There’s a story about a hunter and a cook. They were twins but had nothing in common. Contrary to what is expected, they we not alike in appearance nor character.

The hunter had the build of a brave warrior. He resembled a bear, ready to devour its prey. His physical abilities, coupled with his expertise in hunting would take him to the fields and forests. The delicious meat of his hunting expeditions, his masculine tendencies combined with the fact that he was the firstborn, all caused his father to favor him.

Whenever he returned from the fields, he would bring exquisite trophy animals home, which caused him to be admired by all. A “true leader” his father would proudly think.

But each time he was praised, pride and arrogance grew in the hunter. As his self-esteem increased, that of his skinny, quiet, home-loving brother, the cook, diminished.

Unlike the hunter, the cook was rarely noticed, except when he would skillfully prepare a tasty dish.

However, his quiet and home-loving nature did not stop him from being crafty. He knew that somehow, one day, his talent for cooking would change the course of history.

At a young age, and perhaps because of his more fragile nature, he became interested in learning how to cook. After all, he thought, everyone needs to eat. His mother’s encouragement was helpful as he learned. It fascinated her to the point that she became his faithful ally in guaranteeing his future.

In view of the immeasurable wealth of the family, the hunter boasted that sooner or later he would lead the powerful clan in the absence of his father. This fact was already set in stone. The second-born would serve the first-born. Family, relatives and friends counted on this happening.

Only two people believed in the impossible, in the opposite of the first scenario, in the Word of God: the cook and his mother.

And with no family dispute or court case, the one that had been born to serve became the master of the one that had been born to be master. The strong, unbeatable, brave, expert hunter, and leader gave it all up for a simple piece of bread and plate of lentils prepared by the cook.

The story of Esau and Jacob has been repeated for thousands of years because God exalts the lowly and humbles the exalted.

As it is written: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are …” 1 Corinthians 1.27,28