Profane Esau Sells His Birthright

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Profane Esau Sells His Birthright

• Genesis 2519-34

Presented by Bob DeWaay April 3, 2005
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Introducing a New Patriarchal Narrative

• Genesis 2519
• Now these are the records of the generations of
  Isaac, Abraham's son Abraham became the father
  of Isaac

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Rebekahs Family

• Genesis 2520
• and Isaac was forty years old when he took
  Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of
  Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to
  be his wife.

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Isaac Prays for Barren Rebekah

• Genesis 2521
• And Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his
  wife, because she was barren and the Lord
  answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

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The Conflict Already Begins

• Genesis 2522
• But the children struggled together within her
  and she said, If it is so, why then am I this
  way? So she went to inquire of the Lord.

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A Divine Oracle of Gods Purposes

• Genesis 2523
• And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in
  your womb And two peoples shall be separated
  from your body And one people shall be stronger
  than the other And the older shall serve the
  younger.

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Esau is the Firstborn

• Genesis 2524, 25
• When her days to be delivered were fulfilled,
  behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the
  first came forth red, all over like a hairy
  garment and they named him Esau.

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Jacob is the Heel Grabber

• Genesis 2526
• And afterward his brother came forth with his
  hand holding on to Esau's heel, so his name was
  called Jacob and Isaac was sixty years old when
  she gave birth to them.

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Family Tension

• Genesis 2527, 28
• When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful
  hunter, a man of the field but Jacob was a
  peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved
  Esau, because he had a taste for game but
  Rebekah loved Jacob.

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A Play on the Word Red

• Genesis 2529, 30
• And when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in
  from the field and he was famished and Esau said
  to Jacob, Please let me have a swallow of that
  red stuff there, for I am famished. Therefore
  his name was called Edom.

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Jacob Wants the Birthright

• Genesis 2531
• But Jacob said, First sell me your birthright.

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The Privileges Of the Firstborn Son

• Exodus 2229b
• The first-born of your sons you shall give to Me

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The Privileges Of the Firstborn Son

• Deuteronomy 2117
• But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son
  of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of
  all that he has, for he is the beginning of his
  strength to him belongs the right of the
  first-born.

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Esaus Appetite is More Important to Him than
Gods Blessing

• Genesis 2532, 33
• And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die so of
  what use then is the birthright to me? And Jacob
  said, First swear to me so he swore to him,
  and sold his birthright to Jacob.

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Profane Esau Shows Contempt for His Birthright

• Genesis 2534
• Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew and
  he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.
  Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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Applications

• Do not allow temporal appetites to cause you to
  suffer eternal, spiritual loss.
• Gods purposes never absolve us from the
  responsibility of making right choices.

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Do not allow temporal appetites to cause you to
suffer eternal loss.

• Hebrews 1215, 16
• See to it that no one comes short of the grace
  of God that no root of bitterness springing up
  causes trouble, and by it many be defiled that
  there be no immoral or godless person like Esau,
  who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

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Esaus Foolish Decision was Irreversible

• Hebrews 1217
• For you know that even afterwards, when he
  desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected,
  for he found no place for repentance, though he
  sought for it with tears.

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The Bitter Root

• Deuteronomy 2918
• lest there shall be among you a man or woman, or
  family or tribe, whose heart turns away today
  from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods
  of those nations lest there shall be among you a
  root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood.

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Gods purposes never absolve us from the
responsibility of making right choices.

• Romans 910
• And not only this, but there was Rebekah also,
  when she had conceived twins by one man, our
  father Isaac

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Gods purposes never absolve us from the
responsibility of making right choices.

• Romans 911
• for though the twins were not yet born, and had
  not done anything good or bad, in order that
  God's purpose according to His choice might
  stand, not because of works, but because of Him
  who calls,

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Gods Purpose Revealed to Rebekah

• Romans 912
• It was said to her, The older will serve the
  younger.

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There Is no Excuse

• Romans 919, 20
• You will say to me then, Why does He still find
  fault? For who resists His will? On the
  contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to
  God? The thing molded will not say to the molder,
  Why did you make me like this, will it?

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Distinguishing Between Gods Providential Will
and Moral Will

• Acts 427, 28
• For truly in this city there were gathered
  together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom
  You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
  along with the Gentiles and the peoples of
  Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose
  predestined to occur.

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Distinguishing Between Gods Providential Will
and Moral Will

• Acts 237, 38
• Now when they heard this, they were pierced to
  the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
  apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter
  said to them, Repent, and each of you be
  baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
  forgiveness of your sins and you will receive
  the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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Distinguishing Between Gods Providential Will
and Moral Will

• Acts 239, 40
• For the promise is for you and your children
  and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord
  our God will call to Himself. And with many
  other words he solemnly testified and kept on
  exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this
  perverse generation!

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Distinguishing Between Gods Providential Will
and Moral Will

• Joel 232
• And it will come about that whoever calls on the
  name of the Lord Will be delivered For on Mount
  Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who
  escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the
  survivors whom the Lord calls.

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Avoiding Two Errors

• 1) Failure to preach the gospel using the excuse
  that God will save His elect anyhow. (See
  Romans 1014)
• 2) Preaching something less than the gospel
  hoping to make the Christian message appealing to
  the unregenerate mind and thereby save more.

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