Trading it All in...
My wife loves to make soups and chili and I love to eat them! Tortilla soup, white chili, pumpkin and black bean soup, and many more. We like the cooler fall and winter temps because we know they indicate it’s time for (more) football, fires, and soup/chili.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about a bowl of soup. At Watermark Community Church, we just finished reading through the book of Genesis in Join the Journey. In the ‘soup/stew’ story, a man named Esau trades his birthright to his younger, twin brother Jacob for a bowl of stew.
Genesis 25:29-34: 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.
Every time I read this story, I laugh at Esau. Man… what must have been in that stew for you to make that ridiculous trade?
Was it the Sam’s Club size of stew or a lifetime supply for you and your family?
Or maybe ‘a bowl of stew’ is a euphemism for all of your possessions?
Nope. A bowl of stew is exactly what you picture, a bowl of stew. If we’re going to get technical, it wasn’t really even stew. The Hebrew text says the ’stew’ was really lentils, and Esau was so hungry, he ‘gobbled it down.’ He didn’t even savor and taste his food!
Bottom line, in his short-sighted hunger, foolish Esau traded in his birthright for a bowl of lentils that he probably chugged down.
Fool? Not so fast, Scott.
You remember when you traded in your birthright for a bowl of stew, right? OK, not exactly, but:
You remember all those times you traded in full honesty and integrity so you could save face in front of your community group friends? You know, when you gave the partial picture but didn’t let them see the full picture of your sin?
Or how about all those times you looked at women with lust, while, as they would say on Seinfeld, you “treated your body like an amusement park”? Was it worth it when you shared with Kristen how you broke your promises to her?
Or the times back in the day you traded in your sobriety to get high or drunk. We won’t even discuss what happened when you were high or drunk, because you probably don’t remember what happened. Was it worth it?
Fill in the blank… whatever your sinful pleasure is: adultery, gambling, eating disorder, gossip, porn. Is your fleeting moment of pleasure worth it? Is it worth the relational carnage, the baggage that comes on the other side, the sin you commit against both God and man?
Who cares if I lose my birthright?
A birthright isn’t a term we use much anymore. I have four boys - they will equally receive from our inheritance when we die. But back in Esau and Jacob’s day, there were benefits to being the firstborn. As the firstborn twin, Esau was entitled to the birthright and blessing from his father. You can read in Genesis 27 all about Esau losing his father’s blessing thanks to the deception of Rebekah and Jacob.
The birthright, among other things, gives the recipient the privilege of being chief of the tribe and head of the family, as well as the privilege of being the spiritual leader of the family. Esau lost all of that because he was hungry, shortsighted, and foolish. And every day, we all sacrifice our birthright for a bowl of stew.
The closer I grow to the Lord, the more I realize the blessing of intimacy with Him and obedience to Him. I realize more and more that walking close with Him is greater than the very temporary pleasures of sexual immorality, the taste of any food I binge upon, or the praise of any man. And I also realize how short-sighted I continue to be when I selfishly choose a bowl of stew over the birthright the Lord has promised to those who love Him and walk with Him.
Reading God’s Word ought to change and convict us. I will be the first to admit this doesn’t always happen due to the hardness of my heart and the busyness of my soul. But, I am thankful for the days when I am convicted and challenged to choose obedience and intimacy over a bowl of lentil stew.
Your Turn:
What is your ‘bowl of stew?’ Where are you like Esau, allowing short-sighted desires to overtake longterm blessing and obedience?
What steps can you take to help prevent you giving in to your sin? Have you shared with others, including your spouse, the specifics of your struggles?
Check out SonicLight.com for excellent (and free) commentary notes.
Photo Credit - flickr, Raffizack