Genesis 25:19-34 – Mighty Expensive Stew
(Got lots of help, including some direct quotes, from other preachers on SermonCentral for this one. Thanx, guys!)
In the summer after my 1st year of Bible college, I hung around a lot with 2 girls. One of them I knew from Bethany, Christina, and the other was her cousin Jody. They worked for a lady who lived a few minutes away from me, so we hung out a lot that summer.
Jody’s dad had been a game warden, and I think they had had a farm as well. At any rate, Jody knew animals, and liked them well. One night after I had biked down to see them, Jody drove me back home. It was probably 10 or 11PM. Now, in those days, there were public dumps. You know, you’d take your own garbage to a landfill site and leave it there. Anyway, the dump was between my house and the one she was staying at for the summer. The garbage had to be dumped off, so she took it when she drove me home.
Well, we drove into the dump, and when we went around the corner, the road was flooded with glowing eyes. We had stumbled upon a nest of raccoons. So what did the animal lover do? She got out of the car and walked up to the baby raccoons.
Now, I like animals, but that was nuts. They were wild animals in the most unsanitary place you could think of. But Jody didn’t care. She reached down and picked one of the little darlings up. I was going crazy in the car because of the whole thing. She brought me the thing to pet, but I wouldn’t go near it. By and by she put it down, unloaded the garbage, and we drove off, neither of us thinking twice about it.
Come to find out, though, it scratched her on the hand. She developed a nasty infection. They almost had to amputate her hand because of the scratch. All because she thought she was familiar with animals. All because she didn’t take the issue seriously enough.
Today, I’d like to talk to you about similar mistakes that we make. In particular, this being Father’s Day, the mistakes we men make that cost way more than we were willing to spend. We’re taking a one week break from Joshua, and we’re ending up today in Genesis 25, with the story of Jacob and Esau, 2 brothers who had a great deal of difficulty getting along. Let’s read v19-28 first.
So here’s the picture. Isaac, one of the patriarchs of the Jewish faith, and promised son of Abraham, and his wife Rebekah have twins. The 1st to arrive was Esau, which means “hairy”. The 2nd was Jacob, grasping at Esau’s heels. That name means “he grasps the heel”, which paints a picture of deceiving someone. The troubles did not end at birth.
The firstborn, Esau, was his father’s favorite, but Jacob was his mother’s favorite. Time passed and they grew up. Esau became a mighty hunter. This may not be such a great compliment though. Bible commentator Henry Morris points out that hunting was unnecessary because with a large flock of sheep, there was plenty to eat. This may mean that Esau was always away hunting as opposed to being at home helping with the chores and the sheep. We might be able to say that Esau was irresponsible.
We do know that Esau was impulsive, as we will see in the next section of the story. Read v29-34. So here’s the picture. Esau had been out hunting, and he came home starved. So starved, in fact, that he thought he would die if he didn’t eat something. That was very unlikely. But that’s how he felt. That’s what happens when people run on how they feel: “I don’t feel like doing the right thing today.” That’s being impulsive, and it’s dangerous.
Well, Jacob played Let’s Make a Deal with him. Jacob, who was perhaps smarter, definitely craftier, and a momma’s boy, stayed home and cooked. And he got the better deal for it. Esau staggered into camp, and wanted some stew. Jacob had been cooking some lentils and bread, and Esau got a good feed out of it. But not until he had traded his birthright for the meal. It was a sad trade-off for Esau.
You see, the birthright was a serious thing. The birthright gave whoever owned it 3 things: 1) a superior rank in his family, 2) a double portion of the paternal inheritance. That is, all of the children shared the inheritance, but the firstborn, the usual receiver of the birthright, received a portion twice as big as the others. Say, if there were five children, the inheritance was divided into six parts, and the guy with the birthright received two and the others one each. And, the birthright gave a 3rd benefit: 3) the priestly office in the family, responsibility before God in regards to the family. The birthright, as you can see, was not something to be treated lightly.
But Esau did. As the tribal chief’s favored son, he could have simply walked to another tent for a meal. But he didn’t, because he wanted what he wanted, when he wanted it, and nothing would stop his determination, or rather, stubbornness. He had already married 2 foreign, pagan women, which displeased his family to no end. It’s no wonder that the book of Hebrews calls him “profane” or “godless”. He lived only for the moment, trading the most valuable thing he had for some beans and bread, perhaps the most expensive meal ever recorded in the Bible, except the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
You know, Esau is not the only guy who paid too much stew. All men have this tendency. Some men pay for their career with their family. They allow their career to take everything they have. No effort, energy or time is left to develop an intimate marriage or to train up their children.
Some men pay for a moment of pleasure with their marriage. Adultery often costs more than a marriage. Sometimes the payment for a moment of pleasure costs two marriages. Sometimes the payment costs children. The payment always includes the man and the woman’s relationship with God. The payment also includes the man and the woman’s conscience.
Men have given up their inheritance, God’s blessing, for a moment of pleasure in pornography, which costs so much more than people want to pay. Women have sold their inheritance because their husband wasn’t showing them the affection they needed and they gave their inheritance away for a moment of pleasure.
Many adults have given up their inheritance because of the pleasure money seemingly brings them. They have given themselves to making money at any cost in order to enjoy the ‘pleasurable’ things of life.
Graduation ceremonies are also this week. I think of the teens and young adults who wind up paying too much for a moment of closeness, and they sell their virginity for what amounts to bean soup. They feel as though they’re starving, and they impulsively sell one of God’s greatest gifts to someone who doesn’t deserve having it.
You see, Esau undervalued what was most important, and overvalued something that had only temporary importance. Blessings from God for a moment’s pleasure. And it’s our temptation too. When we are so focused on our immediate problems that we forget about our long-term obligations to God and our families, we make self-destructive decisions. Folks, you and I had better check out what’s really important before we make any hasty deals.
What is important, then? First, it has to be your relationship with God. I’m not saying you have to be in church every time the doors are open, though people in years past would say that was godliness. No, I’m saying that you need to look at things which distract you, which cool your love for Him, which take away time you would spend with Him. To you, those things must be dealt with. What you watch on TV or on the computer may be part of it. What you do with your body or in your mind may be part of it. How you spend your money or credit may be part of it. The words you use may be part of it.
Listen: all the so-called “secular” things you do have much to do with your relationship with God, not just the “sacred” things. I don’t believe there is much of a difference in the secular and the sacred. I believe that motives have so much to do with your faith. You can do good things, but if the motives are wrong, they distract you. Likewise, you can do things that are not blatantly godly – like doing the dishes or mowing the lawn – and serve Him well. Whatever you do, do it to please Him. That’s how you can keep Him first in your life.
Next comes your family. Your spouse and your kids come next. They are more important than your job. That’s not to say that you should quit just so you can stay at home all the time. But, in the end, you need to love your family more than your job. You need to make time for your family, not just hope you’ll find time. You know, Esau was a hunter, but irresponsible. I wonder if some guys use hunting or fishing or golfing or other sports to avoid their family as well.
Then there’s the job. Like it or lump it, God gave it to you. Love it, but don’t worship it. St. Augustine said, “Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped.” Someone else said, “Love people and use money. Not the other way around.” Your job is something God gave you to be useful in society, to bring in money for your family, and to bring you a sense of accomplishment. It is not something to be worshipped. It is not more important than those around you. After all, no one on their deathbed ever wished they had spent more time at the office.
Now, it is never too late to start over. You can say today, “I’m going to do things differently.” You don’t have to be a slave to your passions or your thought life. There is help. There are useful books in the church library to help you clean your mind of impurity. You can say, “I will not worship my job anymore.” If something is important enough, you can shift some things to become more accessible to God or your family. Things may still be tricky at times, but I’m convinced you don’t have to sell your blessings for a cheap bowl of stew.
Remember Jody in the story at the beginning of my message? She thought she would be OK. She didn’t consider the risks. She didn’t count the cost. She was too careless for too small a pleasure. Don’t be a victim of that. Realize the blessings God has given you: a relationship with Him, your family and friends, your job… and don’t trade them for things of lesser value.
