Jacob - Pt. 2

 

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.5) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. When Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:27-34 ESV).

 

As Jacob grew up, his life began to take a very different course from that of his brother, Esau. Not only did Jacob and Esau have different interests and personalities, but their parents’ favoritism likely fueled their sibling rivalry. And in the back of Jacob’s mind, there was probably often a reminder of God’s response to Rebekah—a prophecy saying that “the older [brother] will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).

 

Have you ever been frustrated by the feeling that you were not getting what you deserved? Knowing that God intended to bless him, Jacob took steps to secure that blessing for himself. And Esau, whose hunger for soup overruled his common sense, cooperated by selling his birthright.

 

Perhaps like Jacob, we often see God’s blessing as something we should have—or maybe even deserve—and we think we need to seize it or secure it by making some kind of deal or bargain. But blessings from God are an undeserved gift. They cannot be purchased for any price other than the blood Christ gave for us on the cross. Yet as Jacob’s story will show us, it can take a lifetime to set aside our human tendency to struggle against the work of God and to receive his love as a gift.

 

That is one of the most difficult lessons to be learned from the Scripture. It is rooted in our belief that we deserve to be treated fairly, with favoritism or prejudice. The truth is we have been given much more than we deserve or earn. The Apostle Paul wrote that we all deserve death (cf. Romans 6:23). Our sin is without excuse. Yet, in our sin and death Jesus comes with grace and blessing. Until we recognize how great that gift is in comparison to what we “deserve” we will never truly feel blessed.