Hairy and Grabber
David C. Myers
July 27, 2008
Genesis25:19 - 34
Text: "When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb." . . . Genesis 25:24
I wish I had a dollar for every time one of children had asked me, "Tell me about when I was a baby." Children seem to have an insatiable curiosity about their origins. And they also are curious about their parents. When they are pre-schoolers and early elementary age children want to all about these "god-like adults in their lives called parents." "Well, did they always behave this way?" "Did they grow up serious?" "Did they ever have fun?" They want to know because, "if they were like me at one time, perhaps I will grow up like them."
And as we grow older, we learn that the events of our childhood have an important effect on the way we are now.
When our children, Nate and Sarah, were younger, a frequent bedtime ritual was telling them "Daddy stories" just before bedtime. They were stories about my childhood years. I don't know who got the most out of them - me in my nostalgia of re-telling them, or Nate and Sarah hearing about the kind of kid I was. I told them much the same way my grandmother told her stories to me. She always began, "When I was a little boy . . ." So I always began, "When I was a little girl . . ." In retrospect, I'm not sure whose gender identity was more endangered - mine or my kids. Anyway, their favorite "Daddy stories" were my smoking adventures at age 5; the building of a tree house; the construction of a miniature golf course in the back yard; and the time Danny Willet and I "borrowed" lumber and other building materials from a house under construction to build a playhouse attached to our garage.
It's important to remember our origins. It does help explain what's important to us, and helps develop our attitudes and emotions. In short, it helps remember who we are.
We all know there are wonderful stories in the Hebrew Bible, (formerly known as the Old Testament). In many ways they are like the "daddy stories" I told my kids. Those Hebrew Bible stories are stories developed to help the Hebrew people know who they are, and, even more importantly, Whose they are.
You may recall that I have quoted Doug Addams, professor of Art and Preaching at the Pacific School of Religion, who said, "the bible is not a model for morality, but a mirror of identity." Ronald Allen, then professor at the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, echoes that thought when writing about this morning's Scripture:
"the story is a mirror for our readers. Neither human character is an ideal. Each is deeply flawed. We see traces of ourselves in both Esau and Jacob. We are sometimes Hairy, consumed by our appetites, prone to violence. The text puts a question to us: Will we, like Esau, sell our birthright for a mess of cheap lentil soup? And are we like Jacob - grabbing things that are not rightly ours. But, God still works ceaselessly to bless us. Indeed, God can bless in any circumstance." ( Ronald Allen, Biblical Preaching Journal, Summer, 1993, p.6)
These stories are a wonderful opportunity to see how the people of Israel reflect on their origins. This passage is the prelude to the story of Israel and its namesakes - Hairy and Grabber, the literal translation of the names Esau and Jacob. And despite the unsavory nature of these two characters, we will see that they mirror who we are and Who God is. And, perhaps most importantly, because God blessed them, there is hope for God's blessing of us.
The story opens with a familiar theme in Genesis. As with Abraham and Sarah, now Abraham's son Isaac is having a tough time passing on the inheritance. It's not because he doesn't want to, but because he and his wife Rebekah - whom he didn't marry until he was 40 - Rebekah, like Isaac's mother Sarah, is barren. So Isaac prays to God, and "the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived."
There is an old admonition, "be careful of what you pray for, because you might get it." Rebekah's pregnancy is marked by discomfort. The story says, "The children struggled together - actually the Hebrew word is "ratsats" which is a violent word, appearing in the context of social oppression and physical abuse - within her; and she said, 'If it is to be this way, why do I live?'" As we shall soon learn, the struggle between these two boys has already begun before their birth. And Rebekah's resulting cry of despair, which suggests she would rather be dead than have to endure the struggle of her unborn children is a warning. And just wait until they are born! Rebekah's cry of despair warns us that the story to follow will have more than its share of confusion and heartache . . . much like the stories of our own lives.
So Rebekah prays to the Lord seeking guidance and meaning. And the Lord tells that, "two nations are in your womb, and two people born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger." This is a very important oracle for Rebekah and will give meaning to her actions later in the story, for she is now convinced that the younger of the two children fighting in her womb is the one who will rule, not the first-born as the custom would have it.
Rebekah gives birth to her twins. "The first came out all red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau." The name Esau is another name for "hairy", as in covered with hair.
"Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob." The name Jacob means, "grabber." It has come to mean "deception", "conniver", or "supplanting". As the story unfolds over the next few chapters of the Book of Genesis you can see just how much "Grabber" is a deceiving person, a conniver, and a supplanter.
The story quickly begins to unfold. Esau, or Hairy, becomes a manly man, an outdoorsman, a hunter, a man of the fields; while Jacob, or Grabber, is an inside man, a man "living in tents". "Isaac loved Esau (Hairy) because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob." Isaac's love for Esau seems to be based on their common love for the hunt and the savory food that comes from hunting. We already know why Rebekah loves Jacob; it was revealed to her by God while she was pregnant. Jacob/Grabber is going to be the stronger; and even though younger, his brother will serve him. Thus Jacob/Grabber is to her the chosen one of God. The theme of favorite children will recur later in their life's story.
As is typical in Hebrew narrative, the narrator does not explain things to us; rather, the narrator shows us what we need to know. "Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished." The two boys are already doing what we have been told that they are prone to do: Grabber is the domestic, while Hairy is the man of the field. "Esau (Hairy) said to Jacob (Grabber), 'Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished! (Therefore he was called Edom)." Hairy offers no greeting to his brother; he merely demands the "red stuff." He probably thinks this "red stuff" has meat in it, but it is merely lentil soup. The portrait of Hairy is less than flattering because of his crude manners and demanding desire for the "red stuff." Hence, he becomes ancestor for the land of Edom, and will bear that name.
The character of Jacob, or Grabber, is no more flattering.
"Jacob said, 'First sell me your birthright.'" Just as Hairy revealed himself as crude, so also Grabber reveals himself as "clever," and a "conniver". He is always ready to take advantage of the situation, grabbing, if you will, for all he can get - in this case seeking all the inheritance rights that Hairy had as the firstborn son. And, as we might imagine, the crude - and famished - Hairy says to that amazing request, "Well, I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?'" Could Hairy have really thought that his hunger was bringing him to the point of death? Hairy, in an incredibly shortsighted act of stupidity, says that he will give up his right as the eldest and his right of inheritance of property and blessing, all for some of the "red stuff" - a bowl of lentil soup. Clever and conniving Grabber is careful to make the ridiculous bargain legal and binding, saying to Hairy, "Swear to me first." And crude, impulsive, hungry to the point of being famished, Hairy swore to him and sold him his birthright to his brother.
Then Grabber gave Hairy bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."
"Winnie the Pooh" offers a similar story. Pooh is a pragmatic individualist, much like we see Grabber and Hairy at their worst. In one scene, Pooh hears a buzzing noise. "If there's a buzzing noise, somebody's making a buzzing noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee. . . . And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey. And the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it." In this amazing example of Pooh's egotistical logic, bees don't exist because they may benefit flowers, or because they hold a larger role in the environment. No, they only exist for Pooh's benefit. Like Hairy's hunger exists only for Grabber - so Grabber could steal Hairy's birthright.
Surely Rebekah is not wrong to have chosen Grabber as the promised one. Hairy's folly and stupidity are blatantly evident. Yet, Grabber's trickery and shady business practices are not themselves admirable. Once again, the narrator of this ancient story of the origins of the Hebrew people has thrown us into a complex world. The main characters, whom we know that God has richly blessed, have clay feet. They are not models of morality. In fact, as deeply flawed as we ourselves may be, they are, in all likelihood, much worse.
What can be said for the choices of God? How can the promise of blessing be worked out through these sorts of folk? We know this is so, for back in Genesis, chapter 12, God promised to bless all human families through Abraham and Sarah; and thus through Hairy and Grabber, their grandsons.
Jacob, or Grabber, is an unlikely vessel of blessing. To tell the truth, I would feel just a little uncomfortable in the coffee fellowship if our children turned out like Grabber. But Grabber (Jacob) is not a model for our moral behavior. And in a backhanded compliment-sort-of-way that is strangely comforting. God is good to us not because we have earned it, or because we deserve God's goodness and blessing; but because God keeps God's promises. And God has promised to bless us and the whole human family.
It kind of goes back to when we were kids - we want to know about our parents because unless we do we cannot identify with them. When you were a young child your parents always did the right thing, they are not tempted like we were. To us they seemed to be born responsible! They are so big, so protective, and so perfect. Gosh, we will never to be able to be like them! But if we find out that they were like us when they were kids, . . . well, maybe, . . . just maybe, someday we can grow up and be big and mature and good like they are.
And that shows us something about God. Because as we learn that we are all deeply flawed, deeply human, we learn that God's goodness doesn't depend on our behavior. While we certainly don't understand how God can do this; and perhaps we even doubt that it should happen, but through these "daddy stories" we know that God does love and bless us. The story of Hairy and Grabber demonstrate this.
It's an interesting theological thought. On the one hand it would be easier for us if God's chosen people were better behavior models. But that also raise a question, for it that were the case could we ever identify with such lofty, perfect characters? Or, on the other hand, is it better for us to know that God's promises are so unshakeable that God can work blessings despite the shortcomings of very flawed characters - namely us?
It's hard to imagine how God can bless all the sons and daughters of Hairy and Grabber. But since we know that somehow God works blessing and love through the scandal of Hairy and Grabber, there is even hope that God can work blessings through even me and you.