God's People: Esau

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. ~ Genesis 25:19-34


Of all the lines that stand out for me in this passage it is the last: Thus Esau despised his birthright.

A modern synonym for birthright might be inheritance, but that has never seemed strong enough for me. In Hebrew scriptures, a birthright was a holy thing, not simply a material thing. It came with a blessing. It was sacred, and it set the one getting it apart.

So Esau rejected it for a bold of stew.

Do we ever reject something holy, something bigger than ourselves for a single moment of satisfaction? For a moment of pleasure, or even a moment of need?

We know that Isaac favored Esau. Esau had it all. He had it made. As the elder son, favored by his father, he could write his own ticket.

But in one moment, he gave it all away.

A lot is made of Jacob's trickery, but Esau made himself easy game, and likely his brother knew him well enough to know that he would.

Do we have a birthright?

The Apostle Paul tells us we do. "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs to according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29). Through Christ, the firstborn of all creation, we have the promise and blessing of God as well.

But this is a birthright that won't be tricked away from us. It is ours. Given by grace. Given through faith.

With Jacob and Esau, the birthright passed from one to the other because of thoughtlessness. We cannot have our birthright taken from us so easily. Yet it moments, we can still forget the holiness of it and miss out on the fullness our birthright offers us by reaching for the fleeting, temporary pleasures of life.

But God is there, still waiting to help us claim it again.

Prayer: Gracious God, you have called us your heirs and made us your children. Help us to see the holiness of this relationship by living fully into the promise you have  given us in Christ Jesus...and help us not to miss out on the that promise in the lives of others. Amen.

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