I had a chat with my colleague the other day about the
bible, specifically about the stories in the Old Testament. I was hooked by the
manner in which she told these stories. It felt like she was talking about a
story book that was read to me during my early childhood days.
 |
Tessa Skerbinek (The story teller )and I (The listener)
|
Well, the conversation started when she asked me how Esau
was pronounced, looking at a picture of someone with that name. Trying to come
up with different pronunciations, she then asked me if I knew who Esau was in
the bible. I thought hard and I had no idea who he was but she started telling the story
anyway. She is such an appetizer, I couldn’t wait to get home and read it
myself. I just learned that I didn’t know much about the bible and its stories.
So, I read it that exact night.
Here’s what I know in
a nutshell: Esau was a twin brother of Jacob. When their mother Rebekah was
pregnant, God told her that the sons in her womb will become two nations. “From
the beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than
the other, and your older son will serve your younger son.”
 |
| Jacob grasping Esau's heel |
When the twins were born, Esau was very red and hairy. His twin,
Jacob was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. Isaac their father loved
Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. As time went by, Isaac became an old man and was
turning blind. He called Esau and asked him to go hunting and then
prepare him his
favourite meal. He wanted to give him blessings and Rebekah overheard the
conversation.
 |
| Jacob and Esau |
Rebekah then told Jacob what she had heard. So, she prepared
Isaac’s favourite meal while Esau went hunting. She then gave Jacob Esau’s
favourite clothes to wear. She covered his arms and neck with a skin of young
goats. Jacob then took the food to his father. Isaac asked who it was and Jacob
said he was Esau, but Isaac was a bit sceptical. He then asked him to come
closer to feel him. Isaac said, “The voice is Jacob’s but the hands are Esau’s,”
he continued to ask, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob replied, “Yes, I am.”
As his last resort, Isaac asked his son to kiss him and Jacob did. He smelled
like Esau and his father described the smell as “the smell of the outdoors.” He
was finally convinced and blessed him.
The story goes on and I can’t write everything I read. So, this
is an opportunity for you to read it yourself, who knows, you might like it. I
know I did...
A story is nice when it is told by someone else. Tessa had me appetized
and I kind of enjoyed reading the story to myself. I remember telling her that
kids would love bible stories if they were told as she did. From what I have
read, I realised that stories in the Old Testament are very nice. We can relate
to them as they were real life stories. I’m going to read another
one tonightJ.
