Esau warring over the birthright and the blessing

Genesis 27: 40: And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

When Jacob took Esau’s birthright and his blessing, it created a great rivalry between the two brothers and their offspring that has lasted throughout history. Jacob’s descendants became the Jewish people, and Esau’s descendants became the Edomites. Esau’s children (the Edomites) would live under the dominion of Israel (Jacob’s children), and in the days of the Roman Empire, these Edomites would become known as the Idumeans.

When the New Testament opens, we read of an Idumean by the name of Herod who had become King of Judea. Herod was in reality a child of Esau now ruling over the children of Jacob. This was the ancient battle of Esau warring over the birthright and the blessing, and seeking to have dominion over Jacob. But then Jesus was born. Jesus was a child of Jacob and thus had the true birthright and the true blessing of dominion and lordship. So we have two kings, the true and the false, Esau and Jacob, Herod and Jesus. As Esau plotted to kill Jacob, so Herod, the son of Esau, plotted to kill Jesus, the son of Jacob (Matthew 2: 16).