Yes — Esau was destitute of faith because he placed no value on his spiritual birthright and traded it for a bowl of soup.
As the firstborn, Esau held a birthright tied to the line of Abraham and the coming Redeemer. When he came home hungry, he glibly sold that birthright for food. He could not believe what God had said concerning the promised Redeemer, while Jacob, despite his faults, had enough faith to value the spiritual promise. His later tears were for the lost material blessing, not for the spiritual birthright.
Genesis 25:29-34 — Records the actual sale of Esau's birthright for a meal — the event that revealed his lack of faith.
Hebrews 12:16-17 — The New Testament explicitly calls Esau a profane person and says he was rejected when he sought the blessing with tears.
Hebrews 11:6 — Explains why no faith meant Esau could not please God and therefore could not be used.
Genesis 25:29-34 records that Esau came in from the field faint, asked Jacob for the red pottage, agreed to sell his birthright for it, ate and drank, went his way, and thus despised his birthright. The account shows that Esau treated the birthright as worthless when he was hungry. Hebrews 12:16-17 explicitly labels as profane a person like Esau who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat. It says that when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 11:6 states that without faith it is impossible to please God. Scripture itself connects Esau's profane disregard of the birthright to unbelief and rejection.
Les Feldick teaches that Esau was a man destitute of faith. He says that when Esau came in from the hunt, exhausted and hungry, he glibly gave up his spiritual birthright for a bowl of bean soup. What God had said concerning the coming of a Redeemer through the line of Abraham meant nothing to Esau, but Jacob, rascal that he was, had enough concept of what God said that he could believe it. Les also explains Hebrews 12:16-17: Esau wept that he missed the material blessing, but he never got to the place where he could understand why he missed it, because he could not believe what God had said. His tears did not change his status in faith one bit. Les applies Hebrews 11:6 to the situation: no matter how morally good Esau may have been, without faith he could not please God, and God couldn't use him.
Les explains that the birthright involved more than inheriting wealth. As firstborn, Esau would have received a double portion of Isaac's material goods. More importantly, the birthright was tied to the spiritual line of promise through Abraham — the line through which the Redeemer would come. Jacob recognized there was something to gain in the spiritual realm by being in that line; Esau did not. Esau was interested in the double portion of wealth, but the fact that Jacob was in the line of the Messiah meant nothing to him.
Hebrews 12:17 says Esau was rejected because he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Les says that verse is hard to understand until you realize that Esau did not understand why he missed the blessing. He wept that he missed the material blessing, but he never got to the place where he could believe what God had said. Even after all his weeping, his status in faith did not change one bit; he did not come out of the experience saying, 'From now on, I'm going to believe what God says.'
Les teaches that when a person has faith, he automatically knows right from wrong. But Esau, being destitute of faith, was incapable perhaps of knowing right from wrong. Lack of faith affects behavior. Les compares this to teenagers today who have no sense of right and wrong because they are not taught, and notes that faith changes that. He also says the reason people today are turned off by Christianity and don't want spiritual things is that they are destitute of faith; they demand proof instead of believing a sovereign God.
Esau's Hungry Bargain
Les sets the scene: Esau came in faint from hunting, the aroma of bean soup overwhelmed him, and he cried that he was about to die — the moment that led to trading his birthright.
The Birthright Requires Faith
Les states plainly that Esau sold his spiritual birthright for soup because he was destitute of faith; the promised Redeemer meant nothing to him, while Jacob could believe the promise.
Hebrews Explains Esau's Rejection
Les explains Hebrews 12:16-17 by showing Esau could not understand why he missed the blessing because he could not believe what God had said.
Faith and Moral Discernment
Les says a person of faith knows right from wrong, but Esau was so destitute of faith that he was possibly incapable of knowing it.
Without Faith, Impossible to Please God
Les applies Hebrews 11:6 to Esau: without faith he could not please God, so God could not use him, regardless of how moral he might have been.
Unbelief and Behavior
Les teaches that lack of faith shows up in behavior, using Esau and modern teenagers as examples of losing the sense of right and wrong.
Tears Do Not Produce Faith
Les insists that even with tears, wailing, and crying, Esau's status in faith did not change; he never decided to believe what God said.
The Double Portion vs. the Messiah
Les contrasts Esau's interest in the double portion of Isaac's wealth with his indifference to being in the line of the Messiah.
Genesis 25:29-34: And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 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. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 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.
This is the historical event where Esau sold his spiritual birthright for a single meal.
Hebrews 12:16-17: 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.
The New Testament commentary on Esau, calling him profane and showing that tears did not reverse his rejection.
Genesis 27:34: And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
Esau's bitter response when he realized the blessing had already been given to Jacob.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The underlying principle: Esau's lack of faith made it impossible for him to please God.
No. Les says his hunger was not the full reason; the deeper issue was that he had no faith. When he came in from the hunt and smelled bean soup, he glibly gave up his spiritual birthright, showing he had no concern for spiritual things.
No. Hebrews says he sought the blessing with tears but found no place of repentance. Les explains he wept over missing the material blessing, but he never understood why he missed it, and his tears did not change his faith status.
Because Jacob, despite being a rascal, had enough concept of what God had said about the coming Redeemer that he could believe it, while Esau could not. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Watch the Teaching: The Birthright Explained: Why God Chose Jacob Over Esau