Gen. 25:19-34
1) Answered prayers don't promote perfection. Both Isaac and Rebekah pray about their children to be, but they fight even in the womb.
2) Surely at least some of this is a joking etiology story, to jest with brother Edom on its origin. On the other hand, waht do we learn aobut Israel to keep this in \its founding stories?
3) I glimpse some Gilgamesh motif here as well. Enkidu bears some resemblance to Esau, and Gilgamesh to Jacob.
3) Jacob's name means grabby,pushy, overtake, at the heel. Esau is related to being hairy se-ar, and to red, adom.
4) I find it remarkable that Israel would not whitewash its founding member but show him to be full of trickery.
5) The birthright must have been alarming in general for the firstborn to get a bigger share, but for twins, in must have stuck in the craw. .
6) so what does it say about God to overturn the rights of the firstborn, a theme in the bible, and to pick such a one as Jacob.
7) One could play the birthright story for comedy turning serious. think of Esau going, red stuff, yum. He throws away a different future for some stew. Was Jacob plotting, or did he react to a situation that presented itself?
8) An intriguing note; Jacob is  called tam, quiet, a homebody, but in Job it means integrity.
9) Notice the decided parental preference here. Isaac had not learned from his own life with Abraham. Why does Rebekah prefer Jacob? Does she see her brother Laban in him? Isaac shows a bit of Esau if his love could be had for some wild game.
10 What factors lead us to being manipulative with our cleverness?
11) This is also a story of nature v. nurutre. where do you come out on that specturm of possibility?