How Much is the Soup of the Day?
Posted by: ba <ba@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Fidelity
How Much is the Soup of the Day?
by Mike Benson
Esau returned home exhausted from his hunting
excursion in the field. Driven by hunger, his
first thoughts turned to the all-you-can-eat
buffet at "the Tent Dweller's Restaurant" (Gen.
25:27). The Record says, "And Esau said to Jacob,
'Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am
weary'" (v. 30). The Hebrew phrase translated,
"feed me", means "let me swallow" or "let me
gulp". Table manners didn't matter to Esau; he
simply wanted his usual /1 hearty meal of red
lentil soup. /2
According to the waiter, the "current market
price" for the soup of the day was one birthright.
"But Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright as of
this day'" (v. 31). The hunter's need for
sustenance was so intense that he agreed to the
exorbitant price (v. 32). Jacob offered his elder
sibling a bowl of soup on the condition that Esau
would make an oath /3 before God as to his
intentions. Esau consented and the two brothers
exchanged destinies over a single meal. Call it a
Patriarchical "power lunch".
The birthright referred to the right of the first
(born) or "primogeniture". It was typically /4
bestowed upon a man's eldest son and included at
least three factors: 1) a double-portion of the
father's estate (Deut. 21:17), 2) the
responsibility of providing for the families'
physical welfare, and 3) spiritual oversight of
the entire clan (Gen. 18:19; cf. 22:9; 26:25;
35:1).
Sadly, the only aspect of the birthright that
absorbed Esau's thinking was the double-portion
(cf. Gen. 27:31). He was a man of "the here and
now" and attached no value to the eternal aspects
of his inheritance. Note: "And Jacob gave Esau
bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank,
arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his
birthright" (Gen. 25:34). It is interesting to
observe that Scripture judges Esau's conduct — not
Jacob's. /5 The word "despise" means "to
disesteem". It is elsewhere rendered "disdain" or
"condemn". Esau underestimated his heritage. It
would have not only given him possession of
Isaac's property, but it would have put him in the
ancestral line of the Promised Seed (cf. Gen.
12:1-3; 17:1-8; Gal. 3:16)! /6 Commenting on this
occasion, the Hebrew writer said, "Lest there be
any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who
for one morsel of food sold his birthright" (Heb.
12:16—emphasis mine, mb). To "profane" something
is to make that which is sacred common or
temporal. This is exactly what Esau did; he sold
his hallowed birthright for a simple bowl of red
soup.
"How foolish," you might say. How foolish, indeed.
Brethren, how many of us are guilty of quite the
same thing today?
. How many of us trade time with our wives and
children for our vocation? We exchange our eternal
lineage (cf. Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1; 2 Tim. 1:5) for
temporal wealth and prestige.
. How many of us trade a thorough study of the
Sacred Word for hours of watching television?
. How many of us trade Sunday evening communion
with the Sovereign God of the universe for a
football game (i.e., the Super Bowl) on Sunday
night? (Ironically, some "shepherds" of the local
flock even move or cancel worship services for
such an event)! Shades of Esau!
. How many men trade loving intimacy with their
wives for internet pornography?
. How many of us trade Lord's Day morning worship
for late-night activities Saturday evening?
. How many of us change entertainment and
recreation for the opportunity and privilege of
serving needy saints?
. How many of us trade involvement in secular
service organizations (e.g., Kiwanis, Rotary,
etc.) for the honor of teaching a Bible class in
our home congregation?
. How many of us trade the blessing of a generous
contribution for excessive credit card debt?
Beloved, we like Esau, have a sacred birthright
(Rom. 8:16-17; Heb. 12:23). And when we fail to
live up to its demands and privileges, we forfeit
the inheritance our Father wants to bestow upon us
(cf. 2 Pet. 3:9).
Esau paid far too much for the soup of the day.
What about YOU, dear child of God? Will you
cherish your "right of the first", or will you
despise it (Matt. 16:26)?
/1 Evidently he had eaten Jacob's soup before. v.
29
/2 Lentils referred to the edible seeds from a
plant pod.
/3 An oath was a promise made with a solemn appeal
to God to render judgment in the event the promise
was not accomplished.
/4 Exception—1 Chron. 5:1,2
/5 Jacob had the right goal, but not the right
method. He tried to "help" God (v. 23) along by
his own actions.
/6 Note: "Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot
Jacob..." (not Esau). Matt. 1:2
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