Birthright from Genesis 25

Today I am commenting on Genesis 25:21-34, and the idea of “Birthright.” Let’s begin by looking at verses 21-28,

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 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.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.  After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to 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.

Back in the 1980s one of the most popular TV shows in the United States was “Dallas.” I remember my wife calling my mother-in-law one evening and she asked her what my father-in-law was doing. My mother in law said, "He's watching that trashy show Dallas.” Then my wife asked my mother-in-law what she was doing, and she replied, “I'm helping him.” You really can't make these things up!

Anyone who knows anything about the television show Dallas knows it was about a conflict between two brothers JR and Bobby Ewing. As popular as this show was it really was not groundbreaking. In fact, the struggle between an older son and his younger brother has existed for eons, including the passage of Scripture that we have focused on today. Let's look at four parts to this family drama.

A Birthright:

Some elements of life come to us simply by being born. For example, the law in the United States provides citizenship to anyone who is born in the country.  Therefore, American citizenship is the birthright of anyone born in the USA.

In ancient Israel, the birthright of the oldest son was to be the head of the family after the death of the father and to receive the biggest portion of the father’s estate. We know by the Parable of the Prodigal Son that the younger son was not totally neglected, but the lion’s share of the estate, and equally important, the blessing of the father, was given to the oldest son.

While the story of Jacob and Esau and the Parable of the Prodigal Son both focus on earthly blessings, we know that for those in Christ, greater, more spiritual blessings are our birthright. As 1 John 3:1a tells us, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” And Galatians 3:29 proclaims that, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” So, what are some of the elements of the Christian’s birthright?

• Matthew 27:37 shows us Christ’s compassion for His children.
• Luke 20:36 shows we will be resurrected in Christ.
• Acts 3:25 shows our responsibility to be a blessing to the world.
• Romans 8:16-18 shows that we will suffer with Christ but also share in His glory.
• Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4 all show that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts.
• 1 Corinthians 9:25 shows we get a crown that will last forever.
• Galatians 3:28-29 shows that we will enjoy unity in the faithful.
• 2 Timothy 2:5 shows that we get a victor’s crown and 2 Timothy 4:8 shows that we also get a crown of righteousness.
• Titus 3:7 shows we have eternal life as the Children of God.
• Hebrews 1:2 shows we inherit all things in Christ.
• Hebrews 11:7 shows we inherit righteousness from God.
• 1 John 3:2 shows we can see Jesus as He is and be like Him.

And these blessings go on and on in the Scriptures. God’s children are blessed far beyond the earthly blessings enjoyed by the Children of Abraham, but they were quite well cared for regardless of their birth order. However, a plot twist is about to happen.

A Bad Decision:

Often, when a disaster takes place, one of the major factors in producing the tragedy is flawed decision making on the part of people. This is called “Human Factors” by accident investigators and we are about to see a bad decision as it takes place. Let’s look at Genesis 25:29-34,

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.

The last sentence in that passage of Scripture is devastating. “Thus Esau despised his birthright.” A man who had everything he could ever want, the love of his father, physical strength and vitality, a powerful position, and wealth beyond what most of us could ever imagine, gave it all up for a bowl of stew! How sad! How gut wrenching! How awkward to be a bystander who knows what is about to happen! 

Esau demonstrated a lamentable lapse in judgment. He failed to control his passions and he gave away his future for immediate gratification of his fleshly desires. He, like Adam and Eve, gave in to temptation, and in doing so lost everything in an instant. In the time it took him to gulp down his lunch, his future was wrecked and there was no going back.

It is easy to look back with 20/20 hindsight and say, with voices dripping with pity, how stupid that was of Esau, and we would be right. He acted stupidly without thinking and it cost him greatly. But, what about us?

We too, have acted with the same lack of judgment as Esau. The Scriptures tell us that there is none righteous, no, not even one. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Hebrews 10:26-31 describes our situation when we have despised our inheritance as the children of God:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

In an instant, like the breaking of glass, we throw away our inheritance when we sin, when we violate God’s laws and when we breach His standards of righteousness. The next scene in our family drama illustrates our situation in our lost condition.

A Broken Heart:

Although it took some time, the day of reckoning finally came for Esau, as we see in Genesis 27:30-38,

After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.” Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?” Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.

Esau discovered a harsh truth, which Paul put this way, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Esau planted the seeds of his own destruction and now they were bearing fruit, and for Esau it was a soul-crushing experience. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

We all need to learn something else from this passage as well, and that is the words used by a parent with their children is of utmost importance. Esau lost his blessing and his soul was crushed. In the same way a parent can crush a child’s soul by the way they speak to them and by the way they treat them. After this bruising experience, Esau was never the same again, and this happens every day in the lives of children all over the world. This ought not be so! In Matthew 18:6, Jesus Himself said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Again, those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

Even though this is a sad tale, there is good news. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Also, Isaiah 61:1-3 says,

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

So, how do we access this grace, mercy, and peace?

A Better Way:

To be an heir and to be blessed by a parent’s legacy, you must be part of the family.  Jesus makes this possible for us all, and Paul told the Ephesians,

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Eph 2:13-19)

The better way is this: Seek God through Jesus, and allow Jesus to make us a part of God’s Family and heirs to the great blessings that come from being a child of God. As 1 John 1:9 teaches us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we have been forgiven and purified, we are adopted into the Family of God.

So, what about those of us who are already family members. Does that mean we never make mistakes? Does that mean we never give into temptation and partake of the “red stew” of sin? No. We fail and fall because we are human and limited. When we do, we suffer the human consequences of our sin, and we temporarily lose the joy of our salvation as we hang our heads in shame and hide from our Father. Does that mean all is lost? No! And, in fact, the answer is the same: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

It matters not if we are estranged from God or if we have failed and made a mistake as a member of God’s Family, the solution is still the same because our God is still the same! Our God is the Good Shepherd who not only lays down His life for the sheep, but searches out the least, the last, and the lost.

Praise God for His love that conquers all!

Conclusion:

The story of Esau despising his birthright is one of the saddest stories known to humanity, but it also the oldest. Ever since Adam and Eve chose fruit over obedience to the God that gave them life, people have been making the same bad decisions repeatedly across and within every generation. People have not changed, but, again, praise God He has not changed either! 

As 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 

Let us turn to God from whence comes our help and the ability to be forgiven of our sins and enjoy our inheritance as the children of God.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt