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Jan 21 Selling your birthright


21_Selling your birthright

Gen 25:27-34 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Heb 12: 15-17 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that there be no sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Into a bustling marketplace a man came, hardened by years of reckless living. He hoped for a few coins from the sale of the dusty old violin he held under his arm. Once cherished by his father, it had long since been neglected. Its strings were loose, its body dusty. Nobody was interested in buying it from him. Just then a passerby walked by. He examined the violin, and agreed to buy it. The man hurried away, glad to have got a little money in exchange for the useless old thing. The new owner dusted it off and began to tune its strings. Soon, splendid music filled the air, drawing a crowd. Suddenly, the violin was recognized for the rare treasure it had always been.

Like the man with the violin, Esau failed to recognize the value of what he possessed. His birthright as Isaac’s eldest son symbolized a double share of the inheritance. As Isaac was the heir of God’s covenant and promise to Abraham, this was no small gain. Yet Esau considered it a paltry thing and exchanged it for a bellyfull of food.

Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah as the fulfilment of promise. His life was a testament to God’s faithfulness. This legacy was carried forward when he married Rebekah. They endured 20 years of childlessness. Then the Lord answered Isaac’s prayer for his wife and she conceived twins. These boys, Esau and Jacob, were indeed privileged. Abraham, their grandfather, was alive and with them for 15 years after their birth. He was a man who walked by faith and knew to the full the value of God’s promises.

Esau, the firstborn, had every opportunity to grasp the depth of his spiritual heritage. He became a skilled hunter and a man of the field. Favored by his father for his hunting ability, his heart occupied himself with these matters. Jacob, on the other hand, stayed at home. This quiet lad must have spent time observing and learning about the God who had appeared to his fathers down through generations. Abraham, Isaac, and Rebekah would have loved to tell him the stories about the God who had made an eternal covenant with his family. God had promised to bless them and make them a blessing to the world. How greatly he must have desired to enjoy a great share of these blessings. But alas, he was only the second-born. Esau his brother, who did not care about these things, would have the firstborn’s double share!

But their lives took a pivotal turn one fateful day. Famished after a hunting expedition, he impulsively sold his birthright to Jacob in exchange for a bowlful or so of stew. The Scriptures say, “Thus Esau despised his birthright.” This act was not just an exchange of goods; it was a window into Esau’s heart.He was not hungry with the desperation of starvation but the pangs of a healthy hunger after physical exercise. He was at home where he could easily get the food he wanted. But he thought so little of God’s covenant and blessing that he did not mind giving it up. He would rather gratify his hunger instantly. He acted profanely, as if God’s grace was nothing better than a common trifle.

The writer of Hebrews describes Esau as a “godless person,” someone who failed to honour God. Esau’s neglect of his birthright illustrates the drive to live according to his pleasures and desires, rather than the discipline of godliness. He lacked the foresight to prepare for eternity. He could not bother to understand the eternal weight of the promise of God, that his family would be a blessing to the whole world because of their faith in God.

Esau’s downfall owes a lot to the impact of partiality within his family. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed the game he brought home from hunting. Rebekah favored Jacob. This fostered sibling rivalry and resentment. Abraham must surely have told Isaac about how Ishmael was born. He would have emphasized the weakness and sin of fleshly decision-making instead of relying on God’s promise. Secondly, before the boys were born, God made it clear that Jacob was the one to inherit the promise.

Yet Isaac allowed his appetite to cloud his judgment. His stomach drove him to prefer Esau even though he was a godless and profane person. The covenant blessing was to be given to Esau as a reward for the savory meat he brought home, though he knew that Jacob was God’s revealed choice.

Rebekah, in turn, resorted to deceiving her husband, and teaching her favorite son to do so as well, to secure Isaac’s blessing. Parental partiality fractured the family, leading to years of conflict and heartache.

Jacob’s story is a reminder of the deceitfulness of the flesh. It can lead us to seek the right things through the wrong means and with the wrong motives. Jacob longed for the birthright, but he did not know the God of Abraham and Isaac for himself. He was given the promise of God, but still insisted on getting things done by his own efforts. Both Abraham and Isaac had this sad tendency of working things out instead of trusting God. Both of them could tell the tale of how they tried to protect themselves by telling their wives to pretend to be their sisters, even at the cost of compromised reputation and the danger to their chastity. The legacy of his fathers echoes in his life.

Esau’s story is not about one man’s failure. It holds a mirror to our own lives. It shows us how we, like Esau, prioritize the temporary over the eternal. In a world that glorifies instant gratification, it is easy to lose sight of our eternal inheritance in Christ. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:18 to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We despise our birthright when we ignore our godly disciplines for popularity, prestige, relationships, or power. When we say we have no time to pray, to read and think about the scriptures, because we are pursuing worldly goals, we despise our birthright. When we value material success over spiritual growth, we trade our birthright for this world’s transient goods. When we disobey God so that we can get ahead in this world, we act like Esau.

Esau’s life shows us that godliness is not inherited; it must be cultivated. Esau had every advantage to grow in faith, yet he squandered it. Hebrews 12:15-16 warns us against this. The call to be godly involves intentional effort. We must take time to read and understand God’s Word. We must follow the Lord’s teaching, living in faith and obedience by counting on his promises. We must take warning from ungodly examples. We must value the love of God and his approval rather than living by our own wisdom or desires. We cannot allow the pressures and desires of the moment to overshadow the importance of our spiritual calling.

As Jacob did, let us treasure the birthright of faith and gratefully recognize its great promises. Let us wait in quiet trust for God to fulfill His promises. Like the violin, the master’s hand can restore our neglected birthright if we return to him in humble faith with all our heart. Let us keep the perspective of eternity before us, highly esteeming the things that God loves and walking in the footsteps of faith.

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