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| July 27, 2008 |
Reading time about four minutes. Reader one: “What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare gave his own answer. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Reader two:
But in biblical times, and even now in more traditional cultures, a name has great significance. In today’s story, we have twin brothers. One is born with a great crop of red hair, and so is called Esau which means “red.” Reader one:
The second twin, so the story goes, came out of Rebekah’s womb hanging on to Esau’s heel. So he is named Jacob, which means “grabber” or “cheater,” or “one who takes what doesn’t belong to him.” The trickster. Reader two: Esau gets along really well with his dad, Isaac. Isaac loves the wild food Esau brings to him – loves the stories Esau tells of hunting and gathering. Reader one: Jacob gets along with Rebekah, his mom. She’s a schemer two, and the two of them are constantly plotting and figuring and getting more than their share. And in the culture of that era, this was considered to be good. If you could get ahead by tricking people, that was just fine. If you are smarter than your neighbor, use that to your advantage. Jacob’s motto might have been, “do unto others before they do you.” Reader two: It’s important to remember that these are legends. This story was passed down to us to explain why one nation, Edom, is full of nice people who are not very bright. Edom means “red,” and the founder of the Edomite nation is Esau, the red. This story is told by the descendants of Jacob who figure the Edmonites are not very bright and are best suited to be the servants of the Israelites. Reader one:
Jacob is the father of the Israelites. Rebekah is the mother, although that part isn’t really acknowledged in the story. Reader two: The winners get to write the history. So here is the first part of the Jacob saga as told in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. (SLIGHT PAUSE) Reader one: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. The Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. Reader two: The children struggled together within her. Reader one: “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” Reader two: So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord spoke to her. Reader one: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.” Reader two: When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Reader one: Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah bore the twins. Reader two: When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. Reader one: Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob; Reader two: “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” Reader one: “First sell me your birthright.” Reader two: “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Reader one: “Swear to me first.” Reader two: So Esau swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Reader one:
Thus Esau despised his birthright.
NOTE: The above is written in the style of “Reader’s Theatre,” a very simple but effective way of presenting the biblical story that can be done in any church, large or small. For more information about how to do Reader’s Theatre, click on this link. Note: You have permission to use this in any worship service. No credit line is required, though it would be nice if you put in something like, “A Readers’ Theatre presentation of the Story-Lectionary.com project.” |