Sunday Morning Podcast May 23 2021. Bro. Dave Goble.
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This is the story this morning, of Jacob and Esau, the children of Isaac and Rebecka. Esau was the firstborn, Jacob was second, and in the family system of Israel, the firstborn received a birthright. The birthright was the transfer of all the wealth of the patriarch the father and his clan, to the firstborn of his children; in this case Esau. The second born received a blessing, but not the birthright. In addition to the birthright, upon the death of the patriarch, their hope was that they could transfer a blessing upon all their children. Recalling that later on when Jacob died, and all their children were in Egypt, he provided a blessing for each one, or at least a parting admonition, which was also common. The purpose of the birthright, was to ensure that the wealth of the clan stayed within the clan. And that the identity of the clan, family, or tribe, stayed with them, and that the power of tribe was preserved, so that ultimately their sustainability, (or their ability to survive) was passed down to generation to generation. And that was the purpose of the birthright that, that individual, the firstborn male of the family, would be the leader of the next generation. Birthrights were important in this part of the bible. So we’re going to see Esau and Jacob as the children of Isaac and what happens to Esau.
TEXT: GENESIS 25:27-34
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
“A Bowl of Soup” is our thought this morning. In this case the bowl of soup represents the trade that Esau made for his birthright. I would like to ask you, “do you think it was a fair trade, or do you think that Esau got a fair deal?” No suggestions in that, that Esau didn’t have the right to make a decision or fair deal, or that Jacob pressured him to make this decision, for Esau made his decision himself. The pressure was the pressure he brought upon himself. All Jacob did was say I got a bowl of soup, what will you give me for it? And Jacob knew full well what he wanted, so he said, “you give me your birthright, and I’ll give you the bowl of soup.” So do you think that was a fair trade, and Esau got a good deal out of this transaction? The birthright today represents something for us, and we will see that. I’d like to orient our thinking around this theme, that the central focus of the Christian experience, is the person of Jesus of Nazareth who becomes The Christ, The Messiah, or “The Anointed One.” But yet there’s another word to add to this, and it’s “Jesus becomes The Savior !” His name in Hebrew, means “God Saves.” Unless we would forget our birthright, and the birthright of every human being on the planet, it is intended to be a relationship with Jesus Christ through the salvation of that soul, or the saving of that soul from sin. That’s the birthright for every child, man, and woman! And not only in that moment of time when that soul bows to God, but in every moment before and following, the intended birthright is intended to be “God saves!” This will be important, as in the song sung this morning, “I’d rather have Jesus!” For all who have also gone through many things of challenge, He has that same hope for us, of nurturing, comforting, and whatever that means to our heart in our moment of need. But we cannot lose sight of the central focus of Jesus, which is “God saves!” In 1John 3:8, He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Why did Jesus come? For this purpose Jesus came, to destroy the works of the devil! Jesus does come to provide comfort, help, relief, but He says for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil! How does He do that? He saves His people from their sins!
The central purpose of the Son of God, is that “God saves!” Ask yourselves, is He still your Savior? It would be natural to reply, “Yes, He is still my Savior!” But do you really see and accept Him that way? Is He still saving you with the washing of the blood and water each day from those things of the flesh, that would hinder your soul? This package of Salvation, saves us each day! Is God still a Savior to you this morning? Or has He become something else? Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. That’s His central purpose ! He saved you from your sins! Unless He has saved us from our sins, He is not fully a Savior to us. What is Esau’s birthright in today’s language? Have we sold our birthright also for a bowl of soup? Think about it. A natural inclination is to think, “I would never sell my birthright for a bowl of soup!” But we need to find out what the bowl of soup represents, not only for the sinner ..but for the saint. Why do we need a Savior? First, if it’s God’s heaven or earth we are to inherit, ..we don’t make the rules that governs that. God makes the rules that governs these spiritual places, and not us. We need to make that important that God makes the rules! And we need to explore what He says, about what it takes to be with Him, and what it takes to be both here and there! Many opinions abound about this, but ultimately the only thing that matters is what God says. He makes the rules! If we start to consider all the opinions, and our own ways, really what we are talking about ..is humanism. Humanism defines the good for all coming from our own human minds instead of God’s Word. That concept of error can even make it’s way into the church. We desperately need to fight against that, and let God be right and everyone else be wrong. (..”Let God be true and every man a liar…”. Romans 3:4) We need a Savior to understand, because all of our thinking and opinions are only human. It will be materialistic, humanistic, but it won’t be divine! It will be a “Bowl of Soup.” We need a Savior, to start to change “our” mind!
A Bowl of Soup