Birthrights

Jacob and Esau were twins that were born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, born just barely before Jacob, received the title of firstborn and the rights that came with it. Although the story is not specific about what these rights entail, we can assume they are pretty important (at least to Jacob). So Jacob grows up to be a quiet man that likes to eat meat and Esau grows up to be a manly man hunter that we can assume probably also enjoys eating meat. One day, Esau is tired and hungry, like on the verge of death tired and hungry, not middle class American senior in high school tired and hungry. Jacob agrees to give him food on the condition that Esau gives Jacob his birthrights. Showing no refrain, Esau agrees, takes an oath, eats, and leaves.

I don't know. I just don't know. I'm not as familiar with this Bible story as most others, and I'm not sure why. Usually I can find some sort of moral theme or lesson to learn, but it seems that this might just be part of a larger story taken out of context to make it seem trivial. As a Christian, should I be offended by this? I'm not sure. If there is a lesson to learn from this small story, it would be not to hold earthly things in too high of a priority. This is a common theme in the Bible, and reappears in my favorite verse, Colossians 3:2.

As a firstborn, I have no more rights than my sister does. However, I do act as sort of a test rat in that I go through everything before she does, so she gets to learn from my mistakes. Being the firstborn isnt all bad though, For example, I get to drive before she does which is a great thing to be able to brag about. Also, I seem like a super-genius at math to her, so thats pretty bomber.