See to it that no one... is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

Hebrews 12:15-16

Esau was the firstborn son in the family God had chosen to bless. It’s hard to imagine a greater privilege than that. Priceless gifts from God were placed in his hand, but he couldn’t see their value.

All that mattered to Esau was the next meal, the next fishing or hunting trip, the next paycheque, the next contract, the next game, the next relationship. That’s what he lived for. That was all he could see. Nothing else really mattered to him.

Jacob knew Esau didn’t care much about his birthright. They would have spoken about it before, and Jacob knew it was for sale. He had been waiting for the right moment.

The reason Esau acted on impulse was that he never saw the value of his birthright. A plate of stew seemed more important to him than a place in the purpose of God! Esau acted on impulse, and he did so because he was confused about values. If you are confused about values, you will eventually take a plunge to disaster.

But why was Esau confused about values? Because Esau was godless. Esau had no place for God in his life. He loved the open country, but he had no love for God. He was brought up to know God, but he did not see his need for God. These things always remained at a distance from him. He was godless.