Genesis 27:30-34: a reflection

30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that your soul may bless me.” 32Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed.” 34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, my father.”

When Esau discovers too late that the blessing he expected has gone to another, he cries out with a great and bitter cry, a sobering picture of grieving too late for what was once taken lightly. Esau cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, the account says, and said to his father, bless me, even me also, my father. The blessing Esau had counted on was gone, given to his brother; and when he realized it, he was overcome with bitter grief, begging for a blessing that could not now be his. Yet Esau had earlier taken his birthright lightly, treating it as of little worth. Now, too late, he grieves bitterly for what he had once held cheaply. This shows the sorrow of grieving too late for what was once taken lightly. Do not take lightly what is precious, lest you grieve for it too late. What is held cheaply now may be bitterly mourned when it is gone. Value what is precious before it is lost beyond recovery. Esau's bitter cry warns against despising what matters until too late.

Notice the bitterness of Esau's cry, and what lay behind it. When he learned that the blessing he had expected was gone, given to another and beyond recovery, he was overcome: he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, begging his father to bless him too. It was the cry of one who realized too late what he had lost. And there is a further poignancy: Esau had, at an earlier time, treated his birthright, closely tied to this blessing, as of little value, selling it lightly for a meal, despising it. What he had once held cheaply, he now mourned bitterly, when it was too late to recover it. This holds a sobering warning. We can take lightly, hold cheaply, or despise things of real and precious worth, our birthright as God's children, our spiritual inheritance, the opportunities and blessings God gives, treating them as of little value while we have them. But what we hold cheaply now, we may grieve bitterly when it is gone, when the opportunity has passed and cannot be recovered. Esau's bitter cry is a warning to value what is precious while we have it, not to despise or take lightly what we may one day mourn to have lost. We do well to value what is precious before it is lost, not taking lightly now what we may grieve bitterly too late. Value what is precious now, lest you grieve for it bitterly when it is gone. Do not take lightly or despise what is of real worth while you have it. What you hold cheaply now you may mourn when the opportunity has passed. Learn from Esau's bitter cry not to despise what matters until too late.

That is worth taking to heart, for what we take lightly now we may grieve for too late, and we do well to value what is precious while we have it, as Esau cried bitterly for the blessing he had once held cheaply. We can despise or hold cheaply what is of real worth; but Esau, who had taken his birthright lightly, wept bitterly for the blessing when it was gone. Value it now. Do not take lightly or despise what is precious while you have it; value it now, lest, like Esau, you grieve for it bitterly when it is beyond recovery. Value what is precious while you have it, not taking lightly or despising what you may one day grieve bitterly to have lost, as when Esau discovered too late that the blessing he expected had gone to another, he cried with a great and bitter cry, a sobering picture of grieving too late for what was once taken lightly, since he cried exceedingly and begged his father to bless him too; for the blessing Esau had counted on was gone, given to his brother, and when he realized it he was overcome with bitter grief, yet he had earlier taken his birthright lightly and treated it as of little worth, so that now too late he grieved bitterly for what he had once held cheaply, which holds a sobering warning, since we can take lightly, hold cheaply, or despise things of real and precious worth, our spiritual inheritance and the blessings and opportunities God gives, treating them as of little value while we have them, but what we hold cheaply now we may grieve bitterly when it is gone and the opportunity has passed beyond recovery, so that Esau's bitter cry is a warning to value what is precious while we have it and not to despise or take lightly what we may one day mourn to have lost, and we do well to value what is precious before it is lost.

Lord, when Esau discovers too late that the blessing he expected has gone to another, he cries out with a great and bitter cry, a sobering picture of grieving too late for what was once taken lightly. Esau cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, the account says, and said to his father, bless me, even me also, my father. The blessing Esau had counted on was gone, given to his brother; and when he realized it, he was overcome with bitter grief, begging for a blessing that could not now be his. Yet Esau had earlier taken his birthright lightly, treating it as of little worth. Now, too late, he grieves bitterly for what he had once held cheaply. Show me the bitterness of Esau's cry, and what lay behind it. When he learned that the blessing he had expected was gone, beyond recovery, he was overcome: he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry. It was the cry of one who realized too late what he had lost. And there is a further poignancy: Esau had, at an earlier time, treated his birthright, closely tied to this blessing, as of little value, selling it lightly, despising it. What he had once held cheaply, he now mourned bitterly, when it was too late to recover it. This holds a sobering warning. I can take lightly, hold cheaply, or despise things of real and precious worth, my inheritance as your child, my spiritual blessings, the opportunities you give, treating them as of little value while I have them. But what I hold cheaply now, I may grieve bitterly when it is gone, when the opportunity has passed and cannot be recovered. Take that to my heart. Keep me from taking lightly or despising what is precious while I have it; help me value it now, Lord, my spiritual inheritance and the blessings and opportunities you give, lest, like Esau, I grieve for it bitterly when it is beyond recovery, learning from his bitter cry not to despise what matters until it is too late.