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Never Sell It
Genesis 25:1-34
Key verse 25:23
Here is the story about a man who accidently sold a watch box. Eric Cloutier of Orange County,
California rushed home from the hospital where his wife had just given birth to the couple’s fifth
child. He came home to participate in their neighborhood’s annual garage sale. He quickly went
through the home and found a watch box. He looked quick in it and there was nothing. It had
been there for over a year, probably worth about 120 dollars. He thought, “Oh, this could be
something nice. We don’t need it. We don’t use that.” So, Eric sold the watch box for $10 at a
garage sale on June 1. Unbeknown to Eric, however, his wife used the watch box to store her
diamond wedding ring worth $23,000. When she went to the hospital, she placed the ring
underneath the box's cushions for safekeeping. Her expensive wedding ring was gone. What a
blunder!
Have you ever given away or sold things, not knowing they were actually much more valuable
than you thought? Unfortunately, many Christians do and you could be one of them. What is the
thing we should not sell or exchange at any cost? That is what we are going to talk about today.
In today’s passage, Abraham died and the next generations came up to the stage. In this
transitional period, God continued his work through Abraham’s offspring and blessed them as
he had promised to Abraham. But not all of them received or maintained God’s blessing. I pray
through this passage that we all may live a life worthy of God’s calling.
I. The death of Abraham and his descendants (1-18)
In the course of time, Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. Through Keturah,
Abrahams had six more sons and they multiplied. When he left Haran, he had no sons. But now
he had eight sons plus their children. What did Abraham do with all his children?
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Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the
sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
Abraham gave his inheritance to Isaac while he sent off the sons of his concubines away from
Isaac to the land of the east outside of the land of promise. Why? It was because Isaac was the
only son God had promised and only he would inherit God’s blessing. Though Abraham had
many more sons, it was clear to Abraham that Isaac was his heir. To protect Isaac and secure his
position, Abraham removed all potential problems or obstacles for Isaac to live up to God’s
promise.
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Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at
a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
Abraham lived 175 years and died at a good old age as God promised. (15:15) He was buried
with his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. He successfully handed down his inheritance to
Isaac the Son of God’s promise and finished his life of faith. As Abraham did, the most blessed
life is to live up to God’s promises and pass our spiritual inheritance to our children, isn’t it?
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Billy Graham is now 94 years old. He has preached the gospel to more than 2 billion people and
has been the spiritual leader for America. His spiritual heritage had passed to his son Franklin
Graham. Franklin has served many people in need with his father’s spirit. I pray that I can leave
spiritual inheritance to my children and they can also live up to God’s calling.
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After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
After Abraham’s death was briefly mentioned, the author quickly shifted gears to his son Isaac,
saying, “God blessed his son Isaac.” We don’t know how and when Isaac moved to Beer Lahai
Roi, which was located between Egypt and the land of Canaan. God blessed Isaac. This
confirmed that Isaac was the heir of Abraham God promised (17:21) and also indicated that the
Eternal God continued to work through Isaac after Abraham.
Verses 12-18 tell us the account of the family line of Ishmael. Ishmael had twelve sons, who
became 12 tribes (16:11-12), and he lived 137 years. His descendants settled in the area from
Havilah to Shur and lived in hostility toward all the surrounding tribes. Interestingly, Ishmael
became a big nation as God promised, but he never became the promised son nor his nation
became God’s people. (17:19-21)
So far, the family lines of Keturah and Ishmael have been introduced. But that is all. We do not
know what happened to them later. They all became outsiders as far as the work of God is
concerned. Though they all came from Abraham, they never became part of God’s people. This
teaches us that not all of Abraham’s offspring received God’s blessing and also how important it
is to receive God’s blessing and live up to his promise.
II. Jacob and Esau (19-34)
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This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Now go back to Isaac, who was the promised son. Isaac married Rebekah when he was forty
years old. After the loss of his mom Sarah, Isaac was greatly comforted by Rebekah. She was
beautiful and spiritual. Isaac loved her so much and he was rich. They were a perfect couple. But
to such a perfect couple, there was a serious problem. Rebekah could not bear children even
after many years of marriage.
It is interesting that the descendants of other children of Abraham multiplied well while Isaac
the promised son had difficulty in having children. Why did the person God loved have such a
problem? We often see similar things happening to us. Unbelieving friends get jobs well
whereas you are receiving rejection letters continually. They seem to have no health problems
and live longer whereas you suffer illness. Why does this thing happen to believers? It is because
we are God’s children and so he wants us to depend on him alone by faith. Isaac did not take a
concubine to get a son. He did not seek a human solution. Instead, he prayed to God on behalf
of Rebekah. He depended on God. That is what God wants all his children to do. When Isaac
prayed, God answered and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
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Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered
his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
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It was a miracle that Rebekah was pregnant after 19 years of her marriage. Isaac and Rebekah
must have been so happy and thankful. This was a sure sign of God’s grace and blessing to his
family.
Months later, however, Rebekah felt something strange with her stomach. It was not a baby’s
usual movement or kicking. She felt some kind of violent movements in her stomach. It was
getting worse over time. Rebekah was troubled by this violent commotion in her belly and she
inquired of God.
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The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she
went to inquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her, “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.”
Now Rebekah came to know that two babies were jostling each other within her. The word
“jostle” here is translated as “struggle” in many other Bible translations. The original meaning of
this word is “crush.” They did not simply push and shove each other. Actually, they went head to
head and fought against each other as if they had tried to crush each other. I have seen some
twins fight but never heard any twins fight even before they were born. God told her two things
about the babies.
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They would be two nations and separated. Each would be a nation but they could not be
together. They would be separated in conflict.
One people would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger.
Both were the children of Isaac and Rebekah, the family of God’s promise. God would bless each
to grow to be a nation but the younger would be stronger. God would fulfill his promise through
the younger. This motif continually appears throughout the next chapters. Why did God choose
the younger over the older then? Their tradition was such that the older should be the heir. The
answer may not be simple, but we can find a reason in the rest of the passage. Let’s see how
they were born and grew.
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When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to
come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him
Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named
Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
As the pregnancy was unordinary, their birth was also unordinary. The first was red and his
whole body was covered with hair. Have you ever seen any newborn baby with all the body
covered with hair? It should be strange and even odd. Anyway, he looked manly and they
named the first Esau, which may mean hairy. What about the second? As the first came out, the
second also came out almost at the same time, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel as if he had
struggled to come out first. So, he was named Jacob. He seemed to be very tenacious. As we can
see, from the birth these twins were very different in appearance. But as they grew, their
characters and propensities were totally different as well. Let’s see how they grew.
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The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob
was content to stay at home among the tents.
Esau became a skillful hunter. He loved the riding horse in the open country, chasing and killing
wild games. He was a muscular and macho man. This kind of man is popular particularly among
women. Some woman says that Esau was a cool guy. Isaac loved Esau because Esau was his first
son and often times after hunting he brought some wild game Isaac loved to eat. In contrast to
Esau, Jacob did not like hunting. Rather, he liked to stay at home, cooking in the kitchen with his
mommy. He was not like Esau. Rebekah loved Jacob probably because she remembered God’s
word and she spent more time with Jacob than Esau.
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew
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Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open
country, famished.30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”
(That is why he was also called Edom.)
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country. He was
exhausted and starving to death. As he came near home, he could smell food. The smell was so
strong and good that he couldn’t resist it. So, he followed the smell and found Jacob cooking
some stew (soup). As soon as he saw the stew, his stomach was growling more loudly and his
mouth became watery. Esau said to Jacob, “Hey brother, give me some of that stew. Quick! I am
dying.”
Jacob looked at Esau and saw the stew in Esau’s eyes. Esau was so hungry that he seemed ready
to buy the stew at any cost. In a moment, Jacob’s eyes sparkled and he proposed to Esau an
absurd and unprecedented deal.
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Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
In ancient times, the birthright was a very important thing. It belonged to the firstborn. The
family name was to pass along to him. He would also receive a chief portion of the inheritance.
More importantly, it was also a spiritual position. In the case of Esau and Jacob, God’s blessing
and promises given to Abraham and Isaac would be passed to the son who had the birthright.
So, Esau’s birthright was so important and valuable that it was not supposed to be sold or
transferred.
But Jacob dared to make a deal with Esau to get his birthright, taking advantage of Esau’s
hunger and his impulsive character. Jacob learned the importance of the birthright when his
grandfather Abraham sent off his uncles and their children. He saw how privileged his father
Isaac was by his birthright. He got all of Abraham’s inheritance. But Jacob missed the birthright
because he became the second by a nick of time. That was not a fair game to him. Jacob did not
give up and had eagerly waited for an opportunity to buy back the birthright. When he saw
hungry and poor Esau, he realized that he must seize that opportunity. He displayed a pot of
stew in the face of Esau. The smell was so tempting and irresistible. “Brother, first sell me your
birthright.” What was Esau’s response?
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“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
To our surprise, without even a little bit of hesitation Esau said, “What is the birthright to me as I
am dying? No problem, you can take my birthright. Please give me your stew.”
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But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Jacob wanted to make sure of the deal by making Esau swear an oath, “Swear to me right now.”
Then, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, saying, “I swear to give my birthright to my brother Jacob
in exchange for his stew.” Then, Jacob gave Esau some lentil stew plus some bread for bonus.
Esau ate and drank and then left satisfied. “It was delicious! Let me go to bed.”
In this way, Esau sold his birthright. How could he sell his birthright? What kind of person was
he? Let’s compare him with Jacob in terms of their value systems.
As we can see, Jacob knew the importance of the birthright and valued it. He never gave up
what was meaningful and valuable in his own right. Though his way to achieve it was
controversial, he knew the value of God’s blessing and pursued it until he got it.
By contrast, Esau did not know what was valuable and worthy. Esau did not appreciate his
birthright and failed to see its value. Even for a pot of stew, he sold his birthright. He put the
stew above his birthright; he put temporary satisfaction above eternal blessing. To satisfy his
physical needs and desire, he did not hesitate to throw away God’s blessing. Are you going to
sell a wedding ring for a hamburger? But Esau would. What was his fundamental problem?
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Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up
and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
The author commented that Esau despised his birthright. His birthright was God’s covenant
promise for him and his offspring. God would establish his kingdom through him and his
offspring. It was an invaluable, exclusive privilege to him. His birthright meant God’s blessing
and the ultimate blessing God would give was God himself. But he threw it away for a pot of
stew. He despised not just his birthright. He actually despised God who gave the birthright.
Hebrews 12:16 - See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single
meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
The Bible portrays him as godless. He had no reverence and respect in God and so despised his
blessing. Despising God’s blessing is despising God. God cannot bless those who despise him.
This explains why God had said to Rebekah, “the older will serve the younger.”
We believers have received God’s blessing through Jesus. We have received salvation. We have
the living hope of the kingdom of God. We have the heavenly inheritance. We have all. But here
is a warning for those who have received God’s blessing. “Do not despise God’s blessing.”
Sadly, however, many Christians do not appreciate the gospel of Jesus, the greatest and
ultimate blessing of God. They put more value on something else rather than on the gospel.
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Their priority is food, work, job, fun, girl and boy friends, and money. They put friends, games,
sports, and the secular value system over the gospel. Instead, they put aside or throw away
God’s blessing to satisfy their temporary satisfaction in this world. They ignored God’s blessing,
thinking that invisible or intangible things are not important. So, they make little of God’s
blessing and even sell it for something else. Such people are like pigs that do not know the value
of pearls. They rather trample pearls under their feet. (Matt 7:6) To such people, it is better to
give a pizza with pepperoni on it than giving the gospel.
The Bible warns that such Christians could lose their blessing. Do not despise God’s blessing. If
you reject it, you will never get it. If you despise it, you will lose it forever.
What do you seek? Which one do you value, a pot of stew or God’s blessing?
For the last year, we have studied the gospel through Matthew, Colossians, Acts, and Genesis.
Now all of you here have believed in Jesus and received God’s blessing through Jesus. Now you
need to keep it and grow in faith continually in the upcoming semester.
Some of you may not know the full value of the gospel yet. By the way, Jacob did not know the
full value of the birthright either, but he put God’s blessing over anything else. Then, God led
him eventually to see and enjoy God’s blessing. Likewise, when you continue to seek him and
honor him, God will surely show you more of him and bless you more.
Prov 8:17 – “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”
In 2007, a New York family bought a Chinese bowl for three dollars and displayed it in the living
room for several years. They had no idea what it was. But over time they became curious about
its origins and had it examined. Then, they found out that the Chinese bowl was the “Ding” bowl
made 1,000 years ago during the Song Dynasty. And it was sold for more than $2.2 million at
auction recently. To some, God’s blessing looks like a three-dollar Chinese bowl. But now you
know that God’s blessing is far much worth the $2.2 million dollar Chinese bowl. Do not ignore
God’s blessing. Do not lose it. Instead, cherish it and hold it fast, and you will enjoy the true
value and power of the gospel of Jesus who died for your sins and has risen from the dead.
In today’s passage, we have learned about Esau’s and Jacob’s value systems. Esau’s value
system is based on tangible value or temporary satisfaction. Those who have such a value
system live for a pot of stew and throw away real valuables. They never see God and thus never
receive his blessing. Jacob’s value system, however, is based on what lasts forever though it may
not be tangible. Those who have such a value system seek God and receive his blessing. What
makes our life blessed? Isn’t it God’s blessing?
At the beginning of this message, I talked about a man who accidently sold his wife wedding
ring. But that was not the end of the story. The couple did not give up. They tried to somehow
get it back and shared their story with the media. By chance, a couple happened to hear a story
about the lost ring just after they acquired the watch box. Twelve days later, Eric could get his
wife’s wedding ring back. Even if you lost God’s blessing, do not give up. If you repent and seek
God again, he will bless you again and your joy will be doubled.
Never sell God’s blessing for a pot of stew.