Hunger can blind you to the goodness of your birthright.
Esau was so hungry when he came in from field hunting. His twin brother, yet adversary, Jacob was cooking up lentil stew, and the house smelled good.
Esau asked Jacob for a bowl of soup.
Jacob said, you can have some but it’ll cost you.
The cost was Esau’s birthright—what they were both fighting for since conception in the womb (Genesis 25: 22-26).
The sensation, the drive, the reality of how bottomless starvation makes one feel, can blind one to greater substance, like your birthright.
Esau was a hunter. A hunter, in my opinion, is a seeker. Someone who knows how to strategically find and capture what they seek—whether it be meat, water, or something other.
Hunger is a natural physiological reaction. It's real.
Hunger tells our minds our body is ready to eat, wants and needs food, to sustain itself or we'll die. But food is not the only sustenance that sustains us or gives substance to life.
Esau was aware what he needed and wanted at the moment was to quail his hunger. His birthright did not hold the same value as that smell-good pot of red stew with the ladle in the hand of Jacob.
Have you ever felt like you were starving? I know I have—not realistically but I was famished for food. All I could do was think about, “What am I going to eat?”
If driving, I contemplate, “Where will I stop? How much money do I have? What can I afford? Do I have time to wait until I get home? Is there food at home? Do I want it? Will I have to cook? How long will it take to prepare a meal? Do I want to wait or eat now?”
Those thoughts go through my head in seconds. I’m driving but I am focused on when, where and what will I eat.
Can you relate?
Esau was hungry. Momentarily he thought he was going to die. The value of food, eating specifically, was greater than the value of his birthright. He willingly sold his birthright, his inheritance, for a bowl of soup and a piece of bread.
After doing so, he realized what he had lost that could not be regained and despised what he’d done.
Esau’s hunger is a living example for us. It teaches us:
Know the value of your birthright—Heavenly and on Earth.
Our birthright in Christ is a treasure. More valuable than any possession. (1 Peter 2:9)
If asked to give up or compromise our heavenly treasure—deny. (Matthew 6:20-21)
Resist the devil and he will flee. (James 4:7)
Hunger is real, both physically and spiritually, yet hunger for righteousness for the inheritance in Christ. What can we do?
- Hunt, or seek, to know your birthright in God, not man or humanity.
- Live according to the heritage God has given you and rely on His promises.
- Die to self, live for Christ = life. (Philippians 1:21)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
