These two were just complete opposites. One was hairy and one was smooth; one enjoyed the outdoors and the other liked to stay in tents. One seemed to have one particular driving force (he liked to hunt), and the other was a complete man, a well-rounded man who was able to keep several balls in the air. This is the meaning in the Hebrew when Jacob is described as a "mild man." He was not one to have a laser-like focus on one interest, but was a man of great talent in several areas.
One of Esau's problems was that he could not really see that which was truly important. Whatever was before him at the time drew his complete attention. He seemed to take no thought of future problems, future blessings, or future consequences. He counted his birthright as nothing—worth no more than a meal!
This is the attitude that Esau and his people have had ever since. Just to compare the two of them mentally, in the games people play, Esau was no match for Jacob. Jacob could run circles around Esau at any time. It was not that Esau was dumb; it was just that his personality did not provide him the wherewithal to keep up with Jacob's deceptions. Twice Jacob had swindled him out of priceless inheritances! The birthright made Jacob recipient of that portion of the inheritance that belonged to the firstborn alone, and the blessing Jacob took to himself was that gift of God by which the patriarch passed on the promised family blessings for the future. These birthright blessings included the patriarchy—which was now Jacob's! We read the part where he was made Esau's master. This meant that the leadership position in Abraham's and Isaac's family passed not to the elder, Esau, but to the younger, Jacob; thus, he would become patriarch when Isaac died. Esau would be left to form his own house, but without all the advantages and wealth inherent within the blessing and the birthright.
Do you remember that I told you to tuck the word cooked away in the back of your mind? It was because of the word pride in verse 3 that I asked you to do this—"the pride of your heart has deceived you." This is the word zadon in the Hebrew and has as its root the word ziyd. This root is translated cook in Genesis 25. They are cognate words, and it seems as if Obadiah specifically used this word to make us go back and think about what happened when Jacob cooked a pot of stew for Esau. The reason why Esau took that came from his pride. He did not humbly ask his brother for some stew because he was on his last leg. He was too proud to do anything else, perhaps.
I want to make the connection between these two words. The word cook would be better translated boiled or seethed. The idea is that when water or anything else has heat applied to it, it begins to boil after a time; and it is from this "boiling up" that the Hebrews gain their understanding of pride. It was somewhat like an offended puffing up. Esau became heated and angry, and it manifested itself as haughtiness, an overweening pride. This is a trait that he passed on to his descendants. This is a clue leading us back to the similar word inspired in the Genesis account of these two brothers. Just as stew boiled up under heat, so Edom puffs itself up thinking that it is self-sufficient. God says, "No way! I can—and will—bring you down from wherever you are!"
The major flaw in Esau's character is shown in this context that involves eating. Unfortunately, far too many of us are like him. Esau was a man who could not see two blocks down a straight road on a crystal clear day, as we might say—because he was a man who was living only for the immediate present. He either had no vision, or his personality demanded instant gratification. The things that had value to him were those that he could have immediately. Now, let us reiterate what he says in verses 32 and 34. Notice how this is pointed out.
"What good is this thing?" Esau said. And he ate it, rose up, and went his way; and God says, "He despised his birthright." That is a strong word, this word "despise." It means to be scornful. It means to treat with contempt. Now notice what Paul says about Esau, in Hebrews 12.
The word "profane" is very interesting. It is a word that came out of paganism. Not out of Christianity, and not out of Hebrew—it came out of Greek paganism. The profanity here was not verbal profanity. It means that Esau was far from the temple. That is what it literally means. Where was the Temple? It was the place of God. Esau was far from God. A nice fellow (warm, friendly, vigorous, fun loving, a joker, generous)—but he was far from God.
This word profane is describing the overall quality of his life! He demonstrated his profanity by treating something hallowed, that is, the birthright, as if it was common. He was unconcerned about God. He was unconcerned about God and the future. This word "profane" (together with that section there in Genesis 25) is describing the conduct, the behavior, and the attitudes of a worldly person. The carnal person—the unconverted person—is not concerned about the things of God.
His human nature was telling him that he was tired. He longed for rest. But he was also hungry and needed food. His body was crying out for sustenance and rest.
"Look! You're taking advantage of me!" But he had no vision whatsoever. All he wanted to do was satisfy his flesh.
There was no, "Why did I do that? That was so stupid!" But rather, "Great stew, Jacob!" and then he went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright. He had no thought for it. There was no idea of what it meant.
The way that he is acting here—his craving for the food, his craving for the blessing, then his immediate decision to kill his brother, are all aspects of the works of the flesh. He has no thought for what God may be working out here. He has no familial love for his brother. He probably lost that when he lost the birthright. Everything we see about Esau is carnal.
Everything that we see about Esau shows that he was a typical man of the flesh. If you would go back to Hebrews 12:14-17 you will find that Paul calls him, "an immoral, and profane person" because that is all that he ever thought about—immoral things and profane things—meaning "far from God" ("Far from the Temple" is the exact definition of "profane" in the Greek). But he did not think about God's purposes because he was entirely caught up in the flesh.
Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. He impetuously forfeited important rights, responsibilities, and honors that were his by birth. It says that he despised his birthright. He considered the responsibilities and the honor as unimportant, or that he was just totally uninterested in them.
Now, just to bring out the point, when it talks about “he was about to die,” some will think that he might have been near death. But the statement “I am about to die” is just a figure of speech. You have heard people say, “I’m about to starve to death.” Well, Esau could have just as easily said it that way, because after he ate and drank, after he satisfied his fleshly cravings, he carelessly rose up and went his way without any serious reflections upon the bad bargain that he had just made, or any show of regret.
Esau was literally firstborn, and those privileges went to him, but Jacob ended up holding them, and in the long-run proved to be the better man; so somewhat like Joseph, he became the legal firstborn even though he was not literally the firstborn.
