September 4
“Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears,” Hebrews 12:16-17.
In the text above, the author issues a warning to all his readers against falling from the faith and discarding what is sacred. The warning that is used is based upon what Esau did. “Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau.” The Bible says nothing about Esau being a fornicator in the sexual sense. Therefore, we understand the word fornicator in the spiritual sense. Esau lost his love for his Lord and spiritually divorced himself from God. Esau was a profane person. He discarded something that was sacred – namely, his birthright. “For one morsel of food (he) sold his birthright.”
What was the birthright? Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah. The firstborn had certain inheritance rights. However, more importantly, the firstborn was the one through whom the ancestry of the promised Messiah and Savior would be traced. The Son of God would also become the Son of Man, whose ancestors would be traced back through the firstborn of each generation all the way back to Abraham. Esau regarded that as being meaningless!
One day, Esau came in from the field, and he was totally exhausted and hungry. He begged Jacob to give him some of the stew that he had cooked. “Esau said to Jacob, ‘Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary’ . . . But Jacob said, ‘Sell me your birthright as of this day.’ And Esau said, ‘Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?’ Then Jacob said, ‘Swear to me as of this day.’ So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright,” Genesis 25:30-34.
In that family there were some difficulties, as there also often are in families today. Esau was a hunter, and often brought a good meal for his father. Scripture says, “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob,” Genesis 25:28. Parents often make the mistake of showing special preference for one or the other of their children.
Many years later, when Isaac felt that he would not live much longer, he called Esau and asked him to prepare him one more good meal. Rebekah overheard the conversation, and she asked Jacob to prepare a good meal for Isaac, who in his old age had become blind. Jacob arrived with the meal before Esau did. Isaac was deceived; thinking it was Esau, he pronounced the blessing for the firstborn upon Jacob.
When Esau arrived with the meal which Isaac had requested, Isaac learned that he had been deceived by his wife Rebekah and his son Jacob. With tears, Esau begged for a blessing, which Isaac gave; but the birthright blessing was gone! Under oath, Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob for what we might call “a bowl of soup”! Isaac did not change his mind and reverse his blessing given to Jacob. Jacob, not Esau, became the ancestor of the promised Messiah and Savior of the world. God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform!
Here is a warning for all Christians and non-Christians: Do not take any part of the Word of God lightly! As Scripture states, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope,” Romans 15:4. The Bible reveals to us the one way of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil. God also reveals to us how He wants us to live and witness to others of the salvation for all people.
Dear God, teach us to take Your whole Word to heart! Amen.