YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to be his bride. Because they couldn't have children, Isaac prayed and asked God to give them a child. God answered his prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twin boys. Even before these lads were born they fought in the womb. It was so disruptive that Rebekah asked God why this was happening. God told them, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." This was a prophecy for what would eventually happen to the twins' descendants.

When Isaac was 60 years old God blessed him and Rebekah with twins boys, whose names were Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, and Jacob held on to Esau's foot as they were being born. Jacob and Esau were certainly not identical twins. Esau had so much hair all over his body that it was like a garment.

Each parent had their favorite son. Esau was Isaac's favorite and Jacob was Rebekah's favorite. Esau was an outdoors man and loved to hunt while Jacob spent his days around the house with his mother. Jacob was cooking stew one day when Esau showed up absolutely starved. At least he thought so. He asked his brother to give him some of this stew. Jacob knew that the firstborn son was heir to the birthright and got a larger inheritance from his father. So Jacob looked upon this as an opportunity to trade Esau out of it. He told Esau to sell him his birthright first and he would give him some stew.

Esau was a short-sighted guy who thought more of his momentary hunger and feeding his stomach than the birthright he would inherit. But a birthright can be quite a chunk of cash and real estate. It is a double portion of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:15,16). So Esau said, "What good is the birthright to me?" To ensure that this was a business proposition, Jacob had Esau take an oath that he would sell him his birthright for a bowl of his stew. After this agreement was finalized, Jacob gave Esau some bread and stew. Then Esau ate and got up and left. The Bible says he despised his birthright.

God intended from the beginning that Esau would serve Jacob and that the birthright would be Jacob's. Consider the difference in these two young men. Esau despised his birthright while Jacob was willing to go to great lengths to get it. "We are left with no doubt that the writer saw in this story of Jacob's trickery a larger lesson, that Esau, though he had the right of the firstborn, did not value it over a small bowl of soup. Thus, when in God's plan Esau lost his birthright and consequently his blessing, there was no injustice dealt him. The narrative has shown that he did not want the birthright. He despised it" (The Message, page 184).

What can you, as a young adult, learn from Esau and Jacob? How can you relate this story of Esau despising his birthright and a double portion of his father's inheritance to the reward God has
for you? When you're young, healthy, your stomach is full, and everything is going well for you, it's easy to not fully appreciate the eternal reward God has for you. Physical things in this world, being like your peers, and wanting to do the things they do may lead you to despise your reward in the Kingdom. Despise simply means “to look down on, to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful.” How can you evaluate whether God really thinks you despise the place He has for you in His Kingdom? How can He know if you consider it worthless?

Jesus told His disciples, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46 NIV).

Are you like Jacob? Do you see the value in your inheritance in God's Kingdom? Are you willing to think ahead, plan, and do what it takes to ensure that you make it? And not just barely make it, but will you have a reward that you'll enjoy throughout all eternity? Do you consider the Kingdom to be a hidden treasure? Do you look upon it as a very fine pearl that has such great value that you're willing to give up going to the prom or ball games on Friday nights to show God that you do love Him? Are you willing to read your YEA lessons and try to get every hidden treasure from each lesson? Are you willing to read your devotional Bible readings every day and think about what each verse means to you? Jacob must have had the foresight to see how all of these things would pay him great dividends. Esau didn't. He concentrated on physical things like being hungry.

Jesus told His disciples, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first" (Matthew 19:29-30). God will see to it that your rate of return for what you do is absolutely enormous. Will you count the cost and be a Jacob, or will you despise the Kingdom - your birthright - as Esau did?