So why did Jacob want the birthright so badly that he would extort his brother? Great question and parts of the answer has had me pondering all morning.

A verse in Deuteronomy 21 provides a number of clues.

15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, 16 then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn. 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.“

So yes, he gets double the goodies but a careful study of that in Hebrew Rabbinic teaching provides an amazing why. The firstborn son is to provide for both his widowed mom and dowries and provision for any unmarried sisters.

But there is so much more alluded to here in Numbers 3.

11 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.””

So here is some meat to chew on. God changed the priesthood from the firstborn son to the Levites when God struck down the first born of Egypt. Clearly Jesus is God’s Firstborn, first sign of His strength our High Priest and our Older Brother, pointing us all to The Father and making us a Kingdom of Priests and providing for our widows and sisters….. Jesus Labor of Love