“Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Each time I read about Jacob and Esau, I am reminded that the only real hero in the Bible is God. The Bible always tells the truth about human beings, and this is not illustrated any better than with Jacob and Esau. Esau was the oldest of the fraternal twins, but because he was hungry, and because his brother Jacob knew his weaknesses, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a “mess of pottage.” (You can read the whole thing in Genesis 24:29-34.) We can learn some things from this sordid affair, which I think is one of the points of having the story in the Bible in the first place. Esau teaches us here of the futility of living only for the moment. Esau was famished and wanted something to eat. Jacob knew this and tempted him with the “mess of pottage.” Because Esau thought he was about to starve to death, he didn’t look beyond getting his stomach filled and sold his birthright to Jacob. It didn’t seem to occur to him that his birthright was more important than his stomach. I have to wonder if we have learned this lesson. We see all of the shiny objects, like wide-screen television sets, sleek cars, spiffy furniture etc. and we just have to have them, and so we go into debt to have them. We read all of the time about people who let credit card debts pile up until they could not possibly pay them, all to have the shiny objects that they can’t resist. I think that our government uses the Esau method as well. We just go on getting deeper and deeper into debt, building up a debt for our grandchildren and great grandchildren. (This is not a political statement. Both political parties have done a good job of getting us into debt.) This is only one illustration of our Esau-like behavior. I don’t want to appear too cynical here, but I think sometimes that our economy is built around our insatiable appetites for things and for pleasure. We make decisions based on our desires rather than on common sense. I must confess that I have been guilty of this, and you have probably been guilty. I have wanted “things” to the point of getting into debt. Fortunately, I have learned from my mistakes and know that no “thing” and no pleasure is worth the price that I might have to pay for them. I trust that as you read about this, you will become aware of your own Esau-like tendencies and not give in to the temptations that abound in our affluent and immoral society. When Satan was tempting Jesus in Matthew 4, he showed him all of the kingdoms of the world and told him that He could have all of it if He would just worship him. Of course, Jesus did not succumb to that, and we can be grateful that our Savior was not Esau-like. Satan is not above throwing the same kinds of things in our faces. He wants to blind us to the futility of living for the moment and having momentary pleasure instead of having spiritual satisfaction. We need to remember what Jesus said about this in Matthew 16:24-27: “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any (person) will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his/her cross and follow me. 25. For whosoever will save his/her life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his/her life for my sake shall find it. 26. For what is a (person) profited, if he/she shall gain the whole world, and lose his/her soul? Or what shall a (person) give in exchange for his/her soul? 27. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels: and then He shall reward every (person) according to his/her works.” (Of course I added “person” and “his/her” to the text.) What Esau lacked was self-denial. We would do well to look at our own lives and see if we are short on the virtue of self-denial. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2. Let every one of us please his (or her) for his (or her) good to edification. 3. For even Christ pleased not Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of them that reproached you fell on me.”
|
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|