Adventures in Odyssey

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. Welcome to Adventures in Odyssey.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, hi there. I'm John Avery Whittaker, but you can call me Whit. We were just getting ready for a time of wonder, excitement, and discovery. You care to join us? You never know what'll happen next when you have an adventure in Odyssey.

Rebecca: An older shall serve the younger.

Isaac: My son, you want my birthright?

Esau: Well, it was just a thought.

Isaac: Are you really Esau?

Esau: No!

Chris: Focus on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey present the Imagination Station books, an exciting series for readers ages six and up. Through Whit's greatest invention, young readers will travel to the Coliseum in ancient Rome and a longboat in Greenland.

Guest (Male): I am Eric the Red.

Guest (Female): The Viking!

Chris: And there's so much more. When you visit theimaginationstation.com, you can find study guides and devotionals, plus fun family activities. More information at theimaginationstation.com or 1-800-A-FAMILY.

Bernard Walton: There, 12 windows down, 10 more to go. I guess they can wait until after lunch. Tuna fish sandwich, here I come.

Eric: I can't believe it. I just can't believe it.

Bernard Walton: Watch the bucket. Watch the... bucket. Kids never watch the bucket.

Eric: I'm sorry, Mr. Walton.

Bernard Walton: That's alright. It's just soapy water spilled all over my new work shoes. You're Eric, aren't you?

Eric: Yes, sir. How'd you know?

Bernard Walton: You don't remember? Last week at Whit's End, you knocked over my bucket there too. My squeegee whacked me right between the eyes.

Eric: Oh yeah. That was Haley's fault too.

Bernard Walton: Haley?

Eric: My little sister. She took the last piece of pie I was saving for myself.

Bernard Walton: At Whit's End?

Eric: No, today. She switched lunches on me.

Bernard Walton: And that caused you to knock over my bucket.

Eric: Yeah. I'm so mad at her, I wasn't watching where I was going.

Bernard Walton: Well, here's my piece of pie. Now you don't have to be mad at her anymore, and I can stop refilling buckets.

Eric: No thanks. I'm not hungry anymore. I'm too mad.

Bernard Walton: It's just a piece of pie.

Eric: No, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Haley's a royal pain. She's always sneaking around, pulling bad tricks, doing rotten things to me. Sometimes I really hate her. Guess I shouldn't say that.

Bernard Walton: You want to take it back?

Eric: No. You probably think I'm awful for saying it, though, huh?

Bernard Walton: It's a rotten thing to say, and you shouldn't have said it, but you're no more awful than anybody else who's ever said it.

Eric: Anybody else?

Bernard Walton: You think you're the only one who's ever said that about their sister? Chances are you'll change your mind one of these days, just like Esau did.

Eric: Esau?

Bernard Walton: Esau, you know, Esau and his brother Jacob.

Eric: Jacob Farnsworth has a brother named Esau?

Bernard Walton: No, not Jacob Farnsworth. Jacob in the Bible. Mean to tell me you've never heard the story of Jacob and Esau?

Eric: Will I get in trouble if I say no?

Bernard Walton: No. And they wonder why society's going down the tubes. All right, I see I'm going to have to educate you. Turn that bucket all the way over and have a seat.

Eric: Okay.

Bernard Walton: Esau and Jacob were twins. You think you and Haley have problems? These boys had problems. They lived long before Moses. You do know who Moses was?

Eric: The Ten Commandments?

Bernard Walton: Well, that's something. Anyway, Esau and Jacob's problems were so big, they started before they were born.

Eric: Before they were born?

Bernard Walton: Yeah. You see, their parents' names were Isaac and Rebecca. They couldn't have children for a long time, so when Rebecca found out she was pregnant, they were very excited. At least they were at first.

Rebecca: Isaac. Isaac, wake up.

Isaac: Rebecca, what is it?

Rebecca: The baby.

Eric: Wait a minute, baby? You said they were twins.

Bernard Walton: This was long before modern medicine. She had no way of knowing that, not yet.

Eric: What do you mean? How'd she find out?

Bernard Walton: Listen to the story. Kids want to know the ending before the beginning. Now, she was having problems with...

Rebecca: The baby.

Isaac: Is it your time?

Rebecca: Oh, no. Not for two more months. But the baby keeps kicking.

Isaac: It must be a boy, a strong boy.

Rebecca: Then he's about to kick me to pieces. I don't think I can take much more.

Isaac: What can I do?

Rebecca: Have one of the servants make me some tea. Maybe it'll help.

Isaac: Yes, my love. And don't worry, this is just as it should be. Midian, wake up. The mistress needs some tea.

Rebecca: Oh, Lord God, I can't bear it. If all is well, then why do I feel this way? Why?

Bernard Walton: Well, later on that night, the Lord Himself told her why in a dream.

Lord: Rebecca. Rebecca.

Rebecca: What? Who is it?

Lord: I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac.

Rebecca: My Lord.

Lord: Two nations struggle in your womb. Two people shall be separated from your body. One will be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

Eric: Wait a minute. And the older shall serve the younger?

Bernard Walton: That's right.

Eric: I don't think I'm going to like this story.

Bernard Walton: Why?

Eric: Because I'm the oldest, that's why.

Bernard Walton: Then you should listen to what he did so you don't make the same mistakes.

Eric: I was afraid you were going to say that.

Bernard Walton: Okay if I continue now?

Eric: Yeah, go ahead.

Bernard Walton: Thank you. Soon it was Rebecca's time and just like God said, she gave birth to twins.

Servant: Master Isaac, come in.

Isaac: Rebecca, are you all right?

Rebecca: Yes, my lord. Come and see your sons.

Isaac: My sons? Look at all the red hair. His body's nearly covered with it.

Rebecca: He's very hairy.

Isaac: That's what we'll name him.

Eric: They named him Harry?

Bernard Walton: No, they named him Esau. It means hairy.

Rebecca: What of your other son, Isaac?

Isaac: He's as bald as his brother is hairy.

Rebecca: He may not have his brother's ruddy complexion, but he's beautiful. And he was born with his hand grabbing Esau's heel.

Isaac: Really? Well, then his name shall be Jacob.

Eric: Does that mean heel?

Bernard Walton: Or grabber. It's not exactly clear.

Eric: Oh.

Bernard Walton: Esau was his father's favorite.

Isaac: My strong son.

Bernard Walton: While Jacob captured Rebecca's heart.

Rebecca: My darling boy.

Bernard Walton: Isaac was about 60 years old when they were born.

Eric: Sixty? I guess he wasn't real big on tossing the old football around in the backyard, huh?

Bernard Walton: No. But as they grew, he did teach the boys to hunt. Esau took to it right away and soon became a skilled outdoorsman.

Eric: What about Jacob?

Bernard Walton: He was the quiet sort who liked to stay at home.

Eric: They really were different.

Bernard Walton: Yeah, and those differences led to the first really bad incident between them. It started when Esau came back from hunting one day cold, tired, and very hungry.

Esau: Home at last. What is that smell? It's delicious.

Jacob: Esau, you're back. How was the hunt?

Esau: Uneventful. What are you cooking, Jacob?

Jacob: Meat stew. I did a fine job on it if I do say so myself. I couldn't eat another bite.

Esau: It smells wonderful.

Jacob: That's right. You've been out all day. You must be very hungry.

Esau: Starved. Give me some stew.

Jacob: I don't think so.

Esau: What? You can't have any.

Esau: Why not?

Jacob: Because it's my stew, and I don't want you to have any of it. If you want stew, make some of your own.

Esau: But I told you, the hunting was bad today. I don't have anything to make stew with.

Jacob: That is a problem, isn't it?

Esau: Jacob, please. If I don't get something to eat, I'll die of starvation. I'm begging you. Please give me some stew.

Jacob: What will you give me in return?

Esau: You would bargain with your starving brother?

Jacob: If you want some stew.

Esau: Alright. I'll give you my new bow.

Jacob: What would I need with a bow?

Esau: My knife then.

Jacob: I already have several knives.

Esau: I'll hunt for you for a whole week. A month. A year.

Jacob: No. I'm afraid that just isn't good enough.

Esau: What do you want?

Jacob: Oh, nothing really. Just a trifle. You'll never even miss it.

Esau: What? What?

Jacob: I want your birthright.

Eric: His what?

Bernard Walton: His birthright.

Eric: What's that?

Bernard Walton: Isaac was very rich, and as the oldest, Esau was entitled to a double share of his father's wealth as an inheritance.

Eric: Wow, easy money.

Bernard Walton: Not exactly. He had to wait until Isaac died before he'd get it. And when that happened, he'd also become head of the family.

Eric: Still sounds like a sweet deal to me.

Bernard Walton: Jacob thought so too, which is why he wanted it.

Eric: So did Esau give it to him?

Esau: My birthright? You want my birthright?

Jacob: For the stew, yes.

Esau: You're crazy.

Jacob: Well, it was just a thought. Looks like the dogs will eat well tonight.

Esau: Wait. Wait.

Jacob: Yes?

Esau: It's more than a man can stand. I mean, what good is a birthright if I'm dead from hunger?

Jacob: Then you agree?

Esau: Yes.

Jacob: Swear it before God.

Esau: I vow before God that my birthright...

Jacob: And all that goes with it.

Esau: ...and all that goes with it is now yours.

Jacob: Thank you. And the stew is now yours. Easy now. That just cost you a great deal. It should be savored.

Esau: You think you're smart, don't you? Well, it doesn't matter. I'll have my own family soon, and there's wealth to be made in the world, and I still get the blessing of the firstborn. That's something you can't take away from me. Who cares about your birthright?

Eric: Who cares? He gave away wealth and power for a little bit of soup. What was he, nuts?

Bernard Walton: It might seem that way, but the Bible puts it differently. It says Esau despised his birthright.

Eric: What does that mean?

Bernard Walton: He didn't have much respect for his family. And he made it even more clear when he went out and married two women his parents didn't approve of.

Eric: Two women? I thought that was illegal.

Bernard Walton: It is now, but it wasn't back then.

Eric: Wow.

Bernard Walton: But that was nothing compared to what happened next. One of the worst acts of treachery and cheating in the Bible, and this time it involved the whole family.

Eric: All right, now we're getting to the really juicy stuff. What happened?

Bernard Walton: You remember I told you that Isaac was 60 years old when his sons were born? While Esau got married at the age of 40.

Eric: That'd make Isaac a hundred.

Bernard Walton: Right, and he was nearly blind. He knew he was going to die soon, so one day he called for Esau.

Esau: Father, it's Esau. You sent for me?

Isaac: Yes. Yes, my son. Sit next to me for a moment and give me your hand. I am an old man, my son, and expect to die most any day now.

Esau: Father, you have many years left in you.

Isaac: No. And even if it were so, I would not want them. I have lived a full life, and now I want to die. Hear an old man's last request. Go out to the fields and hunt me some venison. Prepare it the way I like, savory and good. Bring it here for me to eat, and I will give you the blessing of the firstborn. Then I shall die.

Esau: It shall be done, father.

Bernard Walton: But what neither Isaac nor Esau knew was that someone else was listening to their conversation.

Rebecca: Midian.

Servant: Yes, mistress.

Rebecca: Find Jacob and tell him to come to me at once. Hurry. The older shall serve the younger. It shall be so.

Rebecca: So Esau will get the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob, unless we act quickly.

Jacob: Mother, I'm not sure we should.

Rebecca: You must do exactly as I tell you. Now go out to the flocks and bring me two young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them. Then take it to him and after he has enjoyed it, he will bless you before his death instead of Esau.

Jacob: That will never work.

Rebecca: It will. Isaac is almost blind.

Jacob: There's nothing wrong with his hearing. I don't sound anything like Esau.

Rebecca: Esau's voice is easily imitated.

Jacob: But his skin isn't. Esau is hairy and rough. I'm smooth. What if father feels my arms and neck? He'll think I'm making a fool of him and curse me instead of blessing me.

Rebecca: His curses will be on me. Jacob, you are my son. You will have the blessing. Now go get the goats.

Rebecca: Here, put these on.

Jacob: These are Esau's best clothes.

Rebecca: Of course they are. You can't go in wearing yours. And once you're dressed, tie these onto your arms and neck.

Jacob: What are they?

Rebecca: The hair skin of the goats. Now your skin will be just as hairy and rough as your brother's.

Eric: Wow. I thought Jacob was pretty sneaky about the birthright, but he's an amateur compared to his mother.

Bernard Walton: After she got Jacob all dressed up, she gave him the meat, which smelled great, and some fresh baked bread. Then she shoved him into the tent where his father was lying.

Jacob: Father.

Isaac: Esau, is that you?

Jacob: Yes, father. It is Esau.

Isaac: You have the venison?

Jacob: Yes, I have done as you told me. Smell, it's the food you wanted prepared just the way you like it.

Isaac: Yes, it does smell delicious.

Jacob: Sit up and eat. Then you can bless me with all your heart.

Isaac: How were you able to find the venison so quickly, my son?

Jacob: Because Jehovah your God put it in my path.

Isaac: Come over here next to me.

Jacob: Next to you?

Isaac: Yes. I want to feel you to make sure you're really Esau.

Jacob: I'm here, father.

Isaac: The hands are Esau's, but the voice is Jacob's. Are you really Esau?

Jacob: Yes, father. Of course.

Isaac: Then bring me the venison and I will eat it and bless you with all of my heart.

Jacob: Here you are, father.

Isaac: Now come and kiss me, my son.

Jacob: Yes, father.

Isaac: Ah yes. Now I know for sure. The smell of my son is the good smell of the earth and fields that Jehovah has blessed. Kneel.

Jacob: Yes, father.

Isaac: May God always give you plenty of rain for your crops and good harvest of grain and new wine. May many nations be your slaves. May you be the master of your brothers and may all your relatives bow low before you. Cursed are all who curse you, and blessed are all who bless you.

Eric: Wow. So Jacob actually got the blessing.

Bernard Walton: He sure did, and not a moment too soon because as soon as Isaac had finished and Jacob left the tent, who should come in but Esau.

Esau: Father, I'm back with the venison. Eat so you may give me your finest blessing.

Isaac: Who are you? Who?

Esau: It's Esau, your firstborn.

Isaac: What? It can't be. It can't.

Esau: What's the matter, father? I am Esau.

Isaac: Well then, who was that just in here with venison that I ate? And who did I just bless? Jacob. No!

Esau: Can't you take it back, father?

Isaac: No, a blessing cannot be withdrawn.

Esau: But it's mine, as the firstborn. My brother has tricked me and carried away your blessing. That lying cheat. He took my birthright and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh my father, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?

Isaac: I made him your master and made you and all our relatives his servants. I guaranteed him abundance of grain and wine and what is there left to give?

Esau: Not one blessing left for me? Oh, my father, bless me too, please. Please bless me.

Isaac: Kneel. Oh, my son, yours will be no life of ease and luxury. But you shall live by using your sword. For a time you will serve your brother, but you will finally shake loose from him and be free.

Esau: Oh, my father.

Isaac: I'm sorry, my son. That is all I have. Go now and close the tent flap. I am very tired.

Esau: Yes, father. My brother has stolen everything. But he has not yet triumphed. My father will soon be dead and I will be sad for him. Once my sadness has passed, then I will kill Jacob.

Eric: Kill him? Esau actually wanted to kill Jacob?

Bernard Walton: He really hated him, just like you and Haley.

Eric: Well, yeah. But I don't really hate her, and I never wanted to kill her. Did Esau do it?

Bernard Walton: He didn't get the chance, at least not right away. You see, Rebecca found out about his plans and told Jacob.

Jacob: I knew we shouldn't have done it. Now Esau will kill me.

Rebecca: Esau will not touch you as long as your father is alive. So you must leave here.

Jacob: And go where?

Rebecca: To my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him until Esau calms down, then I will send a servant for you.

Jacob: Haran? Do you know how far that is?

Rebecca: Please, Jacob. If Esau kills you, he must go into exile. I don't want to lose both of you in the same day. Please.

Jacob: What about father?

Rebecca: Leave him to me.

Eric: So Rebecca came through again. Pretty sneaky.

Bernard Walton: Maybe. But you need to understand that none of this happened by chance.

Eric: It didn't?

Bernard Walton: No, there was a greater power working here, the Lord God. As Jacob soon found out in a big way.

Eric: What happened?

Bernard Walton: The journey to his Uncle Laban's was long and grueling. One night he stopped to camp near a village called Luz. He lay down to sleep using a stone for a pillow. And that night, something truly miraculous happened that changed his life for good.

Lord: Jacob. Jacob.

Jacob: What?

Lord: What do you see?

Jacob: A staircase leading up to heaven, with the angels of God climbing up and down it. What is this wondrous thing?

Lord: I am the Lord your God, the God of Abraham and Isaac.

Jacob: My Lord and my God.

Lord: The ground you are lying on will belong to you and your descendants. You will become a great nation and your descendants will be as the dust of the earth and the sands on the shore of the sea. And I will protect you and be with you always.

Jacob: Lord. Lord. Lord. The dream. But more than a dream. God must live here. This must be the entrance to heaven.

Bernard Walton: Early the next morning, he set his stone pillow upright as a memorial pillar, poured oil over it, and proclaimed it...

Jacob: Bethel, house of God. Hear me, oh Lord. If you will help and protect me on this journey, give me food and clothes, and bring me back safely to my father, then will I choose you as my God. This stone pillar shall become a place for worship and of everything you give me, I will give you back a tenth.

Bernard Walton: Tenth. Ten. Oh, good grief, look at the time. Here I am sitting around jawing, I got ten more windows to wash.

Eric: But wait a minute. What about the rest of the story? What happens to Jacob in Haran? And what about Esau?

Bernard Walton: It'll have to wait for some other time.

Eric: When?

Bernard Walton: I don't know, later.

Eric: Today?

Bernard Walton: Eric.

Eric: Please, Mr. Walton. I have to hear the rest of the story. My whole future with my sister is at stake.

Bernard Walton: Alright, alright. Meet me by the flagpole after school and I'll tell you the rest.

Eric: Thanks, Mr. Walton.

Bernard Walton: There, but you better get to class.

Eric: Okay. Oh, one thing more.

Bernard Walton: What's that?

Eric: Can I have that piece of pie now?

Bernard Walton: I don't know, sell me your birthright for it?

Eric: No way.

Bernard Walton: My good girl, take it.

Eric: Thanks.

Bernard Walton: You're welcome. Watch the bucket. Watch the... bucket.

Eric: Sorry.

Bernard Walton: Kids never watch the bucket.

Chris: In Psalm 94, verse three, David wrote, "How long will the wicked be happy, oh Lord?" And if we read on to the end of the song, David gives us the answer. Verse 23 says God will pay them back for their sins.

Eric will find out just how that happens when Bernard tells him the rest of the story. And you can also find out when you tune in next time. Meanwhile, if you ever want to write to us, we'd love to hear from you. Just send your card or letter to Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995.

Or in Canada, write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4G3. And when you do, ask about how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called "Two Brothers and Bernard". That address again is Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995.

Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. "Two Brothers and Bernard" was written and directed by Phil Lollar. Our production engineers were Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell, and our executive producer, Chuck Bolte. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.