So much of our lives are a struggle for satisfaction, trying to find out who we are and what our place is in the world. We pursue careers, relationships, positions and wealth hoping to finally become the man or woman we think that we should be. Along the way, we make decisions that have long term consequences in shaping both our temporal and eternal destiny. Esau and Jacob were no different, and as we will see in the account of how these two brothers handled their birthright, we will find out why we need to strive to truly find our rest in God.
The Things That Drive Us
Genesis 25:19-28 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 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.
What have you been known for? What were you esteemed for and what do you wish you had been esteemed for?
These desires drive us far more than we realize.
Jacob means one who grasps the heel, a colloquialism for deceiver. This was the way Jacob was identified from his youth.
Esau and his natural talents brought him favor with his father. He was his father's favored son, while Rebekah bonded with Jacob in the tents.
These affiliations were no doubt felt by each member of the family and drove what Esau and Jacob were willing to do to find peace and satisfaction.
"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." - St. Augustine in Confessions
The Truth About Your Birthright
In ancient Near Eastern culture, the firstborn received the division of the material possessions divided by the number of sons plus an additional share. Thus, the firstborn received a double-portion of the inheritance. This is what Isaac's favored son, Esau, was in line to receive.
1) Your birthright from God has to do with an eternal, not just temporary, reward.
You are an eternal being.
Your birthright can be something temporary but also eternal. In a culture obsessed with the reward of immediate gratification, we need to focus on things that are eternal and unseen.
Matthew 6:1-18 II Corinthians 4:1-18
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Matthew 20:1-16
What is a birthright?
Your birthright speaks of an inheritance that your parents have prepared for you. In the natural, it can consist of property, possessions and titles. In the spirit, it is that and far more.
You begin to know your birthright through the natural gifts and talents God has given you. Like Esau, these aptitudes lead to natural interests and opportunities.
Esau started well in the natural, becoming a great hunter and man of the field.
How have you already excelled in the endowments that God has given you?
Esau, however, took his birthright for granted by never considering its redemptive purpose or connection to God. Because he thought so little of it, he was willing to sell it at a moment's notice, to satisfy a very real, but passing, carnal desire.
Jacob was content to be in the home and would have had time to consider and think through the significance of the birthright, so that he was willing to position himself to attain it. He would go about obtaining it the wrong way, however, and, because of this work of the flesh, would pay dearly for it with many years of anxiety, strife and reciprocal manipulation. What you sow, you will reap. If you are willing to deceive, backstab and steal to get ahead, it will eventually come back to you, as Jacob discovered with Laban. If you sow good, .... , it will also return to your doorstep. (An older woman, his mother Rebekah, would eventually mentor him in how to attain it).
Don't be deceived. Both sets of struggles can be a trap. Those who, like Esau, seem to have most things in life go their way are tempted not to think about the eternal because they are consumed with life's temporary pleasures. Those who have to fight uphill like Jacob can be distracted by life's struggles, being so earthly bound that they miss the divine.
2) Your birthright needs to be protected.
Like Jacob, you will be grasping, striving, clamoring for security, acceptance and approval all of your life if you are not satisfied in the inheritance of your Heavenly Father. Like Esau, you will be willing to sell your inheritance for moments of carnal gratification if you are not focused on the eternal judgments and rewards of God.
Despising Your Birthright
You despise your birthright when you trade eternal pursuits for the temporary.
Genesis 25:29-34 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 that 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.
How can I despise my birthright?
You can despise/trade your eternal birthright by over-indulging in temporal things. God has given us all things for our enjoyment, but if your sole goal is to consume as much pleasure in life as possible, if work is simply a means to finance weekend excursions and expeditions unattached to the worship and building of the Kingdom of God, then you will not have your heart or mind set on the eternal where God the Father has prepared an inheritance for you.
Don't let the concept of "work-life balance" tip the scales so that you become ineffective and unproductive for the Kingdom of God.
The devil wants to steal your birthright. Jesus wants to restore it.
Jesus and Your Birthright
Jesus comes to redeem your birthright, buying back through the cross what you once sold in your sin.
Jesus is the ultimate firstborn, son of preeminence amongst all humanity. Because of His sinless life, no title or authority can ever be stolen or taken from Him. He is the sole and rightful heir to His Heavenly Father's throne. Yet because He is benevolent and good, he voluntarily shares the inheritance with us. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, you have the opportunity to become a co-heir with Christ. In this, there is no more striving or fear, but peace because He makes your lot secure. Repent of sin, put your trust in Jesus' redemptive work and allow Him to restore every gift, relationship and dream within the context of His inheritance for you, the birthright contextualized in His gospel purposes for the world.
Ephesians 1:7-14 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016