Moments of Weakness

Read Genesis 24:1–28:9

29. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.
30. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
31. “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32. “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
33. But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Genesis 25:29-34

Have you ever let a salesperson talk you into a dumb purchase? Have you ever given away a valuable possession and later wished you hadn’t? Looking back on those experiences, you probably realize that you made the decision under pressure. In such moments of weakness, it’s easy to make a decision that we later regret. Similarly, sudden crises test our convictions.

Just ask Esau. In this reading, Isaac grows up and gets married; soon thereafter, he and his wife, Rebekah, have twins, Esau and Jacob. God had told Abraham that he would become a great nation, and here we see the promise continuing to unfold. But the age-old stain of sin remains: within this chosen family of four are one shortsighted hothead and two skilled liars. Keep your eye on Esau’s “moments of weakness.”

There are many lessons in this passage—about being a servant; working hard; seeking God’s guidance; staying faithful to our tasks; and resisting the temptation to scheme.

A birthright was a special honor given to the firstborn son (Genesis 25:31). It included a double portion of the family inheritance, along with the honor of one day becoming the family’s leader. Birthrights were priceless. In Isaac’s family, the birthright belonged to Esau as the firstborn twin. But because of his shortsightedness, he did not hold on to it. When he was hungry and Jacob had some food, Esau could not see beyond his exaggerated sense of need. “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” he said (Genesis 25:32). That was probably not true; it merely reflected how he felt. Esau acted on impulse, without pausing to consider the long-range consequences of what he was about to do. He did not need to eat the meal he so desperately wanted, but the pressure of the moment distorted his perspective and made the decision seem urgent.

What pressures do you face? You can avoid making Esau’s mistake by comparing the long-range consequences of an action to its short-term satisfaction before you act. Getting through that initial, pressure-filled moment is often the most difficult—and most important—part of overcoming a temptation.