Generations rise and fall, yet Scripture keeps circling back to the same promise. Genesis 25:19-28:9 (Toldot, meaning Generations in Hebrew) opens with Isaac and Rebekah, twenty years into marriage and still without a child. Isaac prays, God answers, and suddenly Rebekah is carrying twins who are already wrestling for destiny. The Lord tells her she’s carrying two nations, two rival peoples, and that “the older will serve the younger.” The Apostle Paul in Romans 9:11 reminds us that God made this call “before they were born… so that God’s plan might remain a matter of His sovereign choice.” This is a preview of God’s open invitation to the nations–His election reaching beyond Israel to all who believe.
Jacob’s name adds depth to the unfolding drama. He emerges gripping Esau’s heel, “so his name was called Ya’akov” (Genesis 25:26). That single moment reaches back to Eden, where God told the serpent the “Seed of the woman” would crush his head even though the serpent would bruise His heel. The early teachers of Israel tied this imagery to Messiah, and the Psalmist hints at the same horizon when he writes of the “heels of Your Messiah” in Psalm 89. They believed that phrase pointed to the generation living in the final tremors before Messiah’s arrival. When things get darkest, they said, tune your ear for footsteps. Jacob’s birth scene, hand on heel, feels like an early whisper of that future hope.
Yeshua later warned of a coming season of upheaval before the Son of Man appears, and Jacob’s life mirrors that tension. His struggle with Esau isn’t a simple sibling rivalry. It reflects a pattern that keeps showing up in Israel’s story, a mix of conflict, waiting and restoration. The prophet Jeremiah carried this same theme forward when he wrote, “There has never been one like it, a time of trouble for Ya’akov, but out of it he will be saved” (Jeremiah 30:7). The Bible doesn’t sugarcoat the world’s brokenness. It shows us how God works inside it. That thread of hope never snaps, even when pressure builds. The promise remains: God rescues His people.
The beauty of Toldot is how practical it feels. Isaac faces famine, travels to Gerar, and repeats Abraham’s old mistake by calling Rebekah his sister. His wells are contested until a covenant is finally made at Be’er Sheva. Rebekah helps Jacob secure the blessing, sparking Esau’s vow of revenge. Nothing about this looks tidy. Yet every detail is moving the promise forward, carrying the line that will lead to Messiah. The serpent may bruise the heel, but Messiah crushes the head. That’s the assurance Scripture keeps giving us. God’s sovereignty isn’t disrupted by chaos or conflict. His plan holds. And even now, He’s guiding history toward the day when redemption is complete and His kingdom stands unshaken.
