Title Jacob 1, birthright/Genesis 25:27-34
Contents
Lecture 6 Jacob 1, the birthright (Genesis 25:27-34)
Jacob's birth account is very important. It is only after the birth event is understood that the following events can be understood. Jacob deceived his brother and took his birthright. The word “Jacob” means “to grab the heel”, but when translated literally, it means “predator”. Why did God love Jacob, the deceiver and plunderer, more than Esau?
“And it is said that not all the seed of Abraham are his children, but the one born of Isaac shall be called your offspring. And that Rebekah was conceived by one of our fathers, Isaac, and her children were not yet born, and had done nothing good or evil, that the will of God according to election might stand, not by works, but by him who called He said to Rebekah, “The older should serve the younger, as it is written, ‘I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau’” (Romans 9:7-13).
It is said that God chose Jacob before he was born, before he did good or evil. What the Bible states is that because God chose Jacob, he did not let go of his life and raised him by intervention. This is by no means that Jacob was better than Esau and that God chose Jacob. Because he chose Jacob, he did not entrust his life to him, but the chosen God would do it. The conflict between God's guidance and Jacob's disobedience in Jacob's life is that God intervenes and tries to lead him according to God's will. But there is no such conflict in Esau.
Jacob took the birthright from his brother. Taking away the birthright was never meant to inherit a lot of inheritance. Taking away the birthright is actually hard to imagine. Nevertheless, Jacob's desire to usurp his birthright may have been based on his conviction that he was God's chosen one and that God allowed the older to serve him, though he was young.
Jacob took the birthright for the following reasons. In the Old Testament, the firstborn must always be the one who inherits a family. In Matthew 1, Esau did not enter the genealogy of Jesus Christ, but Jacob. If the case of the loss of the birthright is interpreted in the New Testament way, it means ‘I absolutely need Jesus’. What did Esau say? “Jacob said, “Sell me your brother’s birthright,” and Esau said, “I am about to die, and what profit is this birthright to me?” (Genesis 25:32). It means that the problem of making a living is urgent, not Jesus Christ. Esau disregarded the birthright. The act of usurping the birthright deserves condemnation. But the confession “I need Jesus Christ” is incomparably important. If it was to receive an inheritance, he would not have risked his life to protect his birthright. He did not return the birthright, despite feeling life-threatening throughout his life. Chapter 32 Yabbokgangga Even when his own life or death was at stake, he did not concede this alone.
The Bible symbolizes Esau's disregard for his birthright. Esau is a representative figure who openly and always curses in the Bible. Esau's nickname is Edom. In the Old Testament, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Malachi, etc. are all full of curses against Edom. Israel is always beaten, but not cursed. For there is no one more fitting to represent Israel than Jacob. The nation itself is called by his name, and personally, the believers are like Jacob and the people of Israel. There was no day of comfort for the people of Israel, and no day of praise for Jacob. The man of God has no praise in this world because his goal is God's guidance. On the other hand, no matter how much rebuke and chastisement before God for Israel's wrongdoing, they have never been cursed.
“I have loved you, says the Lord, but you say, How hast thou loved us?” I, the Lord, saith the Lord, am I not Esau's brother? He gave his inheritance to the wilderness of the wilderness. Edom says, "We have been torn down, but we will rebuild the desolate places." But I, the LORD of hosts, will build them, but I will tear them down. They will be called the people of the everlasting wrath of God, and you will see and say, ‘The LORD is great outside the borders of Israel’ (Mal 1:2-5).”
In the matter of faith, Jacob and Edom are the most representative symbols of dividing believers and unbelievers. They are two representative figures of the symbol of “I need Jesus Christ” and “I do not need”.
“This is the vision of Obadiah, thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard from the LORD, that an angel has been sent among the nations, saying, Arise, and let us rise up and fight with him, saith the LORD. You are greatly despised among the nations because you have made me weak. You who dwell in the clefts of the rocks and live on high, you say to your heart, “Who can bring me down to the earth?” The pride of your heart has deceived you. Even if you nest, I will bring you down from there, says the LORD. Perhaps a thief had come upon you, and a robber had come upon you in the night, but would not have ceased to be drunk with satisfaction in his heart? How many of them have you not left? How are you so lost, and how was Esau so sought after, and how was the hidden treasure sought?” (Ob 1:1-6).
This is an expression of God's destruction and wrath against the spiritually proud who do not believe in God and reject the need for Jesus Christ. But let's see
“On Mount Zion there will be some who will flee, and the mountain shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall enjoy their inheritance, the house of Jacob a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau a stubble, and they shall cling to him and consume him. and there shall be no remnant of the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken” (Ob 1:17-18).
Esau and Jacob are clearly spiritual branches. You need to know how different the two are. When people go to heaven, they will know how blessed it is to believe in Jesus.
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is he who has no deceit in heart, and is not condemned by the Lord” (Psalm 32:1-2).
We should always remember and be grateful for this blessing we are receiving and the preciousness of the status we enjoy.