The birthright was the spiritual side of the family position, giving the eldest son the place of family priest and, in Abraham's line, the line of the promised Messiah.
Because Esau was born first, this birthright could naturally have been his. Yet Esau was destitute of faith, so the spiritual promise meant nothing to him; he sold the whole birthright for a bowl of bean soup. That sale itself caused no enmity between the brothers. The later, bitter conflict came over Isaac's material blessing, which carried the double portion of wealth.
Genesis 25:29-34 — Records Esau's sale of his birthright to Jacob for bread and pottage at the moment he came in faint.
Hebrews 12:16 — New Testament identifies Esau as the profane person who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat.
Genesis 25 records that the boys grew, 'and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.' When Esau came in from the field faint, Jacob had sod pottage. Esau asked, 'Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint.' Jacob replied, 'Sell me this day thy birthright.' Esau answered, 'Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?' So he sware unto Jacob and sold his birthright. After eating bread and pottage of lentiles, 'he rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.' Hebrews 12:16 later speaks of Esau as a 'profane person' who 'for one morsel of meat sold his birthright,' and notes that afterward he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. The Scripture, then, presents the birthright as a significant inheritance of the firstborn that Esau treated as worthless.
Les Feldick teaches that the birthright was 'the spiritual side of the family position.' The eldest son was more or less the priest of the family and the spiritual leader. But in this particular family of Abraham, it was more than that: it was through this line that the promised Messiah, the Redeemer, would come. That is why God's sovereign will was so important in this matter. Because Esau was born first, he could have been in the line of the Messiah, but he 'canceled it because of his no faith.' Les says Jacob got the birthright not really by deceiving Esau—there was nothing iniquitous about the bowl-of-soup transaction. From age 24 to 77, there was no enmity between the brothers over the birthright, because it meant nothing to Esau. The blessing, however, was different: it was the material side, the double portion of Isaac's wealth, and that is what later caused Esau's bitter cry.
Les says the birthright was the spiritual side of the family position: the eldest son was the family priest and spiritual leader. In Abraham's line it also placed that son in the line of the promised Messiah and Redeemer. The material side was a separate thing—the blessing—which gave the eldest son a double portion of the father's wealth. If there were three sons, the estate was divided into four parts and the eldest received two. Esau was interested in the double portion but not in the spiritual birthright.
Genesis 25 quotes Esau: 'Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?' Les goes deeper and explains that Esau was destitute of faith. What God had said about the coming of a Redeemer through Abraham's line meant nothing to Esau. So he glibly gave up his spiritual birthright for food. Jacob, on the other hand, had enough of a concept of what God had promised to believe it and be a man of faith.
No, Les says. The brothers were 24 when Jacob got the birthright, but Scripture gives no indication of enmity from that. From age 24 up to about 77 there were no hard feelings over the birthright because it meant nothing to Esau. The conflict came after Isaac gave Jacob the material blessing—the double portion of wealth that affected Esau's pocketbook. It was then that Esau cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry.
Yes, by birth order. Les says that because Esau was born first, he could have been in the line of the Messiah, but he canceled it because of his no faith, and it fell to Jacob. Jacob then got the birthright, not really through deception, but through the sale that day over the bowl of red bean soup.
Jacob and Esau at Age 24
Les sets the scene for the birthright story by noting the twins were 24 years old when Esau came home faint and begged for Jacob's bean soup.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Birthright
Les explains the birthright was the spiritual side of the family position—the eldest son as priest—and in Abraham's family it carried the line of the promised Messiah.
No Enmity from the Birthright
Les notes that the birthright trade made no enemies of the brothers; it also reveals Esau's lack of faith when he later married Canaanite women.
Material Blessing vs. Birthright
Les contrasts Esau's attitude: he cared about the double portion of wealth, not the Messiah line.
The Blessing, Not the Birthright, Caused the Crisis
Les says Esau was not bothered by the birthright but was extremely upset when the material blessing went to Jacob.
Division of the Inheritance
Les explains how the material blessing worked—eldest got two of four parts—while the birthright was spiritual.
Esau's Faithless Choice
Les says Esau glibly gave up the spiritual birthright because he was destitute of faith; Jacob could believe the promise of a Redeemer.
Esau's Character Afterward
Les characterizes Esau as a man destitute of faith and incapable of knowing right from wrong, which explains why the spiritual birthright had no value to him.
Genesis 25:27: And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
Shows the two very different personalities at the time of the birthright story.
Genesis 25:28: And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Shows Esau was Isaac's favorite and Jacob was Rebekah's favorite, the family dynamic behind the story.
Genesis 25:29: And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
The moment Esau came in faint from the field, setting up the birthright exchange.
Genesis 25:30: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Esau's demand for the red pottage, which gave rise to his name Edom.
Genesis 25:31: And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Jacob's direct request for the birthright.
Genesis 25:32: And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Shows Esau's view that the birthright had no profit to him.
Genesis 25:33: And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
The legal sale of the birthright to Jacob.
Genesis 25:34: Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
The consequence: Esau despised his birthright.
Hebrews 12:16: Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
New Testament evaluation of Esau's birthright sale.
The birthright was the spiritual side of the family position. In Abraham's line it made the eldest son the spiritual leader and, more importantly, placed him in the line of the promised Redeemer.
Because the birthright meant nothing to Esau. Les says it didn't cause any turmoil; the enmity came later over the material blessing, which involved the double portion of wealth.
Les says Jacob did not really deceive Esau. Esau freely sold the birthright for a bowl of bean soup; there was nothing iniquitous about the transaction.
Watch the Teaching: The Birthright Explained: Why God Chose Jacob Over Esau