Thursday, February 25, 2016
VIDEO
Isaac
said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his
brothers will be his servants. I have
guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you,
my son?” Esau pleaded, “But do you have
only one blessing? Oh my father, bless
me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, “You
will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the
heaven above. You will live
by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will
shake his yoke from your neck.” From
that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the
blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I
will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” Genesis 27:37-41(NLT)
We’ve
been looking at the damage that can come from a lack of care for the spiritual
side of life. Esau was more interested in
serving his appetites than his God, and wound-up selling his firstborn-right to
be the spiritual leader of God’s people.
Later, when their father Isaac was near dying, the younger brother,
Jacob, sealed the deal by not only having the birthright, he tricked his father
into giving him the firstborn’s blessing.
Jacob’s
deceiving ways, and Esau’s reactionary anger blossomed into a fractured family.
Hatred
has killed more relationships. We know
from the story that Esau later mellowed.
But even today the inhabitants of Edom (modern Jordan) still fight the
Esau and Jacob battle. When you do a
good job of breaking a family apart, it may take generations and many miracles
to put it back together.
When
we act selfishly, doing our own thing, the consequences reach beyond our
own circles of friends and daily experience.
We create ripples in our society and universe. Esau's cavalier attitude towards his
spiritual heritage, and his needed leadership in the kingdom brought shame on
him, but it brought grief also on his parents, and the ripples of hatred still
boil in that region today!
It
is that way in churches, families and culture in general. In the human family of 2016 we exist in a
fractured collage of humanity caused by careless words spoken in anger, judging
spirits and prideful, reactionary attitudes.
In
the 60's, Paul Simon wrote, I am a rock, I am an island, and a rock
feels no pain, and an island never cries; famous lyrics, but flawed
thinking! Try as you might to insulate
yourself against pain and heartache, this universe was created to respond to
love and hate. Esau responded to the
losses he experienced by trashing the lives of those around him. Esau and Jacob both chose the selfish path,
and the whole family was broken on his island of rocks.
And
the pain lasted for more than twenty years!
Jesus
was despised by the generation he came to embrace. He came to His own, and was hung,
spread-eagle, on cross-beams. But Jesus
didn’t curse or revile those who crucified him; he didn't break up the family,
break his loved-one's hearts.
Instead,
he forgave them.
Jesus
chose to love when he was wronged. He
was a descendant of Jacob’s, but he chose to break the cycle of hatred and
honor the place before God.
For You Today
Honoring the God who sent His
only son, the Prince of Peace, in a world gone mad with the violence of Al Qaeda,
ISIS and every other angry, vengeance-driven neurosis, will never occur with
more violence, hatred and vengeance.
You chew on that as you hit
the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!
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