Sermon Tone Analysis

Sacrificing for Soup

Before we get started I want to warn you that you might get hungry today because we will be talking about food quite a bit.

Today we are continuing the “Identity” series.

Last week we kicked it off by talking about the identity crisis we face on a daily basis.

Every day we are faced with pressure to have an identity.

We are encouraged to have a unique identity, to break the mold and be something nobody has ever been before.

We are told to be ashamed of our natural or God-given identity.

There is a lot of pressure, especially on young people, to seek approval with our identity.

Last week we also talked about getting rid of our fake identity and embracing the identity God has given you.

Pretending to be someone I am not is miserable.

God is far more likely to bless me in meaningful ways if I am moving toward the person He has called me to be than the person I am pretending to be.

Most importantly, I don’t need to pretend to be something I am not because God loves me for who I am and He gives me my true identity through Christ.

Just like He loved Jacob while at the same time giving him a new identity, calling him Israel.

This week we are going to continue talking about Jacob and Esau.

If you want to follow along in your bible, turn to chapter 25 of Genesis.

Immediately after the story of their birth we read about Esau selling his birthright after the two had gotten a little older.

If you are just casually reading this story you may not give it too much thought.

Esau is so quick to pass off his birthright it appears to not even be that big of a deal.

He doesn’t even give it a second thought.

Today we do want to give this story some more thought because something very significant is happening here.

There is also some interesting language used here that I want to take a little bit of time to drill down on because it will give us just a little bit more understanding of just how important this scenario is, not only for Jacob and Esau but in our lives as well.

Then we will apply the warnings told by this story to our lives so that we will be better equipped as we grow in the true identity we have in Christ.

In this story we learn that the one who was born first had become a good hunter as he grew up.

Their dad, Isaac, loved this!

He loved getting to eat the wild game Esau would bring home from his hunts.

Quail Tagine on Monday, Seared Rabbit with Rosemary Potatoes on Thursday, Venison Pot Roast for the weekend.

What’s not to love?

He was clearly dad’s favorite.

Jacob was the mamma’s boy, always hanging out in tents.

I can just see Jacob as the one who was always sprawled out on the couch saying, “Ohhhh, I’m SO BORED!”

Esau was the man of the field, the hunter, the outdoorsman!

A real man’s man!

Like Tim the Tool-man Taylor “AGH AGH!” Esau even had a cool nick-name, “Red”.

Red is the color of extremes.

If someone get’s real angry they see RED.

If something is real fast it’s always painted RED.

If someone is strong and vigorous they are RED-blooded.

If he was alive today he would probably own this lawn mower...

This day in scripture is different though.

Everything gets turned around.

Ol’ Red sees something else that is red and wants it more than anything.

Jacob becomes the great hunter.

Esau comes home from hunting with his birthright as the firstborn, but Jacob has the birthright before he finishes his meal.

What is this birthright?

Why would he give it up?

It sounds important.

Why am I thinking about cookies?

First thing first, what is his birthright?

According to OT law a man’s first born son was supposed to get a larger share of his inheritance.

Essentially, the older son has the rights to a double share of the inheritance.

You can find this in Deuteronomy 21:17.

What does this have to do with cookies?

It’s not because we are talking about food today.

It also has nothing to do with the fact that I am ALWAYS thinking about cookies.

This story reminds me of an experiment by psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University.

About 50 years ago they rounded up 600 kids and sat each one of them in front of a cookie and gave them the choice of eating that cookie now, or waiting 15 minutes and then they would get a second cookie.

Some of the kids ate the cookie before they heard all of the instructions, but others were able to wait by distracting themselves somehow.

They would turn away, sit on their hands or even create imaginary friends.

The researchers continued to study the lives of the kids for decades and they found that the way the kids responded to the test appeared to be linked with many other factors in their lives.

For example, later in life the people who succumbed quickly to the temptation often had lower SAT scores, higher BMI, and a slight increase in risk of substance abuse.

They are finding that by changing the way we think about our temptations and the way we view them can help with willpower and in resisting temptations.

Esau comes in and does all the things the one cookie kids did.

“I NEED IT NOW!” Let’s go ahead and read the story real quick...

There are some interesting things happening with the Hebrew words used in this story that are designed to make you ponder this situation a little bit more and even remember other scripture that is similar.

Let’s look at a couple of them.

First, in verse 30 Esau demands some of that “red stew”.

The Hebrew word used here is “adom” and it echoes and is very similar to the word that was used describe Esau’s red color at birth.

This word is connected by wordplay to the Hebrew word edom, which became Esau’s other name.

What is interesting to me here is that Esau was already born “red”, but when he came home he saw and demanded this other “red stuff”.

In other words, God gave him something at birth, but at a certain point in his life he decided he wanted this other stuff that is very similar even though he already had what he actually needed.

There is another word play in the same verse.

He said, “I’m starved!

I’m exhausted!”.

That word is “ayeph”.

It is used in other places in scripture to describe severe drought.

Isaiah uses it to describe the coming king who will be our shelter in a weary land.

In contrast, even though he is this tough outdoorsman, Esau can’t bring rest to anyone.

He can’t even find rest himself.

He has become the weary one.

He is the picture of humanity who will try to find rest on his own rather than seeking God’s rest.

In turn, he sacrifices the promises given to him by God from the beginning.

One more interesting word play and then we can move on.

In verse 27, Esau was called a “skillful hunter”.

That Hebrew phrase is “sayid”, which means a man knowing game.

In verse 28, his father loved him because of his taste for wild game, “sayid”.

Unfortunately for him, on this day Jacob would become the skillful hunter.

Jacob was home cooking, “wayyazed”, some stew “nazid”.

This wordplay shows a connection between the idea of hunting.

It’s as if while Esau was hunting wild game, Jacob was hunting his game.

Only this day, Jacobs game walked into the baited trap.

The Hebrew verb “zid” is used to describe Jacob boiling the food and it also means to act proudly, presumptuously, or rebelliously.

We already know that Jacob was crafty, so drilling down on these Hebrew words makes me wonder how many days Jacob cooked food in order to set a trap for Esau.

How many days was Jacob finishing a stew when his brother walked in with fresh meat?

How long did Jacob plan his hunt?

How patient did he have to be?

Regardless, one thing is for sure… Jacob REALLY wanted that second cookie.

This story is interesting, but what can we learn from it?

How does it relate to my identity?

If we allow this scripture to speak to us today it could give us some helpful wisdom for avoiding things that could steal our identity.

I believe the most glaring truth we should see from this story is...