16/ July/ 2023 SERMON: The World’s most expensive Soup

Do you know what the most expensive soup in the world is? It is served at Kai, a restaurant in London, and the cost is $214 a bowl called “Buddha Jumps over the Wall.” Its contents are abalone, quail eggs, shark fin, scallops, ginseng and gold. But it’s not the World’s most expensive soup. The World’s most expensive soup was served about 4,000 years ago, was made of lintels and was red. And it wasn’t served in a restaurant and had nothing expensive, but it changed the course of history.

Our text for today brings us to Genesis 25. Jacob’s story can be seen as the prelude of the tough years he has to live in the future. We see two episodes follow in the text. The first story is Jacob’s birth story. Jacob was born as a twin. In that story, the twins struggled with each other in their mother’s womb, so she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me? And Rebekah heard from the Lord that “the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Interestingly, the younger brother came out holding the elder brother’s heel when Rebecca gave birth. Today’s story shows that the hierarchy of old and younger brothers is reversed. That fact is embodied in the second episode.

As the twin brothers grew up together, their differences became even more evident; they were completely dissimilar, and their natures differed. The Hairy man Esau became skilled at hunting, an outdoorsman, a stereotypical male. Jacob was a quiet man, charming, preferring the house. Here, we saw their family dynamics fuel the dysfunctional competition that began from their struggle in the womb. Ironically, the division between them infuses every aspect of their lives. It created a divided family. Their parents each favouring one over the other.

Their father, Isaac loved meat, so he liked Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob, who helped with the housework like a mama’s boy. This favoured parental love finally prompts the brothers’ conflict. Then something happened one day; Esau was exhausted from hunger after hunting all day. Esau saw that Jacob was cooking some stew in a pot of beans and asked, “I am weak with hunger. Let me have some of that red soup.” Jacob then said, “All right, but trade me your birthright.” Esau almost died of hunger and said, “What good are these rights to me now, OK DEAL!!!” He accepted Jacob’s suggestion. A deal was founded between the two. And the Bible writer evaluates this in verse 34, “Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Brokenness and division

The conflict between the brothers is not only between Jacob and Esau. We see Cain and Abel’s conflict led to the murder of Abel, the conflict between Abraham and Lot; even though they are good relatives, they cannot live together because of their wealth and money. And Abraham’s half-son, Ishmael, was kicked out of the house because he ridiculed Sarah’s beloved son Issacs. Not only that, Jacob’s struggle was not only with his older brother Esau but also with his uncle Laban because of possessions issues. Finally, the conflict between Joseph and his brothers is also tricky. The brothers sold Joseph as an enslaved person. You know… we can see that the most fundamental conflict in humans often happens among the people who should be closest. This is not just among the brothers in the household. If we look around us, arguments, conflicts and brokenness, division and misunderstandings are part of our lives.

Nevertheless, we find one thing that continues to be emphasised in Genesis: God works in our lives with deep providence and grace. Joseph’s testimony clearly shows us in the last chapter of Genesis, “It is true that you planned to do something bad to me. But really, God was planning good things. God intended to use me to save the lives of many people. And that is what happened. So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.”- Here, we find that this story of sibling contention ends with reconciliation and blessing. Even through our conflicts and struggles, God’s grace is present and active extending blessing to all people.

The Value of a Birthright

Jacob is not an admirable figure, at least not at the beginning of his story. Yes… right, he is a tricker, he knows how to use his brain. And Jacob knew the importance of birthright. In ancient Jewish society, the birthright of the first son is related to God’s blessing. They thought that the first son’s position was a way of gift. Maintaining the birthright meant maintaining the relationship with God. That’s why Jacob focused on obtaining the blessing of God passed down from his grandfather Abraham. And his focus on the blessing will shape the rest of his life. In that aspect, Esau despised his birthright. This means Esau took lightly his relationship with God. It was not because of Esau’s immorality or because his personality was not so good, but he ignored his relationship with God. In short, Esau did not value his spiritual heritage. Maybe we can say Esau is a realist, for him here- and now life is more important. As followers of Christ, our life seeks him in the hereafter. Who are we? We are children of God, chosen people who have been given a birthright. Do not take this heritage of faith lightly! I hope you know that God’s final plan is reconciliation and blessing. May you see your future with the eyes of faith.