it embraced the chieftainship, the rule over the brethren and the entire family (Gen 27:29), and the title to the blessing of the promise (Gen 27:4, Gen 27:27-29), which included the future possession of Canaan and of covenant fellowship with Jehovah (Gen 28:4). Jacob knew this, and it led him to anticipate the purposes of God. Esau also knew it, but attached no value to it. There is proof enough that he knew he was giving away, along with the birthright, blessings which, because they were not of a material but of a spiritual nature, had no particular value in his estimation, in the words he made use of: “ Behold I am going to die (to meet death), and what is the birthright to me?” The only thing of value to him was the sensual enjoyment of the present; the spiritual blessings of the future his carnal mind was unable to estimate. In this he showed himself to be βέβηλος (Heb 12:16), a profane man, who cared for nothing but the momentary gratification of sensual desires, who “ did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way, and so despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). With these words the Scriptures judge and condemn the conduct of Esau. Just as Ishmael was excluded from the promised blessing because he was begotten “according to the flesh,” so Esau lost it because his disposition was according to the flesh. The frivolity with which he sold his birthright to his brother for a dish of lentils, rendered him unfit to be the heir and possessor of the promised grace. But this did not justify Jacob's conduct in the matter. Though not condemned here, yet in the further course of the history it is shown to have been wrong, by the simple fact that he did not venture to make this transaction the basis of a claim. Isaac's Joys and Sorrows - Genesis 26
The incidents of Isaac's life which are collected together in this chapter, from the time of his sojourn in the south country, resemble in many respects certain events in the life of Abraham; but the distinctive peculiarities are such as to form a true picture of the dealings of God, which were in perfect accordance with the character of the patriarch.
Chap. 26
verses 1-5
Renewal of the Promise. - A famine “ in the land” (i.e., Canaan, to which he had therefore returned from
