Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, September 19, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Despise, verb: 2 to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful. Yes, Jacob was a complete tool in refusing to share his stew out of the goodness of his heart. But for Pete’s sake, who gives up their birthright for dinner??? Esau was either not the sharpest tool in the shed or he was so enslaved to his physical instincts that he was blind to any long-term repercussions of giving in to them. It’s not clear exactly what that birthright was—I imagine it was a larger portion of Abraham’s property, or maybe all of it. And maybe Esau was happier living off his own skills as a hunter than being tied down to flocks and tents so he genuinely didn’t care. The story makes him out to be a complete idiot—all brawn and therefore no match for Jacob’s brains. But maybe we can learn something from Esau about focusing on what’s in front of us in this moment, one moment, one day at a time, rather than forever plotting and scheming to amass some kind of material security that doesn’t actually guarantee us anything in the long run anyway.
When is it better to focus on what’s in front of me instead of far in the future? When is it better to think about the future? Where is God in these considerations?
