Genesis 25: We Learn a Huge Lesson 2000 Years Later

(upbeat music) - Welcome to chapter by chapter four year journey through the greatest book given to the human race. The word of God, the Bible. We get to go through it chapter by chapter. Seven minutes a day and seven days a week. Join us each day and share it with others so they can join this journey that will be life changing. We'll stop at unexpected places on the journey and be challenged. Some verses will create awe and wonder and we will have chapters that will be instructive. And another's will find joy and comfort. We will occasionally be convicted and need to change but all in all the journey will be worth it. Once in a while we may take a detour on the journey and hear from some of God's servants on their favorite passages from a chapter of scripture and let them give you their insight. Every journey needs a small detour occasionally. The best way to get the most from this podcast is read the chapter we're discussing before after. It's his word that transforms. You'll find more and see more than I can ever articulate. Welcome to chapter by chapter and today's chapter is Genesis 25. Each generation gets phrases and words from the entertainment industry and they know what it means and who said it. There will be spoken in conversations and most people will affirm their familiarity with a chuckle. Genesis 25 brings up one of those phrases. Many would know what it means. No soup for you. It was from a TV sitcom episode that showed a New York City soup stand that was so popular but the only way you can have a bowl of soup was to order it the right way from a dictatorial chef. And if you did not order it correctly he would bellow out no soup for you. Genesis 25 is about soup, lentil soup. But it's bigger than Esau placing an order of soup from his brother Jacob. The story is simple but the results are given to us thousands of years later. From this day a hungry hunter ordered soup from a manipulating brother that cost more than he would ever know. Later he would wish he was told no soup for you but he got the soup. Esau is a hunter. He comes back from an excursion famished. Jacob is cooking soup at that time and Jacob is a deceitful man. He doesn't give his brother soup. He sells soup to his brother. They are so much wrong with that. Jacob doesn't sell it for money. He wants Esau's birthright. That wasn't a medallion or a piece of paper. It was a huge ask. He was saying I want the rights and privileges of the first born that you possess. It was selling your privilege and right for leading the next generation. You were bargaining away your influence. You were selling your voice. This is how the story went. When Jacob had cooked stew Esau came in from the field and he was famished. And Esau said to Jacob, please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there from famished. Therefore his name was called Eden. But Jacob said, first sell me your birthright. Esau said, behold, I'm about to die. So what use of it is to me, this birthright. And Jacob said, first swear to me. So he swore to him, sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. And he ate and drank and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. He sold his future for a present craving. His now craving was stronger than his future voice. And it was sold so cheaply. The Bible won't let this story sit there in just a few verses. There's too much here. It was much bigger than soup. And the Bible would tell us how much bigger 2,000 years later. This soup story is picked up in the New Testament because the story is serious. You just finished the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 and start chapter 12. You learn about a cloud of witnesses witnessing your race. And when you are approaching the end, seemingly out of nowhere, Genesis 25 shows up in Hebrews 12. The writer says this in verse 15. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and buy it many be defiled. That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance though he sought for it with tears. In these New Testament verses is a critical commentary on this story that shows that this is so much deeper than a birthright being sold. We see what was happening deep in the soul of an individual that would sell their future for a present hunger. Hebrews tells us some powerful things from the soup story. First, bitterness is called a root. That means it's deep and unseen, but it's there. Roots are tough to pull out because they can be deep. Whatever the enemy does to us is always trying to get into us. Second, bitterness splashes on a lot of people. People in your world can get the infection you have. Bitterness gets more than just one person. The writer says many can be defiled. Your family and your friends can be offended with people that did nothing to them, but it's from your unwillingness to deal with it. And it has now polluted their soul. Thirdly, we're told the even repentance can't fix consequences of a bad decision. Esau had tears, but it didn't bring back what he sold for soup. That's pretty sobering. Finally, there comes a shocking progression. I never could have imagined take place. Esau sold his birthright, got bitter, and then he is called. Here comes an immoral man. The King James Version uses the word fornicator. He goes from a bitter man to an immoral man. I'm dumbfounded how this can happen. Bitterness proceeds fornication. How does that take place? They don't even seem connected. Bitterness is not between you and another person, but really between you and God. In order to carry it out, in order for it to take root, you must ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You can be bitter towards a wife, a pastor, a person, a parent, a friend. What was Esau bitter about? He sold his birthright at a vulnerable time. Bitterness is spiritual and faithfulness. How can we who need daily forgiveness allow ourselves to be unforgiving of others? If bitterness is allowed to live in the heart, that means we have turned a deaf ear to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So how does bitterness turn to immorality? If you ignore the conviction of forgiveness that is clear to us in the scripture, you become deaf to the conviction that protects you and I from other things. Conviction is offense. It's the warning signs, the no trespassing, the guard shack that will not allow you to pass by. When that is removed, anything goes. Allow unforgiveness to live and sin in any area is easily possible. Is there someone that God has asked you to forgive and you've been putting it off? To keep putting God off is to make yourself vulnerable to the things that you would say no to. We will all be hurt by someone at some time. But let your story be, I forgave them. And the conviction of the Holy Spirit is too important to lose. Thank you for joining chapter by chapter. Every chapter from the greatest book, the Bible, the Word of God. Seven minutes a day, seven days a week. We'll see you tomorrow.