A Birthright Forsaken

"The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of the red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, "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." (Genesis 25:27-34)

Red stew…such as the lentils of the Middle East would produce. Basically, bean soup. That's what Esau exchanged for his birthright. Said differently: that is the value that Esau put on his birthright; the value of a pot of beans.

Isn't it interesting that a major event that will change the course of nations is about to unfold…and it all takes place over a pot of beans. It reminds me of the major event that happened over a piece of fruit in a garden. One might begin to think of food as a very evil thing in and of itself. But it isn't so. The evil is in us, not the food.

Deceitful as Jacob is (after all that is basically what his name means), he did not trick Esau into selling his birthright. Jacob just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and was clever enough to take quick advantage of the situation. Could Esau have found food elsewhere? Most likely. Were there not servants nearby who could have helped? Or other family members? The point is that the birthright didn't mean enough to him to search for an alternative solution, especially when he was so overcome with weakness that he felt as though he was dying.

And, of course, it's easy for us to look at Esau and say "How could anyone be so stupid?" Then we look at Adam and Eve and say the same thing about them.

But the truth is this: how often do we exchange our birthright for something of the flesh?

What is our birthright? It is similar to what Esau's was. He would have been a heir to his father's kingdom. We have been made joint-heirs with Christ. All the authority of God given to Jesus Christ, is shared with us when we believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior and our Lord. What do we do with that inheritance? What do we do with that authority? Do we use it to further our Father's kingdom? How often do we even think about our birthright, much less value it properly?

Are we distracted by the things of the world so much that we forgot what our birthright entails and why we were given it? I think so.

One part of our birthright is that we now (by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us) have access to the throne room of God, the Father. That means we can go into His private quarters, in a sense, and talk to Him at anytime about anything. It's called prayer. How much time do we spend with that one aspect of our birthright? What value do we put on the restoration of that relationship; restoration that was purchased by One's life blood being shed for us? Do we value it that highly? Do we value it enough to sacrifice time out of our busy day? I think the amount of time we spend in prayer says all that we need to know about the value we put on Jesus' sacrifice for us.

We seem to remember only that Jesus saved us from an eternity in hell. We recall what He saved us FROM; but not what He has called us TO.

We might be smarter than Esau and not sell our birthright for a pot of beans. Maybe we'll sell it for a really nice car instead. Or a bigger house. Or more electronics to better occupy our time such as a bigger and better flat-screen TV.

But a pot of beans…never!