Abraham seems to have been reinvigorated, taking another wife. The Midianites were later to be a source of trouble to Israel. He seems to have been somewhat mixed up. He had concubines as well and gave gifts to his various sons, but he knew that the promise of God belonged only to Isaac.
Ishmael had remained in some sort of contact with Abraham, and he, together with Isaac, buried Abraham. Ishmael gave birth to twelve sons, and thus twelve tribes. Following the prophecy, these tribes lived in hostility to all the related tribes.
Just as Sarah had been unable to have children, so was Rebekah. Isaac prayed, and the Lord enabled her to have children. A number of key people in the Bible had problems having children. She conceived twins, and they fought within her womb. Esau and Jacob received their names on the basis of their birth. Jacob's name means he grabs the heel, and this grasping and manipulating was to characterise much of his life.
They developed different characters. Isaac liked Esau, and Rebekah Jacob. Esau was the more outgoing character, yet the blessing was to go through Jacob. This is a warning that our natural judgement on people can be deeply flawed.
Jacob tricked Esau into giving him his birthright. Esau had a very short term view of life, whereas Jacob looked to the longer term.
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