October 5, 2023
Topic: DESPISING YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
Text: : Genesis 25:23-34
Memory Verse: 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
(Genesis 25:34)
Life can be described as a series of transactions. Every day, we trade something we have for something we want/need. The key to success is ensuring that we do not trade something precious and lasting for something fleeting and cheap. In our passage today, Esau the first-born son of Isaac traded his precious birthright to satisfy a temporary hunger. The passage closes with the statement, “…So Esau despised his birthright”. The Birthright was the key to his inheritance. As the firstborn, he was heir to his father’s estate which was considerable. In his haste to satisfy his hunger, he treated his birthright as inconsequential. Hebrews
12:16 calls him a profane person, a person who deals lightly with sacred things.
Jacob was different in that he understood the value of the birthright and when he saw the opportunity, he traded a cheap bowl of stew for the right of the firstborn. In time, he got the opportunity to cash that cheque and received the value by getting the blessing of the firstborn from his father. God who knows the end from the beginning and predestines according to His fore knowledge (Romans 8:29) rejected Esau from being the patriarch of the next generation of His people. He was not going to commit the destiny of His chosen people into the hands of someone who would treat it with levity. After wards, Esau cried bitterly in regret but he could not recover what he had traded off(Hebrews 12:17).
In your life transactions, what are you trading off? Are you trading godly virtues and eternal values for temporary gains and pleasures of the flesh? You may think that getting that promotion or contract by compromising and bending the rule is ‘applying wisdom’ and that God understands. You may get what you want, pass that exam but at what ultimate cost? Will it be worth it in the end? God searches the heart and is looking to show up and show off on behalf of those whose hearts value sacred things and are set on pleasing Him (2 Chronicles 16:19). Will you commit today to weigh your transactions carefully and be sure that you are not trading at a loss?
Prayer: Lord, NOTHING is worth my displeasing You. Help me today and every day to set the compass of my heart towards pleasing you. Amen!