The Birthright (2008)

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.