THE BIRTHRIGHT
Text: Hebrews 12:16
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man made; therefore they may be solved by men. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” There is a lot of truth to what President Kennedy once said, but there is also the understanding of how we reap what it is that we have sown. It is possible for us humans to make problems where God had designed a path for us to make progress. When we make problems for ourselves where God had intended for us to make progress, we cannot usually reset our course. The Old Testament story about the Esau’s birthright that he surrendered to his brother Jacob is perhaps one of the best examples of this.
Our birthright comes with some expectations. Perhaps, most of you are familiar with the story of these two brothers in Genesis named Esau and Jacob. They were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. If Isaac was their father, then Father Abraham was their grandfather. It seems likely that both Isaac and Rebekah had expectations for these boys even before they were born. Though they were brothers, they were different. In the womb, they struggled with each other (Genesis 25:22). Rebekah wanted to know what the struggling meant. The Lord told her that she had nations in her womb represented by these two sons. One would be stronger and rule over the other (Genesis 25:23). The one who was born first would have the prized birthright. The one who was born second, desired the birthright. That is where our journey through their story begins. Let us look at what the birthright meant for them as well as what it means for us.
WHAT THE BIRTHRIGHT MEANT FOR THEM
The birthright always went to the oldest son. The birthright meant that the son who had it, “succeeded his father’s place of authority”. The birthright also entitled the oldest son to receive “a double portion of the father’s goods”. The “birthright could be transferred to another for a consideration, or withheld by the father for a cause”. (James M. Freeman. Manners And Customs Of The Bible. New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1996, pp. 32 -33). Esau transferred his own birthright because of his impulsive appetite. Did you get that? Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob over a meal! (Genesis 25:29-34).
What about the birthright and the character of its original owner? How did Jacob compare to Esau in appearance and character? Based upon Esau being born first, he was the one who was originally entitled to the birthright. There are some who would argue that appearance is everything. Others would argue that character is more important. When we think of Esau, how would we describe him? How would we describe Jacob? From the story we remember that Esau was a hunter. Esau was not only a skillful hunter but also a man of the field (Genesis 25:27). One author (Walter Russell Bowie) thought of Esau as being physically fit, athletic, charming and handsome. (Walter Russell Bowie. See Yourself In The Bible. New York: Harper & Row, 1966, p. 2). We already know that Esau is impulsive in character by the way he sold his birthright.
What about Jacob’s character? If Esau’s greatest fault was his impulsiveness, then Jacob’s greatest fault must have been crafty-deceitfulness. Jacob might have looked like a nice guy in his appearance, but his character revealed him to be slick and somewhat selfish. As someone (Herbert Lockyer) seems to conclude Jacob’s character was counterfeit in nature. “Jacob was naturally crafty and deceitful. He violated his conscience when he allowed his mother to draw him away from the path of honor and integrity. He practiced deception upon his blind father with the covering of kid [goat] skins. Then he told a deliberate lie in order to obtain a spiritual blessing.” (Herbert Lockyer. All The Men Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958, p. 166). (Genesis 27:1 - 29). It is ironic that Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, lured Jacob into becoming a conspirator in this deceitful scheme.
What about the blessing and deception? Since Isaac was deceived, couldn’t he have revoked [withdrawn] his blessing of the birthright for the originally intended recipient? The answer seems to be no on two counts. First, remember the blessing of the birthright was transferable. Jacob got Esau to transfer the blessing over a meal, because Esau did not think about what he was really doing when he traded his birthright for a meal. Secondly, it seems that once words were spoken, they could not be taken back. Someone (William Barclay) once pointed out an old proverb that seems to lend support to irretrievable things. "Three things come not back----the spoken word, the spent arrow, and the lost opportunity." (The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel Of Matthew. Volume 1. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, p. 371). It is sad to think about what might have been for Esau’s life if only Esau had taken the importance of his birthright much more seriously.
WHAT THE BIRTHRIGHT MEANS FOR US
What does the story of the birthright mean for us? The story of the birthright means that we all have a path of blessing that God wants us to take. God has a purpose for each and every one of us.
1) God desires for us to be “spiritually minded and not consumed with the temptation of the here-and-now only”. God wants us to “recognize the true value of the spiritual things”. (Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III ed. Zondervan NIV Commentary. Leon Morris. “Hebrews”. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, p. 1006). Do we recognize the value of spiritual things? Like Esau, are there things that have the potential to cloud our judgment?
2) Related to that is the understanding that God wants us to take what is holy and sacred seriously. As someone (James Freerkson) pointed out, “Esau took that which God considered sacred and made it common. … Every Christian must beware lest he count as unimportant what God considers sacred.” (Jerry Falwell. Ed. The Complete Bible Commentary.James Freerkson. “The Epistle To The Hebrews”. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999, p. 1709). How often do we see people slighting what God considers sacred?
3)We have to make our choices wisely because of things that cannot be undone. Someone (William Barclay) points out examples of irrevocable consequences: If young people make bad decisions and participate in immorally lustful behavior, then they can experience consequences that are not reversible. “God can and will forgive but he cannot turn back the clock.” (William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Letter To The Hebrews. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, p. 184). Esau regretted has bad choice that could not be undone.
How much do we share in common with Rebekah, Jacob and Esau? Someone (G. C. Lichtenburg) once said, “In every man there is something of all men”. (R. Daniel Watkins. An Encyclopedia of Compelling Quotations. On CD ROM. [G. C. Lichtenburg ]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2001). If what he says is true and it is, then there are times when we are like Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau. Rebekah was wrong to influence Jacob to cheat in order to get Isaac’s blessing. Jacob was wrong in being a co-conspirator, who manipulated and deceived his blind father to get the blessing that was Esau’s---his birthright. Esau was wrong to have recognized the value of the birthright. We have the capacity to have a “corrupting influence” (Barclay. Hebrews, p. 182) ; we have the capacity to be manipulating by lying and/or cheating to get our way; and finally, we have the capacity for the failure of seeing the real value of spiritual things and to take what God has made sacred and holy and treat it as if it was common.
Conclusion
Again, as we mentioned in the beginning, it is possible for us humans to make problems where God had designed a path for us to make progress. God wants us to walk in harmony with His will so that we can make the most of our lives and experience all of the blessings that He intended for us. We mess that up when we fail to think about our relationship to God as well as our relationship with each other. We are the keepers of our brothers and sisters (Genesis 4:9) which is an awesome responsibility.
