In this daily Bible reading is the account of Isaac marrying Rebekah. Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. When he was 60 years old Rebecca gave birth to twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, so he inherited Isaac’s birthright. The boys were very different. Esau was a rugged hunter and Jacob was a more gentle person. Isaac loved Esau and Rebecca loved Jacob.
One day Esau came in from the field and was very hungry. Jacob had been cooking stew. Esau asked Jacob for some stew. Jacob refused unless and until Esau sold Jacob Esau’s birthright. Esau did so because he saw no value in the birthright. The Bible says, “Esau despised his birthright.” By this seemingly simple action, Esau lost God’s favor.
The Bible says that God loved Jacob but hated Esau. Indeed, Abraham’s genealogical line to Jesus Christ is through Jacob and not through Esau. Jacob later became the father of Israel’s 12 tribes. Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah.
Esau’s descendants would become the country of Edom, which is east of Israel. Esau’s descendants would contend with Israel throughout the centuries and would eventually cease to exist as a people.
