Never Sell It
Genesis 25:1-34
Key verse 25:23
Here is the story about a man who accidently
sold a watch box. Eric Cloutier of Orange County, California rushed home from
the hospital where his wife had just given birth to the couple’s fifth child.
He came home to participate in their neighborhood’s annual garage sale. He
quickly went through the home and found a watch box. He looked quick in it and
there was nothing. It had been there for over a year, probably worth about 120
dollars. He thought, “Oh, this could be something nice. We don’t need it.
We don’t use that.” So, Eric sold the watch box for $10 at a garage sale on
June 1. Unbeknown to Eric, however, his wife used the watch box to store her
diamond wedding ring worth $23,000. When she went to the hospital, she placed
the ring underneath the box's cushions for safekeeping. Her expensive wedding
ring was gone. What a blunder!
Have you ever given away or sold things, not
knowing they were actually much more valuable than you thought? Unfortunately,
many Christians do and you could be one of them. What is the thing we should
not sell or exchange at any cost? That is what we are going to talk about
today.
In today’s passage, Abraham died and the next generations came up
to the stage. In this transitional period, God continued his work through
Abraham’s offspring and blessed them as he had promised to Abraham. But not all
of them received or maintained God’s blessing. I pray through this passage that
we all may live a life worthy of God’s calling.
I. The death of Abraham and his descendants (1-18)
In the course of time, Abraham took another
wife, whose
name was Keturah. Through Keturah, Abrahams had six more sons and they
multiplied. When he left Haran, he had no sons. But now he had eight sons plus
their children. What did Abraham do with all his children?
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But
while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and
sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
Abraham gave his inheritance to Isaac while he sent off the sons
of his concubines away from Isaac to the land of the east outside of the land
of promise. Why? It was because Isaac was the only son God had promised and
only he would inherit God’s blessing. Though Abraham had many more sons, it was
clear to Abraham that Isaac was his heir. To protect Isaac and secure his
position, Abraham removed all potential problems or obstacles for Isaac to live
up to God’s promise.
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then
Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full
of years; and he was gathered to his people.
Abraham lived 175 years and died at a good old age as God
promised. (15:15) He was buried with his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. He
successfully handed down his inheritance to Isaac the Son of God’s promise and
finished his life of faith. As Abraham did, the most blessed life is to live up
to God’s promises and pass our spiritual inheritance to our children, isn’t it?
Billy Graham is now 94 years old. He has preached the gospel to
more than 2 billion people and has been the spiritual leader for America. His
spiritual heritage had passed to his son Franklin Graham. Franklin has served
many people in need with his father’s spirit. I pray that I can leave spiritual
inheritance to my children and they can also live up to God’s calling.
11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then
lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
After Abraham’s death was briefly mentioned, the author quickly
shifted gears to his son Isaac, saying, “God blessed his son Isaac.” We don’t
know how and when Isaac moved to Beer Lahai Roi, which was located between
Egypt and the land of Canaan. God blessed Isaac. This confirmed that Isaac was
the heir of Abraham God promised (17:21) and also indicated that the Eternal
God continued to work through Isaac after Abraham.
Verses 12-18 tell us the account of the family line of Ishmael. Ishmael
had twelve sons, who became 12 tribes (16:11-12), and he lived 137 years. His
descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur and lived in hostility
toward all the surrounding tribes. Interestingly, Ishmael became a big nation
as God promised, but he never became the promised son nor his nation became
God’s people. (17:19-21)
So far, the family lines of Keturah and Ishmael have been
introduced. But that is all. We do not know what happened to them later. They
all became outsiders as far as the work of God is concerned. Though they all
came from Abraham, they never became part of God’s people. This teaches us that
not all of Abraham’s offspring received God’s blessing and also how important
it is to receive God’s blessing and live up to his promise.
II. Jacob and Esau (19-34)
19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son
Isaac.
Now go back to Isaac, who was the promised son. Isaac married
Rebekah when he was forty years old. After the loss of his mom Sarah, Isaac was
greatly comforted by Rebekah. She was beautiful and spiritual. Isaac loved her
so much and he was rich. They were a perfect couple. But to such a perfect
couple, there was a serious problem. Rebekah could not bear children even after
many years of marriage.
It is interesting that the descendants of other children of
Abraham multiplied well while Isaac the promised son had difficulty in having
children. Why did the person God loved have such a problem? We often see
similar things happening to us. Unbelieving friends get jobs well whereas you
are receiving rejection letters continually. They seem to have no health
problems and live longer whereas you suffer illness. Why does this thing happen
to believers? It is because we are God’s children and so he wants us to depend
on him alone by faith. Isaac did not take a concubine to get a son. He did not
seek a human solution. Instead, he prayed to God on behalf of Rebekah. He
depended on God. That is what God wants all his children to do. When Isaac
prayed, God answered and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
21 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.
It was a miracle that Rebekah was pregnant after 19 years of her
marriage. Isaac and Rebekah must have been so happy and thankful. This was a
sure sign of God’s grace and blessing to his family.
Months later, however, Rebekah felt something strange with her
stomach. It was not a baby’s usual movement or kicking. She felt some kind of
violent movements in her stomach. It was getting worse over time. Rebekah was
troubled by this violent commotion in her belly and she inquired of God.
22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is
this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 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.”
Now Rebekah came to know that two babies were
jostling each other within her. The word “jostle” here is translated as “struggle” in many other Bible
translations. The original meaning of this word is “crush.” They did not simply
push and shove each other. Actually, they went head to head and fought against
each other as if they had tried to crush each other. I
have seen some twins fight but never heard any twins fight even before they
were born. God told her two things about the babies.
·
They would be two nations and separated. Each would be a nation
but they could not be together. They would be separated in conflict.
·
One people would be stronger than the other and the older would
serve the younger.
Both were the
children of Isaac and Rebekah, the family of God’s promise. God would bless
each to grow to be a nation but the younger would be stronger. God would
fulfill his promise through the younger. This motif continually appears
throughout the next chapters. Why did God choose the younger over the
older then? Their
tradition was such that the older should be the heir. The answer may not
be simple, but we can find a reason in the rest of the passage. Let’s see how
they were born and grew.
24 When the time came
for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The
first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy
garment; so they named him Esau. 26 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.
As the pregnancy was
unordinary, their birth was also unordinary. The first was red and his whole
body was covered with hair. Have you ever seen any newborn baby with all the
body covered with hair? It should be strange and even odd. Anyway, he looked
manly and they named the first Esau, which may mean hairy. What about the
second? As the first came out, the second also came out almost at the same
time, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel as if he had struggled to come out
first. So, he was named Jacob. He seemed to be very tenacious. As we can see,
from the birth these twins were very different in appearance. But as they grew,
their characters and propensities were totally different as well. Let’s see how
they grew.
27 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.
Esau became a
skillful hunter. He loved the riding horse in the open country, chasing and
killing wild games. He was a muscular and macho man. This kind of man is
popular particularly among women. Some woman says that Esau was a cool guy.
Isaac loved Esau because Esau was his first son and often times after hunting
he brought some wild game Isaac loved to eat. In contrast to Esau, Jacob did
not like hunting. Rather, he liked to stay at home, cooking in the kitchen with
his mommy. He was not like Esau. Rebekah loved Jacob probably because she
remembered God’s word and she spent more time with Jacob than Esau.
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew
29 Once when Jacob was
cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.30 He
said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”
(That is why he was also called Edom.)
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the
open country. He was exhausted and starving to death. As he came near home, he
could smell food. The smell was so strong and good that he couldn’t resist it.
So, he followed the smell and found Jacob cooking some stew (soup). As soon as
he saw the stew, his stomach was growling more loudly and his mouth became
watery. Esau said to Jacob, “Hey brother, give me some of that stew. Quick! I
am dying.”
Jacob looked at Esau
and saw the stew in Esau’s eyes. Esau was so hungry that he seemed ready to buy
the stew at any cost. In a moment, Jacob’s eyes sparkled and he proposed to
Esau an absurd and unprecedented deal.
31 Jacob replied,
“First sell me your birthright.”
In ancient times, the birthright was a very important thing. It
belonged to the firstborn. The family name was to pass along to him. He would
also receive a chief portion of the inheritance. More importantly, it was also
a spiritual position. In the case of Esau and Jacob, God’s blessing and
promises given to Abraham and Isaac would be passed to the son who had the birthright.
So, Esau’s birthright was so important and valuable that it was not supposed to
be sold or transferred.
But Jacob dared to make a deal with Esau to get his birthright,
taking advantage of Esau’s hunger and his impulsive character. Jacob learned
the importance of the birthright when his grandfather Abraham sent off his
uncles and their children. He saw how privileged his father Isaac was by his
birthright. He got all of Abraham’s inheritance. But Jacob missed the
birthright because he became the second by a nick of time. That was not a fair
game to him. Jacob did not give up and had eagerly waited for an opportunity to
buy back the birthright. When he saw hungry and poor Esau, he realized that he
must seize that opportunity. He displayed a pot of stew in the face of Esau.
The smell was so tempting and irresistible. “Brother, first sell me your
birthright.” What was Esau’s response?
32 “Look, I am about to
die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
To our surprise,
without even a little bit of hesitation Esau said, “What is the birthright to
me as I am dying? No problem, you can take my birthright. Please give me your
stew.”
33 But Jacob said,
“Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his
birthright to Jacob.
Jacob wanted to make sure of the deal by making
Esau swear an oath, “Swear to me right now.” Then, Esau sold his birthright to
Jacob, saying, “I swear to give my birthright to my brother Jacob in exchange
for his stew.” Then, Jacob gave Esau some lentil stew plus some bread for
bonus. Esau ate and drank and then left satisfied. “It was delicious! Let me go
to bed.”
In this way, Esau sold his birthright. How
could he sell his birthright? What kind of person was he? Let’s compare him
with Jacob in terms of their value systems.
As we can see, Jacob knew the importance
of the birthright and valued it. He never gave up what was meaningful and
valuable in his own right. Though his way to achieve it was controversial, he
knew the value of God’s blessing and pursued it until he got it.
By contrast, Esau did not know what was valuable and worthy. Esau
did not appreciate his birthright and failed to see its value. Even for a
pot of stew, he sold his birthright. He put the stew above his birthright; he
put temporary satisfaction above eternal blessing. To satisfy his physical
needs and desire, he did not hesitate to throw away God’s blessing. Are you
going to sell a wedding ring for a hamburger? But Esau would. What was his
fundamental problem?
34 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.
The author commented that Esau despised his birthright. His
birthright was God’s covenant promise for him and his offspring. God would
establish his kingdom through him and his offspring. It was an invaluable,
exclusive privilege to him. His birthright meant God’s blessing and the
ultimate blessing God would give was God himself. But he threw it away for a
pot of stew. He despised not just his birthright. He actually despised God who
gave the birthright.
Hebrews 12:16 - See that no one is sexually immoral, or is
godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the
oldest son.
The Bible portrays him as godless. He had no reverence and respect
in God and so despised his blessing. Despising God’s blessing is despising God.
God cannot bless those who despise him. This explains why God had said to Rebekah, “the
older will serve the younger.”
We believers have received God’s blessing
through Jesus. We have received salvation. We have the living hope of the kingdom of God.
We have the heavenly inheritance. We have all. But here is a warning for those
who have received God’s blessing. “Do not despise God’s blessing.”
Sadly, however, many Christians do not appreciate the gospel of
Jesus, the greatest and ultimate blessing of God. They put more value on
something else rather than on the gospel. Their priority is food, work, job,
fun, girl and boy friends, and money. They put friends, games, sports, and the
secular value system over the gospel. Instead, they put aside or throw away
God’s blessing to satisfy their temporary satisfaction in this world. They
ignored God’s blessing, thinking that invisible or intangible things are not
important. So, they make little of God’s blessing and even sell it for
something else. Such people are like pigs that do not know the value of pearls.
They rather trample pearls under their feet. (Matt 7:6) To such people, it is better to give a pizza with pepperoni on it
than giving the gospel.
The Bible warns that such Christians could lose their
blessing. Do not despise God’s blessing. If you reject it, you will never get
it. If you despise it, you will lose it forever.
What do you seek? Which one do you value, a pot of stew or
God’s blessing?
For the last year, we have studied the gospel through
Matthew, Colossians, Acts, and Genesis. Now all of you here have believed in
Jesus and received God’s blessing through Jesus. Now you need to keep it and
grow in faith continually in the upcoming semester.
Some of you may not know the full value of the gospel yet. By the
way, Jacob did not know the full value of the birthright either, but he put
God’s blessing over anything else. Then, God led him eventually to see and
enjoy God’s blessing. Likewise, when you continue to seek him and honor him,
God will surely show you more of him and bless you more.
Prov 8:17 – “I love those who love me, and
those who seek me find me.”
In 2007, a New York family bought a Chinese
bowl for three dollars and displayed it in the living room for several years.
They had no idea what it was. But over time they became curious about its
origins and had it examined. Then, they found out that the Chinese bowl was the
“Ding” bowl made 1,000 years ago during the Song Dynasty. And it was sold for more
than $2.2 million at auction recently. To some, God’s blessing looks like a
three-dollar Chinese bowl. But now you know that God’s blessing is far much
worth the $2.2 million dollar Chinese bowl. Do not ignore God’s blessing. Do
not lose it. Instead, cherish it and hold it fast, and you will enjoy the true
value and power of the gospel of Jesus who died for your sins and has risen
from the dead.
In today’s passage, we have learned about
Esau’s and Jacob’s value systems. Esau’s value system is based on tangible
value or temporary satisfaction. Those who have such a value system live for a
pot of stew and throw away real valuables. They never see God and thus never
receive his blessing. Jacob’s value system, however, is based on what lasts
forever though it may not be tangible. Those who have such a value system seek
God and receive his blessing. What makes our life blessed? Isn’t it God’s
blessing?
At the beginning of this message, I talked
about a man who accidently sold his wife wedding ring. But that was not the end
of the story. The couple did not give up. They tried to somehow get it back and
shared their story with the media. By chance, a couple happened to hear a story
about the lost ring just after they acquired the watch box. Twelve days
later, Eric could get his wife’s wedding ring back. Even if you lost God’s
blessing, do not give up. If you repent and seek God again, he will bless you
again and your joy will be doubled.
Never sell God’s blessing for a pot of stew.
By David Yun
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