Bad Trades

Growing up in the 90s, my family had a computer with something called dial-up internet.

For those of you who didn't have the privilege of experiencing dial-up internet, it connected to the internet through your phone line. Which meant if someone was online, nobody could receive a phone call.

It was a terrible system.

Every evening my parents had a decision to make. Do we want to receive phone calls tonight? Or do we trade that away so our sons can spend hours online talking with their friends?

To my brothers and me, the answer was obvious. Let us online. My parents weren't always so sure.

Pastor Craig Groeschel says that trades are difficult because whenever we say yes to something, we're also saying no to something else.

Every decision is a trade.

When you spend money on one thing, you can't spend it on another.

When you say yes to one opportunity, you're saying no to another.

When you choose one direction, you're giving up a different path.

The question isn't whether you're making trades.

The question is whether you're making the right ones.

We've all experienced the satisfaction of realizing we made a good decision/trade.

And we've all experienced the regret of realizing we traded something valuable for something that wasn't worth it.

We know our decisions today impact our lives tomorrow. And yet, we still find ourselves making choices we later regret. Why?

Why do smart people make foolish trades? And how can we learn how to make the right ones?

We are going to find some good examples of this in our passage today.

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 25:19-34. If you're using the Bible under your chair, that's page 17.

We are a Bible teaching church here at Renovation Church Shoreview. We just finished a series teaching through 2 Timothy, and now we find ourselves at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis. We want people to get a snapshot of all of Scripture — its stories, its genres, and the greater story God is telling through the whole Bible.

This summer we're walking through the life of Jacob.

Jacob lived approximately 2,000 years before Jesus came to earth, and he was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham.

Abraham is in many ways the father of the Jewish people and considered the father of the faith because Jesus Christ's earthly lineage traces back to him as well.

God called Abraham out of his foreign land to the Promised Land that would eventually become Israel.

And God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, a family of people that would one day bless the whole earth — through Jesus.

And so Abraham and Sarah had a baby boy named Isaac, who grew up and married Rebekah. And Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys named Esau and Jacob.

Let's start reading in verse 19.

19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Right away, we see something that shows up over and over again in this family.

God's plans aren't accomplished through human effort. They're accomplished through God's power.

We're told that Isaac and Rebekah were unable to have children. And so the verses say, Isaac prays for his wife. Fathers, on fathers day, but also to the men here- go to bat in prayer for the people in your life: pray for your wives or girlfriends, pray for your families, pray for your friends. It makes more of a difference than you could ever imagine.

Isaac and Rebekah praying, and if you do the math in our passage we just read from when they get married to when they have Jacob and Esau, it is 20 years. They prayed for 20 years. They waited and trusted God, and the trust of Rebekah and Isaac paid off with an incredible miracle. After 20 years of waiting, God answers their prayers with twin boys.

But then the expecting parents hit some trouble again. This time, Rebekah, the mother, starts praying. Once again, parents, never underestimate the power of prayer for your kids. It goes the same for those of you with no kids. Pray for the people in your life.

Rebekah prays, and God answers, in a way that is unexpected.

Look at verse 23:

23 The Lord said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."

Before either son is born, God is telling Rebekah what is happening right now in her womb, but also what will happen in these boys' lives in the future. The prophecy of God here is something we will talk a lot about today, but it is one we will come back to a lot through this series this summer. It has a lot of implications.

But here's what I want you to see today: God already told Rebekah how this story ends. The outcome is settled before the conflict even begins.

Then, in verse 25, we're introduced to the twins.

Esau comes out first. Red and hairy. Jacob comes out second, grabbing his brother's heel.

Even their names tell us something about them.

Esau is named for what everyone can see. Then he later becomes an avid outdoorsman.

Jacob is named for what he's doing. Jacob's name also carries the idea of a trickster, a schemer, someone who gets what he wants by working an angle. The verses also say Jacob liked to hang out by the tents. He is what you would call “indoorsy”.

Let's keep reading; we will begin reading where you see the small number 27.

Genesis 25:27-34

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Remember where we started: Every decision is a trade. Whenever we say yes to one thing, we're saying no to something else.

The question isn't whether we make trades. The question is what we're willing to trade away in order to get what we want.

And that's what makes this story so shocking.

Esau trades something incredibly valuable for something that lasts only a moment.

A birthright for a bowl of stew.

A future inheritance for a temporary appetite.

What causes someone to make a trade like that?

The first lesson we need to learn in this passage is this:

1. Don't Trade What Matters Most for What Feels Urgent Now

We've all been Esau. Maybe it has looked different for you — traded sleep for scrolling, traded a relationship for a shortcut, traded long-term health for short-term comfort. But the pattern is the same.

Esau made a trade he would regret.

The smell of the stew hits him and suddenly he can't think beyond what's right in front of him.

Now we often read his words, "I am about to die," in verse 32 as exaggeration.

But it seems there's something deeper going on.

It's almost as if Esau is saying:

"I'm going to die someday anyway. What good is the birthright to me right now?"

This is not just Esau’s hunger. This is his worldview.

The future is uncertain. The present is real. So I'll take what I can get today.

What exactly does Esau trade? His birthright.

And that wasn't some small family privilege.

The birthright included a double inheritance. Leadership of the family. And most importantly, the covenant blessing God had given to Abraham. The promise of God we talked about at the beginning of the message.

And Esau trades all of it for a bowl of stew.

Growing up, we had a neighbor two doors down who had older kids than my brothers and I. His kids had left behind a little battery-powered jeep they had used when they were our age.

As a kid, that jeep represented freedom. Adventure. The coolest thing I had ever seen.

The problem was that it was sitting next to the trash. It didn't work. The batteries were dead. It was basically junk.

I convinced my dad to go over and ask about it.

My neighbor looked at my dad and asked, "What are you willing to pay for it?"

My dad looked at me. And I answered for him: "All your money."

Thankfully my dad ignored my financial advice.

But looking back, it's amazing what I was willing to pay for something that wasn't actually worth very much.

Why?

Because it was all I could see. My desire distorted its value.

That's exactly what's happening to Esau.

The stew gets bigger. The birthright gets smaller.

His desire to satisfy his hunger distorted his promise for the future.

So let me ask you: What are you trading away right now for something that won't last?

But Esau isn't the only person in this story making meaningless trades. We see in verse 31, that Jacob’s desires have also distorted God’s promise.

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

Our second lesson comes from Jacob and it is this:

2. Don't Force What God Has Already Promised to Provide

At first glance, Jacob looks like the smart one. After all, he ends up with the birthright. But Jacob isn't the hero at this moment in the story.

Go back to verse 23.

Before either brother was born, God had already spoken.

"The older will serve the younger."

God had already declared the outcome. The birthright was already promised to Jacob. He didn't need to manipulate. He didn't need to scheme. He didn't need to take advantage of his brother.

God had already spoken. But Jacob couldn't wait. He wanted God's promise. But he didn't trust God's timing.

And that's a dangerous place to live.

Jacob made a trade he didn't need to make.

The thing he forced is what God had already promised to provide. And it creates bigger problems that will plague Jacob for years to come — we will read all about those in the coming weeks this summer. .

I understand this temptation personally.

When I was in high school, I was a chronic people pleaser, a performer, and an achiever. None of that is always wrong — but for me, it was driven by something deeper. I desperately wanted to be loved and admired.

So I went out for certain sports. Joined activities. Spent time with the “right” people. Spent money on things I didn’t need. Ignored relationships that actually mattered. I did a lot of things I didn't even like — all to get what I really wanted: love and approval.

My parents would push back telling me that these things were not worth it. But I felt like if I stopped striving, I'd never get what I was after.

Here's what I couldn't see at the time.

The love, acceptance, and approval I was exhausting myself to earn — the rest and peace I so desperately wanted — was already mine in Jesus.

I was forcing what God had already promised to provide.

So let me ask you: What are you straining and scheming to get that God may already be asking you to trust Him with?

You may already have all that you need in Jesus. Which comes to our final lesson today:

3. The Price Has Already Been Paid — Just Receive It

Esau focused on the moment.

Jacob focused on the outcome.

Neither one was focused on God.

And that's the root of every bad trade we make. When we lose sight of God, we stop seeing everything else clearly.

Some of us are more like Esau — tempted to trade what matters most for whatever feels urgent right now.

Others of us are more like Jacob — trying to force something God has already promised. Managing. Manipulating. Controlling. Trying to make something happen because we're afraid it won't happen on its own.

Both are a trust problem.

Do we actually believe God knows what He's doing?

Do we believe His timing is wisdom and not indifference?

Remember how we started this morning — dial-up internet. The whole problem with dial-up wasn't just that it was slow. It was that the wait felt unbearable when you could see what you wanted right in front of you. So you made trades. You tied up the phone line. You stayed online too long. Because waiting felt like losing.

That's exactly where Esau and Jacob were.

And if we're honest, it's where a lot of us are too.

Think about how this story began. Isaac and Rebekah couldn't make God's promise happen. They could pray. They could trust. They could wait. And They didn't scheme. They didn't force it. They trusted God's timing — and God came through.

And maybe that's exactly where some of us are today. Waiting on something. Wondering if God sees it. Wondering if He's going to come through.

Here's what I want you to see: despite all of the failures of Jacob’s family (and there is more to come)— God kept His promise anyway.

Not because they were faithful, but because He is.

The covenant or promise God made with Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob and on down the line was one where God would bless them, if they would keep following and obeying God. They broke that promise so many times. And this meant that the promise couldn’t work because the people didn’t hold up their end.

But instead of punishing the people, God sent His son Jesus to fulfill our end.

Gospel Invitation

At the cross, God kept His promise.

At the empty tomb, God kept His promise.

Jesus is the proof that God always does what He says He will do.

The birthright that Esau despised and Jacob grabbed for points us to something even greater. Because through Christ, an inheritance is available to every one of us.

Ephesians 1 says, in Christ we receive: Forgiveness. Redemption. Grace. Adoption into God's family. An eternal inheritance.

And here's the good news:

You don't have to trade for it.

You don't have to scheme for it.

You don't have to force it.

You don't have to earn it.

Jesus already paid the price you couldn't pay.

It's already been secured.

Not by you.

For you.

The only question left is the same question Esau faced:

Will you receive it?

Or will you despise it?