I continue in Genesis, with the introduction of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Esau is the older brother, and, as such, would typically be the son who receives the blessing and the birthright from his father, in this case, Isaac, who was also the man through whom all of the nations were to be blessed. However:
Genesis 25: 29-34:
Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom). Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." 32Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
My Bible's footnotes talk about what it means that Esau "despised" his birthright. Esau was next in line to be the man through whom the Lord was working out His plan to make Abraham's descendants a great nation--and to be part of the whole line of people leading to Christ. Yet in a moment of hunger, he just throws that blessing away, revealing that Esau did not value what God had promised.
So I started to think about ways that I "despise" the blessings of God. There are times when I feel lonely and His promise to provide for my needs seems far away, and I have traded time with God or the opportunity to see Him work for the quick fix of calling a friend or turning on the TV or eating some chocolate. I think all of us have times of trial when we want to trade the character work that God is doing for relief from the pain, "despising" His promise that He will bless us in our trials and that His glory will be shown.
It's too early on a Monday morning for me to totally understand what God wants to show me through this, but I will be thinking about it and trying to realize when I am throwing away a blessing for a bowl of soup.
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