THE FAMOUS LENTIL STEW

I have never gotten so excited about food like I got excited two days ago when my little sister told me she had made curried lentil stew and left some for me. Just mentioning the word lentils got my curiosity heightened. My mind got excited because of the investment I have made and am making in studying Isaac’s family. Part of the excitement was that I wanted to find out if it was worth the trade for Esau’s traditional birthright.

I couldn’t wait for the next morning to eat it and I made sure I did. I was supposed to leave for a wedding but I wasn’t going to leave before eating that stew. My mind would have remained curious all day. So, instead of me dashing out and leaving for the wedding, I was warming up rice and curried lentil stew. I wondered if I wasn’t behaving like Esau in my own way by preferring to eat the lentils over getting to the wedding in good time. Perhaps I was guilty too.

With each scoop I wondered what Esau was thinking. The texture of lentils is nowhere near the texture of meat/game which this prolific hunter was used to having, the very one which made Isaac prefer him over the chosen son. How is it that lentil stew trumped red meat for those minutes? To a hungry soul even bitter herbs are sweet I tell you. Don’t get me wrong, lentils are nice, I am just saying they are so different from meat. The two are incomparable.

Vegetables hold their place with regards to our health and we should by all means eat them. Was Esau missing these in his diet since he was a meat lover or it was just the power of urgency? Having a balanced diet helps with wholesome health, even our souls and spirits require a balanced diet. We are tempted according to our desires. Was his desire for immediate satisfaction more powerful than the desire for proper fulfilment that comes by learning to be patient and allow process to take its full course? Quick fixes always come with regret.

Anyway, I enjoyed that plate of food because it gave me a peek into Esau’s mind. I kind of took a short journey into what my husband and I call “THE ESAU HOUR”. It’s that hour when the urge for food almost makes you lose your head.