All right, Paul, the author,
is exhorting them to cleave unto Christ, and he gives a mighty,
powerful example for them to do so. Verse 14, Follow peace
with all, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Looking diligently, lest any
man fail, of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing
up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any
fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one marsal of
meat sold his birthright, for you know how that afterward when
he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found
no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."
Now, before we move, notice two things. Number one, the birthright. Number two, the blessing. We'll come across that later.
In an earlier study, in fact last week from Hebrews chapter
12, we found here this reference to Esau both as a warning and
as an exhortation against apostasy, against turning away from a profession
of the gospel once one had embraced it. And in doing so, crucifying
the Son of God afresh and putting Him to an open shame after being
enlightened, after being privileged, and then cast all of that away
for a mess of potty. The Puritans of Thomas Goodwin
called such people as these enlightened temporaries, quote unquote, enlightened
temporaries, and we see them surely in the book of Romans. Then they later, by some temptation,
by some persecution, by some deception or some offense, they
turn away from the gospel and they go back, give up their profession,
and they walk no more with Him. Many Jews in the day of Christ
became apostates and returned again to Judaism, which was,
in effect, the hugging of a dead carcass. For Judaism died with
the Lord Jesus Christ and was buried in 70 A.D. Now, as we saw earlier in that
study from Hebrews chapter 12, The behavior and the acts of
Esau are brought forth as an example of one who despises the
blessings of God and the way of God and those very special
privileges which they had enjoyed. For example, Esau sold his birthright
back in Genesis 25, and he sold it not for something better or
of greater value, sold it not in order that he might make an
advance, but he sold it for something to feed the flesh and that perhaps
to benefit him but for a single day at the most. It was a temporary
relief for which Esau gave up his birthright. A spiritual advantage
he traded for a worldly thing in his day and time. Just as
the Jewish apostate had from the gospel gone away, did exchange
the right way for the weak and beggarly elements of the things
of the world, as Paul calls themselves. And in doing so, they left themselves
without a sacrifice for sin. For in going away from Christ
there is no other sacrifice for sin. Now, this matter here before
us of Esau selling the birthright is a very broad subject in the
Scripture and touches other aspects of God's dealing with the children
of Adam of the human family. For example, there is in this
scene an evidence of the sovereignty of God we'll see. There is in
this election and reprobation in Esau and his brother, and
there is the matter of external religious privileges. Let's get
that in our mind. External religious privileges
and how they do not always ensure spiritual blessings or everlasting
life. And the people of Israel are
a good example of this. As to their privileges, they
are enumerated in the New Testament. Under them was committed the
oracles of God. God gave under them the written
revelation. They had the adoption, the covenant,
the law, the worship of God, the promises, and much more. And yet the most of that nation
was hardened and was blinded when Messiah appeared among them,
and notwithstanding their former privileges, they perished in
their unbelief. And Esau, the firstborn, proved
to be a reprobate in the case of his family. Now the primary
issue in this study is the person of Esau and what turned out to
be the course of his life and why he was such a good example. and a good illustration to use
in the book of Hebrews, they were bidden to remember Esau. They knew about it from the Scripture
and they were bidden to remember Esau. Just as the Lord in warning
the people of sudden judgment that was to come upon that generation
said to them, In Luke 17 and verse 32, remember Lot's wife,
how fast and swiftly the judgment of God came upon her who was
disobedient and looked back when God had told them not to do so. Now remember that these things
are written for our admonition. These things are written to stand
as examples unto us. She, for not heeding the Word
of God, don't look back, was turned into a pillar of salt
as we learn in Genesis. Now, the person Esau, the firstborn
twin son of Isaac and Rebekah, what he did? He sold his birthright. That's the first thing that is
lodged against him. And then this character, Hebrews
12 and verse 16, calls him a profane person. And the evidence of it
is reflected in his despising and selling his primogeniture,
that is, an excellent or a right, an exclusive right of inheritance
belonging to the firstborn son in the nation of Israel. Now,
our point of emphasis, as we intend to show, and that very
soon, that none of these events, Esau selling his birthright and
losing his blessing, none of these fly out of the bounds of
the sovereignty of God. In fact, the act of Esau selling
his birthright and losing his blessing fulfilled the purpose
of God which was declared unto their mother of the twins before
they were ever born. And it is amazing to read of
the providence of God in bringing this to pass. As we shall see,
Esau had a brother, yea? He had a twin brother, and my,
what a difference the Lord did put between them, Jacob and Esau. How the Lord made them to differ,
Paul tells us, in Romans chapter 9. We'll come to that later.
Let us just say it right out, backed up by the Apostle Paul
himself in Romans 9 and verse 11, that the difference that
God put between Jacob and Esau was in order that the purpose
of God according to election might stand. Romans 9 and verse
11. But before we settle in to a
consideration of Esau, let us further confirm this by other
examples in the scripture, for this by no means stands alone
as an evidence of God's sovereignty and of election and of reprobation. and that even in the same family. It is interesting to study the
Scripture. We find that there are a few
sets of brothers in the Scripture whereby these things are evident. And in these cases, each one
of them, the differences between brother and brother was not by
chance or by accident, but to borrow what Thomas Goodwin wrote,
these distinctions and differences must have been according, quote,
to that disposement and intention of God, unquote. For what reason,
for what reason did God make these distinctions and act in
this way? Be toward thee, saith our brother. Well, to exalt his mercy and
his grace to one in contrast to the contrary dealing with
the other. Such examples are in the first
family and the brothers Cain and Abel. You have that in Genesis
chapter 4. The sons of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, and have you ever thought about it in this life,
that Cain was actually the first born in the human family. Cain was actually the first one
ever born by natural procreation, the first to be conceived, the
first to be carried in the womb to term, and born. The first propagation of the
race was Cain. The beginning of the command
of God, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, Genesis
chapter 2 and verse 8. Now, the point being, we might
think that there would be some very special advantage that was
bestowed upon the very first person born of a woman into the
world. When the truth is, when the brothers
came to worship or to make an offering in Genesis chapter 4,
God had respect to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his
offering the Lord had not respect. And as a result of this, the
first person that was born also committed the first murder, shed
the first blood of life. And why? In 1 John chapter 3
and verse 12, the reason or the motive was, Cain was of that
wicked one, and because his works were evil and Abel's were righteous,
he therefore slew his brother. But there's another set of brothers
that the Lord made to differ, and that would be Ishmael and
Isaac. Though admittedly, these are
half-brothers, having the same father, but different mothers. and yet being sons of Abraham
after the flesh. Yet Ishmael was cast out, and
the promise of God stood in Isaac. And though both of them were
the sons of Abraham after the flesh, Yet, remember that Paul
explains in Romans 9, verses 6 through 8, and he uses it in
his allegory in Galatians chapter 4, 21 through verse 26. Now, another set of brothers,
the prodigal son, as we call him, and the elder brother, who
stayed at home, by which the Lord made a very powerful lesson
to the Jews of that particular time, showing them that while
great sinners may come to repentance and forgiveness. Self-righteous
persons may deceive themselves and continue ahead into ruin. And then there is Jacob and Esau. And did you notice these brothers
that we mentioned? In each case, it was the older
brother that was in the transgression and the younger that found grace
and mercy and blessing from Almighty God. They are spiritual lessons
here that are to be learned for us in studying these things. Now, to repeat something that
we said a few minutes ago, and that is that the act of Esau
selling his birthright fulfilled the promise of God which was
declared before they were ever born. While they were yet in
the womb, this was declared as the purpose of God. And he uses
the case here of those twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah in order
that he might support his point that the Word of God has not
failed even though children of Abraham were perishing. The reason being, not all are
of Israel which are of Israel. Neither have they grace, simply
because they are the children of Abraham. It is traceable in
the final end to the sovereignty of God according to Romans 9,
and 15 through verse 18. I'll quote but a part. I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Quoted from Exodus 33
and verse 19. And in Romans chapter 9 and verse
18, he has mercy on whom he will and whom he will he harden. Now, turning to that place in
Genesis chapter 25 in the Scripture and the manner of their birth
and their growth to be young men and then beyond. Now, we
learn that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca to become
his wife, Genesis 25 and verse 20. And then, it turned out,
that Rebecca at first was barren. We read that Isaac entreated
the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the Lord was
entreated of him and she conceived twins in her womb. Now there are two
very unique things that are mentioned here in Genesis chapter 25 that
support what we say, that Esau selling his birthright fulfilled
the purpose of God according to election. Anyway, the two
things there in chapter 25 are as follows. Number one, in verse
22 through verse 23, as Matthew Henry wrote, their entrance into
the world was one of the most unusual parts of the story of
their history. Rebecca carrying her twin sons,
was greatly perplexed at the unusual commotion of the children
within her. They struggled together. They
moved a lot. They kicked and such forth. And it perplexed Rebecca. Why am I thus? Is it this way
with other women? And she went before the Lord
because the children struggled within her with each other. Now consider that. The children
struggled together within her. Perhaps this added not only to
her discomfort, possibly causing her pain, but here's what Matthew
Henry said about it. The commotion she felt was altogether
extraordinary and made her seem uneasy. It was beyond the usual
case of heartburn, morning sickness, craving for pickles, the moving
and expanding of the abdomen. Did she fear or did she suspect
that this was some kind of a bad omen? on her part? Did she fear that maybe her life
or her health might be in danger? She thought, she felt, she thought
that something indeed was wrong. And so she went and inquired
of the Lord, and she was told this, Two nations are in thy
womb. Two manner of people are in thy
womb. The one people shall be stronger
than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger. Now, as we shall soon see, this
was certainly contrary to the law and the custom at that time
in Israel. Their struggling in the womb
was a prelude of things that were to come. Then the second
thing that we want to notice is the unusual birth of the twins
in verse 24 through verse 26. When she went into travail, into
labor, to give birth, then verse 25, the first one born was red
all over, and like a hairy garment. A hairy baby was born first. Whence he was given the name
Esau, which some say means maid, and in verse 30 his name was
Edom, which means red. So he appeared a rough like man at the beginning, which was to
be indicative of his coming character. And then came out the second
one, Jacob, and lo and behold, the Scripture said, his hand
was on the heel of Esau. As the second came out, his hand
on Esau's foot. This, in addition to their struggling
in the womb, And the secondborn, the younger, had his hand upon
the heel of the firstborn's foot Esau. And as Gil wrote, this
had a meaning and a mystery in it. But it was a sign and a prophecy
unto their mother. Two nations, two people, elder
subservient unto the younger. This was a foretaste of how the
providence of God would carry the matter even in the birth
lasted into manhood. Genesis 27 and verse 11. Esau was all of his life a hairy
man and Jacob was a smooth man. And as they grew, Esau became
a mighty, talented, cunning hunter, an outdoorsman, a man of the
field, a man's man, as some might describe him. But Jacob was a
smooth man, and he dwelt in tents, and evidently never very far
from the skirts of his mother. Not only so, but Esau was favored
and loved by his father Isaac because Esau kept his father
supplied with venison, which he dearly loved. Rachel, Rebecca, favored and
was partial unto Jacob, the soft man, the gentle son, the homebody,
the quiet one, and later complicit she was in having Jacob obtain
the blessing from their father Isaac. And instead of it going
unto Esau, as would naturally have been the case. And by the
way, The name Jacob was given unto him in accordance with the
circumstances of their birth, just as was the case with Esau. Jacob the supplanter, heel snatcher,
was what he was named. In Genesis 27 verse 36 Esau said,
Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these
two times. supplant her, to seize by the
heel, to circumvent. He deserves the name Jacob, they
say, because he was acting out the part. Now, as we saw, we
are told why Isaac favored Esau. For Esau filled the old man's
mouth with venison, and that often and daily. He was a rugged
man of the outdoors. And when he came in, Isaac loved
to smell the smell of the field upon his son Esau where he had
roamed. And that delighted Isaac to smell
the aroma of the field upon the garment of his son. Now, we're
not told why Rebecca favored Jacob, just that in contrast
to Isaac, Rebecca loved Jacob. Now, was it because Jacob was
at home more with her? He even cooked. He knew how to
cook. He was of good disposition. It was his mother's darling.
Is this the reason? Oh, or was it something deeper,
something spiritual that motivated her and laid behind her partiality
under the sun? For you remember, she had been
given the revelation before they were born, she had been given
the revelation, the elder shall serve the younger, and that the
oldest or the firstborn would become subservient unto the younger. The Lord had revealed that to
her directly. The preference goes to the younger
and the nation that would come out by and through him. Now, are there two things whereby
the natural order was reversed? Number one, in the transfer of
the birthright in Genesis 25, 29 through verse 34. And number two, in Jacob obtaining
the blessing of Isaac the father instead of it being pronounced
upon Esau, that you have in Genesis 27, 1 through 40. a lengthy account. And this will
give us an occasion to consider two Old Testament customs. A, birthright, and B, the blessing
of the Father upon the children. Genesis chapter 25, 29-34, the
transfer of the birthright was on this wise. One day Esau came
in from the hunt from the field, evidently empty-handed, and was
both exhausted from it and was very hungry and very faint and
thought himself at the point that he might die. In verse 32,
Now Jacob had sod pottage, it says there in the scripture.
He'd made a meal. He had cooked a stew or a soup
of some sort and some bread and was eating or about to eat. And Esau says to him, give me
some of that red stuff that you've cooked. And Jacob sees the opportunity
to get the birthright. And he proffers a bargain with
Esau, telling him, sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau
agreed on the ground, I am about to die. What good is this birthright
unto me if I die? And he traded his birthright
for a plate or a bowl of that red stew. And verse 33 and 34,
he swore to the exchange, And he ate, and he drank, and renewed
his energy, and then went out on his way. And in this Esau
despised his birthright, and like King his sin was greater,
than could be forgiven. So the question is, what was
this birthright that was transferred here in this place? How did one
come to possess it? What advantages was there in
being the firstborn and having the birthright? For it was a
thing that Jacob craved to have. And so he made his move when
Esau was at a very low point in his life. And he even sealed
the bargain by causing Esau to swear an oath that the exchange
was literal and that it would stand, which he did. And we read,
thus Esau despised his birthright. And this word despised here,
we find it sometimes in the Scripture. It's the very same one that Samuel
used against David. In 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse
9 and verse 10, thou hast despised the commandment of the Lord in
what David hath done. It means to disesteem, to esteem
or count very likely, even to disdain, to make or look upon
it as contemptible. And the birthright refers to
the firstborn, the first sling of the family, and was even so
of the flock. and the privilege that belonged
to the firstborn, especially the firstborn son of the family. Such things went with the birthright
as this, acting as the priest in the family in case of the
death of the father. And again, the firstborn had
some measure of exercise or rule over the younger children in
the family. I think this is strongly hinted
in Genesis 4 and verse 7 where Cain and Abel came. But it's
clearly spelled out by the words of Isaac unto Esau in Genesis
27 and 37, after giving the blessing to Jacob, I have made him your
Lord and all his brethren have I given to him for service."
Speaking of Jacob. Nor is that all the benefit of
the family birthright. For in Deuteronomy chapter 21
and verse 17 there were certain cases when the firstborn got
a double portion of the inheritance of the father or the family. A double portion was heaped upon
the firstborn. Even today, I guess, there is
still some significance attached to that firstborn in a family. So it was a great blessing. And
it only came by or to the firstborn. Genesis 47 and verse 22. And the spiritual implication
is that the Lord Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8 and verse 29. And the
church is called the church of the firstborn here in Hebrews
Now, another thing involved was the blessing. Not only the birthright,
but also the blessing. And Esau lost both of them, and
Jacob gained both of them. This is mentioned also in Hebrews
chapter 12 and verse 17. For you know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected,
that is, Esau. Now this blessing was a thing
separate from the birthright. They were not part and partial
of each other. And verse 17 of Hebrews 12, You
know how that afterward he sought the blessing and he sought it
even with tears, but it was not given back unto him, but went
unto Jacob. Now, the record I said you have
of it in Genesis 27, 1 through 40. This has been called the
patriarchal blessing and was given at the time when the father
was usually old and thought that he would not live much longer. Almost at the point of death
we see in the Old Testament is when the blessing and the prophecy
was made toward the Son. A very good example of this you
have in Genesis chapter 47 and 48 and 49 when Jacob was old
and upon his deathbed And he called his sons in and
blessed them and prophesied. But in Genesis 27, Isaac prepared
to bless Esau. He thought he wouldn't live much
longer, and so the time of the bestowing of the blessing. And he said to him, you go and
catch me that venison and cook it and bring it unto me, my very
favorite dish, and I will bless thee. Now, Rebecca heard that
from behind the curtain, or in the other room, and she helps
Jacob, the younger, deceive the nearly blind old man, her husband,
so that instead of blessing Esau, he pours the blessing upon Jacob. And then Esau comes in, panting
from his hunting, and prepares the pottage for his father, and
comes before him for the blessing, only to hear that the blessing
has already gone unto his brother. And he accuses Jacob of treachery,
of subtlety, of being a supplanter. But we notice that the blessing
stand, in spite of Esau's weeping, in spite of Esau's begging for
a blessing, that Isaac would not repent and recant and take
the blessing back from Jacob and give it unto Esau. He would
not revoke the blessing that he had bestowed. This served
the purpose of God, that Rebekah helped deceive her husband, that
Jacob was a partner in it. all work to fulfill the saying,
to their mother, the elder shall serve the younger. How true Paul's
words in Romans 9, 10 through 13, that it was not based upon
good or evil done by either one of them. For Esau had the spiritual-seeming
blessing advantage over Jacob being firstborn. in line for
the birthright and for the blessing, and yet the purpose of God according
unto election stood. Now, as it was God that hardened
Pharaoh's heart so they would not let the people go. So it
was God that held Esau's heart, or Isaac's heart, to the vow
and the blessing that he had given. Pilate said, what I have
written, I have written. And Isaac said, in effect, what
I have blessed, I have blessed. We remember that it was Jacob
that built up the house of Israel, those 12 children, those 12 sons,
that 12 tribes. And it was him who took his brother's
birthright and took his brother's blessing. And yet the latter
lives, and the latter, therefore, proved according to the purpose
and the prophecy of Almighty God. Esau became an example of
an apostate, and Jacob's name supplanter, heel snatcher, whatever,
was changed when he had an experience with God in Genesis 35 and verse
10. And his name was changed to Israel. Prince of God. No more shall
thou be called Jacob, supplanter, but Israel, Prince with God. So the question is, did God really,
really hate Esau? That's a very hard dose to swallow
for a lot of people today. Jacob I love, Esau have I hated. I don't think I'm wrong to say
that this is the only man in the Scripture called by name
that God is said to hate. We have it in Malachi 1, 1 through
3. We have it in Romans 9. And verse
13, Paul cites that passage from Malachi. Was not Esau Jacob's
brother? And yet I hated Esau, and I loved
Jacob, saith the Lord, and I lay Esau's mountains waste. God's dealings with their offspring
were also an evidence of that. Now as a closing application,
Could we say today, Israel had a sort of birthright privileges
to the gospel and the things of God, and they despised it
and they sold it for the temple, the altars, the sacrifices, the
day, the ritual, the feast. a mess of pottage. And yet, it
served the purpose of God that was foretold by the prophets
of old who spoke of those things, of the rejection of the Jew and
the grafting in of the Gentile. And the purpose of God was fulfilled
in both the smaller case, Jacob and Esau, and the larger case,
Israel and their rejection of the Messiah when he came into
the world.