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 (Genesis 25:29-34).
As firstborn, Esau was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance. Since he only had one brother, that meant he would inherit two-thirds of his father’s property, and his brother Jacob would receive one-third. He gave it up for a bowl of stew. One meal, that he could easily have cooked for himself, or gotten from his mother.
Esau was “famished,” but he was not in danger; dying from hunger takes weeks, not hours. He was just uncomfortable and unwilling to wait, and so he traded his birthright for a bowl of stew and some bread. Rather than wait and be uncomfortable for a while, Esau gave up his future. Adam and Eve gave up their future for something they believed would give them wisdom like God’s. Esau gave up his for a meal that he knew would only fill his stomach for a few hours.
Of course, Esau’s birthright hadn’t obtained anything tangible for him yet – that would only come when Isaac died. And that’s what makes this story work as an example: Esau gave up a huge future treasure for a benefit that was trivial, but immediate. The “lentil stew” wasn’t worth much compared with Esau’s birthright, but he could get it right away, and it would make him comfortable for a short while.
One question I frequently like to ask when I study Scripture is, why? Out of all the things that have ever happened in the history of the world, why was this event recorded in the Bible? The answer in this case is obvious. The Israelites, at the time Moses wrote this book, were facing the same bad choice; to give up their inheritance – the land of Canaan – for the sake of a little food (Exodus 16, Numbers 11), or for some other short-term benefit that might come from worshiping idols.
The lesson of this passage was not just intended for them, however, but for all generations. That’s why it was also included in the New Testament as an example of godlessness (Hebrews 12:16-17).
Jesus said:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
This is not a statement of how things ought to be; it’s a description of the way things are. My heart will be with whatever I treasure. So what do I treasure? Money? Status? Promotion? Marriage? Possessions? Pleasure? Relaxation? Do I treasure the things I see and can have, for a little while, in this world, or do I treasure the things I don’t see; eternal things that are kept in heaven for me (1 Peter 1:4)?
We have an amazing inheritance waiting for us, but if we don’t pay attention to it, if we never think about where we’re headed and what we will inherit, we’ll probably end up trading it away for something that’s trivial or useless.
It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).
As I look at my life, am I trading my inheritance for a bowl of lentil stew?