A Bad Deal

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.

Genesis 25:29-34

What’s one decision you regret? A choice you made in the moment but that later cost you big time? Bad mistakes - I’ve made a few. But I don’t think I’ve ever done anything so foolish as Esau.

I get it. He’s hungry. Maybe he’s famished. And I’ve had a good meal or two in my life - although I’ve never seen a lentil stew I would pay for let alone give up my birthright for.

But what is Esau giving up? Maybe it’s just a few bucks worth. Well, it’s not. He is the firstborn. He is entitled to at least the lion’s share if not the entire family inheritance. And as we have seen, God has blessed his father Isaac. But there’s more. The suggestion in the original language (Hebrew) is that Esau is giving up his place as a part of God’s people. That’s a lot to give up.

So what are we to make of this? Well, there’s a lot of sin and foolishness going on (not only from Esau). But this particularly foolish decision is picked up later in the New Testament as one of the grand examples of what Christians must not do.

See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Hebrews 12:16.

The world has a lot of pleasure on offer. But ultimately they are all the equivalent of lentil stew. Tasty perhaps. But short-lived. And yet every day, Christians are tempted to turn from Jesus for the sake of other short-lived pleasures.

Brother’s and sisters. Don’t be like Esau.

For Today:

• Do you know someone who chose the pleasures of this world instead of eternal pleasure?
• How have you/are you being tempted to be like Esau?
• Pray that God would keep you from temptation.

Pray:
Praise the Father that He never makes foolish decisions. Give thanks for Jesus Christ who rejected short-term pleasures for the sake of His people. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others be wise and reject temptations.