This morning my Pastor’s sermon covered the story of Jacob and Esau. The sons of Isaac and Rebekah and the first twins mentioned in the Bible ( I have special interest in this story because of my own Twins). Even before they were born, they were struggling together in the womb of their mother. Their prenatal striving foreshadowed later conflict.
The twins grew up very different: Jacob was “a plain man, dwelling in tents” and his mother’s favorite. Esau was “a cunning hunter, a man of the fields” and his father’s favorite. One day, Esau returned from hunting and desired some of the lentil stew that Jacob was cooking. Jacob offered to give his brother some stew in exchange for his birthright—the special honor that Esau possessed as the older son, which gave him the right to a double portion of his father’s inheritance. Esau put his temporary, physical needs over his God-given blessing and sold his birthright to Jacob.
When the time came for Isaac to bestow his blessing on his sons, Jacob and his mother contrived to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob in Esau’s place. When Esau found that his blessing had been given to Jacob, he threatened to kill his brother, and Jacob fled. Years later, Jacob and Esau met and were reconciled.
Both Jacob and Esau were fathers of nations. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and he became the father of the Hebrews’ 12 tribes. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites. Edom was a nation that plagued Israel in later years and was finally judged by God.
In the New Testament, Esau’s choice to sell his birthright is used as an example of ungodliness—a “profane person” will put physical desires over spiritual blessings. By his negative example, Esau teaches us to hold fast to what is truly important, even if it means denying the appetites of the flesh. You alone God can help me do that.
