Genesis 25:27-34 (Common English Version)

When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.

Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright[b] today.”

Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?”

Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright.

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“Birthright” is defined as any right or privilege to which a person is entitled by birth.

When I was born, I was automatically a citizen of the United States. Unlike many among us, I did not have to study 100 questions and take a test, or be interviewed. I did not have to prove I could speak, write, and understand English. I did not go before a judge to get sworn in as a citizen.

When I was born on June 1, 1958 at Home Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana, I was a citizen right then and there. It was my birthright.

It was my birthright because my parents were citizens. So I was too.

Now, if my parents had not been citizens, but I was born in the United States, I would be a citizen because the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees it.

The idea behind the word Birthright is that I have certain privileges that are mine by birth. And where I was born and to whom I was born guarantee certain birthrights.

So when women have marched for equality, when LBGTQ+ folks have demanded equality, when black and brown people have made their voices heard for equality, it is because equality is their birthright as citizens of this nation. “All men are created equal!”

The idea of birthright goes back a long,

long way. In ancient cultures, Birthright was a transactional relationship between parent and child.

The exact meaning of birthright privilege is different in different cultures and different periods of time. And in misogynistic, paternalistic cultures, it was specifically about a transactional relationship between a Father and his sons, especially the first born son and his father.

The first born son was considered more blessed because the first born son indicated the approval of God. The first born son was the first fruits, so to speak, and the first fruits were always considered the best fruits. In many ancient cultures the first born was specifically dedicated to God, and in some cultures, sacrificed to God.

The first born son was considered the head of the household, second behind his father. If the father died, the first born son literally took over control of the family assets and affairs from his mother and siblings.

In some cultures, fathers bestowed a blessing on a child which was considered a powerful omen. The blessing usually, unless they were tricked out of it, went to the first born son.

In the scheme of things, the first born son was considered pivotal to the progression of the family lineage.

In many cultures, when it was time to dole out inheritance, the first born son received a double portion or more. The other sons received a single portion and daughters were simply left out of the will.

Being the first born son, having the birthright, was a big deal.

Which is what makes the story in Genesis 25 so puzzling.

There are twin brothers, Esau and Jacob. Esau is older by a minute or two. So, according to the doctrine of birthright, Esau has all the good stuff coming his way.

As the two boys grow up, they pursue different interests. Esau is an outdoorsman, while Jacob stays closer to home. If truth be told, Esau is his father‘s favorite son and Jacob is favored by his mother.

One evening, while Jacob is cooking stew, Esau returns from hunting tuckered out and hungry. He smells the stew and sees it boiling in the pot. Feeling famished, Esau shouts at his brother, “I’m starving. Give me some of that red stuff.” No please, no appreciation of the culinary properties of the stew Jacob is making. Just, “Gimme some of that red stuff.”

I assume this makes Jacob mad. And Jacob, being wily and manipulative and perhaps a little mean, uses the occasion to grab a hold of something he has always wanted, but was two minutes too late to get.

He says to his brother, “Sure, I will be glad to serve you some soup, if you will give me your birthright.”

Soup - birthright

Soup - Inheritance

Soup - Family leadership

Soup - Family blessing

Soup - Family control

Soup?

Well Esau must be really hungry. And to be honest, maybe not too bright, as he responds to Jacob by saying. “I am so hungry. I will give you my birthright! I swear.”

Well, that was that.

Jacob goes on to be Israel, the father of the 12 tribes, the patriarch of the kingdom.

The nation of Israel is referred to as Jacob over 30 times in the Psalms and almost 90 times in the prophets while Esau is relegated to the trash Heap of bad decisions.

He gave up his birthright for soup, must been some mighty fine soup.

You have heard of people giving up their birthright or their inheritance for something noble, a prince gives up his claim to the throne because he is in love, a millionaire’s child gives up her inheritance because she has taken a religious vow of poverty. But for a bowl of soup?!? Wow.

As I read the story, I confess my concern that many within the Christian community, national Christian leaders, churches, pastors, and lay folks have traded their spiritual birthright for the soup of political power and prestige. They have given up their birthright to gain a seat at a table where they do not belong. I cannot imagine that it will end well for the church as it’s reputation is further tarnished and its spiritual authority is lost.

There is another story in the scriptures about giving up a birthright. You know it well.

There is in Christian theology an understanding that the God-head exists in three persons or personalities- There is the Creator, there is the υιός, there is the Holy Spirit. As Christians explain it, there is a moment in time, or a timeless moment, when the υιός του θεού, son of God, made a proclamation of liberation and chose to abandon the divine birthright for the sake of humanity, for women and men, for you and me.

The Apostle Paul quotes a first century hymn in Philippians 2 when he writes, Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: “Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” These are the words people sang as they gathered to worship.

Wow.

Giving up his birthright as deity, to come to us.

Giving up the glory, to be in our midst.

Giving up the majesty, to encounter humanity.

Giving up the divine privilege, to show us what a loving God looks like.

Giving up that for what?

To start life as a refugee with a bounty on his head,

to grow up in poverty,

to be misunderstood,

to be shamed,

to be judged,

to be rejected,

to be so alone that the presence of God seemed impossibly far away,

to experience the last breath of human life.

St. Augustine describes it this way, “Humanity’s maker was made human that He,

Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast;

that the Bread of Life might hunger,

the Fountain might thirst,

the Light would enter the darkness,

the Way might be exhausted on its journey;

that Truth might be accused by false witnesses,

that the Teacher of peace might be beaten with whips,

the Foundation of the universe might be suspended on wood;

that Strength might grow weak;

that the Healer might be wounded;

that Life might die.”

That is the noble act of giving up a birthright.

For what, for whom, would you give up yours?

Amen.