The Sons of Isaac(53)

Eleazar was gone for a fortnight, and when he returned he had nothing but good news to impart. “The old prince welcomed me as though I were a brother,” he said, “and when I told him your decision, he wept.” His daughters were all married and gone and both his trading business and his herds were being managed by hired strangers. He was being raided and terrorized by robbers and he expected at any time to be taken prisoner and have all his wealth snatched from him.

Now when Abraham called Keturah and told her of his decision and the problems her father was having, she didn’t object. She had quickly seen that it would be to her sons’ advantage to be in a secure position. However, Abraham was amused to see how shrewd she was in bargaining with him. “She makes decisions like a man,” he confided to Isaac.

There was much discussion and argument among Keturah’s sons until they finally concluded that in all that was planned, they would be the winners. In the end they were impatient to leave and actually resisted the effort of their father to send them off with dancing and singing and huge feasts. They bragged and strutted about with a new sense of their importance.

Esau welcomed their leaving, but Jacob had a different reaction. For the first time he fully understood the importance of being the firstborn, of inheriting the birthright and the blessing. These were things he valued all the more since he felt they could be denied him.

Many times he had heard his mother telling of his birth and the word she had received from the Lord. To her it was all settled—he, Jacob, was to have the blessing and the birthright. However, he knew that his father had paid no attention to anything his mother had said. He was assuming that Esau would have both the birthright and the blessing.

To make his situation even more bitter, now both Zimran and Jokshan taunted him, saying, “It’s your brother, Esau, who will inherit everything. You will only prosper in his shadow.” At this they would nudge each other and smirk. He noticed with growing frustration that they treated Esau very differently. Since he was to receive the blessing and the birthright, they wanted him as their friend.

He understood quite well why the sons of Keturah were being sent off to their grandfather. This was how things were done. The firstborn son must have no competition. He wondered how long it would be before a choice would have to be made between himself and his twin brother. What would happen when his mother and father at last confronted their very different ideas of what should take place? Of course nothing would happen until Abraham died. When he died, everything would eventually be brought out into the open, and there could be some terrible conflicts.





Jacob watched Keturah and her sons leave with a feeling of relief. The last few days had been filled with feasting and packing, some crying, and more advice given back and forth. At the last, Keturah was concerned for Abraham’s care. He was not strong now and would need constant attention. “He must have warm broth on waking in the morning and fruit in season,” she told Rebekah. “Perhaps you could have Jacob tend to these things. He is the only one who doesn’t have something important to do.”

Rebekah was ready to give a quick retort and then thought better of it. The suggestion was good even though the snide remark was not. In this simple way it came about that Jacob was chosen to spend time with his grandfather and to minister to his needs.

Several days before Keturah was to leave, Jacob was brought to his grandfather’s tent. Abraham had only been told that one of the twins would stay with him and would take care of any needs he might have. He had obviously assumed it would be Esau. He had muttered something about having envisioned “feasting on some of the boy’s venison.” More than that, it was obvious that he had looked forward to spending time making sure Esau was grounded in the basic beliefs and history of their family.

When Jacob appeared, Abraham could not help but show his disappointment. He even spoke to Isaac about it, but nothing could be done. Esau was not only absent on hunting trips but had begun to spend time courting a young Hittite maiden who lived in the city of Kiriath-arba (also called Hebron). “We are not pleased that he is so interested in a Hittite, but there is no one else for our sons here,” Isaac explained.

Before Keturah left, she took Jacob and showed him all that he would be responsible for in caring for his grandfather. She was concerned that Abraham not only have the proper food but that it be cut in pieces easy to chew; the sauces for dipping his bread should be seasoned with mint and basil; while for his stomach’s sake he must have cardamom in warm camel’s milk. At night Jacob must warm a stone to put at his feet.