Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 25:29-34

"And Jacob boiled pottage. And Esau came in from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]. For I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me first thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die. And what profit shall the birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me first. And he sware unto him. And he sold his birthright unto Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. And he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright." — Genesis 25:29-34 (ASV)

We have here the bargain made between Jacob and Esau about the right, which was Esau's by birth but Jacob's by promise. It was for a spiritual privilege. We see Jacob's desire for the birthright, but he sought to obtain it by devious methods, unlike his character as a straightforward man. He was right in that he earnestly coveted the best gifts; he was wrong in that he took advantage of his brother's need.

The inheritance of their father's worldly goods did not descend to Jacob and was not meant in this proposal. But it included the future possession of the land of Canaan by his descendants, and the covenant made with Abraham concerning Christ the promised Seed. Believing Jacob valued these above all things; unbelieving Esau despised them. Yet although we must be of Jacob's judgment in seeking the birthright, we should carefully avoid all guile, in seeking to obtain even the greatest advantages.

Jacob's pottage pleased Esau's eye. "Give me some of that red"; for this he was called Edom, or Red. Gratifying the sensual appetite ruins thousands of precious souls. When men's hearts walk after their own eyes (Job 31:7), and when they serve their own bellies, they are sure to be punished. If we discipline ourselves to deny ourselves, we break the force of most temptations.

It cannot be supposed that Esau was dying of hunger in Isaac's house. His words signify that he was going towards death; he seems to mean, "I shall never live to inherit Canaan, or any of those future supposed blessings; and what does it matter who has them when I am dead and gone?" This would be the language of profanity, with which the apostle brands him (Hebrews 12:16); and this contempt of the birthright is condemned in Genesis 25:34. It is the greatest folly to part with our interest in God, and Christ, and heaven, for the riches, honours, and pleasures of this world; it is as bad a bargain as his who sold a birthright for a dish of pottage.

Esau ate and drank, pleased his palate, satisfied his appetite, and then carelessly rose up and went his way, without any serious thought, or any regret, about the bad bargain he had made. Thus Esau despised his birthright. By his neglect and contempt afterwards, and by justifying himself in what he had done, he made the bargain irrevocable. People are ruined, not so much by doing wrong, as by doing it and not repenting of it.