Was Esau sinning by selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup?
No, the sale of the birthright for a bowl of soup was not iniquitous. The context says that if Esau was starving and willing to trade it for soup, there was nothing sinful in that. The later conflict came from the blessing and the double portion, not from the birthright sale itself.
Les explains that the birthright transaction itself was not the problem. If Esau came in starving and was willing to exchange the birthright for a bowl of soup, there was nothing iniquitous in it. From ages 24 to 77, the brothers had no enmity. The enmity arose later over the blessing, which was the material side of the picture. The material blessing gave the eldest son a double portion. With three sons, the estate would be divided into four parts; the oldest received two and the others one each. Here it would be divided into three parts, with the eldest receiving two and the other one. Esau was interested in that double portion and became upset when he learned the blessing had been given to Jacob. That blessing put Jacob in the line of the Messiah, which meant nothing to Esau, but it also meant Jacob would get a double portion of Isaac's wealth. These people were wealthy, with flocks, herds, servants, and even Abraham had a good collection of gold and silver.
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Was Esau's sale of the birthright to Jacob iniquitous?
Esau's selling of the birthright for soup was not iniquitous, since he was starving and was willing to make that trade.