In the Balance
Scripture Reading — Genesis 25:19-34
"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" Genesis 25:32
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Sometimes we don't know what we have until it is gone.
Esau and Jacob separated although they were brothers. They fought with one another constantly although they were twins. They weren't much like one another at all. Esau grew up to be a skilled hunter. Jacob stayed around the family's tents.
One day Esau came back from a day of hunting, empty-handed and famished. He saw Jacob cooking some stew and demanded that he have some right away. Was there nothing else to eat? We aren't told, but we do know that Esau wanted only the stew.
In a moment of hunger and desire, Esau hangs the stew and his birthright in the balance and finds the birthright wanting. After all, you can't eat a birthright. We're not sure what rights of inheritance or prospects of the future he was giving up, but we do know that in a moment the stew would be eaten and the birthright would be gone. Sometimes we don't know what we have until it's gone.
Placing himself in the balance this way, Esau himself is found wanting. And Jacob takes advantage.
Do we ever live for the moment and have eyes only for what is attracting us? Do we ever take advantage of others? What scale do we use to make decisions?
God of wisdom, forgive us for our shortsightedness. Grant us wisdom every day in all the decisions that will shape our future with you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
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