Isaac had been praying for years for Rebecca his wife to bear a child. Finally, Isaac became a father after 20 years of waiting. The Lord granted Rebecca with twin boys, and He spoke to Rebecca concerning them prior to their birth. The Lord said to her,
Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. Genesis 25:23
God was going to fulfill His promises in their lives. However, the call of God did not take away their responsibility to obey Him and follow his ways. They each had to choose if they were going to serve the Lord or be led by their own appetite and desires.
Esau was a hunter and his father enjoyed his cooking. We can surmise that Esau must have enjoyed food very much. One day when Esau came home from the field tired and hungry, he found Jacob cooking a nice pot of lentil stew.
But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” Genesis 25:31
Esau asked his brother for some Stew. Instead of Jacob just offering him some, he asked for his birthright before giving him any food.
Would you do that to your sibling? Would you ask for their car or some money before you gave them some of your food? Jacob was taking advantage of the fact that Esau was weary and famished. However, he also knew his brother well. Maybe he had seen him give up other things for food.
Birthrights were very important in the ancient Middle East. A firstborn son generally received a double portion of his father’s inheritance. He was also the leader of the household in the absence of his father. Unfortunately, Esau agreed to give up his birthright for a bowl of stew!!
While God had chosen Esau to serve Jacob, He still had picked Esau to be the firstborn. Sadly, his appetite was more important to Esau than receiving the privileges of being a firstborn!
Similar to Esau, we have natural appetites and desires. Unless these appetites are restrained, they will take us places we never intended. They will make us give up things or people who were so valuable to us at one time, but now the “bowl of stew” has clouded the significance of what we should have treasured.
The scripture tells us that “Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:34b)”. Why would anyone despise being firstborn? Jacob’s statement was interesting:“Sell me your birthright from this day forward”. While Esau despised his position as the firstborn, Jacob must have been watching and wanting that position for a while. He had seen the privileges that Esau was enjoying while Esau didn’t value them.
I saw my brother having the privilege of a firstborn son. As the second child and being a girl, it was clear that he was privileged. However, I don’t think he always saw the value of being the firstborn as clearly as I did. At times, He may not have even enjoyed being the firstborn son because of the expectation associated with it.
As sons and daughters of God we have been given great birthrights. Do we sometimes despise our birthrights? Is there a “bowl of stew” that may tempt us out of our birthrights?
I will share some examples in the next devotional.
Wow. This is a great lesson to ponder. I am blessed reading this and made me realized so much things in life most especially the temperance for appetite. God give us birthrights. The right to leave in harmony. The right to be happy and the right to acquire much blessings. However, due to our own sinful ways such as we let ourselves controlled by a “Bowl of Stew”, we sold our rights in exchange for pleasure and instant gratification. Amen to this.
Praise God! Thanks for sharing. That’s very true. We crave the temporary pleasure at the sacrifice of our birthright to live in the peace of God!