When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Genesis 27:46 (ESV)
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Family dynamics are so interesting and frightening at the same time. In the above compilation of verses we have find an interesting dynamic within Isaac and Rebekah’s family. Apparently the Hittite women were not good wives ... as thought by Rebekah. When Esau married one it made it so difficult for Isaac and Rebekah that now Rebekah has form a cognitive anchor about them. Apparently since one was bad (the one married to Esau) the rest are bad. Remember that Abraham did not want Issac marring the women of the land. So he sent his servant to secure a wife from his family. That is how Rebekah arrived don the scene (chapters 24-25). Rebekah gives birth to Esau and Jacob and that is when life really begins for them. Parenting adult children. Now that the boys are older and getting married and disagreeing about life. This is really, messy family dynamics. It is not as clean and pure as people want it to be. Or even think it should be. If we read stories in the Bible about families we often see this messy version. Cain slew his brother Able. Ham, Noah’s son, did something so grievous to his father he was banished. David’s son, Absalom, tried to overthrow David’s kingship. The list can go on. The point of the matter is that families are tough and have their unique dynamics. In the above passage we read that Esau made Isaac and Rebekah’s life miserable but Isaac still wanted to bless Esau with the first born blessing. Of course Rebekah will interfere with that but the point is that Isaac’s love for his son transcended Esau’s attempt to make him bitter. This is how God is with us. Despite our rebellious and child like behavior (making choices that grieve the Holy Spirit) God loves us with unconditional love. That is the beauty the of God’s love for us. That is what a parent is to show their children ... even if they do something that brings bitterness to their soul.
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