Prayer: Father, may I value what You value and not despise what You have given me. Amen.
Reading: Genesis 25 key: vs. 29-34
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew. When Esau came in from the field, he was exhausted, 30 so Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me some of this really red stuff, because I’m exhausted”—that is why he is called Edom.
31 So Jacob said, “Sell your birthright to me today.”
32 Esau said, “Look, I’m about to die. Of whatever use is this to me—a birthright?”
33 Jacob said, “Make a pledge to me now.”
So he made a pledge to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
Attention: Have you ever sold something of yours and out of desperation sold it for much less than its value? Then you later came to regret your decision? Today, in a moment of frailty, Esau begs for a bowl of stew and bread in exchange for his birthright.
Being a first born, I took a moment to research birthright in the Hebrew culture. According to the Illustrated Holman Bible Dictionary a birthright was a “special privilege which belonged to the firstborn male child in a family. Prominent among those privileges was a double portion of the estate of an inheritance. If a man had two sons, his estate would be divided into three portions, and the older son would receive two.” In other words, the eldest son was entitled to two-thirds of the estate. Esau sold two-thirds of his father’s estate for a bowl of stew.
It seems to me that the term “despised his birthright” is deeply accurate. He looked down upon his birthright as worthless. The online thefreedictionary.com defines despised as; to regard with contempt or scorn: to dislike intensely; loathe.
I have witnessed the extreme attitudes among brothers, even experienced it. The text may give us some insight into how this attitude existed. In verse 28 says, “Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Mother and father, each had a favorite boy which they loved. If there is anything to caution parents about, it is showing preference to one child over the other. I’ve seen it, it does exist.
We will witness the ramifications of favoritism in the coming weeks as we continue our study in Genesis. In fact, this family is only one generation removed from Isaac and Rebekah. In this family, the man (Jacob) has twelve sons, and he has a favorite too. I encourage you to watch for the family dynamic of jealousy which emerges from playing favorites.
If you are following Yeshua as one of His disciples, I encourage you today to affirm your inheritance in Yeshua. Do not take lightly the grace He richly bestowed on us.
Action: I will avoid playing favorites with my children. I will not take lightly, my inheritance in Yeshua.
Yield: Each child deserves to be loved.
Engaged: I am engaged with Adonai in loving each of my children.
Relationship: I am engaged with Adonai when I love each of the children, He has blessed me with.
Prayer: Father, children are a blessing from You, according to Your Word. May I see them as a blessing and give them godly advice and guidance. I pray for their love and desire for You and Your Word. I pray protection over their lives. In the name of Yeshua, amen.
Memory Verse: Titus 3: 5b
5 He saved us through the mikveh of
rebirth
and renewing of the Ruach ha-Kodesh,
6 whom He abundantly poured out on us
through Messiah Yeshua our Savior,
7 so that being set right by His grace,
we might become heirs
with the confident hope of eternal life!
Music Video: Matt Maher—Inheritance https://youtu.be/4f9NWq50PVg
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”