'The elder shall serve the younger' (Genesis 25:23) is an extremely unusual statement considering this was in contrast

to the ritual in patriarchal times when the oldest son took pleasure in the rights of supremacy in the household and at the father's death acquired a double share of the estate and became the acknowledged head of the family (Ex. 22:29; Num. 8:14-17; Deut. 21:17).1 Indeed, only serious infractions could abolish such status rights (Gen. 35:22; 49:3,4; 1 Chr. 5:1) or the birthright could be given up or lawfully transferred to another in the family, as in this case (vv. 29-34).2 In this situation, God proclaimed the younger would rule since His sovereign purposes do not have to follow tradition (Rom. 9:10-14, esp. v. 12).3 Concerning the future outcome of God's declaration, Ronald Brown writes: Esau's descendents, understood as the Romans, were in fact stronger militarily than the Jews. In the darsharfs eyes, the later part of the verse, "and the elder shall serve the younger" was realized when Rome embraced Christianity and was therefore, in a sense, serving a descendent of the younger brother.4 Notes 1. 2. 3. 4. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Word Publishing, 1997), 50. Ibid. Ibid. Ronald N. Brown, Notes and Observations And the older shall serve the younger A Midrash about Jesus, Harvard Theological Review (July 1, 1994), 366.