Esau:
Are You Trusting God for Who You Are?(e)
Gen 25:21-34
James R. Davis
Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his
wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife
Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and
she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the
LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples
from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the
other, and the older will serve the younger." When the time came for her
to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out
was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him
Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel;
so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth
to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of
the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.
Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
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 that 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. (Gen 25:21-34.)
Jacob and Esau were opposites. Jacob was chosen
by God to receive the spiritual blessings bestowed on Abraham. Esau was
rejected as heir to those promises. Jacob was the apple of his mother's
eye; Esau was the apple of his father's eye. Esau was fond of the strenuous
daring life of a hunter; Jacob was a quiet man living in tents. Esau lived
for the moment; Jacob lived for the future. Jacob was responsible; Esau
was not. Jacob misused God's blessings; Esau failed to take advantage of
the blessings of God. Jacob spent most of his life misusing his natural
abilities in an effort to bring the blessing of God to pass. Esau spent
his life refusing to use his abilities in the service of God.
Esau's life was much different than Jacob's.
God blessed Jacob. He was to be the one through whom the spiritual blessings
for humanity were to come. No doubt Esau and Jacob were reminded from the
time of birth about God's choice. Esau stood on the sidelines bemoaning
God's decree. Esau chose to despise his lot in life. He hated his birthright.
(Genesis 25:34.) Esau became profane and ungodly.
It is suggested by some that Esau became a
hunter because he failed to take seriously his responsibilities at home.
Hunting was an escape for him. He didn't need the game to eat. They had
herds of sheep and goats that they could eat. So Esau was probably out
hunting because he begrudged Jacob's blessing.
The Hebrew writer warns lest we become like
Esau, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many
be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who
for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found
no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."(Heb
12:16.)
How Do We Despise Our Birthright?
Esau was like many today who don't like their
circumstances. These people stand around bemoaning the fact that they don't
have the natural and even the God-given ability to do what others are capable
of doing. Looking at what others have, they despised the meagerness they
themselves have to offer. We look at what others have and despise ourselves.
We say, "I wish I was gifted." Every time I say this, it usually means
that I am overlooking my own blessings and potential. I have seen members
of the church play the part of Esau. Sometimes we think that it is a sign
of humility to say we can't do what others are doing. Many times it is
a justification to do nothing.
Esau refused to understand that Jacob's blessing
did not exclude him from the blessings of God. God decreed that Esau would
be Jacob's servant. "And the LORD said unto her, 'Two nations are in thy
womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and
the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall
serve the younger.'" (Gen 25:23.) Esau was to serve Jacob.
I wonder what would have happened in Esau's
life if he had become a servant as God desired. He was supposed to serve
Jacob . . . I know that is beneath his dignity, but it was God's desire.
What would have happened if Esau had a much different attitude? What would
have happened to Esau and his descendants if he had used what God gave
him? Wouldn't it have been wonderful if he had taken the high road? What
if Esau had said, "Well Jacob I can't understand why God chose a supplanter
like you, but I am going to accept it. I'm going to work real hard to help
God's blessing become a reality in your life. I'm going to spend my life
serving you just as God decreed."
Just yesterday I was working with a fellow
who is not a member of our congregation. He is helping us build an addition
to our building. We are doing the job with voluntary labor. When we quit
for the day, he turned to me and said, "Thank you for helping me put these
rafters up." He is a professional builder he thinks that it is his job
to get the work done. I thought that I ought to be thanking him. I thought
he was serving us. He thought we were helping him. I thought, he's got
an odd way of thinking. He feels that we are serving him. We feel that
he is doing us a service. Well Esau had a much different attitude. He wanted
to make sure that he wasn't helping anyone but himself to instant gratification.
It's ironic that Esau sold his birthright
to Jacob . . . God had already given it to Jacob. That's probably why he
gave it up so easily. Esau not only hated his birthright . . . he also
hated his circumstances in life. He resented the fact that Jacob always
seemed to be one up on him. "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob?
for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright;
and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou
not reserved a blessing for me?" (Gen 27:36.) It was Esau's irresponsibility
that allowed Jacob to be one up on him.
Esau set his heart on killing Jacob after
Jacob wrestled the birthright from Isaac. Esau blamed others for his lot
in life. He held Jacob responsible. But it was Esau's irresponsibility
that caused him his difficulty. He was the one who offered to sell his
birthright for a bowl of soup. Anyone would have taken him up on that deal.
After the pleasure of the moment subsided he blamed Jacob but it was Esau's
impulsiveness that was the heart of the problem.
Do We Despise God's Sovereign Control?
Esau despised the lot assigned to him by God.
He resented his brother Jacob. He became profane and godless because of
his assigned lot.
1. Do we despise God's sovereign control?
When we go through life saying, "poor
me, I have been dealt a bad hand", only bitterness can result. "See to
it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral,
or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights
as the oldest son." (Heb 12:15-16.)
In Romans chapter 9, Paul is explaining that
God has chosen some vessels for noble purposes and others for common purposes.
Paul perceives what is going to be ask by those in the church at Rome.
"One of you will say to me: 'Then why does
God still blame us? For who resists his will?' But who are you, O man,
to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why
did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make
out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for
common use?" (Rom 9:19-21.)
2. The Potter has power over the clay.
The Potter can take a marred pot and shape it as he sees fit. That
is exactly what God did with Jacob. God took a swindler and led him through
life allowing him to wrestle with the world, and in time he looked up and
saw God.
"This is the word that came to Jeremiah
from the LORD: 'Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you
my message.' So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working
at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his
hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best
to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I
not do with you as this potter does?' declares the LORD. 'Like clay in
the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'" (Jer
18:1-6.)
"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the
clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." (Isa 64:8.)
3. God does not respect one vessel over
another. "God is not respector of persons." (Acts 10:34.)
We hear so much about self-esteem
today. Esteem has to do with how we regard someone. Self-esteem has to
do with how we regard ourselves. It is how we see ourselves. It may have
nothing to do with who we really are. How does God regard you? This is
the question.
4. Has God not made you a vessel of honor?
God molds the clay as He sees
fit. "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of
clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" (Rom
9:21.)
God told Ananias that a murder was a chosen
instrument, another version says "vessel."
"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man
is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their
kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must
suffer for my name.'" (Acts 9:15-16.)
5. God shows his power through weak
earthen vessels. It is not the nature of the vessel but the power of God
that matters. "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that
this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Cor 4:7.)
Paul stressed the power of the treasure placed in the jar of clay. The
power in in the message not the man.
6. Anyone can be a vessel of honor. Even
Esau had this choice.
"Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are
his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver,
but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every
good work." (2 Tim 2:19-21.)
7. When we begin to see what God
is molding us into and appreciating it, then we will discover the power
of God.
Note what Paul said about Jacob and Esau.
It wasn't because one was good and the other was bad. The choice was made
before either was born. "Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one
and the same father, our father Isaac.Yet, before the twins were born or
had done anything good or bad-- in order that God's purpose in election
might stand: not by works but by him who calls-- she was told, 'The older
will serve the younger.'" (Rom 9:10-12.)
Do You Trust God's Sovereign Choice?
Many times we go to a passage such as Genesis,
concerning the story of Esau, and Romans chapter nine and adopt an attitude
of fatalism. We think the mold is set. The one talent man said, "Lord I
knew that you were a hard master, so I went and hid what you gave me."
All he was ever expected to do was use what God gave him. That's all he
could have done. But that would have sufficient.
If you use the blessings of God, that will
be all that you will ever need for your sufficiency.
Esau was blessed. He was just blessed differently.
That was something that he could never appreciate. If one traces Esau's
descendants, one quickly realizes that Esau came into his own inheritance
long before Jacob's descendants. God promised Abraham that all his children
would be the fathers of great nations. (By the way Abraham is the father
of the Arab world and it just so happens that he is our spiritual father.
We inherited that spiritual blessing through Jacob who made the cross possible
through his faithfulness.) Esau became the father of the Edomites. While
Jacob's descendants spent over four hundred years in slavery in Egypt,
Esau was developing into a respectable nation, at least in the eyes of
the world. But he lacked self-respect and became a disgrace to God. He
could have just easily obeyed God and received a spiritual blessing and
that is the blessing we have in Christ today. Esau's descendants met Jacob's
descendants when they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years
and they refused to give them passage through their land. By doing this
Esau's descendants refused to fulfill their God-given potential in life
once again. They refused to serve Jacob. The book of Obadiah condemns Esau's
descendants to the punishment of God.
The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign
LORD says about Edom-- We have heard a message from the LORD: An envoy
was sent to the nations to say, "Rise, and let us go against her for battle"--"See,
I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of
the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who
can bring me down to the ground?' Though you soar like the eagle and make
your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares
the LORD. (Obadiah 1:1-4.)
"But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it
will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. The
house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house
of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There
will be no survivors from the house of Esau." The LORD has spoken." (Obad
1:17-18.)
You may be struggling to offer the living
sacrifice God is asking you to offer, while others seem to have no trouble
at all. But God has a way of leveling the playing field.
How Does It Apply To Us?
In 1 Corinthians 12:11-27, Paul tells the
Christians that all cannot be an eye, all cannot be an ear, all cannot
be the same member of the body. But God has set each of us in the body
as it pleases HIM.
Small churches think that they have no roll
to play in God's plan. The small church can't furnish people what big churches
can furnish. I have heard people encourage visitors to go to the larger
churches. I would like to say to them, "If people like you stick around
long enough, we will build something for this community. Sometimes we despise
our birthright.
