What do we value? (Gen 25:27-34)
Gen 25:27-34
When I was a teenager, my Dad bought me a big Webster’s Dictionary. This was before the internet, so printed reference books were a real asset for looking up information. Additionally, at the time in Hungary, English-language books were hard to come by, so Dad must have scoured second-hand bookshops for ages or ordered it in at great expense. He himself had an abridged edition, but he wanted to give me the more extensive one. Sadly, I was put off by its enormous size and heaviness and preferred Dad’s, which was easier to handle. He tried to convince me that I would benefit more from the full edition, but I was adamant, so he gave me his and kept the one intended for me. I still have that abridged dictionary and whenever I see it, I am reminded how foolish I was not to recognise the value of the full version that I was offered.
Brothers and birthright
In today’s reading, Esau had the honour of being the first-born, yet did not appreciate his birthright. He comes across as a rough-hewn man’s man, hairy, a hunter and an outdoorsy type (Gen 25:27), with physical appetites and an impatience to have them met. In contrast, Jacob is more quiet or sophisticated (Hebrew tam; v.27). The word means something like ‘perfect’ or ‘complete’ mostly in a moral sense, but this seems inappropriate here. Rather, he may be complete socially (i.e. quiet, peaceful) or in the sense of being ‘refined’.[1] It must have been galling for Jacob that as a twin, only a few minutes separated him from the privilege of the birthright. The passage does not explain the significance of the birthright, but it would generally involve a double portion of the father’s wealth. The material benefits matter, of course, but there is also emotional value in the passing down of that special inheritance to the firstborn, who is meant to carry on the legacy of the father.
The transfer of the birthright
Given this context, Esau’s actions are particularly horrifying. Yes, Jacob is opportunistic in the way he uses his brother’s physical need to get what he wants, but at least he fully appreciates the value of the birthright. He knows what matters. Esau is exhausted – perhaps the hunting trip did not go well – and now he is hungry (Gen 25:29). A time of need is a vulnerable moment, but it also reveals his priorities. Finding immediate relief is everything. In fact, it becomes a matter of life and death (Gen 25:30), even though Esau is unlikely to have been literally on the verge of death, but such is the power of desire. Swearing an oath presumably makes the transaction legal and Esau can finally eat (Gen 25:33). But now comes the surprise: the rich, red stuff that he may have assumed to be a meat stew was only lentils (Gen 25:34)![2] He was cheaply bought indeed. The rare evaluative comment from the narrator underlines the shocking nature of his attitude. Despising does not refer here to Esau’s feelings towards his birthright but his lack of appreciation for it. It explains why he is disqualified from receiving the promises given to Abraham and Isaac.[3]
What do we value?
Our reading confronts us with the question of what we value. Our Heavenly Father offers an inheritance of eternal life to all who turn to Him, but so many do not see the value in this. It is too intangible, distant a possibility and life is full of urgent needs with loud and enticing offers that seem more appealing and promise to fulfil our hungers now. What we think of as valuable and an utter necessity without which we cannot live, turns out to be fleeting, a momentary pleasure that gives way to new desires almost immediately. While as Christians we cannot lose our salvation, Esau’s attitude challenges us to ask whether we trade in at times the benefits of the relationship with God for the sake of quick and instant gratification. May we recognise the true worth of our status as children of God and seek in Him fulfilment that endures.
[1] John H. Walton, Genesis, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 550.
[2] Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 178.
[3] We tend to take it for granted that only one son will continue the chosen line because that was the case in the previous generation with Isaac and Ishmael. However, the point there was that God was going to give Abraham a son through Sarah, the barren wife, which symbolises the miracle that God’s people are born out of death into life by God’s power, not by human ingenuity and natural processes. Here, both Esau and Jacob were born of the same mother, Rebekah, chosen by God to be Isaac’s wife (and leaving all behind like Abraham). Thus, it seems to me that what disqualifies Esau is his attitude.
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