Genesis 25 Devotional

Grace That Chooses

“and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.””Genesis 25:23 (BSB)

Abraham dies at a good old age, and Isaac and Ishmael bury him together beside Sarah (25:8-9). The promise moves on to Isaac, and at once it meets the same obstacle as before: Rebekah cannot have children. Isaac prays, and the LORD answers (25:21). When the twins struggle within her, the LORD tells Rebekah that two nations are in her womb and that the older will serve the younger (25:23).

The boys grow up very different. One day Esau comes in famished and trades his birthright, the rights of the firstborn, to Jacob for a bowl of stew, and the chapter's verdict is that he treated his birthright with contempt (25:34). Neither brother comes off well. Jacob bargains and Esau shrugs. Paul says God spoke before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, so that his purpose would stand, based not on works but on the one who calls (Romans 9:11-12). God's grace cannot be earned, and it is never to be treated as cheap.

To think about: Is there a gift from God you have been treating lightly, the way Esau treated his birthright?