Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without
which no man shall see the Lord: Looking
diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,
and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one
morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know
how that afterward, when he would have
inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he
found no place of repentance, though he sought it
carefully with tears. (Hebrews 12:14–17)

The strife between the descendents of Jacob and
Esau has persisted for long centuries, and these
same fires continue to rage even now in the
Middle East. We find the beginnings of this ancient
rivalry here in the inspired account of their birth
and upbringing. Many of us know first-hand just
how heated sibling rivalries can become, and the
favoritism shown by Isaac and Rebekah in this
case (25:28) certainly could not have helped
matters. When Esau sold his birthright as the
firstborn to his brother Jacob, the Bible says that
“thus Esau despised his birthright” (25:34). Do any
of us ever do the same?

When we read this story, we may wonder why
Esau would do such a foolish thing. Was he really
that hungry? Clearly he wasn’t, since the Bible
condemns his action, calling him a “profane
person.” Did he think that he couldn’t really lose
the birthright since he was still the firstborn? There
are many preachers today who assure people that
no sin in their lives can cause a “born-again
believer” to fall from God’s grace (cf. Gal. 5:4).
Whatever the reason for Esau’s folly, it was
certainly an action he came to regret, and we will
regret it also if we sell our birthright as God’s
children.

We sell our birthright any time we place
something common above that which is holy. Esau
counted “one morsel of meat” more valuable than
his father’s blessing. This shows us just how little
value he placed on this priceless possession. There
are some today, however, who would sell their
birthright as God’s children for even less. Some
would trade the opportunity to assemble with the
saints for a day on the lake. Some would
exchange the joy that comes from giving back to
the Lord for purchasing a bigger television set. Our
heavenly Father has blessed us as His children with
“all spiritual blessings” (Eph. 1:3). For these
unmerited blessings we should thank God
everyday, considering the fact that, if we despise
them as Esau did, we could lose them forever.

After reading the text listed below, see if you can answer the following questions.

Non-trivial Questions (Genesis 25:1–26:35) 

1. What was the name of the wife Abraham
married after Sarah’s death?
2. How old was Abraham when he died?
3. How old was Isaac when Jacob and Esau
were born?
4. Where did Isaac go during the famine?
5. What mistake of his father’s did Isaac
repeat while in a strange country?
6. What were the names Isaac gave to the
wells he dug?