If you joined us yesterday you'll know what was included in the birthright which normally went to the firstborn son. (It was not irrevocable, as the father could disinherit his eldest son from the birthright if the eldest son's conduct disqualified him from inheriting it.) In Esau's case, in today's passage he disqualifies himself because, as we studied yesterday, he lacks the qualities necessary to fulfill the responsibilities that come along with the birthright.
Before Esau and his brother Jacob were born, the Lord told their mother Rebekah that the elder son would serve the younger son. She would have known by this that Jacob would end up being the head of the family, not Esau. We don't know whether she ever told Jacob what the Lord said to her, but I suspect she did, for in our passage today we will learn that Jacob was her favorite child. I think knowing about what the Lord said may be how Jacob justifies tricking his brother into relinquishing his rights as the eldest son. Instead of waiting for the Lord to promote him at the right time, Jacob takes matters into his own hands.
"The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents." (Genesis 25:27) To put it into modern terms, Esau was the brawn of the family and Jacob was the brains of the family. Esau was a "man's man", athletic and strong and focused on his chosen sport of hunting. He didn't want to be tied down to his father's estate. Bookkeeping didn't excite him. He wasn't a people person, preferring to be alone while striding through the open country Managing the workers didn't appeal to him.
Just because the Bible tells us Jacob preferred being at home doesn't mean he was lazy or physically weak. It means he was well-suited for handling the estate. He wanted to be managing the finances and the people and overseeing the agricultural work and the animal husbandry. Jacob may have been his mother's favorite, but he was by no means a spoiled mama's boy who lay about the house being waited on hand and foot. This man will wrestle with an angel (whom many scholars believe is "the angel of the Lord"---the pre-incarnate Christ) all night long in Genesis 32, refusing to let go of Him unless He blesses him. A mortal man who can tangle with an angel for that long is no weakling. I think Jacob stayed busy while he was "among the tents". I think he got up every morning and went about the business of helping to keep things running, and that means he would have been on his feet a lot. It means he would have had to sometimes be firm with insubordinate workers. It means he probably had to herd livestock and catch animals that got loose and help deliver calves that were turned the wrong way. Anyone who has ever worked on a farm knows it's very hard work from sunup to sundown.
Next we see that there's some favoritism in the family. Favoritism is unhealthy. When a parent or a grandparent obviously favors one child over another, there's going to be disharmony and resentment. "Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob." (Genesis 25:28) I don't think the Bible means that Isaac loved Esau but disliked Jacob or that Rebekah loved Jacob and disliked Esau. It's just that each of them obviously favored one son over the other. A thing like that will put a husband and wife at odds with each other. A thing like that will cause envy and resentment between the two brothers. Isaac is proud of his tough son Esau, who is a man's man, who is a mighty hunter. I bet he bragged about him to all his friends. But Rebekah is closer to Jacob, maybe because she sees him more often. Instead of being gone for days at a time on hunts, Jacob is home. And although he's no doubt quite busy all day, at least he's at the breakfast table and at the supper table. He's more available than Esau for conversation and companionship.
It appears that Jacob is a "jack of many trades", as the saying goes, because in addition to all his other duties he enjoys being the chef sometimes instead of depending on his mother or the female servants to do all the cooking. "Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' (That is why he was also called Edom.)" (Genesis 25:29-30) Edom will be the name of the tribe and the region of Esau's descendants. The word "Edom" means "red".
This particular hunt must have been unsuccessful if Esau has had to travel home on an empty stomach. He must have gone without food for several days. He's feeling faint. He's so famished he could just about eat shoe leather. When he comes through the door and smells the stew cooking he is overwhelmed by physical hunger to the point of feeling like he'll die if he doesn't get some of it. I doubt he's literally about to die, but I'm sure his blood sugar is quite low and he may be dehydrated and low in electrolytes. But when he stumbles into the house sniffing the stew and declaring he's at death's door, Jacob sees an opportunity to get what he wants. He knows Esau is a man whose mind is on the things of this world and not on spiritual things. He knows Esau is a man who lives only in the here and now. It seems like the perfect time to try to get what he already knows the Lord has promised him. "Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.'" (Genesis 25:31) I can't help picturing Jacob standing by the cooking pot as it hangs over the fire, stirring the stew so that its aroma fills the air even more than it already is. He may even have scooped some up into the ladle so Esau could see it. He might have tasted it in front of Esau. I don't know why I see him doing this in my mind's eye, but Jacob knows what he's doing and I can't help thinking he made the stew as tempting as possible.
"'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?'" (Genesis 25:32a) I feel like he's being a bit of a drama queen here. His father is very wealthy. There's bound to be plenty of food in the pantry. He doesn't have to have this particular meal to fill his tummy. It's not like this one pot of stew is the only food in the house. But because he's a carnally minded man who is ruled by the desires of his physical body, he wants this particular thing and he wants it right now no matter what it costs him. So he dramatically says something like, "If I'm dead I can't inherit anything! Why are you talking to me about something that won't even happen until our father dies someday? I'm hungry now. I'm about to pass out now. I feel like I can't take another step until I eat something and you want to talk to me about family leadership? Give me that stew before I knock your block off!"
I hope I'm not wronging Jacob by again picturing him making the stew irresistible. In my mind I see him ladling it up into a bowl and acting like he's about to hand the bowl to Esau, but he holds the bowl just slightly out of Esau's reach. I see Esau practically salivating now as he sits at the table with his eyes fixed on the bowl. "But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob." (Genesis 25:33) I think Esau hardly takes Jacob's words in. The inheritance seems too far in the future to worry about. He's not interested in it anyway, not if it means becoming the leader of the family with all the spiritual and judicial and managerial duties that this entails. So he says, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I swear. I swear on the name of God that you can have my birthright. Now hand that stew over."
"Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left." (Genesis 25:34) I see him gulping down the bread and slurping up the stew while Jacob sits across from him with a pleased smile on his face. At this point in time, it's hard to find anything admirable in either of these two men. We can admire ambition but not when it involves deceit. We can admire a person's willingness to give up something that belongs to them but not if their willingness comes from a disregard for their blessings.
Both these men are being very shortsighted in thinking they have each gotten what they want. There are going to be times when they will regret their actions on this day. Although Jacob wants the birthright and everything that comes with it, fulfilling all the responsibilities is going to be a lot more difficult than he expects. He's going to have to go to the school of hard knocks before he becomes the man God wants him to be. The Lord will allow him to be tricked in much the same manner as he tricked his brother, and then he will know what it feels like and it's a lesson he won't forget. He will work hard for a long time for everything he gets. He will wrestle literally and figuratively with the Lord while he works out what faith means to him and while he becomes the man for whom a great nation will be named. As for Esau, he eats and gets up and goes on his way, thinking nothing about what he's just done. When he has time to reflect upon it, he will deeply regret his oath and will want to take it back, but he can't. He will understand the enormity of what he forfeited and will sorrowfully repent, but what's done is done. The Lord will be merciful to him and help him to make a good life for himself, and his descendants will be a mighty people, but what's gone is gone. The word the Lord spoke to Rebekah will come true just as He said, for He always knew what kind of men Esau and Jacob would be, and He always knew exactly what each of them would do. He didn't force either of them to make their mistakes; He simply knew about them ahead of time and chose accordingly. Jacob will be the leader of the family, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the ancestor of the Messiah.
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