What Is The Difference Between A Birthright and A Blessing In The Bible?

What are the differences between a birthright and a blessing in the Bible?

The Birthright

The word birthright specifies certain special privileges in a family. It is usually given to the firstborn in a family and in Israel, it was given to the firstborn male of the family. There were certain benefits of being the firstborn because he was allowed to have a double portion of his father’s inheritance as we read in Deuteronomy 21:17 “he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.” After King Jehoshaphat died, his sons received great gifts but only one inherited the throne, and it was Jehoram and so ,“Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn” (2nd Chron 21:3). Even though Esau was the firstborn, “Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). Esau gave up his natural birthright and the blessing that goes with that for a bowl of stew, showing he really didn’t have any regard for it.

The Blessing

Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of Esau and “As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting” (Gen 27:30). Since Jacob deceived his father and took the rightful blessing that the firstborn usually received, Isaac said “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing” (Gen 27:35). Naturally, Esau became angry and said “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me” (Gen 27:36)? Esau didn’t really deserve his blessing or his birthright though because he had earlier sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, showing that he really didn’t think it was that important (Gen 25:34).

Being Blessed

There are many ways to be blessed that far exceed those blessings by a parent. The psalmist writes “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 144:15) for it is “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Prov 10:22). There are “Blessings are on the head of the righteous” (Prov 10:6). Jesus promises blessings too and since He is God as well, we ought to desire Jesus’ blessings. Jesus said that you will be blessed if you are poor in spirit (or humble), if you mourn, if you are meek, if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, if you are merciful, if you are pure in heart, if you are a peacemaker, and even if you are insulted, reviled, persecuted, and lied about, you are blessed (Matt 5:3-11). Don’t you want that? I have someone insult me every day where I write and I know that they have caused a blessing to fall on me and whether they acknowledge it or not, they bless me when they hate me or call me names. I want to thank that one special person in my life who is constantly insulting me because this is the result for me: “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14).

The Firstborn

Jesus is called the firstborn among many brethren because He was raised from the dead. The author of Hebrews writes about Jesus, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Heb 1:3-4) where it was written of Him “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Heb 1:5a) and “when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him” (Heb 1:6). Jesus is “is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Col 1:18) and “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29). Jesus is the firstborn, which really means that He is the preeminent One above everyone and everything and has greater privileges than the firstborn of the fathers of Israel and Judah had.

Conclusion

Do we despise our own calling by God? We can and that is by living an immoral life and by becoming bitter as it was written “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; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal” (Heb 12:15-16) because “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” (Heb 12:17).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.