Jacob and Esau make a deal

We’re nearing the story of Jacob, and I don’t even want to approach it because of how well Tim Keller handled it in his sermon series “The Gospel According to Jacob." I’ll do my own, inferior take though. Abraham takes another wife/concubines and has a lot more kids. He gives gifts to the sons of his concubines and sends them away from Isaac, leaving the lion’s share of his estate and the promised land to Isaac. Abraham died at the age of 75 and “was gathered to his people.” Ishmael came back for the burial, which I think is nice. He wasn’t totally shunned and didn’t hate his father.

Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah (wow, that’s a long wait). Rebekah couldn’t have kids for a long time (Isaac was 60 when Rebekah finally gave birth), so Isaac prayed on her behalf. The babies “jostled each other within her.” Jewish legend says that they were trying to kill each other in the womb. Rebekah wondered why her insides were so stirred and asked God. She probably didn’t know it was twins. God said, “Two nations are in your womb. The two people inside you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When they were born, the first to come out was red and hairy all over. Which is really weird on an infant, no? They named him Esau, an name denoting his hairiness. After this, Jacob was born, grasping Esau’s heel. The name Jacob refers to the heel catching, and it’s not a good name. It names him a con-man or trickster.

The boys grew and Esau became a skilled hunter, a “man of the open country.” A man’s man. Jacob was more of an indoor guy. Most second-born kids, when they pop out, take one look at the older kid and seem to say, “I’m gonna be the opposite of THAT.” I know it’s true in my family. Jacob sat around in the tents, but he liked wild game, so he loved Esau for bringing them all food. Isaac liked Esau. Rebekah favored Jacob. So did God. That’s who God is. He doesn’t pick the obvious candidate most of the time, he picks the weak one and makes him great (like with King David). You also see God rejecting the traditional, world-made selection of the oldest child over the younger children. This is a practice that means nothing to God. Favoritism in families based on birth order just doesn’t factor into God’s choice.

God’s choice also wasn’t based on moral character or the choices of the sons. He knew which one needed to continue the line and gave the birthright in grace. You see, Jacob wasn’t all that much better than Esau. You see Jacob making lousy choices throughout his life. Esau comes across as unsympathetic twice, but he has good moments (particularly one of forgiveness years later). He has a problem with instant gratification, shown in both this chapter and his casual sex habits. Hebrews 12 describes Esau as a profane person and a fornicator. Still, Jacob has his faults too.

One day, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came home hungry and asked for some. Esau was also called Edom. Jacob said, “Sure, if you sell me your birthright.” Esau agreed and swore an oath, his thought process being that he was going to die one day anyway, so he might as well enjoy life now. What good is a birthright when it all comes to nothing and you don’t keep anything? Huge mistake. You see this kind of thought crop up a lot, and those who know that life, gifts, and choices have permanence will reject this line of thought. The birthright was eternally valuable, and Jacob knew this. In the Old Testament, birthrights have spiritual consequences. It’s not all about inheriting wealth.

The birthright passed the father’s spiritual inheritance too. This would include the covenant between God and Abraham, in this family. The son who holds the birthright becomes the head of the family and the spiritual leader of the family. We don’t know if Jacob’s parents told him that God said the younger would serve the older. Maybe Jacob already knew the birthright was his and he was making sure he would get it. Because God said it was his, it was already Jacob’s. If Jacob hadn’t taken matter into his own hands, would things have gone differently? Would Esau have just fallen off a cliff or something? Is the tricking and dealing the reason Jacob had to spend so much time away from his family while God refined his character?            

     

I think the lesson here, for us, in this little chapter is to recognize what our spiritual birthrights and purposes are, know that we already have them, and not “despise” them like Esau in favor of other, more present and physical things. This is a common universal pattern. In order to get long-term benefits, you have to have the long term in mind. Something to reflect on. Not that Bible stories are intentional morality tales, but like life, you can find the lessons in them. We people love a narrative.