Jacob’s Red Lentil Birthright Soup
Red Lentil Soup With Oats Bread
From Genesis 25
Jacob’s Red Lentil Birthright Soup from Genesis 25
Priorities. That is the story of Esau (Edom) in a nutshell. Sometimes setting our priorities straight can mean the world of difference in our lives. It did for Esau - his whole course of life changed due to his misplaced priorities. It not only affected his life, but it did for all his generations to come. When he realized the impact volume, he even tried to undo it, but in vain. We often think that at the most, our misdeeds, choices, priorities will affect only us, but it seldom does.
Do these phrases sound familiar?
'As long as I am not hurting others,’
'My life, my choice,’
'I am accountable to no one but me,’
'Love yourself.’
We have all used these phrases one way or the other, haven't we? In the big picture, none of this is true. Every decision we make affects our life, alters its course and in turn affects people around us. In some cases it affects our future generations. The tricky part is, you will never know which one does!
Let's look at this story first. Isaac marries Rebekah who is Abraham's brother Nahor's granddaughter. Though their marriage was arranged, it almost looked as if there was love at first sight. After a long twenty year struggle to get pregnant, by God's grace, Rebekah got pregnant with twins. The babies were prophesied to become two nations and that they would be separated. Not just that, but also the one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger. (Gen 25:23) Uuuffff, that is a lot to take in when you are pregnant with twins!
When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first was Esau because he came out red and hairy. And next came Jacob with his hands grasping Esau's heel. What a sight! I can imagine the look on the midwives assisting Rebekah's delivery. Esau was born red and as he grew up he became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman. While Jacob took things slow and was content to stay home among the tents, Isaac and Esau shared a common interest in wild game. So Isaac loved Esau more, while Rebekah loved Jacob more. So far it sounds like any other normal family, huh? The story is anything but normal.
Genesis 25:29 says,
‘Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of the red stew! I'm famished! (That is why he was also called Edom). Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright". "Look, I am about to die," Esau said, "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some Lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright’.
Wait a minute here, what just happened? As a reader, this sounds very foolish, doesn't it? I mean, who would sell a birthright for a bowl of soup? Carrying a birthright means you will be the next head of the family. Not just that, you will have a double portion of the inheritance (Refer to Deuteronomy 21:15-17). So why? It's not as simple as it sounds, there are layers in this story. Let's take a peek at one of those layers.
Have you been hungry? I mean, really hungry, to a point that you are 'Hangry'? Everyone reacts to hunger in a different way, but we can all agree that when you are famished, it's very hard to think straight. You can't think of anything but to eat. We feel irritated, even dizzy sometimes. But would you sell your house for a single meal? I hope not! Why then do you think Esau sold his birthright to Jacob? Did Jacob deceive Esau? Absolutely not! Though Jacob's intentions are far from noble, he did blatantly ask Esau to sell his birthright in exchange for food. He didn't deceive him, manipulated more like it!
Right comes with responsibility. When you say you have a right to something, that means you have responsibility towards it. If you don't want to carry the responsibility, then your right will feel little or even a burden for you. The same happened with Esau, to a point that he not only took his birthright lightly, he even despised his birthright. Maybe for an outdoorsman like Esau - leading your family, resolving conflicts, managing finance, protecting your household, expanding your wealth didn't entice much like hunting and being in the woods. It was a huge responsibility to be the head of a household, as Issac’s household consisted of not only family members but also servants, helpers and their families as well.
Esau prioritized what he thought was freedom over responsibilities. Even a bowl of soup took precedence over his birthright. He despised his birthright to a point that even after he quenched his hunger with some red lentil soup and bread, he could have disputed it, taken this to his parents, elders, but no, NOTHING.
Gen 25:34 says, He ate, drank, and then got up and left. That is it. Just left without a fight. How small did he think his right was for him to act that way? It was and he did.
What about us? Was Esau the only one to behave this way? How many responsibilities have we evaded from? From our family to our country, how many?
Jesus didn't evade his responsibilities. In Matthew 26: 53,54 Jesus said, 'Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
Jesus could have. He could have not gotten arrested and experienced that horrible death. He could have just called on The Father and gotten legions of angels to rescue him. But he didn't. He suffered on that cross for us. He won the battle and He rose again, all for us. When we say we have to lead a life with Jesus as our example, it comes with duties and responsibilities too.
When you are making this recipe today, use this opportunity and meditate on this. Ask God to shine light on our misplaced priorities and evaded responsibilities.
Esau later would even weep to his father begging for a second chance (Refer to Genesis 27: 34-40). But it was too late by then. So before it's too late for us, let's ask God to reveal our rightful responsibilities. Make this a discussion point with our family or group as you savor this wonderful soup and bread recipe.
Jacobs Soup from Genesis 25
Birthright soup Recipe:
1 cup red lentils (You can substitute this with yellow or green lentils)
1 cup red beans, cooked
1 large red or white onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 cup chicken stock (Optional: if you want a vegetarian version, you can use a veggie stock )
1 tsp. Serrano peppers or any green pepper of you choice
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
salt - as desired
sour cream, for garnish
Method:
1. Wash and soak the lentils for 1 hr. before starting to cook.
2. Add the soaked lentils, salt, cumin, pepper, 1/2 of chopped onions and garlic, cilantro with 3 cups of water and pressure cook it for 3 whistles. If using a pot, let it simmer with the lid closed until the lentils are soft and mushy.
3. In a pan, add the ghee, and heat to medium. Once the pan is hot, add a pinch of whole cumin seeds, Serrano or green peppers, the remaining chopped onions, garlic and let it cook till the onions are transparent.
4. Add the tomato paste with a couple of teaspoons of water and once its heated through, add the chicken stock and red beans. Let this come to a boil and then add paprika and salt to taste.
5. At this stage, add the cooked mashed lentils and let the soup simmer on low for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro, a dollop of sour cream and serve it hot with the Oat bread.
Optionally, you can serve this on rice or a side of pita bread. It's not just delicious, but also simple and hearty. And NO... no matter how good it tastes, you cannot ask people to give up their rights in return for your soup. LoL!
Jacob’s Red Lentil soup with Oats bread
Oats bread recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup oats flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 packet Instant yeast
1 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
1/4 Tsp salt
3/4 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. butter
Oats bread
Method:
1.Combine Maple syrup, yeast, with water and let it rise till you see it foaming
2. Add the flour, salt with the yeast mixture and combine it well to form a ball shaped dough
3. Cover it and let it rest in a warm place. I have kept my dough inside the oven with the oven switched off and the lights on.
4. After 30 minutes, punch the raised dough, knead it for 2 minutes and form into your desired shape and place it in the loaf pan. And let it rise again in the pan for 30 more minutes.
Melt the butter and apply half of the butter on the dough and coat all around it. Sprinkle some oats on top.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake it for 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when you poke in the middle. Apply the remaining butter.
6. Let it rest for 15 minutes and slice it.
