Birthright

Genesis 25:19-34

¹⁹These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac,

²⁰and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

²¹And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

²²The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

²³And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

²⁵The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau [hairy].

²⁶Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob [grabber / heel]. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

²⁸Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.

³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom [Red].)

³¹Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”

³²Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”

³³Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Pregnancy was fun for me – both times. I loved the evening time when the baby would decide it was time to dance. The rolling belly was fascinating and life affirming. But I never carried twins and I simply cannot imagine the “rolling” that would take place if those twins decided to duke it out in there!!! Rebekah knew she would have her hands full before the babies were even born.

Isaac and Jacob were the links between God’s promise made to Abraham and the Children of Israel (or the 12 Tribes). These twin boys set up the people of God for both blessing and trouble. As we can already see from today’s story, Esau is a difficult man and Jacob has his own issues as well. While Jacob's name means “grabber” it also means “deceiver.” We’ll see that truth play out in the rest of his story as it is told in Genesis. Today’s story gives us a glimpse into the character of these brothers; Esau, the rugged outdoors man and Jacob, the mama’s boy. We also see the fact that this little family is rather dysfunctional. Each parent has chosen a favorite child; always a bad idea. When I was a kid and learned this story for the first time, I remember thinking that Esau was such an idiot. Who in the world would give up their inheritance just for a bowl of soup?!? That seems irrational at best. But the text gives us the reason; Esau despised his birthright. That means he wasn’t God’s man. That birthright would have come not from Isaac, but from God. We know this is the correct understanding of this passage, as the writer to the Hebrews brings clarification for us.

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” Hebrews 12:16-17

As we will see later, Esau was pretty sure he wanted the blessings to be had from Isaac, but he was not willing to be repentant or submitted to God’s will.

We too can be guilty of “wanting what we want when we want it”. But those desires are quite often born out of sin. Esau would have been given the blessing of being a part of God’s huge plan of salvation. But instead he chose to despise that position and lost it because of his own self-centered attitudes. Jacob isn’t perfect, as we will soon learn. But he does eventually come to a place where he is submitted to God’s will and plan. As such, God can and does use him to bring about His perfect will. We too can stand in God’s way or stand out of His way, allowing Him to lead us wherever He wants. It might be a winding road, but it’s always worth the trip.