00:00In the exchange between Jacob and Esau over the birthright, we find no lasting resolution
00:14between the brothers and no divine approval for either of their actions. However, the inclusion
00:21of the story sets up several important plot lines. The contrast between Jacob and Esau,
00:26the conflict between the brothers, and the beginnings of the fulfillment of God's promise
00:32for the older to serve the younger. Esau is described as a profane person who despised
00:38the things of God and sought a life of worldly freedom. Jacob so desperately desired the blessing
00:44of God that he would go to any means to acquire it. Esau was wild and Jacob was calm. Esau was physical
00:52and Jacob was shrewd. Esau was loved by Isaac and Jacob was loved by Rebekah. While Jacob sought
01:00to acquire God's blessings, Esau sought to fulfill his fleshly desires. Both were skilled hunters,
01:08Esau with wild game and Jacob in craftiness. Neither Jacob's nor Esau's actions in this story
01:14were exemplary. Esau allowed his flesh, his desire to satisfy his physical hunger, to take ultimate
01:22importance even over the sacred things of God. He lived to satisfy his flesh and acted on impulse,
01:30causing him to despise his birthright. Though it is clear Jacob manipulated and controlled his brother
01:36to get what he wanted, the text does not make moral judgments on Jacob's actions the way it does on
01:43Esau's. God used this event to carry out his plan to elevate Jacob to supremacy over his brother,
01:50as he had promised. As the events of Jacob's life unfold in Genesis, we will see the importance of
01:57choosing between God's way and the way of the world or for personal gain. Jacob was continually faced
02:03with choices between God's best and his own way. As followers of Christ, we are called to live
02:10differently from the world. We cannot live like Esau did, seeking to satisfy our flesh. Instead,
02:17we are to seek the things of God. However, even when we highly esteem God's blessing the way Jacob did,
02:25we are not excused from sin. We must still act in accordance with God's law, being honest and upright,
02:32even if deception is the easier option. The world is passing away, but when we do the will of God,
02:39we find eternal life.
