All families have their ups and downs. All families follow some predictable patterns. At times, families carry from one generation to the next some of those patterns.  

 

Here we are placed in the age old quandary of nature v. nurture. The issue of infertility affects this family, as well as Abraham and saran, and will continue to affect them. Isaac prays and is answered more quickly than his parents. Still, an answered prayer may create problems of its own-continuing problem of carrying the promise is not limited to fertility. Even in the womb, the twins seem to be at each other, so much so that Rebecca utters a prayer of desperation.

 How much is Isaac fooled. He is playing the fool or is he truly being fooled. In other words, he is playing Rebecca and Jacob for fools?  he is allowing them to be so terribly clever but knows what they want all the time?  Is he blind to their machinations. After ll, he was younger than Ishmael and he was the chosen favorite. Why not now? Does he secretly agree that Jacob should receive the blessing? What has happened to his marriage with Rebecca that she feels such secrets and machinations are in order? Why haven;t they talked this over? Have they grown so far apart Patterns can change. or be maintained. It is a good thing to be conscious of them. When they don;t promote the health of the system, then they should be changed. That will always meet with resistance. over the years? She is definitely the crafty Laban's sister after all. Her son will find out more about that sooner than she would like.
personal and national-why put it in a national narrative? Esau is depicted as a natural person, unreflective, living in the moment. Jacob is reflected as  crafty and conniving,

civilized is how I would translate tam in this instance, not physically adventurous.
youngest displacing the oldest Jacob is smooth of skin but a smooth talker as well. does he not lose the stolen birthright? In this story a type of karmic principle seems to be at play.

 

Part of this is a little harmless fun poking at its near neighbor Edom. it laughs at it s supposed ancestor as a brute. How much did they inherit his qualities? Remarkably, it pokes fun at itself as a cunning younger brother, younger twin. Jacob is cooking something up-describe types of people name means grabby stew story-mmm red stuff, play on his name linked to Edom is he too stupid to handle the birthright?

 

Families develop and fall into patterns, as do many organizations, including churches. Those patterns tend to persist, healthy or not. Family system and playing favorites. What does playing favorites do to a family? The standard line is that we love our children equally but then how is it that children identify the favorite so readily?We don;t learn from previous patterns. We bring ghosts into the room with us. Previous experiences have a way of punching buttons on us.  Replaying the past closes doors and options. (The story of how to cook a a ham.) 
 
God works through even human duplicity toward the truth. does he receive the blessing? Playing favorites damages the perception fo the favorite. it obviously causes resentment and self-doubt in the less favored children. In response to our anxieties, we look for allies. Instead of speaking directly with the person with whom we have an issue, we create a triangle of relationships. this fosters miscommunication and faulty assumptions more than resolution most times. Quite simply, it is wise to praise in public and complain personally and directly. We don;t talk abut people; we speak to them when possible.