I have gone back to the beginning in my Bible reading and am currently reading about Jacob. In Malachi and Romans the Bible claims that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. In Romans it goes on to say that this was decided before they were even born. As I read the account of Jacob and Esau, there was a statement that struck me as odd. It says that when Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew, "Esau despised his birthright." I began thinking about why Esau's actions were so bad and it occured to me that there was something deeper going on there. Esau, as far as he knew, was the child through whom God would build a nation of people. He must have heard the stories about Grandpa Abe and how God gave him a son when it seemed impossible. He knew that Abraham trusted God so much that he was willing to give up his only son. He knew that Abraham trusted that God could raise up children for him from the stones. He knew that God had blessed Isaac and taken care of him. Despite this knowledge, Esau feared that he would be left to die of starvation. He did not trust God to take care of his well being. He left God's promise of blessing, for a bowl of lentil soup. He valued the immediate provisions more than the eternal provider. It is for this reason he despised his blessing, and worse-- the One from whom all blessings flow.
How often to we become shortsighted like Esau? Let us never be decieved into thinking that food, water, and air is what keeps us alive, it is God who is the author and sustainer of life.
