Names, Skills and Character

Many sermons have been preached on “Mothers” over the years, especially on Mother’s Day, extolling the virtues of the godly woman as laid out in Proverbs 31:10-31. She is shown to be a master chef, an astute business woman, a fitness expert, seamstress, fashion designer, philanthropist and many other things, besides being God-fearing, her life being her testimony. I am sure Rebekah possessed all these virtues and was an exemplary wife to Isaac, yet she has quite often been portrayed as a scheming woman, an unscrupulous mother and an eavesdropper to boot, who taught her son lying and cheating ways. The accusations were well-deserved, but what drove her to behave in this manner? Will God condone her actions and motives or will she have to pay the penalty for her sin? Can we view her in a kinder light?

At sixty, [Gen :25:27] Isaac was elated to learn that Rebekah was at last going to be a mother. At the moment of birth itself, the younger twins name was established - deceiver or supplanter - (the lesser-known meaning being ‘to follow’ or ‘be behind’), but ‘deceiver’ seems to have stuck and shaped his future actions in no small way. Can you imagine the trauma of his childhood, being called that all the time?

Genesis 25:22 tells us that Jacob started his pranks when he was in his mother’s womb itself, struggling with his twin brother to such an extent that he caused Rebekah much discomfort. The Lord revealed to her that her pregnancy was not just about two babies fighting within her, but about the birthing of two great nations in the future, one to be stronger than the other. Esau, the hairy one, came out first and Jacob followed closely, latching onto his heel. It seems like Esau inherited all the hair of his father and mother put together, leaving Jacob smooth-skinned, so that, unlike normal babies who soon shed the soft down on their arms and back, Esau decided to keep all of his. When he grew to manhood, he exhibited all the signs of the Werewolf syndrome, an extremely rare condition which must have driven Esau to become a hunter, away from people most of the time, leading an active outdoor life in the vastness of the Negev, which was watered by the well, Lahairoi- the well of Him who sees me. Nice!

He regularly brought back fresh food for the table, and Isaac developed a taste for the game meat that his athletic son provided. He became the favored son of his aging father. While his brother was out all day hunting and wandering the wild, Jacob stayed by his mother’s side, learning many valuable lessons from her for the future, skills which stood him in good stead later on. Both the brothers were skilled in their own way, but while Esau used his brawn, Jacob used his brain, and in the long run, it is your grey cells which will outlast your physical strength. Character and life experiences shape the course of our life.