Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came
in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat
some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called
Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about
to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.”
So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau
bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus
Esau despised his birthright.
It is ironic that the hunter, Esau, spent all day out and about only to arrive at home hungry. Meanwhile, Jacob made stew at home. The difference between stew and soup is that stew takes longer to make – it must stew for a while. And while the stew was stewing, Jacob was stewing as well. He was a contemplative man who took responsibility for his home by doing what needed to be done and contemplating ways to do it better. This sharpened sense of planning certainly granted him an edge when playing legacy chess with Esau. Esau despised his birthright by treating it with contempt. He showed how little he valued it by trading it for something as simple as stew. Esau spent his day unproductively chasing the wind while Jacob spent the day waiting for stew to stew. While neither is inherently a better way to spend your day in general, it is in this case indicative of the more pronounced differences between these two men. Jacob's schemes involved the long game, which require patience, planning, etc… while Esau's impetuous decision was entirely in keeping with his short-sighted approach to life: chase whatever is immediately in front of you. Jacob's life was oriented around whatever he determined was most important, Esau's around whatever he determined was most urgent.
It is ironic that the hunter, Esau, spent all day out and about only to arrive at home hungry. Meanwhile, Jacob made stew at home. The difference between stew and soup is that stew takes longer to make – it must stew for a while. And while the stew was stewing, Jacob was stewing as well. He was a contemplative man who took responsibility for his home by doing what needed to be done and contemplating ways to do it better. This sharpened sense of planning certainly granted him an edge when playing legacy chess with Esau. Esau despised his birthright by treating it with contempt. He showed how little he valued it by trading it for something as simple as stew. Esau spent his day unproductively chasing the wind while Jacob spent the day waiting for stew to stew. While neither is inherently a better way to spend your day in general, it is in this case indicative of the more pronounced differences between these two men. Jacob's schemes involved the long game, which require patience, planning, etc… while Esau's impetuous decision was entirely in keeping with his short-sighted approach to life: chase whatever is immediately in front of you. Jacob's life was oriented around whatever he determined was most important, Esau's around whatever he determined was most urgent.
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