Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 100

Day 100 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Genesis 25:27-34 and reflect on Isaac and Rebekah’s different affections toward Esau and Jacob. Through this family story, this devotional invites husbands and wives to examine how favoritism in parenting can quietly affect children, sibling relationships, and marital unity, and to seek God’s wisdom, fairness, and love in raising the next generation.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 100 of our reading journey. 

In family life, favoritism often begins in subtle ways. It may be a look, a word, a repeated choice, or a quiet difference in attitude. Over time, these small patterns can leave deep marks on a child’s heart and create hidden division within the family.

Genesis Chapter 25 shows us the tension inside Isaac and Rebekah’s home. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. The two sons were different in personality, habits, and life direction. But the parents’ responses were also different. Scripture says directly, “And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

This short sentence reveals a deeper family issue. The father had his preference, and the mother had hers. The children were not only being raised; they were also being shaped by their parents’ different affections, expectations, and attitudes. Today’s passage reminds us that husbands and wives need to watch over their hearts in parenting and learn to stand together before God, rather than allowing favoritism to quietly divide the home.

A Minute of Grace

Genesis 25:27-34 records how Esau and Jacob grew into very different young men, and it also reveals Isaac and Rebekah’s different affections toward their sons. Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

This passage honestly shows the complexity of family life. The fact that the two children were different was not the problem. Children may have different gifts, personalities, interests, and ways of growing, and this reflects the richness of God’s creation. The problem begins when parents project their own preferences, needs, expectations, and emotional satisfaction onto their children, turning appreciation for difference into favoritism.

Isaac loved Esau partly because he enjoyed eating his venison. This reminds us that parental love can sometimes be influenced by personal preference: the child who feels more like me, makes me proud, meets my expectations, comforts me, or makes life easier may receive more attention. Rebekah loved Jacob, and her affection may have been connected to what she had heard earlier from the Lord. Yet the later story shows that her favoritism also affected honesty and trust within the family.

At the end of this passage, Esau despised his birthright for a bowl of pottage, while Jacob used the moment to make a transaction. This was not merely a small quarrel between brothers. In a family already marked by favoritism and tension, desire, calculation, and disregard for spiritual blessing began to surface.

Today’s theme, “Isaac and Rebekah: Showing Favoritism Toward Their Children,” invites us to reflect: In marriage and parenting, are we willing to come before God together and examine our expectations and partiality toward our children? Do we love unevenly because of a child’s personality, achievement, obedience, appearance, interests, or emotional closeness to us? God does not call parents to control children into becoming what they prefer. He calls parents to know, guide, bless, and shepherd each child in reverence before Him.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob. Have you seen similar patterns in family life, where parents each lean toward a different child or have different expectations for their children? If left unnoticed, how might this kind of favoritism affect a child’s security, sibling relationships, and unity between husband and wife?

2 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating his venison. This reminds us that parents may become especially close to a child who satisfies their own preferences. Have you ever given more affirmation to one child because that child is more obedient, more like you, more successful, more expressive in love, or more comforting to your heart?

3 In this passage, both Jacob and Esau reveal weaknesses in their hearts: one seizes the opportunity to make a bargain, and the other despises the birthright. As a parent, elder, or spiritual companion, do you sometimes see only a child’s outward behavior while missing the deeper places that need shepherding, guidance, and correction?

As you read Genesis 25:27-34 today, do not see this passage only as the story of Esau selling his birthright. Also notice the favoritism, tension, and spiritual danger within the family behind the scene. May God use Isaac and Rebekah’s family to remind us that love in parenting and close relationships needs sincerity, wisdom, fairness, and the fear of the Lord.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your partiality, expectations, disappointments, and the places in your family and parenting that need renewal before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Genesis 25:27-34 (KJV)

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought · Love Each Child and Guard the Unity of the Home

After reading Genesis 25:27-34, we see that Isaac and Rebekah’s favoritism was not merely a small family detail. It became a spiritual warning that would continue to affect their family relationships. The differences between Esau and Jacob could have become an opportunity for the parents to know each child and guide them according to their needs. But when parental love is pulled by personal preferences and expectations, the balance of the home can slowly become distorted.

As we close this page and return to family life, perhaps you are raising children now, reflecting on your family of origin, or learning how to walk with the next generation. Remember this: true love does not shape children into the form parents prefer. True love knows them before God, guides them, blesses them, and helps them treasure the spiritual blessings that come from Him.

May today’s Scripture remind you to stay watchful in parenting, repent where favoritism has taken root, pursue unity in marriage, and learn to see God’s unique creation in each child. May our homes not be torn apart by comparison and partiality, but learn again in Christ’s love to practice fairness, acceptance, discipline, and blessing.

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