Birthrights

The following is a sermon I preach this morning on Genesis 25:19-34. Click Here to read the scripture.

Please read the scripture before reading the sermon below.

Birthrights

Birthrights are a somewhat archaic thing in our society. When we think of birthrights, many of us equate them to a modern day will. While they do have some similarities, there are some key differences. For instance, in ancient Hebrew culture, it was only the eldest son who had a birthright.

It was through the eldest son that the family name, honor, and lineage were carried through. The eldest son became the head of the family when the father passed away. In essence, the birthright gave the eldest son a position of leadership in the family and as a result, he became the family’s connection to the future. He would be the son through whom the lineage would pass. To be born the eldest son was indeed a position of honor. Not only was it a position of honor, the eldest son also received a double share of the family inheritance. This meant of all the land, and wealth of the family, the eldest son received twice as much as any of his brothers. All of this was considered the birthright of the eldest son.

Unlike modern wills, the eldest son didn’t have to do anything to earn or deserve this birthright. Birthrights aren’t like modern wills in the sense that you can easily be written in and out of them, always worrying about if you were doing enough, or if the person loved you enough. Deuteronomy even includes laws about the birthright of the first born sons, stating that the father could not give the birthright of the eldest son to a son he favored more. Not exactly like our modern wills that can easily be changed if someone doesn’t like something you’ve done. All that was required for the birthright was that the son be born first. That’s it! Birthrights were given to the son who happened to be lucky enough to be born first.

In that regard, the birthright was really a free, unmerited gift to the eldest son. After all, none of us had any control over whether or not we were born, let alone when or in what order we were born! There was nothing no way to being the first born son in a family. The birthright really was a free, unearned gift! Who wouldn’t want a birthright? This practice of giving a birthright to the eldest son was in part because parents tended to regard the eldest son as the most precious. After all, there could be no guarantee that there would be any more children, let alone any more sons. The birthright was a way of showing the value of the eldest son. What a stroke of luck it was to be born the eldest son! You would be the most valued of the children, and you received the birthright.

If you were lucky enough to be the first born son, you really should count your blessings. And yet the genesis passage today tells us that Esau despised his birthright. In this story we’re told that Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau happens to be born first, but just barely. They were born so close together that Jacob was born grasping the heel of Esau. But it doesn’t matter if Esau was born first by a matter of seconds, or a matter of years. Either way, Esau is the first born son and so Esau is the one who is to inherit the birthright. There’s no special dispensation for twins, the birthright still only goes to the first born.

But Esau didn’t put much value in the birthright that was to be given to him. It seems like he took it for granted that it would always be there. Even his twin, who he had wrestled with in the womb, who had seemingly tried to wiggle his way into being born first, couldn’t possibly take away his birthright could he? But In a moment of hunger and rash thinking, Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of soup.

A bowl of soup! Even to me, someone who really likes food, that bargain seems quite ludicrous. And perhaps that’s what Esau thought. Jacob couldn’t possibly be serious about trading the birthright for a bowl of soup could he? And Esau responds with what seems like a sarcastic and equally exaggerated remark. “I am about to die, of what use is a birthright to me?”

Sound familiar? How many of us have ever said, “I’m starving to death!” But Jacob doesn’t settle for this ambiguous remark, one that Esau could have talk his way out of later, saying he wasn’t really serious. So Jacob makes him swear an oath, that he will trade his birthright for a bowl of soup. And Esau does! He actually trades his birthright for a bowl of soup! That’s an awfully expensive bowl of soup!

When Esau swears the oath to Jacob, Esau makes a clear and deliberate choice. He chooses to fulfill his immediate desire rather than looking at long term consequences. He places more value on his instant gratification than on the future wellbeing of his family. Esau chooses present comfort over building a strong foundation for the future. Not only that, but in selling his birthright for something as small as a bowl of soup, Esau reveals how little understanding of self-worth he has. His birthright was a sign of how precious he was to the family, how much the family values him. Esau rejects his own worth, he rejects the value his family sees in him by selling his birthright for something of such insignificant value.

The text says that Esau despised his birthright. And he does indeed, devalue it and reject it by selling it to Jacob. It’s quite easy for us to despise Esau for despising his birthright. Yet we have much in common with Esau.

Like Esau each of us has a birthright. But rather than coming from an earthly father, our birthright comes from our divine Creator. Our birthright comes from our Creator who claims each one of us as a child of God, who declares each one of us is of sacred worth simply because God created us and loves us. God gives each of us a birthright. God gives each of us, a free, unmerited gift, of God’s love and grace towards us. God gives us this gift simply because we are God’s precious and beloved children. God values each one of us and shows that to us by the way God continually offers us abundant and transforming love.

Just like Esau’s birthright, there is nothing that we need to do to earn this birthright. There’s nothing that we need to do to earn God’s love for us. We don’t need to worry about God taking back God’s love for us. God loves us, simply because we are God’s children.

But just like Esau, we can despise our birthright. We can reject the love and grace that God so abundantly pours out on us. We are often guilt of selling our birthright for a bowl of soup. We all do it in a variety of ways. We sell our birthright for a bowl of soup when we like Esau choose instant gratification over the well-being of the family. Isn’t that what we do when we value fulfilling our immediate desires more than we value God’s love for us? Isn’t that what we do when we devalue God’s love for us by devaluing our self-worth? Isn’t that what we do when we devalue our self-worth by abusing things like tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs? Isn’t that what we do when we value excessive amount of work to attain money power and status more than we value the human relationships in our midst?

The list goes on and on. Our consumeristic society is continually coming up with more and more ways for us to sell our birthright. But as Christians, we’re called to resist those temptations and to honor the birthright that God has graciously given each of us. As Christians we are called to honor the birthright that God has given us by leaning into the transforming love of God.

We honor our birthright when we recognize the precious un-earnable gift that God’s love and grace really is. We recognize what a precious gift it is when we place our relationship with God as the most important thing in our life. And when we allow our relationship with God overflow into our entire lives and all our other relationships. We honor our birthright as a child of God, when we treat others as children of God. We honor our birthright when we speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. We honor our birthright when we value ourselves enough to ask for help when we need it, when we recognize that we are all still being molded and perfected by God.

It is easy to despise Esau for despising his birthright. But in many ways it is really difficult for us to avoid falling into the same trap that Esau did. Despising one’s birthright is an easy thing to do these days, it is definitely the path of least resistance, and requires much less effort on our part. But that is not what God intends for any of us. God intends to use our birthrights, to use the love that God freely and abundantly pours out on us to transform us. But not just us, God intends to transform the whole world! The whole world!

God invites us to be a part of that transformation by honoring our birthright from God. God continually gives us the opportunity to claim and to honor our birthright. Each day we are given the opportunity to recognize that we are children of God and to live in a way that honors that identity. Each day we are given the opportunity to despise our birthright, or honor our birthright. Each day we are given the opportunity to choose the love and grace of God. God continually offers us our birthrights, it’s up to us to accept them and honor them.

Amen.