Jump Start # 1520

Hebrews 12:16 “that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal”

  Oh, Esau. Well do we remember his story. He was the first born of his twin Jacob. He was the hunter, loved by his father. The first male carried all kinds of privileges. The family estate was generally divided into two halves. The first born male got one half. The rest of the sons divided the other half. That was a huge economic advantage for the first born. The family name was generally traced through the first born son. Esau was riding high. It was his for the taking. But after hunting he returned famished. He thought he was going to die. He wanted something to eat and his twin, deceived, tricked and fangled his way into the deal of a life time. A bowl of stew for his birthright. He must have thought, ‘What good is the birthright if I am dead.’ So, the trade was made. It was foolish, not thought out, and not reversible. He got a meal and Jacob got the “rights.”

Our text refers to Esau as “immoral” and “godless.” Pretty harsh terms for someone who was tricked. Maybe it’s there so we do not walk in his same steps, but we do. We do, way too often.

When we trade the eternal for the physical, we are standing in the soup line with Esau. A few more bucks, a greater promotion, but the cost has to be our family, our character, our integrity or much worse, our soul. Esau would be hungry again. I expect before the day ended, he was looking for a snack. By the next morning, he would definitely be hungry. What would he trade now? He gave away the best that he had.

That’s the trouble we get into when we trade our souls for pleasure, passion, promotion, or prestige. What is there remaining of value for us? We have given away the best and now, here we are, needing again. That soup line with Esau begins to look all to familiar to us.

Esau traded the lasting for the temporary. Birthrights didn’t become obsolete. They didn’t have an expiration date on them. Food however, only lasts for the moment. Food, for now, is great. But even when our bellies are full, they don’t stay that way. Another day, and we are hungry again. How foolish to trade something that lasts for something that never lasts. Esau did that. We can do the same. Illicit sexual pleasures, a night of drinking, some cheating here, some embezzling there, we know it’s wrong, but it’s fun. It’s the thrill. It’s where the excitement is. It’s the stuff people brag about on Monday mornings. Those romps in land of sin bring guilt and shame but we don’t think much about them. Another weekend and another trip to the land of sin. This doesn’t last. Another trip. Then another trip. The temporary never lasts. The temporary never satisfies. There always has to be another trip. There always has to be more. The soup line behind Esau becomes longer and longer when our minds are filled with the now. God wants us to set our minds on things above. Seek ye first the kingdom of God—those powerful expressions remind us to look past the temporary for the lasting.

Esau thought only of himself. His choice affected his lineage. He put them in a position beneath Jacob’s family. Thinking only of our self often cripples our family and can nearly ruin them spiritually. For instance, a dad gets mad with the folks at church. He’s had enough. He’s finished. He quits. He promises that he’ll never go back again. Not only is this dad sealing his own fate, but his kids now grow up not knowing the Lord. Sure, they’ll learn about the Bible, but it may come from a college professor who floods them with theories of doubt and skepticism. They’ll learn about relationships, but it won’t come from God. It may come from worldly friends who will teach them to use others for their benefit. They’ll learn about love and sex, not the Bible way, but from a boyfriend or a girlfriend who has no morals. You see, this dad who threw in the towel, wasn’t thinking about his family. His kids grow up and they marry people of the world. They have kids and they will never know anything about God. Generations could be ruined because of one Esau decision.

Esau is profane. He is godless. His choices reflect that. You and I stand right beside Esau, with the bowl in our hands, waiting for our portion of stew, when we fail to make the spiritual choices. The spiritual choices are often harder than the temporary choices. The spiritual choices often do not put us on the easy street. The spiritual choices often lead us to standing alone. The spiritual choices are the right choices.

Esau and a cup of stew. How simple. How shallow. How empty. How much like us. Will we ever learn? Will we toss aside the pursuit of happiness for the pursuit of holiness? Will we stop singing and dancing with the wolves who want to devour us? Will we ever understand that God’s ways are always the best ways.

A bowl of stew. That’s all it took for Esau to sell out.

Roger