Known in Biblical history as the man who sold his Divine birthright for a mess of pottage, Esau has never enjoyed what in these modern days is called a "good press". His earthly-mindedness and casual indifference to the things of God, compared with the reverence and faith of his twin brother Jacob, and the fact that his descendants, grown into a nation, became inveterate enemies of Israel and eventually subject to Divine condemnation, has created a prejudice against Esau which perhaps has failed to give due weight to what may be at least some redeeming features in his character.

The story goes back to the time immediately before his birth; his mother Rebekah was given intimation from God as to his purpose with the soon-to-be-born twins. Both were to be the father of nations, but the first-born was to be subservient to the second. Since Rebekah and Isaac knew that the Divine promise of the coming "seed" that was to bless all the families of the earth was involved in the imminent birth of these two, they must have realised that in his wisdom the Lord had decreed that the promise should be fulfilled in the second-born. At this point, as Paul observes in the Epistle to the Romans, the children had not yet been born. The Lord's selection could not have been on the basis of manifested fitness for his calling. And yet in the outcome it is seen that God decreed rightly, for Jacob had that within him which made him a believing follower of the Lord whereas Esau, despite certain likeable characteristics, remained to the end of his days the perfect example of the man who has not the smallest spark of religious feeling or reverence in his makeup. As a man of the world he lived, and as he lived, so he died. Who knows but that God, with insight seeing deeper than man, already perceived which of these two developing infants had that mixture of qualities derived from the paternal line of Abraham and the maternal one of Nahor which would best befitted for the Divine calling which must come to one of them. That, at any rate, might be a more logical explanation than a capricious and arbitrary selection having no rhyme nor reason.

The lads grew up together and their differing characters and temperaments soon became manifest. Jacob, we are told was "a plain man, dwelling in tents". Here the word rendered "plain" really means sincere, upright, whole, in a strictly moral sense. His life was spent with flocks and herds like his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. Like them, in that condition he learned of the things of God and the special responsibility his family line held in the developing purpose of God. Esau, on the other hand, was "a skilful hunter, a man of the field". Not for him the patient day-by-day routine of cattle rearing and care; for him the wide open spaces and the distant mountains, where he could range and hunt to his heart's content. And so the two grew to manhood.

At some time in these early years occurred the incident which is well-known in the story of Esau. Coming in one day weary and hungry from hunting, he found Jacob sitting down to a meal of savoury red beans ("pottage" in the A.V.) and impulsively asked that he might share it. Jacob, for all his uprightness, was an astute man and a bit of a schemer, and he had evidently been thinking about the position which would arise when their father went the way of all flesh. His mother had told him—and probably Esau also—that he was to be the heir of the Abrahamic promise but how much notice would Esau take of that if he then decided he would like to assume the obligation after all? And suppose that Isaac, with his known partiality for Esau, should confer his patriarchal blessing at the end upon his elder son instead of his younger, despite what he knew of the Divine edict? So Jacob determined to strengthen his position by obtaining from his brother a formal renunciation of any rights he might possess in the matter. He proposed that in return for the immediate satisfaction of his hunger Esau should cede to him his birthright as principal heir to Isaac. It was a disproportionate and altogether absurd exchange for so small an immediate favour, but Esau's reaction was typical of the man. "I am going to die anyway" he said "and what profit shall this birthright be to me?" The honour of being a progenitor of the nation that would in future times be the custodian of the Divine oracles, and an instrument for the blessing of all peoples of earth, meant nothing to Esau. "I shall be dead by then, and what good will it be to me in that case" was his sentiment. There was no appeal in the idea of being used by God for the happiness of others; he lived only for himself. Neither did he seem to be unduly concerned about the heir to Isaac's estate; he evidently did not fancy the life of a cattle raiser and was much happier on his hunting forays. So he quite willingly relinquished all his claims as chief heir to his younger brother, content in the thought that when the time came he would get the usual younger brother's share instead and Jacob would have all the responsibilities and all the obligations. Jacob, careful as ever, got him to swear to his word, which Esau with his usual affability was quite ready to do; and sat down to enjoy his dinner.

The first intimation of the coming rift in the family appeared when they were both forty years of age. Esau married. That in itself was not unusual and was probably beginning to be expected. His father Isaac had married at forty and was now a hundred years of age; probably he was hoping to see grandsons before his time came and have that assurance that the Divine purpose through his family was not going to be frustrated. What was unusual was that Esau flouted the family custom of marrying within the Semitic clan of Terah, a measure intended to maintain racial purity in God's sight, and chose instead to take to himself two women of the Hittites; Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Adah or Bashemath the daughter of Elon. The Hittites were a powerful Indo-Aryan nation in the north and many of them were settled in Canaan and on friendly terms with the people of Abraham—but they were not of Shem, not Semitic at all. They were of Japheth and from Abraham's and Isaac's point of view unfit for alliance with the people of the Lord. There is not much doubt that Isaac remonstrated with his eldest son at this betrayal of the family principle but equally no doubt that Esau quite casually dismissed his father's objections as of no consequence and proceeded with his plans. The Genesis account merely remarks briefly that the situation was "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah".

One is tempted to wonder if Isaac was to some extent blameworthy. The narrative declares that "Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob". They both knew that God had ordained that Jacob should be the heir of promise to carry on the family obligation to God but it does look as though Isaac had a special regard for Esau, influenced by the material advantage of good living afforded by his son's hunting exploits, and maybe had "spoiled" him somewhat so that Esau failed to grow up "in the nurture and fear of the Lord" as did Jacob at the hands of his mother. Isaac may have experienced a feeling of dashed hopes when he had to stand by helplessly and see his beloved eldest son cut himself off from the people of the Lord by his alliance with these two women of the land.

Seventeen years later came the crisis which jolted Esau out of his easy-going placidity and disrupted the family. Isaac was beginning to feel his age — he was now a hundred and seventeen years old and nearly blind‑ and he felt the time had come to confer his patriarchal blessing upon his heir so that there could be no dispute after his death. Unaccountably his choice fell upon Esau; he knew full well that Jacob was the divinely appointed heir but again his predilection for his eldest son led him to ignore the fact. Esau was bidden to take his huntsman's gear, go out into the wilderness and bring back choice venison wherewith to serve his father at a formal feast, during which Isaac would confer his blessing. Had Esau been a man of integrity he would have told his father about the bargain he had made with Jacob seventeen years before, but he did not. He may very well have forgotten the incident or not considered it a serious matter; at any rate he went off to find his venison.

Rebekah overheard the conversation, and determined to frustrate her husband's purpose. She may have justified her conduct to herself by reflecting that she was ensuring that the Lord's intention was carried out, not realising that He needs no shady actions by his devotees to assist the accomplishment of his purposes. At any rate Jacob, following her instructions, impersonated his brother before the blind Isaac, bringing to the feast goat's flesh from the flock, and so received the blessing intended for Esau.

Esau returned from his hunting, prepared his feast, and took it to his father, to the latter's consternation when he realised how he had been tricked. There seems to have been a real bond of affection between these two; Esau's distress in the narrative clearly is not on account of the loss of material things but of the fact that the blessing intended for him had been given to another. "He cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, my father". Sadly came the reply "Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing" to which Esau responded bitterly "he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he hath taken away my blessing" and then comes a heartfelt plea "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" Heavily upon his soul fell the words "I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants....and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?" Desperately, hoping against hope, Esau pleaded "Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me, also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept". So, Isaac gave him a secondary blessing; he should live by the sword, but he should receive of the richness of the earth and one day should be freed from the dominion of his brother. And Esau went out from his father's presence bitter and resentful.

It is impossible not to feel sympathy for this man at this time. His nature, admittedly earthly and having no feeling after God, was relatively simple and trusting, and he had been outwitted by a smarter man. It is not likely that any prospect of winning Esau to a better feeling of reverence for God was improved by this conduct on the part of the brother who did profess faith in God. His normal attitude of good-humoured tolerance changed to one of angry animosity and as he stormed off to his hunting he vowed that so soon as his father was dead he would have his revenge and kill his brother. He made no secret of his intentions - he was not the sort to do so - and the news got round to his mother. Jacob was hustled off to his mother's brother at Padan-Aram four hundred miles to the north until the trouble blew over, but once there he in turn was out-smarted by an even wilier man and it was forty years before he got home again. The Divine law of retribution is very well exemplified in the life of Jacob.

One of the consequences of this incident was Esau's third marriage. Isaac had urged Jacob to find himself a wife from among his cousins at Padan-Aram, of the posterity of Nahor, brother of Abraham, again to preserve the purity of blood of those in the line of the "seed of promise". Esau, learning of this injunction, and painfully conscious of the disapproval his own marriage to the two Hittite women had earned, decided to do something to make amends, or at any rate to please his father. He took, as a third wife, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham and half-brother to Isaac. This gave him at least one wife of the chosen family but whether this earned him any approval from his father is not recorded. It seems more likely that Isaac had reconciled himself to the fact that his elder son would never be the "heir of promise".

Now sixty years of age, Esau had three wives and a growing family of children to support. It is evident that something more than prowess with bow and arrow was going to be needed and from allusions pertaining to later dates in his life it is clear that he began to settle down to a certain amount of stock-raisingand farming although his free-ranging hunting habits with companions of like mind continued and there could be some suspicion of banditry on a small scale. There is not much doubt that he was an opportunist and snatched a living where he could. At some time during the forty years that Jacob was serving Laban away in Padan-Aram Esau formed an alliance with the tribe of Seir the Horite (known to archaeologists nowadays as the Hurrians, a people occupying various parts of the Middle East in very early days) and began to extend his business interests into the land of Seir, south-east of Canaan. Probably to aid the furtherance of those same business interests, he now contracted marriage No.4, to Aholibamah daughter of Anah the Horite and great-grand-daughter of Seir the founder of the tribe. Since the Horites were also an Indo-Aryan race like the Hittites it would seem that Esau's sudden passion for marriage within the clan which led him to take Ishmael's daughter had as quickly evaporated. His interests and connections were now much more closely intertwined with the family of Seir than they were with those of Abraham; the lure of the things of this world had drawn him completely away from the worship and the people of God.

During the years of Jacob's absence Esau seems to have maintained his home and family and farmlands in Canaan, probably not far from his father's territory, but himself to have spent a great deal of time in the land of Seir (Edom) a hundred miles away, to which he was becoming more and more attracted. The ancient trade route from Arabia to the north passed through his land so that he might well have been involved in profitable trading activities; copper mining was carried on in the south of the land and he may have had a hand in this also. From Gen.36.6 it is apparent that by the time of Jacob's return he had become a wealthy and influential man; the fact that he had four hundred horsemen at his beck and call in Seir is an indication of that.

Thus passed forty years, that were filled with activity, years of growth and increase. Esau now had five sons and probably as many daughters; his possessions might have equalled or even exceeded those of his father Isaac, and the old disputes with his brother Jacob of so long ago were probably quite forgotten. Then one day there appeared at his dwelling in Seir a party of messengers from Jacob.

How Jacob knew that his brother was now living in Seir does not emerge in the Genesis account. Since Esau did not go there until after Jacob's journey to Padan-Aram it is clear that there must have been some communication with the old home in Canaan during the intervening time and that Jacob knew in at least a general way what was going on. The newcomers brought a message from Jacob that he was on his way home from Padan-Aram with great possessions "and I have sent to tell my lord that I may find grace in thy sight". This was very conciliatory language coming from the man who by virtue of the birthright occupied the senior position in the family; it is evident that Jacob was in a state of apprehension as to Esau's attitude to him. He still remembered the threat of forty years before. His apprehension was considerably increased when the messengers returned with the alarming news that Esau himself was on the way to meet him accompanied by four hundred men. "Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed "; he betook himself immediately to God in prayer for deliverance, and arising from prayer, added an additional insurance by sending in advance of his company a handsome present of some six hundred head of assorted cattle and sheep wherewith to mollify the feared avenger.

He need not have worried. The Esau who met him was the old Esau, bluff, matter-of-fact, and carefree. The matters of the birthright and the filched blessing might never have happened. This was his long-absent brother Jacob and he was glad to see him. "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept"; Esau with genuine emotion, Jacob also with not a little relief. It was going to be all right after all. Then Esau saw Jacob's four wives and their score or so of children and asked "who are these with thee?" "The children which God hath graciously given thy servant" was the reply and they came forward to present themselves. This did not hold his interest for very long and he turned to another subject. "What meanest thou by all this drove which I met?"; Jacob, feeling himself now on surer ground, apprised him that those were a present "to find grace in the sight of my lord". It is here that the latent generosity of Esau's character is revealed. He wanted no present. "I have enough, my brother, keep that thou hast to thyself". It is a warm expression, warm with deeper sincerity than anything else that was said at that memorable meeting. Esau was glad to see his brother; he bore no ill-will for the past, and he was quite satisfied with their relative positions and wanted nothing that was Jacob's. It is true that Jacob demurred and pressed for his acceptance of the present, and at last Esau consented and took the cattle, but the impression given by the narrative is that he was not greatly concerned either way and accepted only for the sake of peace and quietness.

" So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir" and the life he had carved out for himself, a life without God but one with which he was perfectly satisfied. Jacob went on in to Canaan and his destiny, a destiny that was to involve the creation of the nation of Israel, custodian of the Divine revelation, and the coming of the man Christ Jesus the Light of the world. About such things Esau knew nothing and cared nothing. He closed down his interests in Canaan, became the dominant figure in Seir, so much so that that its name was changed to Edom, the generic name of the tribe and later nation which had its origin in Esau.

He appears once more in the story. Isaac died twenty years later "being old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him". In the record of the last respects to their father the historian has recognised that Esau was the eldest and took precedence; so his name comes first. The last glimpse we have of the brothers together is one of amity.

Of Esau's death there is no mention. He was a hundred and twenty years old at the death of his father. A normal life span at the time was anything up to a hundred and fifty. Jacob died in Egypt at a hundred and forty seven. The last we see of Esau is still in Seir. Ten years later Jacob and his household went down into Egypt and when the nation of Israel which sprang from him came back four centuries later the sons of Esau had themselves grown into a nation. There was no enmity in Esau at the last. Despite his irreligiousness, his complete indifference to heavenly things and his disregard of the Divine calling centred upon his family line, he did at least in his easy-going generosity exhibit the Christian virtue of returning good for evil when he made that spontaneous response to Jacob's proffered peace-offering; "I have enough, my brother. Keep that thou hast to thyself."

AOH