There are, so far, a lot of similarities between Isaac and Rebekah and Abraham and Sarah. Initially, Rebekah is also barren, but God granted her the ability to have at least some children... well, two. Twins! While she's pregnant, the twins apparently have some serious in-womb boxing matches. God tells her it's because they're going to be like that in life too. They'll each be the father of a nation, and those nations will be divided. Oh, and the law of the first born is going to be somehow reversed. So they're eventually born, and Esau is red and hairy (name-wordplay) and Jacob comes out clutching Esau's heel (also, apparently, name-wordplay). There are a couple other things that get mentioned here to illustrate the differences between the brothers. Esau loves hunting; Jacob loves being indoors. Esau and Isaac bond, while "Rebekah loves Jacob" (Gen 25:28).
One day, when the boys were much older, Jacob was cooking stew. Esau was apparently not a good hunter at all because when he came in from the fields, he was starving. He begged Jacob for "some of that red stuff," but as we'll find out a few verses from now, there's a new famine in town (Gen 25:30). So Jacob's not going to part with his stew and bread very easily. He convinces Esau (without too much trouble) to sell his birthright as the elder son... for some soup. "Thus Esau despised his birthright" (Gen 25:34). I really hope that he was so hungry he was about to die literally right there because that eldest son birthright thing... is a big freakin' deal then. I'm sure we'll see the fallout of that in the coming chapters.
In the meantime, we get to see some more of Isaac and Abimelech (because that guy is still around?). That famine causes Isaac to be in Abimelech's lands again, he's even led there by God with promises just like the promises given to Abraham, multiple times. Many nations, descendants numbering as plentiful as the stars... Anyways, while he's in Gerar, he does exactly what Abraham did. He calls his wife his sister to protect her. But maybe Rebekah wasn't quite as pretty as Sarah, because she's not taken as someone else's wife the second they hit town. Then one day, Abimelech is playing Peeping Tom, and sees "[Isaac] fondling his wife Rebekah" (Gen 26:8). Abimelech freaks out. He's like, "Hey man! She's your sister! Ew!" And the truth comes out. Abimelech must remember all of the impending doom from his dream when this happened with Abraham and Sarah, because he proclaims that any man who harms Isaac or Rebekah will be executed.
Now that everyone's safe, Isaac has a chance to build up some wealth and property. He does such a good job amassing material goods, that everyone in Gerar gets jealous and kick him out of the country. Once Rich Uncle Pennybags, I mean, Isaac has left, he goes around trying to find a good spot for a well. His first two choices (Esek and Sitnah) meet with local contention, so he keeps moving until he gets to a place where there's enough room for him and names the place Rehoboth (lit.: room). After he's there awhile, Abimelech comes calling and makes pretty much the same oath with Isaac as he did with Abraham.
Then there's a random little interlude about Esau's Hittite wives. Yes, plural. More than one wife. "And they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah" (Gen 26:35). Maybe Esau was pissed that Isaac let Jacob get away with swindling his firstborn rights from him. Maybe he was just not a nice person. Maybe Isaac and Rebekah didn't like those Hittite women. Who the heck knows? Not my footnotes.
<3 Agnostic in the Pews
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