Genesis 25:31

Sell me this day thy birthright. Jacob knew of the angel’s prophecy concerning himself and his brother, made prior to their birth (see v. 23; Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 178). Now he took advantage of what appeared to him to be a fair, though unusual, opportunity. Under the Mosaic legislation the privileges of the first-born were: (1) succession to the official authority of the father, (2) the inheritance of a double portion of the father’s property, (3) the privilege of becoming the family priest (see Exodus 22:29; Numbers 8:14-17; Deuteronomy 21:17). To the descendants of Abraham the birthright also implied: (1) succession to the promise of the earthly Canaan and other covenant blessings, (2) the honor of being a progenitor of the promised Seed.

Jacob’s proposal was unscrupulous and contemptible. It reveals, as well, a spirit of impatience, and a lack of confidence in the overruling providence of God, similar to that manifested by Abraham in his marriage to Hagar (Genesis 16:3). Jacob’s conditions of sale were exacting, selfish, and base. The theory that the end justifies the means does not have the approval of Heaven (see Matthew 4:3, 4; Desire of Ages, pp. 121, 122). God could not approve the act, but He did overrule it to the eventual accomplishment of His purpose.