Have you ever been surprised or astonished when someone you didn’t think had exceptional qualities went out and did something impressive? As humans, we can be guilty of looking at people and sizing them up pretty quickly, determining what we estimate to be their potential. We look at certain characteristics about them, and based on our observations, we make our assumptions. When the person either succeeds or fails differently than we expected, it can sometimes be startling. But we will see today that God views a man’s potential differently than we do. He chooses leaders and people to do His work based on different criteria than we might. When God calls men to do His will, He calls according to His good will. He knows what they can be.
Today we will see that God chose Jacob, the second born son of Isaac, to be the one through which His covenant promises would be passed. Man would have expected the first-born son to have been chosen but God knows men’s hearts and who will be open to His will. He knows us before we are even born (Jer 1:5). We saw in our last lesson that God’s prophecy to Rebekah hinted at the strength of the younger son.
Read verses 27-28. We learn something sad about their childhood. It was rife with favoritism. As we will see in future lessons about these two, this favoritism led to problems in life. Esau grew up to be a hunter, loving the outdoors which pleased Isaac, who loved to eat wild game. The Bible tells us that he was Isaac’s clear favorite. Jacob, on the other hand, was more of a homebody, which pleased Rebekah. She also had a clear favorite. Trouble is brewing at home.
Psychologists today tell us that sibling rivalry is caused by perceived inequities. The greater the favoritism in the home, the worse the problems between the siblings will be. As parents, we must guard against this (Eph 6:4). I believe this picking of favorites is a large part of the problems that developed between Jacob and Esau in their lives. Remember in our last lesson when God gave the prophecy to Rebekah that one son would be a stronger nation and that the elder would serve the younger? Do you suppose she could have shared this with her family/sons? Esau, as the oldest, would have resented that and Jacob, as the youngest, would have been frustrated that he was not seeing it come to fruition. As we study Genesis, we will see Rebekah guiding Jacob, trying to manipulate this into occurring. What a mess!
Let’s look at verses 29-30. Esau is coming in from being out. He is famished. He hasn’t eaten in a while, and he can see that Jacob is cooking a stew. And he wants some. And he wants it NOW. He asks for some of that red stew and the Bible tells us that this is why he was called Edom. Edom means ‘red’. We know that Esau’s descendants became the Edomites, a people living southeast of Israel who were Israel’s (Jacob’s descendants) rivals.
Read verses 31-32. Jacob does not just give a bowl of stew to his brother; he sells it to him. In order to get a bowl of stew, Esau must give Jacob his birthright. In those days, the firstborn son had a birthright. This meant that he was entitled to twice the amount of inheritance as the other sons. So, in this case, Esau would have been entitled to inherit two-thirds of Isaac’s estate and Jacob would have been entitled to one-third. However, in this case, God’s covenant promise is also tied up in the mix. This is a pretty big trade-off for a bowl of stew.
Esau tells Jacob that his birthright is of no value to him at this point since he is about to die anyway of hunger. Obviously, Esau is not really dying. He is making light of the situation and doesn’t seem to really take much value in his birthright. He does not seem to understand the things that matter. And his brother is a schemer. Jacob wants what Esau has. So, in verse 33, we see Jacob make Esau swear before he agrees to give him some stew.
Verse 34 is very telling. Jacob gives some food to Esau who eats it, then gets up and goes on his way. He does not seem to give another thought to the matter or take it seriously. The Bible says that Esau despised his birthright. I do not believe this means that he hated it. I think it is telling us that he did not value it as much as he should have and he foolishly traded it away.
What does Heb 12:16 tell us about Esau? It says that he was a profane (KJV) or godless (NIV) person. If he was profane, or godless, God’s covenant promises would have meant nothing to him. His behavior would have been crude. He would not have been someone God could mold and use to do His will. Is it surprising that God would choose Jacob’s line to fulfill His covenant promises? Jacob was a manipulator, true, but God can change people. He chooses to use men, though they are sinners, to do His will. As we study the book of Genesis, we will see how God works in the life of Jacob to mold him into a man that He can use to accomplish His purposes.
Esau was the first born and, as such, had a birthright. He did not consider this as having value. As Christians, we must not make the same mistake. The Bible tells us that we are joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17) and in the end days, in the New Jerusalem, we will be members of the Church of the Firstborn (Heb 12:23). We must never lose the sense of who we are in God’s eyes.
Responding to God: Praise the God of the universe for His wisdom. Thank Him for His plan to send a Savior into the world. Pray that you will always treat your children with fairness, loving them equally. Ask God to help you recognize the things that are truly important in this world and to make you someone He can use to do His will. Pray about any differences you may have with your siblings and how you can resolve them.
Further Research: On the internet, search for Biblical birthright.
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