Esau said, ‘I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?’ Jacob said, ‘Swear to me now.’ So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Gen. 25:32-34).

There was a promised to Abraham that within his blood line, will inherit God’s covenant.

“Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him”. Genesis 17:19

Genesis 26:1-5 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. ² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. ³ Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

As the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau has 2/3 of the blessings and Jacob should have got only 1/3. Bilang panganay, Esau as the eldest male child in the ancient Near East conferred upon him the headship of the clan and a double share of the inheritance (Deut. 21:15–17).

Genesis 25:29–34 ay nagpapakita that Esau is a man who makes a rush decision and does not take the cost of his decisions into account. He even said that he is dying of hunger but this is not true as it is an exaggeration. Although Esau was aware of the wonderful promises made to Abraham that could have been his if, by faith, he did not place his temporary hunger pains over the eternal satisfaction tied to his birthright. But he lets his belly entice him away from life in God’s presence, and therefore, Moses rightly adds that “Esau despised his birthright” (v. 34).

Using the same context, God is telling us the following reminders:

1. Be more concern of the heavenly stuff: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
2. Luke 12:33-34 ESV “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
3. 1 Timothy 6:10 ESV  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
4. Matthew 16:26 ESV For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul.
5. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
6. Matthew 6:31-34 ESV Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
7. Mark 4:19 ESV But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
8. Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
9. Philippians 4:19 ESV And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
10. Hebrews 13:5 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.
11. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Don’t exchange your eternal life for a smallness of material things. What is your bowl of soup? What defocuses you to the things that matters in heaven.