Sharper Iron & Truth in Genesis: The Birth of Red and Heal-Grabber

Rev. Peter Ill, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, Illinois, studies Genesis 25:19-26 on today’s episode. Rev. Ill talks about the barrenness in the family line leading to prayer, how prayer reminds us of God’s promises and faithfulness, when we all question the “why” of what God does, the two nations coming from Rebekah, and how God raises up the lowly.

“In the Beginning was the Truth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron featuring a step-by-step walk through the book of Genesis, focusing on the truth of Jesus, the story of salvation found throughout the book, and how we view our lives through the lens of God’s promises. Sharper Iron is hosted by Rev. Jonathan Fisk.

Genesis 25:19-26

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, ²⁰and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²²The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”^[a] So she went to inquire of the Lord. ²³And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you^[b] shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob.^[c] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.