Genesis 25.29-34-Esau Sells His Birthright To Jacob
Sunday May 14, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 25:29-34-Esau Sells His Birthright to Jacob
Lesson # 144
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 25:29.
First off, I’d like to say happy mother’s day to all the mothers in the audience.
Before we begin our subject this morning, I’d like to show you some Scriptures on the board, which pertain to our relationship to our mothers.
Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
Proverbs 6:20, “My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.”
Proverbs 6:21, “Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.”
Proverbs 6:22, “When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.”
Proverbs 23:22, “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
Proverbs 15:20, “A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.”
Now, I would like to continue on with our study of Genesis 25 by noting Genesis 25:29-34, which records Esau selling his birthright to his twin brother Jacob.
Genesis 25:29-30, “When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, ‘Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.’ Therefore his name was called Edom.”
Genesis 25:34 identifies that the food Jacob was boiling was “lentils,” which in the Hebrew is `adhashim (syv!r*u&) (aw-dawsheem).
A “lentil” is a small annual legume of the pea family and its lens-shaped edible seed is rich in protein and is one of the most ancient of cultivated foods.
The red pottage of lentils, which Esau sold his birthright for probably was made from the red Egyptian lentil.
“Famished” is the adjective `ayeph ([y@u*) (aw-yafe), which describes physical exhaustion brought on by hunger and great exertion.
Therefore, the adjective `ayeph describes Esau as being physically exhausted as a result of being hungry and greatly exerting himself in the wilderness hunting.
“Let me have a swallow” is the verb la`at (fu^l*) (law-at), which is in the hiphil imperative form meaning “give a gulp” and the 1st person common singular pronominal suffix meaning “me.”
“Red stuff” is the adjective `adhom (sd)a*) (aw-dome), which refers to the red lentil soup that Jacob was making.
Esau does not care to know the name of the food that he is requesting from Jacob indicating his coarseness meaning that he is unrefined and crude, lacking good manners.
So, Esau is saying, “Please let me have a gulp from that red stuff, this red stuff here,” which is expressive of his aggressive and inconsiderate nature.
Esau’s request demonstrates his bad manners, selfishness and inconsideration for others since he makes this request not knowing whether or not Jacob was making the red lintel soup for himself, his parents or others in the household.
He never takes into consideration that maybe Jacob is making this soup for others since he only cares that his own need be fulfilled.
Esau demonstrates that he doesn’t put others ahead of himself.
Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
Philippians 2:4, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
“Edom” is the proper noun `edhom (sw)da$) (ed-ome), which literally means, “red,” and was the name given to Esau to mark the occasion in which he exchanged his birthright to Jacob for some red lintel soup.
Genesis 36 states that Esau became the founder of the Edomite tribes who later became the arch rivals of the Israelites.
Genesis 25:29-30, “When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, ‘Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.’ Therefore his name was called Edom.”
Genesis 25:31, “But Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’”
Genesis 25:32, “Esau said, ‘Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?’”
Genesis 25:33, “And Jacob said, ‘First swear to me’; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.”
Genesis 25:34, “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
“Birthright” is the noun bekhorah (hr*k)B+) (bek-o-raw), which refers to the rights of the first-born in a family (See Exodus 4:22).
The firstborn had a privileged status (See Genesis 43:33; 49:3) and the right of succession (2 Chronicles 21:3) and received a double portion of his father’s inheritance (Deut. 21:17).
The father’s inheritance was divided among his sons and the firstborn always has right to two of these portions.
If there are ten sons, the firstborn receives two portions and the other nine split eight portions.
If there are only two sons then the firstborn inherits everything.
With this privileged status came responsibility in that the firstborn was the protector of the family and leader.
Not only did the firstborn have the responsibility of providing leadership and material things in Isaac’s family but also he had the responsibility to provide spiritually for his family.
Spiritual responsibilities were paramount in the family of Abraham and Isaac.
The selling of the birthright demonstrated that Esau rejected those responsibilities and was thus not only an irresponsible person but also an unbeliever.
Abraham and Isaac were in the line of Christ and the birthright in the family of Isaac included the promises and blessings given in the Abrahamic Covenant.
In the family of Abraham and Isaac, the birthright included the privilege of carrying on the line of Christ that would bring salvation and therefore blessing to the entire world.
Jacob knew this and desired these things, thus demonstrating his spiritual discernment and that he was a believer.
The birthright was transferable where the youngest can displace the eldest as in the cases of Joseph and Judah, Reuben, and Ephraim and Manasseh, Moses and Aaron, David and his six older brothers, Solomon and Adonijah.
Since the birthright concerns the future, its value is appropriated by faith.
Therefore, by selling his birthright, Esau was demonstrating his unbelief in the promises contained in the Abrahamic Covenant and thereby forfeited the blessings of this covenant (Hebrews 12:16-17).
In Genesis 25:31, Jacob is exploiting Esau’s hunger and exchanging the red lintel soup for the right to be heir of the family’s estate and assume the family headship.
Jacob erroneously believed that by his own human power that he had come into possession of the birthright.
He erroneously thought he could “merit” the blessings when in reality he could only receive them according to God’s grace meaning that he could not earn or deserve the blessings since they would be freely given to him by God when he exercised faith in Him.
Jacob was on a works program and thought God needed his help.
He was ignorant of God’s method and thus inserted his own way of doing things.
This demonstrated in Jacob that self-confident attitude rather than a dependence upon the Lord and His provisions and His plan and methods.
He desired a right thing but chose to attain it in a wrong way.
A right thing must be done in a right way.
God did not need Jacob’s help since God had chosen Jacob over Esau from eternity past based upon His sovereign grace and mercy to carry on the line of Christ and inherit the blessings and privileges and responsibility of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Romans 9:10, “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac.”
Romans 9:11-12, “for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ‘THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.’”
Romans 9:13, “Just as it is written, ‘JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.’”
Jacob and Esau were simply manifesting attitudes towards God’s plan that God in His omniscience already knew and predicted to Rebekah they would possess before they were born as recorded in Genesis 25:23.
Genesis 25:32, “Esau said, ‘Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?’”
Esau’s statement in Genesis 25:32 expresses a worldly viewpoint.
Isaiah 22:13, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”
Genesis 25:33, “And Jacob said, ‘First swear to me’; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.”
The fact that Esau agreed to sell his birthright to Jacob reveals that Esau did not value spiritual things since by selling his birthright he was forfeiting the blessings of the covenant that the Lord made with Abraham and which his father Isaac had inherited.
The selling of the birthright demonstrated that Esau was a psuchikos, “soulish” man and not a pneumatikos, “spiritual” man since he was expressing his dislike of the plan of God for the patriarchs that was expressed in the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.
1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
In eternity past, before Jacob and Esau were born God knew in His omniscience that Esau would possess such a negative attitude towards His plan and that Jacob would have a positive attitude.
Therefore, Romans 9:13, which quotes Malachi 1:2-3, “Jacob have I loved but Esau I have hated.”
“Sold” is the verb makhar (rk^m*) (maw-kar), which in context means, “to exchange” since Jacob did not give money to Esau but rather offered him the red lintel soup in “exchange” for the birthright.
Genesis 25:34, “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
“Despised” is the verb bazah (hzB) (baw-zaw), which means, “to the act of according little worth to something, to undervalue something” implying contempt.”
Therefore, by exchanging his birthright for a bowl of red lintel soup, Esau was demonstrating that he valued little his firstborn status in the family of Isaac, which involved inheriting the promises, privileges and responsibilities of the Abrahamic Covenant and thereby expressed his contempt for the plan of God.