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As he pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his plea.

(Genesis 25: 21)

Unlike his father, Isaac passed the test.  He pleaded with the Lord, he prayed, and God answered. You promised Lord he pleaded, you promised that I would produce descendants that would become a great nation, in this case the nation of Israel. Lord, you need to do something, and the Lord heard his prayer and his wife got pregnant. As they say in the movies, the plot really thickens. 

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord.

(Genesis 25: 22) 

The children struggled together within her, the children, plural.  She said if this is how it is meant to be then why am I having this problem? She has twins and all she knows is that they are kicking and screaming in the womb. Woman have told me some of their children were quiet in the womb and others kicked and wriggled around a lot. Rebecca has two in there and they’re struggling. Remember, she would have had no idea that she’s pregnant with twins. She must be thinking, “what in the world is going on”?  She probably would have just thought this is a really difficult pregnancy, but she seeks the Lord. When you don’t know what’s going on in your life, pray, and get your nose in the book so you can get God’s perspective on what’s going on in your life. The Lord replies and says, and this is where it gets interesting.

“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body.
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”

(Genesis 25: 23)

God has got some news for Sarah, congratulations you’re having twins, and these twins are going to produce great nations. That’s what’s going to happen, in fact, he told her a number of different things in this passage. He told her, that she was going to have twins. He told her, that the two would both become nations.  He told her; one nation would be stronger than the other nation, and he told her, the younger of the two twins would be the stronger, and the older would serve this younger child. That’s a potential problem because in the ancient world the heir was always the oldest. Normally the oldest was the one to receive all of the inheritance of the father. As a matter of fact, even if some of the other children did get something of an inheritance, but the minimum the oldest could expect would be a double portion, twice as much as anyone else. But here the Lord says,  you are having twins and instead of the older being the heir, the younger is going to be the heir. God then said you’re going to have two sons; and I’m choosing which one is going to be the heir. This becomes an illustration of God’s election. 

This passage is important, it’s quoted in the New Testament, several times as illustrating the sovereign choice of God. This passage illustrates several things. This passage indicates to us that these brothers will have different temperaments. The other is that these two sons, as we’re going to see, will produce two nations, Edom, and Israel. Israel had the priority in God’s eyes so just as this passage says, the younger one will produce the nation of Israel, and this is very important because Israel will produce the family line of the Messiah.  That’s what’s really going on in the Book of Genesis and in the whole Hebrew scriptures, in fact. God is selecting, he’s choosing, he’s electing a line out of which will come the Messiah.

The great truth here is that God sovereignly choses. As I mentioned, Paul quotes this passage in the Book of Romans. He says the younger owed his selection, I'm quoting Romans Chapter 9, not to the natural order of things or to human will, but to the divine will. God sovereignly chooses people. He chose Isaac and as we’ll see in a minute, he will choose Jacob. God Sovereignly chose and not on this occasion by following the usual natural order. He did not follow the custom of the day, he stepped in and said this is the way it’s going to be. That's nothing more than the sovereign election of God. Now that’s the doctrine that gives a lot of people a hard time, because it can sounds unfair. Well, hang with me, we’re not done. Know that that truth that God Sovereignly chooses some individuals is inescapable, but there is another side to this, and we shall see it illustrated when we pick up the story next time.