You Got What You Wanted, But You Lost What You Had!

It never ceases to amaze me at how different things look after we leave home. Nothing motivates reconsidering life choices like opening the fridge and discovering there is a slice of pizza left from three-days ago, a half-empty jar of sweet relish and a bottle of water. Young people are quickly sobered when they can no longer stand in a hot shower for thirty minutes at a time, because they don’t have enough to pay the gas bill this month. Flipping the light switch and having nothing happen is a sobering experience when you’ve been accustomed to leaving a trail of lights burning as you wandered through the house for all those years. Washing your own clothes rather than merely leaving them on the floor for mom is a great means of instruction. Not being able to access the Internet because you don’t have the money to pay your cellular bill one month makes some decisions appear rather hasty. Young man, young woman, be careful that you don’t get what you want, and lose what you had.

The Word of God is full of stories that speak of people who got what they wanted, but they lost what they had. If we are wise, we will learn from what is written in the Word of God. Let’s consider a man who got what he wanted but lost what he had. That man in question was named Esau. Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac. Because of his position as the firstborn, he had the right of the birthright. We may not appreciate the significance of this position in this day, but the birthright ensured that the firstborn child held authority in the family second only to the father. The birthright would ensure that the firstborn would succeed his father as head of the family. To hold the birthright would mean honour throughout the generations for the firstborn son. The birthright meant not only authority, but it ensured a double portion as an inheritance for the firstborn son. Let’s study this biblical account so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

I’LL GLADLY GIVE YOU MY BIRTHRIGHT TOMORROW FOR A BOWL OF RED BEANS TODAY. I confess—I love cartoons. Whether this is a weakness or not, I’ll let you decide. Nevertheless, I love cartoons. This is especially true of older cartoons that actually sought to be humorous without resorting to discussions of bodily functions. Perhaps some of you, especially if you are of a certain age, will recall a character named Wimpy that was a regular character in Popeye cartoons. If you recall Wimpy, then you will know that the line for which he was remembered was, “I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Wimpy was always trying to con someone into feeding him for free. Perhaps that was the situation for Esau, or more likely in light of the view presented in the Word of God, we witness a man who despised him birthright.

Esau appears to have been what we might say was a man’s man. He was a hunter, a bowman, practised in the art of hunting. Apparently, he was an accomplished hunter; the Word of God says that “Esau was a skilled hunter” [GENESIS 25:27]. However, any hunter can tell you that there is a great difference between hunting and harvesting. Often, when returning from an unsuccessful hunt, hunters will say, “This is why it is called hunting.” The animals don’t always co-operate, and the work can be arduous. That appears to have been the case on the particular day that is described in our text. Esau had spent time in the field, and he had either exhausted his food during the pursuit or he had not wanted to spoil his chances at game by lighting a fire to cook or to give away his presence by eating something.