FROM the purely natural standpoint, Esau was the more admirable character of the two. He was frank and straightforward, a man of the open air, daring and bold; just such a one as most men esteem. Jacob was crafty and scheming, a weakling who depended on his wits rather than his physical prowess. But he valued eternal things, and from his youth counted the covenant of God as something worthy to be obtained. Dealt with by God in discipline, he became sobered and mellowed as the years went by, until, at last, we see him as a reverent worshiper in lowly subjection to the will of God. There is no evidence that Esau ever placed much value upon that birthright which as a youth he sold for a mess of pottage. His interests were in the things of time, not in those of eternity.
“Impetuous Jacob stretched a hasty hand
And marred the beauty of the life God planned.
How wonderful that God could smile and wait.
Fulfilling still His purpose soon or late!
Thus in our lives our Father perseveres,
From morn to morn, through all the livelong years.
Why should we let Him wait so long a while
To see our chastened hearts reflect His smile?”
—Thomas O. Blair.