The Right Choice
As many in the world mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth, it is fascinating to watch the royal succession process and plan that is swiftly moving forward. As the firstborn son, Charles has acceded to the throne that became his as part of his birthright. And he has inherited all of the assets and titles afforded to the position of reigning monarch of The United Kingdom and it’s realms. By contrast, in this week’s scripture (Gen. 25:19-24) we see God’s promises and all of its attendant blessings being passed down generationally from Abraham. First through Isaac, and then through one of his sons. Not beholden to man’s customs, God chose Jacob, the younger son, to receive the promise, even though that blessing would have normally gone to the firstborn son. God understood that Esau was not the son who would value the promise or the God who would fulfill it. The wisdom of God’s choice was made plain by the fact that Esau forsook his birthright as the firstborn son, for the temporary satisfaction of a meal. Jacob, on the other hand valued the blessing of the birthright. And even though he schemed to take it away from his brother, God’s sovereignty was not usurped, because He had already ordained Jacob for it. May God bless you to be a faithful heir of His eternal promises and not to discard them for the temporary satisfactions of the world.
This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. 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. ” (Gen. 25:19-23). Although Isaac was the son through whom God’s promise to Abraham would be passed down, it took 20 years and persistent prayer before God blessed his union to Rebekah with children to perpetuate the lineage and keep the promise alive. God answered Isaac’s prayers and Rebekah became pregnant. But but there was an unusual amount of activity in her womb, she inquired of the Lord to understand what was happening. God revealed to her that she would have twins, that they would be two separate nations at odds with each other and that (contrary to custom and culture) the older child would serve the younger child. Just hold on! God hears your prayers and He will answer you in His timing. And He will not fail to fulfill what He has promised.
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 content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Gen. 25:24-28). God was faithful to His word, and Rebekah saw in the physical birth of twins what God had revealed to her in the spiritual. The twins received names after their individual characteristics. As God said, they were at odds with each other from birth. And as they grew up, although they were twins, they were very different. Isaac and Rebekah each had their favorite child. Isaac loved Esau because of what he saw in the physical realm, but Rebekah loved Jacob probably because of what had been revealed to her spiritually by God. We often are swayed by outward appearances and actions, but God looks at the heart and acts according to His purposes.
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. 25:29-34). Scripture uses this incident to impress upon us how little Esau valued the birthright that would normally have accrued to the firstborn son. Esau gave up his birthright for something as mundane as bread and some lentil stew. From a spiritual perspective, it expounds for us, the wisdom of God in choosing Jacob (instead of Esau) as the child of promise. Not because of his righteousness, but because he desired and valued the blessing. Set your desires not on the temporary satisfaction of this world, but on things that are eternal.
Charles Spurgeon, the noted U.K. preacher, author and evangelist is said to have been approached by a woman who questioned him as to why God would say that He hated Esau (see Malachi 1:2-3). Sturgeon’s response? “That is not my difficulty Madam. My trouble is to understand how God could love Jacob.”. Every now and then, we should also wonder why God chose to love someone like us. Like Jacob, we fall far short of the righteousness of God. And it is only because of God’s grace that we are offered salvation and God’s blessing of eternal life with Him. Like Esau we can choose to reject the Father’s blessing and settle for the temporary satisfactions of this world. Or like Jacob, we can see the value of God’s blessing and seek Him to receive it. The options are clear…you just need to make the right choice!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
