much in contrast to what Jacob is actually doing according to the Bible.
One day Esau returns from hunting, tired and dying to eat. Now Jacob had just cooked a delicious meal from red lentils (a surprising role model) and immediately he hints his chance to escape his position of being forever second. So as Esau is asking for some of his soup, Jacob replies: I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first born son.”

Esau agrees to still his wolfish hunger. But is that to be taken as proof for his disrespect of his right as the first born like not only the Jewish interpretation maintains? Thus implying that Esau actually deserves being cheated? Or is Esau maybe just a very spontaneous and goodhearted person, granting his brother kindly what he desires without any suspicion to be harmed by him?

Anyway, Jacob, the Fersenschleicher has now turned into an Erbschleicher, an unscrupulous crook, cheating his own brother to get to the top.

And that`s not yet all.

Later on Jacob cheats Esau out of Isaacs blessing. And he acts in complicity with his mother. Rebekka has always taken Jacobs side, not hiding her greater love for the 2^nd twin, as you would expect parents to do. And now she comes up with an intriguing plan in favor of Jacob. When Isaac is about to die he asks Esau to go hunt and prepare one last time the dish, he has always liked best. So while Esau is gone to fulfill his fathers last will, Rebekka herself secretly cooks this dish and helps Jacob to disguise himself as Esau counting on the almost blind eyes of Isaac. Jacob then serves his father the dish, eagerly waiting to receive his blessing.

Now what do you say? Isn`t that an awful thing for a mother to do? Cheat out one son for the sake of the other one? Or would you accept Rebekka arguing she only helped the better and the more cultivated one of the two to get what he actually deserved more than his crude macho brother: the blessing which is to pass from generation to generation of Abrahams descendants? Is she to blame for correcting the blind chance which made Jacob second by birth? And finally: couldn`t she even claim to act according to God`s own will, because God always puts the last ones first?

Be it as it may: Isaac is very suspicious: Which of my sons are you? He asks. And later: how did you find it so quickly, and finally after touching the fake hairy arms of Jacob: Your voice sounds like Jacobs voice but your arms feel like Esaus. Only after asking one last time: are you really Esau, Isaac gives his blessings. But its Jacob the liar who receives them, not Esau who is entitled to them. And the blessings are irrevocable! Not only because in those days words counted more than in our times, but because God himself authorized those words supplying them with the power to create reality.

But doesn`t that seem very disturbing to our understanding of justice? A God who lets himself be drawn into the unfair plot of an ambitious mother and a reckless brother? And don`t you feel sorry for the rightful heir Esau who after arriving too late cries out in pain and anger? Do we have to fear our father in heaven is no different from a parent favoring one child over the other?

Let me try 3 anwers:

1.      Indeed, love doesn`t treat everyone equally – to our criteria love never is fair. In our story Israel reflects on its own blessing as God`s chosen people. And different from later Jewish interpretation which tries to turn Jacob from crook to saint, the Bible offers an honest view: Even though Jacob/Israel indeed has not at all deserved it, God honors it to be blessed, a model for God`s great mercy which exceeds all our judgments. There are many other Biblical tales that follow this pattern: the story of David in the OT for example, or in the NT think of the lost son, Zachäus, the tax collector, and the many other examples Jesus gives us to illustrate God`s special love for the sinners, seeming very unfair in the eyes of the righteous…He himself describes his mission: the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost. We have to put up with this kind of love, which takes side for the imperfect, and to be honest, we ourselves profit from this kind of love as well!

2.      A well known German theologian, Gerd Theissen, argues, that Isaac actually was`t cheated. He knew he was blessing Jacob in Esaus outfit, thus blessing both of his sons in one, and fulfilling his dream that his divergent twins be united in Gods grace – a dream the apostle Paul regards fulfilled in Christ in whom all are one, yet a unity still to be realized by Christ`s followers.

3.      For me the conclusion of this story is: In spite of the cruel reality of our lives in which conflicts often reach into the closest relationships of our families, God remains faithful to his promise to pass his blessings from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob on to all nations. Nothing, indeed nothing can separate us from his love.