Sexual Immorality is like a Bowl of Stew — It’s a Better Comparison than you Think

Cody Gardner
Aug 22, 2017 · 4 min read

I was reading Hebrews 12 the other day and something really struck me in verse 16 that I wanted to share so if you want to join me let’s read verses 15–17 for context.

[15] See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; [16] that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. [17] For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. (ESV)

Verse 16 makes a strange comparison. Those who are sexually immoral are like Esau. What heinous sexual sin did Esau commit? He sold his birthright. Wait, what? How does Esau selling his birthright compare to sexual sin? To answer that, let’s look at Genesis 25 where this is recorded.

[29] Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. [30] And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) [31] Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” [32] Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” [33] Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. [34] Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (ESV)

We need to look at this from the broader context of the whole Bible to understand what is going on here. Hold on tight. We are about to do a brief flyover of the biblical story of redemption. God creates the universe and all creation is meant to glorify him, the perfect and good Creator. The pinnacle of his creation is humanity, Adam and Eve, made in God’s image. As image bearers they are to steward God’s creation and spread the Glory of God over the whole world. They fail at this completely by disobeying God, seeking to to be gods themselves instead of being content with being made in the true God’s image. Now humanity is under the curse of sin with no hope to save themselves unless God acts on their behalf. God promises to act and points forward to a redeemer who will come and save people from their sin. Eventually God would call Abraham and make him into the great nation of Israel. It is through Israel that God brings his redeemer and this redeemer will not be just for Israel but for people from all tribes, tongues, and nations. Centuries later God himself will become a man, Jesus Christ, from this nation of Israel to die for our sins and rise again so that we might be raised to new life in him.

Esau was born very early in this story of redemption. Esau was the firstborn son of Abraham’s son, Isaac. As firstborn Esau had special status consisting of this birthright which was linked to God’s glorious plan of redemption. It was through Abraham’s descendants that the Savior, Jesus, would come. Esau despised this birthright though and carelessly dismissed it just because he was hungry. He traded involvement in God’s eternal plan of redemption for a single bowl of stew. His fleeting, momentary desires led him to despise the eternal plan of his Creator. This is why the writer of Hebrews calls Esau immoral and unholy.

When you are sexually immoral — whether that means you are looking at porn, lusting after a coworker, sleeping with someone who is not your husband or wife (whether you are married or not) — you are behaving exactly like Esau. You are foolishly despising the eternal plan of your Creator for the fleeting desires of your flesh. If you persist in your sin you will not inherit forgiveness and eternal life just as Esau never inherited the blessing of his birthright. This is serious, and it is all the more serious when our culture is constantly trying to deny these things. Our culture is preaching to us that we should despise God’s plan and give in to our momentary desires. It teaches that we should follow our heart, have sex when we want with whoever we want (as long as they consent), be whatever gender we think we should be, and basically put our own subjective feelings above any objective truth from our Creator. Basically, we are taught that we should be Esau. But what happened to Esau?

Hebrews 12 says that Esau found no chance to repent. Why? Because he was seeking after only the blessing he lost and not true repentance. It was the lost blessing he was seeking with tears, but there was no true confession of his sin with a desire to turn from it. His momentary desires led to no lasting fulfillment so he tried to obtain the blessing of God without truly turning from his sin. The good news is that if you confess your sexual immorality and seek forgiveness through Jesus then there will be true repentance. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). I pray that you will not be like Esau and despise God’s eternal redemption for your temporary desires. Please do not give up eternal blessings in exchange for unsatisfying, momentary desires. Turn to Christ and you will find both repentance and blessing in his grace.

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Written by

Christ-follower, husband, father, church member, loan officer, SBTS grad, coffee drinker, avid reader, music enthusiast, novice runner, occasional writer

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