God’s Plan for Esau & Jacob – Genesis 25:29-34; Romans 9:6-13; Hebrews 12:16-17

Bethel Baptist Church David Rising

Gen. 25:29-34; Rom. 9:6-13; Heb. 12:16-17 – September 27, 2026 – Sunday PM

God’s Plan for Esau & Jacob

Much has happened since Isaac has obtained a bride at the age of 40. Sarah his mother had died 3 years earlier, and his father, Abraham, would live 35 more years. Abraham married Keturah and had six children. But before Abraham passed away he sent away from Isaac to the east all of these children. Isaac was the key son in God’s promise, and we will see that carried forward tonight again.

Abraham dies at 175. But before he dies, 15 years earlier, Isaac and Rebekah had twins – Esau and Jacob. God had told Rebekah after 19 years of barrenness that she would have a child – children, twins – and that their future would be unique. Their future would be reversed: the older would serve the younger.

In other words, the conflict that Rebekah felt within her womb and heard explained by God, was about to begin.

We saw in Genesis 25:27 that the boys grew and that dad preferred Esau while mom preferred Jacob. This is my take on Isaac loving Esau and Rebekah loving Jacob. That scenario can only mean trouble.

Tonight we will look at the final six verses of Genesis 25 and see the well-known story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob. We will think about this, in light of God’s promise to Rebekah. And then we will look at how the NT understands and explains this context as we understand God’s long-range plan for both Esau and Jacob.

Next week we will look at Genesis 26 and Isaac’s dealing with Abimelech and the people of Gerar. Pray.

Many stories in Genesis are well-known and oft-repeated, and the one we examine tonight is one of them. It is the story of Esau selling to Jacob his birthright.

Last Sunday evening we covered the critical material of Genesis 25 where, after Abraham is recorded to die and Ishmael’s family is noted, that we hear about the pregnancy of Rebekah.

She, after a number of years of waiting, finally conceived. In her womb was trouble, and so she inquired of the LORD. The LORD explained to her that she had two nations in her womb.

She learned that from her twin boys would come two people who would be separated. One would be strong, and the older would serve the younger. God essentially told her that the boys would have a reversed role in life, and not just in their life, but in the nations’ life that would follow.

It would be nearly 1,000 years until we would formally see the Edomites subdued under king David as noted in 2 Samuel 8:12-14. The Edomites became David’s servants.

These two boys, Esau and Jacob, were very different right from the start. Esau was an outdoorsman while Jacob enjoyed life more indoors. He was mild while Esau was what we might cast as a rugged, hunter-type.

We ended last week with Genesis 25:28 where we saw the parental preferences: Isaac loved Esau while Rebekah loved Jacob. This favoritism would become an issue as this family grew, and we’ll see that more when we come to Genesis 27. That will be the outworking of what would appear to be the manipulations of this family.

But I want us to see today what takes place here at the end of Genesis 25 and then link it with God’s overall purposes for both Esau and Jacob as we see in the latter scriptures.

1. Esau Sells His Birthright (25:29-34)

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

We see a couple things there.

First, we see an illustration of what we had learned before about the two boys, but now it will be directed at each of the brothers.

Esau returns from the field, exhausted, and he asks his brother for some food. There is a bit of irony here since it would seem that Esau has not been successful at his craft, perhaps returning from a hunting expedition with no game.

He smells the food that Jacob has prepared, and asks him for some. He is “weary” – he is starving, as we might say. Those who do spend lots of time outside, working, playing, doing whatever you do, know what it is like to come inside after a long day ready to eat.

Notice the language that Esau uses as he expresses his desire to Jacob. He wants Jacob to feed him some food. He is worn out. This word for “feed me” is like saying he wants to gulp down some of that stuff (Hamilton), kind of like a hungry animal (NET note). He is ravished.

He asks for what Jacob had prepared – the ‘red stew.’ This is the second note of red in the record of Esau and this of course will come into play as we learn more about this.

Second, we learn here another angle on the names associated with Esau. Moses throws in this editorial comment here noting that in light of Esau’s request for the ‘red stew’ Esau’s name was also known as Edom, another word for red. And thus Esau is connected to red by both his hair or skin and now the stuff he requests from Jacob.

Edom ends up being the nation 50 miles south of the Dead Sea, formerly the land of Seir. The land itself is red in places (Petra is a city in Edom known for its rock and color.) Edom is also a very rugged terrain, much like Esau is described.

And so Moses is quick to remind us that Esau is Edom.

And so Esau begs Jacob for some food, and younger brother Jacob is more than willing to oblige … but at a price, a very high price indeed.

Now, when someone is ravished, worn out, and begging for food, they can be vulnerable. Advertisers capitalize on this in our time.

Jesus himself, in his humanity, would have been vulnerable after 40 days of fasting and being hungry, as noted in Matthew 4. There and then Satan tried to take advantage of the situation, but the Lord of course was well aware of the situation and pushed away the Deceiver with the Word of God.

By the way, I have also learned that the best time to witness to someone is when they are not starving or inebriated. They may not even hear what you are saying, let alone try to think about it and contemplate it.

And so Esau has asked his brother – “please feed me”.

And so, loving brother that Jacob was, he now responds with an idea:

31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

Don’t you just love it when brotherly love is expressed like this? Sure, I’ll give you some food, brother, but you have to sell me your birthright now. Jacob is not begging, he is demanding. This is the price. Take it or leave it.

Why not money? Why not something else? Why this issue? Why would Jacob take the initiative, the younger brother, and demand from the older that he sell him this? Had he learned what God had said to Rebekah before they were born? Was this a family conversation and given the family favorites, was there a strategy put in place to seek an opportunity like this?

Clearly, Jacob was aware of the issue of the reversal of their futures, and it appears he now seeks to obtain it in this way.

In societies at this time in history, the convention was to recognize the oldest son as the one who had the privilege of inheritance rights. He would symbolize the father, the rights, privileges in the next generation. Isaac, though the younger, had this role in the providence of God.

Precisely what the “birthright” consisted of for Esau and Jacob is unknown, although in Mosaic law the “right of the firstborn” (mišpat habbĕkōrâ) entailed a “double share” (pî šĕnayim) of the father’s bequest (Deut 21:17). Whatever the right included, it must have been viewed as valuable to Jacob’s ambitions.[1]

[1] Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, p. 393). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

It was clearly something Jacob wanted, and so he demands it in exchange for food. Both Jacob and Esau seem to have an immediate need to be fulfilled now.

32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

All Esau could see was what was right in front of him at the moment, and so he sees it as a deal worth taking. Now we see his weariness compared with how we might describe tremendous hunger – “so hungry I could just die” as we might say it.

For whatever reason, Esau puts his need for an immediate meal as greater than his birthright.

Now we must keep in mind that simply being born first did not necessarily automatically mean Esau would receive the blessing. We will see that later the Isaac will have to bestow that blessing, and of course it is there also that we see the manipulation take place.

(If my brother came in from hunting and wanted food, I think I would just give him some food. Clearly something here is taking place.)

And so Esau agrees to the price, and Jacob responds:

33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”

So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Just like Abraham and Abimelech made an agreement, now Jacob tells Esau to swear to him on that day that he would sell him the birthright.

And so it was done. Esau got his food, and Jacob got what he asked for – probably something he was eager to get for a long time.

The food of choice for Esau described in verse 30 as “red stew” is now “lentils”, a common food of the day. Sandy now and then will make a dish that some think Jacob made. It is called mujaddara, a Mediterranean dish with lentils, sautéed onions, oil, rice, and spices. It can also have meat, for those who have such privileges. It is a very good meal, especially when one is hungry and of course likes this kind of food.

Esau enjoyed the food, was refreshed, and off he went. He is satisfied and away he goes.

Jacob is also very satisfied, though the text does not say this. No doubt, he is smiling from ear to ear after this takes place.

The final comment of verse 34 gives us a perspective about what Esau thought of his birthright. His actions tell us that in the end, Esau did not think much of it. Perhaps he had heard about the favor God would have upon Jacob, and he may have downplayed it in his mind as nothing much. After all, in the end, Dad has to give his blessing to all of this, and he is in that favorited position. So he did not think of it as anything.

These few verses set the stage for what we see in Genesis 27 and of course the rest of the unfolding of Israel’s history.

In the time that remains, I want to look at two NT passages that speak to this context and make some comments about what we see in the bible about God’s plan for Esau and Jacob.

The first text we will examine is

2. Hebrews 12:16-17

Hebrews 12:14–17 (NKJV) 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The writer of Hebrews is among several things, warning the readers not to be disobedient like Israel was in the past. Instead, they are to keep their eyes upon Jesus and finish the race.

Here, he urges the readers to practical Christian living – pursuing peace, living holy lives, so that we do not run into trouble and fall short and get into trouble.

That trouble includes seeing bitterness in our lives, being defiled, and being a fornicator or profane/godless person like Esau who exchanged food for his birthright, as verse 16 concludes – who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. His actions here are compared to sinful actions. We are not to be like Esau.

Verse 17 says that after he realized what he had done, after Isaac had blessed Jacob and not him, he went bananas begging dad for a blessing. He did get one, but not what he wanted.

Esau is likened here to a godless person, a profane person who could not understand the weight of the important things in life. He is not someone to copy.

On the other hand, we might say as well that the actions of Jacob were not a good example of moralism either as he deceived to get what he wanted, thanks to the help of mom (Genesis 27).

And yet, in all of this human drama and scheming, it was God who had made the announcement when Rebekah was pregnant that the future of these boys would be reversed. God did not need Esau and Jacob, and Rebekah, to twist the matter to accomplish His will. And yet, in the end, God’s Word gets the last laugh, as it were.

Which brings us to the matter as noted in

3. Romans 9:6-13

This text is set within three chapters, 9-11, which are tough sledding. I am not proposing to digest and explain them fully this evening, and I’ll save that for our AM studies when we eventually get there. But I do want to touch on what we see here.

Let me quickly get us up to speed so we understand the context.

In the book of Romans, Paul has laid out for his readers and for us a full explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was calls as an apostle and separated to this gospel of God, a gospel that was promised before through His prophets in the Scriptures (1:1-2). This gospel was all about Jesus who was of the line of David, according to His promises. And so right from the start, Paul sets the gospel in the context of the Old Testament.

This gospel is a message about Jesus to all who believe, to the Jews first, and also to the Greeks. God’s condemnation rests upon both the Jew and the Gentile, and the only means by which any can gain a right standing before God is through the work of Jesus Christ. It is not gained by works of the law, but by faith alone. This was true for Abraham. It was true for David. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to our account by faith alone.

The sin of Adam spread to all mankind, but by the work of the Second Adam, Jesus, we by faith are justified. As a result, we are a new man, raised to walk in newness of life. Sin does not have the same grip on us like before, though we still struggle. Our hope is Christ alone, and we are blessed by the work of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

In the end, nothing can separate us from God’s love because of God’s purposes and perfect and complete salvation.

In light of this, then Paul contemplates in Romans 9 the present situation with his fellow Jews. He wishes he could be cut off from Christ if it would mean salvation for the Jews – those who were privileged with so much (9:4-5), including the promises of God. In 10:1 he will be crystal clear that his heart’s desire and pray to God is for Israel to be saved.

We pick up in Romans 9:6 where Paul continues his concern and argument:

6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.

Paul says that it was not God’s word that failed. His word cannot fail. Rather, it was something else:

For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”

Here Paul argues that simply being known as an Israelite, an offspring of Jacob, is not final determination of whether or not one is a child of God. Verse 7 says the same thing, but links it with Abraham. Abraham had Ishmael, and he was not of the line of promise. It would be through Isaac that the seed of promise would continue, verse 7.

Being a Jew by birth, verse 8, was not the test of being a child of God. Paul knew this, which is why he is heartbroken for so many Jews that are outside of the blessing of God.

Rather, he argues, that the children of the promise are counted as the seed. God’s promise came through Abraham and Sarah and thus upon Isaac. Thinking back to the promise of God and the children of Abraham, we now are reminded of Isaac and Rebekah’s story, verse 10:

10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

Though verses 10-13 contains some rather difficult verses to understand, or more likely to swallow, they simply provide additional support for the point Paul made in verse 8. The argument is this: Rebecca and Isaac conceived and during her pregnancy God told Rebecca that the older would serve the younger, verse 12. That is the main point, and verse 11 adds heavy theology to this point while verse 13 supports the same point by quoting Malachi 1:2, 3 – a book aimed at the corruption in the days of Nehemiah.

Paul is highlighting here the selection of God prior to the birth of Esau and Jacob. Just as God promised to Abraham that through his seed, from Sarah, so now that seed of promise would continue, not through the firstborn Esau, but rather through the younger, Jacob.

Paul will go on to argue that God is privileged to do whatever He pleases (9:14-24), including extending His mercy upon whomever He calls (9:24a), both of the Jews and also Gentiles (9:24b). He then cites Hosea and Isaiah to illustrate God’s future plan to extend His mercy upon that seed, even upon a remnant in the present time (9:25-29).

The issue then becomes the Jewish problem with Jesus. He became that stumbling stone that the Jews rejected, but many Gentiles accepted. The issue then turns upon faith, and the argument continues in chapter 10 and illustrates the need for preaching so that all can hear and believe.

My purpose here was not to try to sort out these three chapters, but to highlight a key text in the NT that is linked to Genesis 25. God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was rooted in God’s purposes, and that purpose would unfold as time moved along. Romans 9-11 tells us, in part, that God’s promise is yet to be fully accomplished, but one day it will indeed be fulfilled.

In the meantime, let us preach Christ to a lost world, knowing that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Thus, Genesis is extremely practical for our lives and ministry in the present. May we always learn from the past so that our present work is informed and supported by the entire bible.

Next week we will look at a passage that reminds us that so often sons face the same problems that fathers faced. How will Isaac handle it? We’ll see next time.