Genesis 25:29-34 (Esau Sells His Birthright)
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.) 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. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Tag: Values Matter
When it comes to what we value, it is not tough to observe what we value more, when we consider our choices. Our choices are between what we value as opposed to something else. We can cast one thing aside if another option is more valued, to us. We tend to value the immediate over what is available only in the future. This is the story of what we read in the above example of Esau. Esau made a choice in the realm of the immediate at the expense of the future. We can value something now, or deny ourselves that choice and live for something in the future. God has laid several of those choices in front of us. David had the choice to value his own sexual pleasure with Bathsheba, or honor God for rewards in the future. He chose the immediate over the eternal. Our choices show what we value. Esau valued his immediate appetite over God’s blessing through his birthright. He is used as an example for believers in the New Testament:
Hebrews 12:15-16
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
We make value choices every day. That is the story of our lives. The question is what do we value more over what we value less.
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