Genesis 27:30-40
30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
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.
35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
Esau’s pleading and tears could not undo what had happened. When he so casually sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage, he demonstrated to the Lord just how much he did not care for Spiritual things. His heart and head were filled with fleshly desires. Because of this, a seed of bitterness took root in his soul –
Hebrews 12:15-17
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 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.
Esau’s repentance was not genuine. He was grieving over what he had lost – not expressing Godly sorrow for what he had done. Children often think they are only wrong when they are caught. Esau was the same as a naughty child, only longing for the blessing, not desiring to be right with the Lord. We can be reminded of the many Replacement Theologists – who attempt to take for themselves all of the blessings promised to Israel – without desiring the conditional basis for the blessings. Many, many people only express sorrow for sin – when they are caught.
37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Isaac predicts that Esau will continue in his warlike mindset – “by the sword thou shalt live.” Certainly, an ominous and accurate statement of where the descendants of Esau are to this very day. Esau ultimately allows his bitterness to turn to anger. Anger, when allowed to proceed unchecked, gives birth to hatred and fighting, and can even lead to murder. Today – the descendants of Esau – are still harboring enmity towards Jacob. Today – they call themselves Palestinians.
TWO WRONGS DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT! FOUR WRONGS ARE EVEN WORSE!!
- Isaac was fully aware that God had told Rebekah even before the twins were born that “the elder shall serve the younger.” Isaac also knew that Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob. Despite that, Isaac chose to ignore these rather remarkable facts.
- Rebekah attempted to anticipate God, whereby she instigated a terrible deception rather than waiting on the Lord to do His perfect work.
- Esau could not have forgotten that he had sold his birthright to his brother Jacob. It would have been proper for him to remind his father of the event, and refuse the blessing outright.
- Jacob deceived his father by lying, and acting out the lie that he was his brother Esau.
For a family with so much promise and blessing, they ended in a terrible mess. Esau’s future is described in Obadiah, some refer to this as “The Obadiah War.”
The Vine Vigil 