Selling Your Birthright
Now Isaac pleaded with the
LORD for his wife,
because she was barren;
and the LORD granted his plea,
and Rebekah his wife conceived.
But the children struggled
together within her;
and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?"
So she went to inquire of
the LORD.
And the LORD said to her:
"Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger."
So when her days were
fulfilled for her to give birth,
indeed there were twins in her womb.
And the first came out red.
He was like a hairy garment all over;
so they called his name Esau.
Afterward his brother came
out,
and his hand took hold of Esau's heel;
so his name was called Jacob.
Isaac was sixty years old
when she bore them.
So the boys grew.
And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field;
but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.
And Isaac loved Esau because
he ate of his game,
but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Now Jacob cooked a stew;
and Esau came in from the field,
and he was weary.
And Esau said to Jacob,
"Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary."
Therefore his name was called Edom.
But Jacob said, "Sell me
your birthright as of this day."
And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die;
so what is this birthright to me?"
Then Jacob said, "Swear to
me as of this day."
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils;
then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way.
Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:21-34)
A birthright is a right,
privilege or possession to which a person, especially the firstborn
son, was entitled by birth in ancient times. The firstborn son would
enjoy a favored position. His birthright would entitle him to a
double portion of his father's estates and assets (Deuteronomy
21:17). He would also receive a special blessing from his father in
addition to the privilege of leading of the family (Genesis 43:33).
These inheritance rights of the
firstborn were protected by law. The father could not give his
benefits to a younger son due to favoritism:
If a man has two wives,
one loved and the other unloved,
and they have borne him children,
both the loved and the unloved,
and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,
then it shall be,
on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons,
that he must not bestow firstborn status
on the son of the loved wife
in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.
But he shall acknowledge the
son of the unloved wife
as the firstborn by giving him
a double portion of all that he has,
for he is the beginning of his strength;
the right of the firstborn is his. (Deuteronomy 21:15-17)
The firstborn himself, however,
could lose the birthright. As Reuben had committed incest with his
father's concubine (Genesis 35:22), he lost his favored position:
Now the sons of Reuben the
firstborn of Israel--
he was indeed the firstborn,
but because he defiled his father's bed,
his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph,
the son of Israel,
so that the genealogy is not listed
according to the birthright; (1 Chronicles 5:1)
The firstborn could also lose
his birthright if he sold it away. Esau sold his birthright to his
younger brother Jacob for one morsel of food (Hebrews 12:16).
Herein is the story of Esau and
Jacob. They were twins. They fought while they were in their
mother's womb. They struggled against each other even before Rebekah
gave birth to them. Though they were twins, they were very different
when they came out of her womb. Their conflicts continued as they
grew up. Their personality traits were also diversely different.
Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild
man, dwelling in tents.
Being a skillful hunter, Esau
was an expert in chasing after his preys, and hunting them down. He
was aggressive and violent, and at times, brutally cruel and
merciless towards those little animals of the forest. Just as he was
covered with red blood at his birth, his hands were also often full
of blood. He was obsessive in killing. Even today his descendents
carry the same traits, always fighting, warring and killing innocent
blood.
Esau was also aggressive in
pursuing his own goals and obtaining them. He even married three
wives without the approval of his parents.
When Esau was forty years
old,
he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite,
and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. (Genesis
26:34-35)
Also Esau saw that the
daughters of Canaan
did not please his father Isaac.
So Esau went to Ishmael and
took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael,
Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth,
to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. (Genesis
28:8-9)
In Hebrews 12:16-17, Esau was
described as a fornicator or a profane person. He was an immoral or
godless person. After selling his birthright, he wanted it back
again. But it was too late, even though he wept bitter tears of
repentance.
In contrast, Jacob was a mild
man. He was a shepherd tending sheep. He was willing to work for
Laban, and wait patiently for 7 years in order to marry his
sweetheart, Rachel, as his wife.
So Jacob served seven years
for Rachel,
and they seemed only a few days to him
because of the love he had for her. (Genesis 29:20)
Jacob was a loving man,
wholesome, peaceful and simple. He was a man with good moral and
integrity despite his name, which means "heel-catcher or
supplanter."
"Dwelling in tents" is often the
idiom for one person who studies the Word of God diligently.
May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant. (Genesis 9:27)
How lovely are your tents, O
Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the LORD,
Like cedars beside the waters.
He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters. (Numbers 24:5-7)
LORD, who may abide in Your
tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart; (Psalm 15:1-2)
The commandments and laws of God
were written in the hearts of men from the very beginning. The
patriarchs would study and share them with their children and
grandchildren. Their tents were the places of education and
schooling in the Word of God! The actual documents were not written
on pages or stones, but taught by life examples with clear
explanations from the parents to their children and children's
children.
Abraham dwelt in tents also, and
he studied the Word of God. He knew and obeyed the voice of God,
kept His charge, His commandments, statutes and laws!
By faith Abraham obeyed
when he was called to go out to the place
which he would receive as an inheritance.
And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise
as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise;
for he waited for the city which has foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
…because Abraham obeyed My
voice and
kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws. (Genesis 26:5)
Abraham will surely become a
great and powerful nation,
and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
For I have chosen him,
so that he will direct his children and his household
after him to keep the way of the LORD
by doing what is right and just,
so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham
what He has promised him. (Genesis 18:18-19)
A tent-dweller will put more
value on spiritual things than his earthly possessions as he has to
often pack and unpack them, moving from place to place, as God leads
him. He is not tied down to one location with many strings attached
but he is able to move when God moves. An excellent example of
dwelling in tents was that of the Israelites when they were in the
wilderness for 40 years! God was leading them, and dwelling with
them all the way and all the days!
So it was always: the cloud
covered it by day,
and the appearance of fire by night.
Whenever the cloud was taken up
from above the tabernacle,
after that the children of Israel would journey;
and in the place where the cloud settled,
there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.
(Numbers 9:16-17)
Tent-dwellers do not depend on
hunting for their livelihoods. They raise their own flocks. Abraham
was a tent-dweller, and he had flocks and herds, silver and gold,
male and female servants, and camels and donkeys (Genesis 24:34-35).
Jacob dwelt in tents, and Esau
was a man of the field. One enjoyed rest, while the other was
restless, always busy chasing after something, catching this and
that.
With all these in mind, it was
easy to see why God chose Jacob instead of Esau.
And not only this,
but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man,
even by our father Isaac
(for the children not yet being born,
nor having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand,
not of works but of Him Who calls),
it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."
As it is written,
"Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."
What shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
For He says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whomever I will have compassion." (Romans 9:10-15)
One day, Jacob was cooking stew.
Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to
Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary."
Therefore his name was called Edom, which meant “red, earthy, and of
blood.” In other words, Esau was a red hot-tempered man, easily
provoked.
As Esau was a skillful hunter,
he should have brought back some game from the fields. He should
have cooked his own game for his own consumption. But being very
impatient, he demanded for the stew that his brother was cooking. He
couldn't wait for his own food to be cooked. Being a demanding man,
he did not ask his younger brother politely for the stew. He was
truly a man of the flesh. But his younger brother, Jacob, desired
spiritual things. He knew the birthright of the firstborn would
include spiritual blessings besides the physical ones.
While Esau was craving for
Jacob's food, Jacob was eyeing on Esau's birthright. When Esau
demanded for the stew, Jacob told him, “First sell me your
birthright."
"Look, I am about to die," Esau
said. "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to
me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to
Jacob. 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.
Esau was a strong and skilful
hunter. He would obviously not die because he missed a meal. He was
just throwing tantrums, demanding his ways. He sought instant
gratification of his physical urges rather than exercising some
self-control. Because he was overwhelmed by his fleshly desires, he
felt as if he was going to die without eating his brother's stew. He
treasured the physical more than the spiritual. He despised his
birthright for some bread and some stew of lentils.
Though Jacob bought the
birthright, it was not easy for him to get hold of this birthright.
To sell away a birthright for some stew and bread is easy, but to
buy a birthright for some stew and bread is not that easy. The deal
must be approved by the father! In this case, by God, our Father in
heaven!
If an Olympic gold medallist
decides to sell away his gold medal to his younger brother, does it
mean that his brother automatically becomes the Olympic champion?
Obviously not! Until the younger brother proves himself on the
Olympic fields or the Olympic Committee approves him, his gold medal
is only an item without the title. His older brother is still the
champion by name.
Jacob was later named Israel.
And Israel went through a fiery furnace to obtain the birthright
legally.
Behold, I have refined you,
but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For how should My name be profaned?
And I will not give My glory to another.
Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, I am the First,
I am also the Last. (Isaiah 48:10-12)
It was a few hundred years later
that God first declared and called Israel His firstborn, just before
the whole nation of Israel was delivered out of slavery and bondage
from the land of Egypt.
Thus says the LORD:
"Israel is My son, My firstborn.
So I say to you,
let My son go that he may serve Me.
But if you refuse to let him go,
indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn." (Exodus
4:22-23)
Israel went through another 40
years of humbling and testing by God to see whether they would obey
Him or not.
Every commandment which I
command you today
you must be careful to observe,
that you may live and multiply,
and go in and possess the land
of which the LORD swore to your fathers.
And you shall remember that the LORD your God
led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness,
to humble you and test you,
to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not.
So He humbled you, allowed
you to hunger,
and fed you with manna which you did not know
nor did your fathers know,
that He might make you know that
man shall not live by bread alone;
but man lives by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of the LORD.
Your garments did not wear
out on you,
nor did your foot swell these forty years.
You should know in your
heart that
as a man chastens his son,
so the LORD your God chastens you.
Therefore you shall keep
the commandments of the LORD your God,
to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (Deuteronomy 8:1-6)
Only God could determine who the
firstborn was! God would chasten His firstborn just as a man would
chasten his son. Why did God take so long to put His stamp of
approval on a deal made between two brothers so long ago? The answer
is simple. To despise one's birthright and throw away one's holy
heritage is easy; but to claim it may take years of training and
testing before approval is granted.
Now I say that the heir,
as long as he is a child,
does not differ at all from a slave,
though he is master of all,
but is under guardians and stewards
until the time appointed by the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)
To be called God's firstborn is
an awesome calling! To bear His name is not easy. It means to be a
holy people as He is holy!
For you are a holy people to
the LORD your God;
the LORD your God has chosen you
to be a people for Himself,
a special treasure above all the peoples
on the face of the earth.
The LORD did not set His
love on you nor choose you
because you were more in number than any other people,
for you were the least of all peoples;
but because the LORD loves you,
and because He would keep the oath
which He swore to your fathers,
the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand,
and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Therefore know that the LORD
your God,
He is God, the faithful God
Who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations
with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
and He repays those who hate Him to their face,
to destroy them.
He will not be slack with him who hates Him;
He will repay him to his face.
Therefore you shall keep the commandment,
the statutes, and the judgments
which I command you today, to observe them. (Deuteronomy
7:6-11)
This birthright is very
important. God keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations
with those who love Him and keep His commandments. God loved and
chose Israel, but that's only one-sided. Israel must love and choose
God!
Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
And these words which I
command you today
shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them
diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way,
when you lie down, and when you rise up.
You shall bind them as a
sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
Christians are called and chosen
too.
But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him
Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
who once were not a people but are now the people of God,
who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Beloved, I beg you as
sojourners and pilgrims,
abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles,
that when they speak against you as evildoers,
they may, by your good works which they observe,
glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:9-12)
We are born of God, and are
called the children of God. Let's love Him and keep His
commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
Whoever believes that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God,
and everyone who loves Him Who begot
also loves him who is begotten of Him.
By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and keep His commandments.
For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments.
And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:1-3)
Let's not sell away our
birthrights by yielding to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes and the pride of life.
Let's seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness rather than temporary gains and satisfactions.
Let's also learn how to dwell
with Him in His tents, resting in Him and studying His Word
diligently! We are sojourners and pilgrims, journeying with Him!
Our body or earthly house is the
tent:
For we know that if our
earthly house,
this tent, is destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed
with our habitation which is from heaven,
if indeed, having been clothed,
we shall not be found naked.
For we who are in this tent
groan,
being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed,
but further clothed,
that mortality may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians
5:1-4)
Our body is the temple of God:
Do you not know that you are
the temple of God and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone defiles the temple of God,
God will destroy him.
For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (1
Corinthians 3:16-17)
In this dwelling place, temple
and tent, we will have the School of the Holy Spirit. And He will
teach us how to obey the commandments of God:
But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
(John 14:26)
I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and
give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
you shall be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel
36:26-28)
Please also read:
The Reconciliation Of Isaac & Ishmael
Source:
Nelson's Bible Dictionary
Written on:
25 May 2006