For What Will You Sell Your Birthright? By Allan McNabb
(http://www.biblestudyguide.org/)
"Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field,
and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, 'Please feed me with
the same red stew, for I am weary.' Therefore his name was called
Edom. But Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright as of this day.'
And Esau said, 'Look, I am about to die; so what profit shall
this birthright be 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"
(Gen. 25:29-34).
The Biblical account quoted above has spiritual application (Heb.
12:12-17). Therefore, I would like to suggest three characteristics
of human nature revealed through Esau selling his birthright.
First: Do not allow yourself to become weary over
earthly "things" whereby there is no fight left for
spiritual things. Esau was weary (worn out in strength, endurance,
vigor, or freshness; having one's patience, tolerance, or pleasure
exhausted - Webster). He was so tired that he would give anything
for physical revitalization - food and rest.
We must guard against allowing ourselves to become weary and tired
so that we can no longer fight against sin and Satan. Especially,
if we are exhausting ourselves to obtain worldly goods. Remember,
"our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Therefore, we must
"resist him, steadfast in the faith" (1 Pet. 5:9). If
we expend every ounce of energy in pursuit of earthly pleasure,
then there is no energy left to fight the good fight (2 Tim. 4:7).
Second: Never lose sight of the profitability of
your birthright. Esau said: "'Look, I am about to die; so
what profit shall this birthright be to me'" (Gen. 25:32)?
Esau had lost sight of the profitability of his birthright. He
did not see the profit in suffering to obtain it.
We must never lose sight of the profitability of our birthright.
Paul tells us the price some have paid for their birthright: torture,
mocking, scourging, chains and imprisonment, stoned, sawn in two,
tempted, and slain with the sword (Heb. 11:35-37). Our home in
heaven is more valuable than life itself; therefore, we must be
willing to pay any price to keep it.
Third: Never despise your birthright. Esau sold
his birthright; therefore, he despised it. Despise means to: regard
as negligible, worthless, or distasteful (Webster). Anytime we
sell ourselves to Satan, we despise God - we do not consider God
very important in our lives at that time. And anytime we sell
our birthright, we despise it - we consider it negligible and
worthless.
If you are a Christian, you have a birthright. What is your attitude
toward your birthright? Do you cherish it and count it as the
most precious possession you own? Will you guard it and protect
it with your life? Or is there a price for which you will sell
it?
Jesus says: ""If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for My sake will find it. For what is a man profited if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give
in exchange for his soul" (Matt. 16:24-26)?
God Is For Us by W. Frank Walton (wfwalton@juno.com)
Pilate asks, "What shall I do with Jesus?"
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31b-32).
What a great verse for an attitude adjustment! Our Father has been at work for a long time in planning and perfecting the scheme of redemption, despite evil attempts to defeat it. In fact, His plan spans from eternity past to eternity future (Rom 8:29-30). God will perform what He purposes: to save, change and bring us to eternal glory! There is no failure or futility with our Creator! We need only cling to Him.
In view of "these things" in His great plan of salvation and despite our limitations, we can have great confidence that God is for us! What a relief that He is not against us or out to destroy us! This is irrefutably affirmed by the historical advent of God's most precious gift, His Son. He died our death and paid the awful price for our sin (Rom 5:6-10). That is grace worth finding and mercy most needed. Our giving God makes life worth living.
In a fallen world that is the battleground between good and evil, God will not exempt us from trouble. He will give us help to cope with and overcome our challenges (Rom 8:35-39). We are like a fish swimming upstream, but this process is part of the foreordained program for our development of obedient faith. When faced with discouraging, difficult people, let's confidently remember: "Who dares to be found fighting against us, if God is found fighting for us?" (Matthew Henry). Despite seemingly overwhelming problems, Paul bolsters our faith that God is greater than anything or anybody that could discourage us. He is above us, around us and in us (Matt 6:9; Heb 13:5f, 1 Jn 4:4).
This is a loving God. He is supremely worth knowing and walking with each day.
God has not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives though;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
-Poem by Kristone
The Donkey - Author Unknown (contributed by L. Dillinger)
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Our weekly services are held at 1318 Griffin Road, Leesburg, Florida
34748.
Phone: (352) 365-9946 for times of services.
Web site: http://www.geocities.com/~cdillinger/cocbs/cocbshp.htm
MONTHLY BIBLE READING: Genesis 27-49
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
BIBLE INSIGHT is published
for the members of, and visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly
Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church
address or via e-mail: dillinc@yahoo.com