*Lentil

 

Esau’s concern for food outweighed his common sense.  We are asked to think beyond food and into any part of our lives where we get a little lazy and put creature comfort ahead of the right thing to do.

Lentil is a metaphor for savoring its taste to the point of poor judgment as Esau giving up his birthright:

Genesis 25:30-34

³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, (lentils),

for I am famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom meaning “red”. )

 ³¹ Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

 ³² Esau said, "I am about to die;

of what use is a birthright to me?"

 ³³ Jacob said, "Swear to me first."

So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

In Israel the reddish-brown-chocolate lentil was offered by Jacob to Esau. Harvested as you would wheat, they are strung as are beans, then ground into flour with other grains and used for bread, pottage, soups, paste and puree. Vines were fed to cattle. Lentil soup is found on the menu today in the lower Mediterranean.

Recipe for Lentil soup:

      Spiced Lentil Soup 

Brown 1/2 lb sausage (casing

removed), crumbled with 1/2 cup diced onion*

Place 1/3 cup barley in a skillet with 3 garlic* cloves minced

Transfer to slow cooker or large stockpot

Add 3 quarts of chicken stock and 1 cup lentils and

1 whole chicken breast uncooked

Chop 1/2 cup parsley;

simmer as long as you desire or until lentils* are tender

Remove chicken breast, discarding cartilage and bone

Shred meat and place in soup

Add 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans* with juice

and 1/2 to1 lb fresh or frozen spinach

Use with 1 jar (12 oz) mild or

medium salsa and heat through 10 servings