Caring About What’s Important

Caring about What’s Important

Q: Esau sold his birthright (the privileges he received for being the firstborn) to his brother Jacob in exchange for what?

• a. pieces of silver
• b. seven sheep
• c. a bowl of stew

In Old Testament times, being the firstborn son was an honor. He received a double portion of the land and money, as well as the right to be the leader of the family and the spiritual leader when the father died. For Jacob and Esau, it meant the older one would carry on God’s promises to Abraham to become a great nation, dwell in the land of Canaan, and be an ancestor of Jesus.

One day Esau came home very hungry from hunting. He wanted some of the stew Jacob was making. Jacob asked for Esau’s birthright in exchange for it. Esau gave him all the privileges of being the firstborn for a bowl of stew.

It was a great honor to be the firstborn, but Esau was just thinking about how hungry he was in the moment. The future blessings and the role of being the spiritual leader didn’t seem important to him. Those things meant a lot to Jacob, though, and that’s why he asked for the birthright.

Esau didn’t seek after God. He didn’t desire the things God wanted to give him. He gave away his birthright for something he could have right then. That is something we still do today. Sometimes we don’t think about what is really important, only about what we want right now. But when we choose that, we may miss out on something much better.

For You

Do you look for God’s plan and make good choices for yourself, or do you mostly choose what you want right now? Ask God to help you make good decisions for yourself instead of giving in to your desires.

Answer: c

“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.   Genesis 25:32-33

(The Whole Story: Genesis 25:27-34)