Genesis 25:29 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a bargain between Jacob and Esau about the birthright. By God’s providence, it belonged to Esau, but by promise it belonged to Jacob. The birthright was a spiritual privilege. It included the honor of being first, the double share of the inheritance, and the promise tied to God’s blessing (Genesis 49:3).

Jacob had a sincere desire for the birthright, but he tried to gain it by unfair means, which did not fit his character as a plain man. He was not driven by pride or ambition. He wanted the spiritual blessings connected with it, blessings he had grown to value in his tents, while Esau had lost sight of them in the field. Jacob deserves praise for wanting the best gifts of God, but he cannot be excused for taking advantage of his brother’s need and making him a hard bargain (Genesis 25:31). He said, “Sell me your birthright today.” It is likely they had talked about this before, so Esau was not as shocked as he seemed. Perhaps Esau had even spoken lightly of the birthright before, which may have encouraged Jacob to make the offer.

Plain people who live with simple honesty and godly sincerity, without worldly cleverness, are often the wisest when it comes to their souls and eternity. Those are truly wise who are wise for the life to come. Jacob showed his wisdom in two ways. He chose the right time and did not miss the opening that came to him. Then, after the bargain, he made it firm by getting Esau’s oath, saying, “Swear to me this day” (Genesis 25:33). He caught Esau while he was ready to agree and did not leave him room to back out. In a matter like this, it is good to be certain.

Esau showed profane contempt for the birthright, and he made a foolish sale of it. For this he is called “profane Esau” (Hebrews 12:16), because he sold his birthright for one meal. It was as costly a bite as any since the forbidden fruit. He lived long enough to regret it, but only when it was too late. Never was there a more foolish bargain. Yet he likely thought himself clever and may even have mocked Jacob as simple and weak.

There are people who are careful about small things and careless about great ones. They can outwit others and draw them into traps, yet Satan outwits them and leads them where he wants. God often uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. Plain Jacob outsmarts clever Esau.

Esau’s foolishness shows itself in several ways. First, his appetite was very strong (Genesis 25:29, 30). Jacob had some bread and lentil stew for his meal, and was eating contentedly without game meat. Esau came in from hunting, hungry and tired, and perhaps had caught nothing. Jacob’s stew looked better to him than all his hunting. He said, “Give me some of that red stuff, that red stuff,” as the Hebrew puts it. It matched his own color (Genesis 25:25), and for that reason he was later called Edom, which means red. He was so weak that he could not even feed himself, and no servant seems to have been there to help him. So he asked his brother to feed him.

Those who give themselves over to entertainment wear themselves out for nothing (Habakkuk 2:13). They could do useful work and gain far better benefits with far less effort and danger than they spend chasing foolish pleasures. Those who work quietly are more steadily and comfortably provided for than those who hunt noisily. Bread does not always go to the clever, but those who trust the Lord and do good will truly be fed, even with daily bread. They are not like Esau, who was full one moment and faint the next.

Giving in to bodily appetite ruins thousands of precious souls. If Esau was hungry and faint, he could have found food cheaper than selling his birthright. But he was strangely taken with the look of that stew and could not deny himself a bowl of it, no matter the cost. It never ends well when people let their desires follow their eyes (Job 31:7), or when they live only to satisfy their stomachs. So do not stare at the wine, or, like Esau, at the red stew when it looks most tempting in the cup or dish (Proverbs 23:31). If we learn to deny ourselves, we weaken many temptations.

Second, his reasoning was very weak (Genesis 25:32). He said, “I am about to die.” Even if he really were near death, would nothing but this stew keep him alive? If there was a famine in the land at this time, as Dr. Lightfoot thought, then Isaac could not have been so poor and Rebekah so careless that Esau had no other food. But his appetite had control of him. He wanted only this red stew, and to excuse himself he claimed he was at death’s door. If that had been true, would it not have been better to die with honor than live in shame, to die under a blessing rather than live under a curse? The birthright stood for spiritual privileges, the privileges of God’s firstborn people. Esau was being tested to see how much he valued them, and he showed that he cared only about present discomfort. If he could get relief now, he did not care about his birthright. Naboth had a better spirit, because he would rather lose his life than sell his vineyard, since his share in the land pointed to his share in the heavenly inheritance (1 Kings 21:3).

If we think of Esau’s birthright only as a worldly advantage, his words had some truth in them. Worldly things, even the ones we love most, will not help us at the hour of death (Psalm 49:6-8). They cannot hold back death, ease its pain, or remove its sting. Yet Esau, who likely considered himself a man of rank, should have had more honor than to sell even an earthly privilege so cheaply. But because the birthright was spiritual in meaning, his low view of it was great profaneness. It is terrible folly to give up our interest in God, Christ, and heaven for the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world. That is as bad a bargain as selling a birthright for a bowl of broth.

Third, repentance was hidden from his eyes (Genesis 25:34). He ate and drank, pleased his taste, satisfied his craving, and congratulated himself on the good meal he had enjoyed. Then he got up and went away without serious thought about the bad bargain he had made, and without any real sign of regret.

So Esau despised his birthright. He did nothing to get the bargain canceled. He did not ask his father to undo it, and he did not offer to settle the matter with his brother. The deal, made in a time of hunger and weakness, was then confirmed by his irreverence after the fact. By his later neglect and contempt, he gave his consent to what he had done, and by defending it, he made the bargain final.

People are ruined not so much by doing what is wrong, but by doing it and refusing to repent. It is worse to sin and then stand by the sin than to fall and turn back from it.