When God likes someone, He has a reason. When God says He doesn’t like someone, He also has a good reason. So why didn’t God like Abraham’s grandson Esau?

The Torah reading תולדות Toldot (“generations,” Genesis 25:19–28:9) and its companion passage in Malachi 1 teach us about Esau’s character and insight — or lack thereof — as well as his understanding of his own parents. We also will understand why God wanted Esau and Jacob — and their descendants — to live separately.

Based on what we read about Esau’s descendants in Scriptures in later years, it’s because Esau did not teach his children properly as Abraham had done. We see that Esau’s descendants did not walk in Abraham’s footsteps, including one of Esau’s most infamous descendants, King Herod. He’s the king who ordered the murder of toddlers in Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) to stamp out the Messiah’s threat to his reign.

Abraham was still alive in Esau and Jacob were born, and they were about 15 years old when Abraham died. They would have been raised with Abraham as a significant figure in their lives for their first 15 years of life.

As we know, the Torah says that the first-born son is supposed to get the double portion of the father’s estate, but we know (from the revelation in Scripture) that Jacob valued those things more than Esau.

Eager for the hunt

Esau was more of a hunter-gathering personality. He preferred to survive by his own hands. Jacob, on the other hand, valued Isaac’s and Abraham’s house. God did not call Abraham’s family to live off the land as hunter-gatherers, He blessed them with flocks and herds so they would not need to live as hunter-gatherers but Esau preferred the adrenaline rush of the hunter-gatherer life. Esau preferred to live in the here and now, while Jacob preferred to live for the future. That is the difference between life in the flesh flesh and life in the spirit.

“When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; 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 on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”Genesis 25:27–34 NASB

Esau is being melodramatic here. Esau had already made it all the way home after his long hunting trip. Esau lived in a household with many servants to help take care of his needs. Esau was not tricked by Jacob at all. Esau reasoned that the large bowl of lentil soup Jacob was offering, was of greater value to him than the birthright that he logically believed Isaac would offer him in the future on his deathbed.

Envy: the art of counting someone else’s blessings, rather than your own

Isaac knew the reputation of the Philistines. After all the first thing they ask him is “Who’s that woman with you?” Isaac’s fear that the Philistines would kill him to take his wife is not unfounded especially since Abimelech had to issue an edit of protection for them once he found out that Isaac and Rebekah were husband and wife. If the Philistines did not have a habit of coveti...