Esau is not the man for the job. Yes, he is the first born. But, just because he is the first born, theבְּכוֹר Bekor H1060, he has tasks and responsibilities even before his dad passes away. He becomes a teammate with his dad. They together work to help the family with all its needs, they stand together to protect the family, they make sure all are safe and healthy, and the first born and the dad do all they can to make sure the family stays together. Esau, however, is seemingly focused only on hunting, the outdoors, adventure, fun, and not the day to day family business. It must’ve been a big job to stay home and take care of the massive holdings that Isaac was blessed with as we read.
Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. (Gen 26:12-14)
In this lesson we will delve into this more. I bring up Ken Baily’s book, “Jacob and the Prodigal.” Ken is an awesome Biblical scholar with many books and articles he has written. One I highly recommend is, “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels.” Bailey examines the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus' relationship to women, and especially Jesus' parables. Through it all, Bailey employs his trademark expertise as a master of Middle Eastern culture to lead us into a deeper understanding of the person and significance of Jesus within his own cultural context.
But, in his book, “Jacob and the Prodigal,” he shows us amazing connections between the parable of Jesus and the story involving Jacob and Esau. For example, here are 15 connections between these two.
For us we will consider this parable and other sources to study two major concepts. The first is the first born, or the Bekor, and the Bet Av, the house of the father. One great resource is Ray Vander Laan's lessons from Israel and the Middle East. Here is a "free" video where Ray focuses on the concept of the Bet Av - the father's house (pronounced bate av). Here's the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm7S101cyJM
As we study these we will gain a deeper and more expansive understanding of the Jacob and Esau story. We will perhaps even gain a deeper appreciation of why Rebecca did what she did to have Jacob deceive Isaac to get the blessing of the first born.
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
(Ferret - in Timnah Park just north of Eilat Israel)
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
