Do you have something important in your life, something of honor or privilege, that you have taken for granted? Then one day comes, you don’t have it anymore, and now you have deep regret. The choices and decisions that you made have caused you to lose this important thing because at the time it didn’t seem so important, you failed to see the value and honor. In our Scripture today we read of someone who had a position of honor and privilege, and who gave it up for something extremely trivial, and then later would deeply regret it.
Our Scripture tells of one event in the lives of two brothers, Jacob and Esau. These brothers were the sons of Isaac, and grandsons of Abraham. They were fraternal twins, but couldn’t have been more different from each other. Esau, the older of the twins, was a rugged outdoorsman type, who loved hunting, and if he had lived today, would have been an all-around athlete. Jacob was the opposite, a more bookish type. As the firstborn, Esau had the birthright. As we read in verse 28, Isaac’s favorite of the two was Esau because he loved the venison that his son brought back from hunting. Their mother Rebekah loved Jacob best.
To fully understand this passage of Scripture, we must understand exactly what the birthright was, as this is something unfamiliar with many cultures today. In the Old Testament, the birthright was given to the firstborn son of the family. It consisted of several important privileges. One was that the eldest son would get twice as much inheritance when the father died than any of his other siblings, twice as much property and twice as much material wealth. He would become the patriarch or head of the clan when the father died. The birthright also held spiritual leadership responsibilities, as he would lead the extended family in worship and sacrifices (until the sacrificial responsibility was given to the Levites). As we can see, this was a special blessing and privilege to hold. Why would anyone just toss that away?
As our Scripture recounts, one day Esau had gone out hunting. Shortly before his brother returned Jacob decided to make dinner. He seems to have been a good cook, and had a bubbling pot of delicious stew cooking outdoors at the fire pit when Esau returned. The older brother was quite hungry following his day out hunting, and asked for a bowl. Jacob was a devious and cunning man, and he wasn’t going to freely give a bowl of his stew without getting something in return (vs. 29-31).
The birthright was something that Jacob really wanted, and he knew that his brother didn’t care about the privilege that it was. As his mother’s favorite, Jacob had probably been told by her of the message of God to her shortly before they were born, how the older of the two would serve the younger, how Jacob would eventually have the preeminence (Genesis 25:21-23). Jacob did not want to wait on the Lord for this, so he took this opportunity to get the birthright. Esau was ruled by impulse, and was dominated by the moment. He was uninterested in spiritual things and was governed by his bodily desires. Jacob’s methods were flawed, but he valued the birthright.
Esau was certainly not about to die of hunger as he claimed! (vs. 32). However, he valued a bowl of food over the spiritual blessings that were his, counting them worthless. He consciously chose the temporal over the eternal. He would rather have a full belly than the things of God, as he held this in contempt (vs. 33-34). He was spiritually bankrupt.
Esau’s hunger became a doorway to spiritual disaster. The flesh always undervalues spiritual truth. Jacob’s desire for the birthright, though obtained in a less than godly way, showed that spiritual blessings must be pursued, not neglected. Esau’s decision led to great loss. There are always great consequences to despising God’s gifts.
Is there a bowl of stew in your life right now? Are temporary pleasures threatening eternal priorities? Or do you value spiritual blessings more than physical comfort? We must resist the temptation to sacrifice long-term spiritual health for short-term gratification, like Esau did. “What good is the birthright to me right now?” is the essence of modern secular thinking. Don’t trade your eternal blessings for a bowl of stew!
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