Genesis 25:19 These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac. 20 Isaac was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her:
Two nations are in your womb;
two people will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25 The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
So, Rebekah and Isaac were married 20 years before the twins were born. Rebekah probably thought she would never have children. I'm sure Isaac reassured her of the promise that God had given his father (I'm sure Abraham had shared it with him). The Lord also told Rebekah about the future of her children. Two children would be born. (Jacob and Esau) Two nations would come from her, Jacob's family as we know, would be Israel. Esau's family became Edom (Genesis 36). One will be stronger than the other, Jacob's people will be stronger than Esau's. The older will serve the younger... Hence when Jacob received their father's blessing as first born instead of Esau.
The twins were definitely not identical! Esau was hairy. I imagine him as big and burly with a great beard. Jacob I imagine as smaller and skinny.
Genesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. 30 He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”
33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him.34 Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.
So, Esau was a hunter and Jacob stayed at home. Jacob was a Momma's boy. She favored him above Esau, while Isaac favored Esau. So, Jacob was cooking some stew one day when Esau came in from hunting. He was tired and hungry. Jacob told him he could have some stew if he sold him his birthright. Esau responded that he was so hungry he was about to die! How often do we exaggerate how hungry we are? We say "I'm starving!" when we do not even know what it means to starve. We had food just a few hours before, and just because we feel this twinge of hunger, we say we are starving. Well, this is how I suspect Esau was. He wasn't literally starving. Just very hungry and tired as though he FELT like he might die. I do not think he would have died if he had waited a little longer for food! Well, Esau agreed to sell his birthright for stew.
Later in Genesis, Esau makes this statement:
Genesis 27:36 So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
Um, no! You, with full knowledge of what Jacob was asking, sold your birthright for stew! That was your own fault!
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord. 15 Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many. 16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for one meal. 17 For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance, though he sought it with tears.
Esau is an example for us. We should not throw away the blessings of God for earthly comfort or pleasure. If Esau had taking the birthright and blessing, he would have inherited everything, but because one day he was hungry, he chose the physical comfort over his future blessings. As a result, bitterness sprang up in his heart towards his brother. We should not let bitterness come between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ. When that happens, the church becomes divided and can no longer function as one body, was is intended by God. If a leg is broken by bitterness, then the body can no longer walk and it will take it a long time to heal, and one still may limp for a while before there body can be fully restored, if it is possible at all! Esau regretted selling his blessing. The scripture says that he did not find any opportunity for repentance, though he sought it with tears. Esau wanted badly to be approved, but not for the right reasons. He wanted to please his earthly father (hence later when he marries a daughter of Ishmael because he learns his father does not like Canaanite women) and not his heavenly father.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.
We must do the will of the Father. We cannot simply call out his name. We cannot just say a prayer and be saved. We must do the Father's will! We are not saved by doing the works, but we do the works because we are saved.
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