Don't Trade Your Birthright!

The Bible is full of flawed people.  They are displayed in scripture, not so we can criticise and shake our heads at their foolish decisions, but so we might learn from their example.  In every flaw we see a mirror image of ourselves in holy writ, the divine light driving the mist from our eyes to see ourselves in truth.  In my house we have a framed print on the wall that contains a hidden picture within.  At first I didn't see the hidden shapes carefully concealed by the artist.  But once my eyes were opened to them, the silhouette cannot be hidden from my eyes!  This is similar to when the Holy Spirit pulls back the veil from our eyes in reading scripture.  When we read of the stubborn Israelites grumbling in the wilderness, we should see ourselves.  When I see Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the tempest, I see myself.  Even as Esau traded his inheritance for a bowl of lentil stew, yep, that's me.

In the days of Isaac, the first-born son was granted a birthright.  Esau and Jacob were twins born to Isaac.  as the oldest, Esau was automatically given inheritance rights over Jacob.  The leadership and genealogy of the family would pass from the father to the son with the birthright.  Esau was famished after hunting one day and traded the birthright for a bowl of soup.  He viewed the temporary filling of his stomach of greater value than the responsibility and privilege of his lasting inheritance.  Hebrews 12:14-17 exhorts, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷ 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."  Because Esau traded his birthright, the family line would pass from Isaac to Jacob instead of from Isaac to Esau.  Esau later regretted his decision, but scripture says he had no place for repentance in his heart.  He wanted the blessing, but he shirked his responsibility.  He ended up without the birthright and blessing, both which were rightfully his by birth!

It is natural for us to look at Esau's poor decision and shake our heads.  What a fool to give up his inheritance for what could not endure!  How ridiculous it seems, that Esau would be so shortsighted to trade his birthright for something to be chewed up, swallowed, and eliminated.  But before we stand in judgment of Esau, let me be so bold as to say that Esau represents every person who has walked the earth.  Every human being has been created in the image of the Almighty God.  Adam enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God as his birthright.  But he embraced sin in the eating of the forbidden fruit and thus forfeited his birthright.  Instead of enjoying and inheriting eternal life and communion with God, Adam received eternal death and separation from God.  Death and sin passed to all men.  Every single person on earth today is a sinner, for the Bible reveals all have sinned.  Yet if we choose to repent and place our trust in Jesus Christ, we can be redeemed through the Gospel of grace.  We are then reconciled with God, are born again by the Holy Spirit, and are restored to fellowship with God.  The promises of God are now our birthright.  God gives joy, peace, wisdom, forgiveness, and all that pertains to life and godliness without measure or partiality.

But the devil is a cunning enemy who never rests from craftily robbing us of our inheritance.  He labours to trick us to justify remaining bitter towards those who may have hurt us.  In harbouring a grudge, we exchange the peace that passes understanding for hatred in our hearts.  A bowl of stew would be a better trade!  The world tempts us to feed the flesh through fornicating with our eyes, minds, and bodies.  Again, we trade the joy of the LORD and unbroken fellowship with God for a moment of physical excitement and pleasure.  We wonder why our Christian witness is weak and unfruitful.  When the birthright passed to Jacob, the family line no longer passed through Esau.  When we trade our spiritual inheritance for the passing pleasures of sin, we should not be surprised when the divine family line no longer passes through us.  Our spiritual impotence is caused by our own stubbornness and rebellion.  It is only when we repent, putting off the old man, being renewed in the spirit of our minds through scripture, and putting on the new man by God's grace that we are again restored to fellowship with God.

Never trade your spiritual birthright for the sin which so easily besets us.  When King Ahab offered money to buy the vineyard of Naboth, the righteous man answered in 1 Kings 21:3, "The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!"  Many Christians have given the surety of their inheritance into the hands of the devil by dabbling or walking in sin.  May we repent so our inheritance and blessing might be restored!  God forbid that we would give up our inheritance for money, a career, the opinions of others, or deceitful sin.  Christ is our inheritance, and may we cling to Him and no other.  Let us pursue peace and holiness with all people, taking care not to fall short of the grace of God.  Praise God for His grace and goodness, for our God is a God of new beginnings!