"And when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished." ... But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright." And Esau said, "Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?" And Jacob said, "First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. ... Thus Esau despised his birthright." - Genesis 25:29-34 Jacob and Esau were brothers, twin brothers, born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was the oldest and therefore the traditional heir to the family birthright. That birthright carried with it both a responsibility and privilege. As the first born Esau was responsible to carry on the leadership of the family, especially the spiritual leadership. They were a family in covenant with the Living God through the covenant made between the Lord and Abraham their grandfather. With that responsibility also came the privilege of leading the family and of getting a double portion of the family inheritance. Esau was a hunter of the field and really did not care much about the spiritual condition of the family. He liked to hunt and eat game. One day when he had gotten in from one of his expeditions, he found Jacob had cooked some red-bean stew. When he asked for some, Jacob wanted to talk about the birthright. We are not too sure how interested he was in leading the family spiritually, but we know the inheritance meant something. Esau was a spur-of-the-moment decision maker. He would rather have a bowl of stew than think about a birthright. What good was a birthright, if he starved.? That was the way he reasoned. He gave away the birthright and Jacob gladly received it. The prophecies the Lord had given to their mother Rebekah before they were born were beginning to take shape, but did Esau have to despise his birthright or did Jacob have to resort to taking matters in his own hands? Probably not, but God was still at work. He allowed Esau to "sell" the birthright, knowing he had no concern for that or for the matters of the covenant with Abraham. God let Esau have what he wanted and he let Jacob do what he did. God knew that one day soon He would deal with Jacob about his ways, about taking matters into his own hands. How about you? Do you sometimes try to take matters into your own hands when you really don't have the authority or right to do so? God wants us to wait on Him and follow closely what He wants, when He wants and how He wants. Let Jacob teach you two things. 1) Be cautious of getting ahead of God and 2) Thank God that He is always at work in spite of our ways. In Celebration of Life in Him, Dr. Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net Everything is wrong until God makes it right
