If we know the book of Genesis, then we know the covenant made to Abraham, that the Lord will make his descendants into a nation (Genesis 12:2) and they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5) and the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16).
Our saviour Jesus Christ came from the Abrahamic line.
As we know, Isaac was born of Abraham, he was the covenant child. Despite Isaac being born a second child (Ishmael was born to Hagar and Abraham), he was treated as the first child and inherited Abraham’s wealth, estate and blessings because of the promise which was over Isaac’s life.
We get a glimpse of Hagar and Ishmael’s life but ultimately, as we continue to read we start to follow Isaac’s journey, and we eventually see that he meets his wife, Rebekah - who bore him twins. Esau who was born first and Jacob who followed not long after.
From the day they were born to the time of adulthood, we see there is a wrestle between the two brothers - this is a depiction of what we will see as we continue to read on in the Bible. God informs Rebekah in Genesis 25:23 there are “two nations in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.”
As they grow older, we start to see the nature of both men, Jacob is described in the amplified version as a “quiet and peaceful man, living in tents,” NKJV describes Jacob as a “mild man” and the NIV describes him as “content to stay at home among the tents.” However, Esau was a very different person to Jacob - Esau is described as a "skilled Hunter, and a man of the outdoors."
Being an individual of the outdoors and a skilful hunter, Esau would have had to learn to think on his feet and be quick with the decisions he made. No doubt as a Hunter he would have encountered various different challenges and therefore, would need to learn survival skills to be successful in his craft, hence making quick decisions would have served him well, depending on the situation.
We see Esau returns from one of his hunting sessions, and he approaches his brother Jacob - clearly exhausted from being outside, he is desperate for the red stew that Jacob has made; Jacob requests for Esau’s birthright in exchange for the food. Due to Esau’s desperation and dramatic statement “Look, I am about to die, so what is this birthright to me? (Genesis 25:32)” Esau makes a hasty decision to give up his birthright for something that is temporary.
Was Esau really going to die? Could he or his mother not rustle something up? - why did he give up his birthright for food? It seems so far-fetched.
What is a birthright? According to the biblical days, a birthright is something that entitles the eldest child to all of their father’s possessions. Any authority that is with the father is passed down to the eldest child.
A birthright is a big deal - the eldest is essentially the sole heir to all of his Father’s wealth. In this case, Esau didn’t have an understanding in that moment on what he was giving up. He was so focused on the situation at that time, that he didn’t think about the consequences of his decisions and was prepared to give up on the spiritual blessings that came with the inheritance. It is described in the book of Genesis 25:34 that “Esau despised his birthright.”
How many of us, have been so focused on our circumstance that we make rash decisions that potentially could be a cost to you?
I wonder if Jacob and Esau were aware of the covenant between God and Abraham? Did they come to understand how God moved miraculously in both Abraham and Isaac’s life? Were they aware of how their mother met their father?
It was very clear that the women within Abraham’s family needed to be married to their men, to keep it pure and not tainted by those who resided in Canaan with them. Whilst Abraham had inherited Canaan (Genesis 13) - the descendants were not to intermarry with Abraham's lineage.
If you recall, Abraham, married his Father’s daughter, and when Abraham was looking for a wife for his son, Isaac, Abraham made his servant swear an oath that he will seek a wife from his family and not from the women they were living amongst, which was Canaan. Isaac married his cousin Rebekah.
What is the issue with Isaac having a wife from Canaan? Well, in Genesis 9 it describes a time after Noah and his family left the ark, Noah planted a vineyard, and he got drunk off the wine. Noah had three son’s, Ham, Shem and Japheth. At the time Noah got drunk, Ham saw his father naked and rather than help his father by covering him up, Ham instead ran to tell his brothers to mock. Shem and Japheth honoured their father by coming into their father’s tent backwards with a cloak to cover up his nakedness. When Noah was sober, he was angry and cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, explaining that “Canaan will be a servant of a servant” Canaan’s descendants will serve Japheth and Shem’s descendants.
Canaan’s descendants were the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashite and a like. It discusses in Genesis 10 that the descendants of Canaan dispersed into other areas such as Sodom, Gomorrah, Gaza, Sidon etc.
Canaan had no part in the covenant, and you will see as you read in Genesis, Abraham was of Shem’s descent. So if Canaan’s descendants were to serve Shem’s descendants, then it would make sense why there was strict instructions for Isaac to take a wife from Abraham’s family, and why Isaac would in turn, expect the same from his son’s.
However, Esau disregards what was custom, and just like giving away his birthright for lentil stew, he chooses to marry Canaanite women. It doesn’t appear that Rebekah and Issac voice their concerns over his choices but it does outline their displeasure for the decision he made. It is very clear his flagrant behaviours doesn’t have the Lord’s will in mind. In fact, Esau displays characteristics of someone who is concerned about their own agenda or will, rather than that of the Lord’s and thus careless with the decisions he makes. Esau doesn’t demonstrate he is someone that is willing to do the work for their father, he displays that his interests are about fulfilling his own needs and pleasures, and his decisions thus far evidence that. We see this clearly demonstrated in Genesis 27:2-4 when Isaac instructed him to go out to hunt and bring back game, so that Isaac may eat something savoury from it, and bless him before he dies. Esau gladly goes out to fulfil this instruction, because he knew a blessing was going to come at the end of it.
Is it possible to receive a blessing as a firstborn but disregard your birthright? I don’t think so - if we go back to the definition of what a birthright is and reading the blessing that was said over Jacob’s life, this goes hand in hand.
When Esau discovers that the blessing was spoken over Jacob’s life, the bible says that Esau “was greatly distraught” and blames Jacob for conning him out of his blessing and his birthright. So, let’s take a look at this - was Jacob wrong to ask for Esau’s birthright? Yes, he knew it rightfully belonged to Esau. Did Esau deserve his birthright? No, because as the bible says, “Esau despised his birthright.”
As the reader, do you think it was wrong that Rebekah asked Jacob to pretend to be Esau to receive the blessing from Isaac? At first glance, your initial reaction will most likely be that he is being conned out of what he rightfully deserves, and the Mum is encouraging Jacob’s deceitful behaviour. Do you suppose Rebekah was aware of Esau giving up his birthright, and witnessed his total disregard for tradition & custom over the years that she felt he was not deserving of the blessing from Isaac?
It doesn't appear that Esau takes any accountability for his actions, in fact, he very much sees it from his own perspective - "Jacob took my birthright and now my blessing" Genesis 27:36. Reminds me of Adam and Eve, when they realised they sinned against the Lord, there was a lot of pointing the finger, rather than just taking ownership of their sin (Genesis 3).
Although as we read on, it seems Esau had a lightbulb moment - when he witnessed that Jacob had been instructed to take a bride from his mother’s family - the bible tells us that Esau realised his parents were not happy with him taking canaanites for wives and decided to find a wife within the Ishmael line (within Abraham’s family but not in the covenant line). Reading this it would seem to me that Esau realised he was making wrong decisions that displeased his father, and tried to find a way to remedy that by marrying someone outside of Canaan.
Did Esau redeem himself? Well, Esau had already shown that he did things in his own will and as we read throughout his entire life the bible doesn’t record that he has a relationship with God. In fact, I don’t think he calls upon the Lord once. Because of his hasty decisions and desire to please his own needs, he doesn’t follow that which ultimately is a requirement of the Lord. Esau demonstrates that he despised the things of God. I believe that is why we read in Malachi 1:3 that “God hated Esau.”
Esau made rash decisions that offered instant gratification rather than thinking about the long term consequences of his actions.
So, to put it plainly, are we like Esau? Do you make rash decisions and not think about the possible consequences of those actions. Do you think about gratifying the desires that you have or are you like Jacob, is your decisions in line with the Lord’s will? Have you removed yourself so much from the Will of the Lord that you can’t see how far you are from Him? Psalms 37:4 says “to delight yourself in the things of the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” Which means, if your focus is on the things of the Lord, if you are about the Lord’s business and his will, your heart’s desire will be that of God.
Thank God for His grace and mercies - give him thanks for his saving grace. If you know that you are satisfying your own selfish desires rather than that of the Lord, he is calling you now to repent, abide in him, and align in His will for your life. Remember, in Jeremiah 29:11 says “for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Therefore, let’s not be like Esau, only thinking about the temporary gratification, and seeking the pleasures of this world - let’s be more like Jacob, and be in the Will of the Lord! Amen x