Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn, and therefore the legal inheritor
of the birthright. But Esau undervalued it and sold it to Jacob.
God had chosen Jacob to possess these promises before the twins were born. But Jacob, influenced by
his mother instead of waiting on the Eternal, resorted to deception and took it from Esau.
The Eternal had said to Rebekah, regarding Esau and Jacob, that they were the beginning of two
nations“two manner of people…the one people shall be stronger than the other people,” said God, “
and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).
Their descendants, then, were to become two different types of people. The story of Jacob’s premature
and deceptive acquisition of the birthright continues, in Genesis 25:27-34.
“And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling
in tents.And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage
[boiled porridgeFenton’s translation]: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me,
I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.”
“Edom” means, literally, “red soup,” and is so translated in the Fenton version. remember
the fact that “Edom” refers to Esau. Many prophecies pertaining to the present and future employ the name Edom.
they refer to the descendants of Esau, primarily the Turkish nation today.
“And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall
this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto
Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way:
-thus Esau [despised his birthright], that would be why God hated him, even with repentance
Later, Jacob subtly took from Esau his blessing.
-
It was at a time when Isaac was old, his eyesight dimmed with age. Nearing the end of his life,
he called Esau and requested that he go to the field and hunt for venison, prepare it and bring
it to him. He would then bestow the blessing confirming the birthright.
But Rebekah overheard, and sent Jacob quickly for two kids of the goats. These she prepared
in the same tempting way that Isaac loved his venison. Then she took some of Esau’s clothes
and put them on Jacob. Now Esau was very hairy, while Jacob was smooth, so Rebekah carefully
placed the skins of the two kids upon Jacob’s hands, arms, and smooth part of his neck.
In this disguise, with his imitation venison, Jacob went in to receive his father’s blessing.
“And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn?…” (Genesis 27:19).
Isaac was surprised he had found the venison so quickly and became suspicious. Jacob lied again,
asserting the Eternal had brought the venison to him. Isaac detected the voice was that of Jacob.
“And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou
be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said,
The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not,
because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him” (verses 21-23).
-What the Birthright Included that Esau sold for dirt cheap
The spiritual promises—the promises of the “one seed,” Christ,
and of salvation through Him—the Bible calls the scepter.
But the material and national promises relating to many nations, national wealth,
prosperity and power, and possession of the Holy Land, the Bible calls the birthright.
“Birthright: native right or privilege”—Standard Dictionary; “any right acquired by birth”—Webster’s.
A birthright is something which is one’s right, by birth. It has nothing to do with grace, which is unmerited
pardon and a free gift which is not one’s right. It has to do with race, not grace. Birthright possessions are
customarily passed down from father to eldest son unless devine intervention..
“Scepter: kingly office; royal power; badge of command or sovereignty”—Standard Dictionary.
The promised kingly line culminates in Christ, and involves grace to all.
Both the birthright and the scepter were repromised by the Eternal to Isaac and to Jacob,
from that point on these two sets of promises became separated!
The scepter promises of the kingly line culminating in Christ, and of grace through Him,
were handed on to Judah, son of Jacob and father of all Jews.
the birthright promises were never given to the Jews!
Let that be repeated! The birthright promises were never given to the Jews!
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah?…” (Genesis 49:10).
“ut the birthright was Joseph’s” (1 Chronicles 5:2).
-
“And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near,
and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See,
the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the [Eternal] hath blessed:
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine [Fenton’s: increase and possession]: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let
thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee”
Materialistic promises, national in nature, every one! Not one of them pertaining to salvation.
None having to do with life after death. Nothing spiritual here! All pertaining purely to this present fleshly life!
National prosperity—rainfall, plenty of corn and wine, the fatness of the earth, or, as the margin reads,
the fat places of the earth—increase and possession. “Nations shall bow down to thee!” “Let people serve thee.”
When Esau returned and found how Jacob had supplanted him, he was very bitter. He pleaded
for a blessing, too. But Isaac could not retract the blessing given to Jacob. So he passed on to
Esau the following prophecy:
“Behold, thy dwelling shall be [correct translation: away from] the fatness of the earth, and of the
dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall c
ome to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. [a future event]
And Esau hated Jacob?…” (verses 39-41).
In verse 39, quoted above, the Hebrew preposition min should be translated “from” or “away from,” not “of.”
Actually, the prophesied lot of Esau was more of a curse than a blessing.
The Revised Standard Version translates it: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall
your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.” Moffatt renders it: “Far from rich
soil on earth shall you live, far from the dew of heaven on high.” Actually, the Hebrew words
convey the dual meaning, and both have happened to Esau’s descendants.
now Prophecy for Turkey
The sparse records of history, with other proofs, show that many of the descendants of Esau
became known as Turks. Therefore we must remember that prophecies pertaining to the latter
days referring to Edom, or Esau, refer generally to the Turkish nation.
In Isaac’s dying prophecy, he foretold that Esau’s descendants would come to a time when they
should have dominion, and then break the yoke of the Israelites from off their necks. That has
happened. The children of Israel, through sin, were driven out of the Promised Land that belonged
with the birthright. The Turks came to power and dominion and for many centuries possessed that land.
Those descendants, the Turkish people, occupied Palestine 400 years before Britain took it
in 1917. Esau’s descendants always have lusted for that land, central promise of the birthright!
The Turks have truly lived by the sword!
But let’s return to our story. Before Jacob was born, God had spoken to his mother and revealed
to her that Jacob should receive the birthright. Instead, however, of waiting for the Eternal to
bring this about in His own way, she schemed with Jacob to take it by lying and deception.
There is a lesson here for us today. As Isaac is, in a sense, a type of Christ, so Rebekah is,
in a sense, a type of the Church, in which still dwells weakness and carnality.
Sometimes we become too much in a hurry. We ask the Almighty for things He has promised
in His Word. Then we try to dictate to Him just how and when it shall be accomplished!
We need to learn to “wait upon the Lord.” He always does things in His way, and in His
own time. And He distinctly tells us that His ways are not our ways! Once we commit a
thing to the Almighty, let us have not only the trust, but the respect, for the One so great,
that we will leave the matter in His hands.
Had Jacob trusted the Eternal instead of taking this into his own hands in a wrong way,
the birthright would have come to him more honorably. Under the circumstances, Jacob,
which name means “supplanter,” had far more difficulty securing God’s blessing upon
the precious possession than his predecessors.
But after years of trial and test—after finally wrestling all night with the angel (Genesis 32:24-29)—after confessing
his name as “supplanter”—God bestowed His blessing upon Jacob, took away his reproachful name, and gave him
a new, untainted name, Israel—which means “prevailer,” or “overcomer with God.”