Why was it essential that God's sovereign will be accomplished in Abraham's family?
It was essential because the promised Messiah and Redeemer would come through Abraham’s family line. The birthright involved spiritual leadership, but in this family it meant more than being family priest. God’s sovereign will had to be accomplished so the Redeemer could come. Esau forfeited it through no faith, and it fell to Jacob.
Les explains that the birthright was the spiritual side of the family position, and the eldest son was more or less the priest and spiritual leader of the family. But with the little family coming out of Abraham, it was more than being family priest: through this line the promised Messiah, the Redeemer, would come. That is why it was all important that God’s sovereign will be accomplished. Esau, born first, could have been in the line of the Messiah, but he canceled it because of his no faith, so it fell to Jacob. Jacob got the birthright, not really by deceiving. Isaac also gave the decree that Jacob was to have the blessing, and in the ancient Middle Eastern world, such decrees stood and could not be changed, right or wrong.