Genesis 25:29-34
Esau Sells His Soul

  1. The Baseness of Esau
    1. What Esau Has Just Done
      1. Does Esau understand what he has done?
        1. How could he, or he wouldn't have done it.
        2. But we know. We understand what it means that he has sold his birthright-his right to inherit this land-for a bowl of vegetable stew. The fool!
      2. He has given away wealth that cannot be counted, blessings beyond number!
      3. He has given away heaven itself!
      4. He has given away eternal life!
      5. Remember what Genesis is about
        1. Adam lost paradise, he lost heaven, he lost entry into God's rest, he lost eternal life.
        2. He was kicked out of the garden, toward the east; kicked out of the place of God's presence.
        3. The rest of the book - the rest of the Bible - is about getting back to that place and regaining what Adam lost.
      6. God gave this land to Abraham as a picture of that heavenly rest
        1. Abraham comes back from the east-from the land where God does not dwell-to gain this land.
        2. He meets God there; for this is the place of God's presence
        3. He receives the blessing of God there.
        4. God gives him an everlasting covenant (17:19)
      7. Abraham believes God and is reckoned as righteous in his sight.
        1. He buries Sarah in this land, a sign of his faith. Though she is dead, yet God's covenant is everlasting. His covenant will not fail her. She will rise again.
        2. God can do this. After all, he brought Isaac from Abraham and Sarah, who were as good as dead.
        3. God can give life to this mortal body as well.
        4. So even death does not shake his confidence in the promise of God.
        5. He dies in that same faith, having passed on the covenant to Isaac.
        6. God will be faithful to Abraham to fulfill all his promises.
        7. God's everlasting covenant will be confirmed; Abraham will rise again.
      8. This is what Esau throws away in order to fill his belly
    2. The Folly of His Action
      1. It is as bad a deal as when Adam gave up Eden for a piece of fruit
      2. His grandfather, Abraham, left behind all that he had to come to this land.
      3. Esau has given it away for a bowl of stew.
        1. And not even a good, meaty stew.
        2. Lentil stew. Bean stew
        3. He is dumber than Jack and the Beanstalk!
          1. At least Jack got magic beans (and he only traded a cow)!
          2. Esau gets ordinary beans (and he trades heaven for them).
      4. Who can express the stupidity of such a man?
      5. He is gross and foul and wicked.
      6. He comes in from the hunt, exhausted, and says, "Let me swallow some of that red stuff." His speech is uncouth, ill-mannered. The translation doesn't really do it justice.
      7. Jacob says, not a problem, just give me heaven, your right to eternal life, your entry into the presence of God.
      8. Esau replies, why not? I'm hungry aren't I?
      9. So Esau swore to give it to him. He ate. He drank. He got up. He walked away.
      10. He is clueless, but Scripture is not. Esau has despised his birthright.
      11. He gave up eternity for a single meal.
  2. The Single-Mindedness of Christ
    1. The Temptation to Give up His "Birthright"
      1. Compare Esau to Christ.
      2. Christ came into this world in covenant with God
        1. He came to do the Father's will and thus earn the Father's reward.
        2. He came for no other purpose. "Behold I have come to do your will, O God," the Psalmist says. Hebrews applies these words to Christ.
        3. He came, by his own statement, "to fulfill all righteous."
        4. He taught his disciples that he must enter glory, but through many sufferings. These sufferings did not deter him.
      3. Consider Christ in the wilderness, having fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.
        1. Was Esau more hungry than that? Hardly!
        2. Yet Satan comes to Christ and says, satisfy your hunger! Turn these stones into bread.
          1. And Jesus says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
          2. He was hungry. His stomach was growling. He was faint and weary.
          3. But still, he said, bread is not the most important thing. I will feed upon the word of God. I will do his will. I will believe his promises. I have food and drink aplenty in these things, though my body should starve.
        3. So Satan tempts him again. Throw yourself off the temple
          1. Prove that you are the Son of God by some other means than going to the cross!
          2. But Jesus tells him he must not tempt the Lord God
          3. He knows that to do this would be sin, and he would forfeit the heavenly reward.
        4. And Satan at last says, bow down and worship me and I'll give you that inheritance.
          1. I'll give you the whole world and you won't even have to suffer for it.
          2. But Jesus again refuses, saying he must worship and serve only the Lord God
        5. Thus he retains his right to gain the heavenly reward.
        6. He will gain it by great suffering and sorrow.
        7. Esau doesn't even pass the first test. He suffers a little from hunger and he gives up! Here! Take my heavenly reward; my belly grumbles!
    2. The Steadfastness with Which He Persevered
      1. The temptations of Satan were only the first that came to Christ in his public ministry.
      2. He was thereafter tempted always to give up the heavenly kingdom to accept an earthly one, to attempt to gain the inheritance by some means other than suffering.
      3. Consider the joy with which he must have heard Peter's confession of faith
        1. You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God
        2. So he began to show his disciples that he must got to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day
        3. And Peter rebukes him, "God forbid it Lord! This must never happen to you."
        4. Get behind me, Satan! Jesus cries
          1. You are just like the tempter in the wilderness, telling me there is a way of inheritance other than the cross.
          2. He rebukes Peter for being mindful not of the things of God but the things of men.
        5. Esau's temptation wasn't nearly so sophisticated. He fell at the first hurdle. He was mindful of the smallest of the things of men, the hunger of his belly. He could not suffer even that to enter into eternal life.
      4. Jesus responded by setting his face "like flint" towards Jerusalem.
      5. They surrounded him as he came in
        1. Hosanna to the King! they cried - palm branches
        2. They had earlier tried to make him king by force, but he had escaped.
        3. Now again, the multitude owns their king and wants to set him on an earthly throne, fill him with earthly food, surround him with earthly riches.
        4. He declines this earthly offer-though it is certainly a better offer than a bowl of bean stew.
          1. He'd still rather have the heavenly kingdom
          2. He is the polar opposite of Esau
          3. Esau gave up heaven for nothing
          4. Jesus won't give up heaven for anything.
      6. Though he should have to pass through the wrath of God and death itself, yet he was determined to gain the heavenly prize.
      7. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising its shame
        1. How he would have loved to avoid that if he could have!
        2. He even prayed for it, but "Not my will but Yours."
        3. He hung in agony, judged by men
        4. They mocked him, saying "If you are the Christ, come down!"
        5. Why not do it?
        6. He endures it that he may enter into God's kingdom. For you. For me.
  3. The Call to Set Our Minds on Things Above
    1. The Kingdom We Receive
      1. We do not receive an earthly kingdom that can be shaken
      2. We do not receive a kingdom that has to do with eating stew and drinking water
        1. These things perish with the using, and those who rely on them perish with them.
        2. Esau is long dead. His bowl of stew passed out of his system even before that. Whatever strength it gave him is gone.
      3. But we receive a kingdom in which our food and drink are Christ and we are nourished to everlasting life.
      4. We receive an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled
        1. It is perfect
        2. And it lasts forever
      5. The psalmist wrote of this kingdom: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom."
      6. The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places; we have a goodly inheritance (Ps 16)
      7. Evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord will inherit the earth … and our inheritance is forever. (Ps 37)
      8. We have received the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance
      9. All Else Pales in Comparison
        1. It is like a treasure hidden in a field
        2. It is like a pearl of great price
        3. Though we give up all else, yet this kingdom is worth it
    2. The Call to Imitate Christ, Not Esau
      1. Therefore, let us not be profane and godless like Esau
        1. All the stew in the world wasn't worth what he paid
        2. All the treasures and all the power this life can offer weren't worth it.
      2. Yet, oh how we seek comfort from this world
        1. We seek the goods of this world that we may grow rich in things that pass away.
        2. We set our hearts upon houses and lands and cars and computers and ridiculous stew-like things.
        3. Why not set your heart on Christ and his kingdom?
        4. He is of infinitely more worth and his kingdom is forever.
        5. Behold he offers himself and his kingdom freely!
      3. We desire that which passes away, like Esau
        1. Guard against such a heart, brothers and sisters
        2. It is a heart of unbelief
        3. Whatever this world offers-companionship, possessions, fame-it passes away.
        4. Esau should have known that
        5. We must know this.
      4. Mt 6.18ff. - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20"but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
      5. Let us rather imitate Christ, who suffered
      6. Philippians 3:17-20 - For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame-who set their mind on earthly things. 20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
      7. So this is the way of the cross
        1. Christ told Peter "Get behind me, Satan!" when Peter denounced the way of the cross
        2. Let us not be like him (or, worse, like Esau, who was not willing to suffer anything to inherit eternal life)
        3. Christ immediately told his disciples: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
        4. The whole world is a bowl of stew by comparison!
        5. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
        6. As surely as we share in his suffering, we will share in his glory
      8. Accept no earthly glory as a substitute! Hold out for the glory that excels!
      9. Let us rather imitate Christ, who has already come into his reward.
      10. Col 3:1-7 -" If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them."
      11. So this is the way of the resurrection
      12. And one day he shall appear, and his reward shall be with him.
      13. Whatever we have suffered will fade in that day.
      14. Whatever we loved in this life will be outgloried by the glory of Christ. It will pass away.
      15. Come and seek this inheritance! It fills you more than food, it satisfies more than drink.

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