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ND Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29-34)
A vow is an important declaration. We should not make promises and vows that we are not certain of being able to fulfill. If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:2) It is for this reason that asking church members to obligate themselves to pay a certain amount of money in future, to enlarge the church, can cause them to sin. Suppose I obligate myself to pay $25,000 over the next five years for a new sanctuary. After one year, I become disabled and unable to pay.. Have I not sinned according to the law of God? But if I commit my soul in my heart to do so, without a commitment, and cannot comply, I have not sinned in principle according to the next verses: When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. (Deuteronomy 23:21-22)
From the very beginning, there were stark differences in Esau and Jacob. Esau seems to be a warning to the world since everything in his life seemed to come up RED. Even at birth, Esau came out from his mother’s womb red and ruddy. Rebekkah conceived and bare sons to Isaac: 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 23 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. 24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. 27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:22-28)
I am reminded of the first sons born upon earth – Cain and Abel. Like Esau and Jacob, the first son was ungodly, and the second a true prophet of the Lord.
There are a few terms here given which mean the same thing – RED. Esau is the name meaning RED.. He sold his birthright for a bowl of RED porridge; therefore, he was called an Edomite – again, meaning RED. The Bible tells us that Easu was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. In other words, Esau was a man of the world (field). The field is the world. (Matthew 13:38) He was doubtless attractive to the ladies with a mean streak. He was more fixed on the here-and-now than he was on the hereafter. When the pangs of hunger and desire cried for satisfaction, he would prefer the satisfaction of the present to any future reward. Of course, he may have made his vow lightly, not believing his brother (and the LORD) would hold him to the jot and tittle of it. But that is a lesson for all of us – we must make our vows and promises seriously and sincerely.
Now comes the day when Esau has been out in the wilderness enjoying a hunt – killing was, indeed, his pleasure. When he came upon his brother, Jacob, he saw that he was boiling a porridge of lentils. He wanted that porridge at all costs. Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. You will recall that Esau was the firstborn, but Jacob had taken hold of Esau’s heal at birth. His name means ‘one who supplants,’ or usurper. Here we begin to discern a fundamental difference in the two brothers. Esau was minded to cherish the things of this world, but Jacob was one who fixed his focus on a future objective and held on tight until that objective was accomplished. Remember, he first loved Rachel, and was fooled into working seven years for her hand in marriage; but Jacob was duped into marrying the older (and perhaps uglier) sister, Leah. But Jacob was not the type to forget his first love. He worked another seven years for Laban for the hand of Rachel. Remember the Lord’s warning to the Church at Ephesus: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (Revelation 2:4)
Perseverance and determination characterizes Jacob throughout his life. He even wrestled with the great Angel of the Lord at Peniel, and the Lord was pleased with Jacob’s grit and determination in wrestling with both man and God. Sometimes we need to wrestle with God to learn our calling. We will in no wise win the Lord to our side, but we may at least be won over to the Lord’s side.
As a result of the light-hearted vow Esau had made to his brother, Jacob, he would lose his inheritance even if by cunning and trickery on the part of their mother Rebekkah. That story is found in Genesis 27:1-40.
What can we glean for our modern day in the story of Esau? Have things of the world changed so much since that day?
In our day, the bowl of RED porridge is socialism in all its forms – Communism, Fascism, Nazism, Fabianism, etc. We do not wish to boil our own porridge, so we are willing to trade our Godly heritage as a free people for the RED porridge made by others – the so-called ELITE. Once we have partaken of that RED porridge, we no longer have a birthright, or any rights at all. Every decision of our lives will be made by the collective. Though we may have toppled the government of freedom and liberty with outraged demonstrations and screams of ‘unfair,’ such will not be allowed by the hard rule of socialism under which we may have fallen.. The steel-towed boot will replace the voter’s franchise and the aggrieved petitions of the persecuted. All voices to the contrary will be silenced and, believe me, the socialist regimes know how to silence the contrary voices since no man objects to anything from the dungeon or the grave.
Esau and his progeny have been lost in the dust of time. No one pleads his cause, or remembers his hunting exploits; but, Jacob is remembered in God’s Book in prominent mention. His name was changed by God to Israel. He is in the spiritual lineage of all who remember their First Love in Christ. Just as Abraham was the father of Isaac and Jacob, and Esau was not (though in the bloodline), so are you and I in that same lineage in being adopted into the family of God through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:12-16)
Please read and digest this important passage whose terms are so clearly stated as to need no exposition: 9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. 13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:9-16)
I hope you will resist the error of computing the Chosen of God based on race and bloodlines and resort to faith-lines instead. We are sons and daughters of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Believe it!
