Title Materialism/Genesis 25:19-34
Content Title: Materialism
Text: Genesis 25:19-34
Key Verse: (Genesis 25:34) And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and Esau ate and drank and got up and went, for Esau had despised his birthright.
Recently, Korea is facing a serious crisis. The sound of crashing continues everywhere. The collapse of bridges, collapse of buildings, and untimely large-scale accidents have heightened our sense of crisis to an extreme, as if we were walking on a treadmill. The situation in Korea, which is currently unfolding, cannot but be a typical example of the progress of the social collapse brought about by materialism. Economic growth after industrialization and the materialism that followed are revealing their identity and limitations one after another through today's tragic events. It shows the lesson that a nation, society, or individual who prioritizes material values will inevitably face tragedy.
The text records the account of the birth of Jacob and Esau and their conflict. The outline of the text is as follows.
1) The genealogy of Isaac and the infertility of Rebekah.
2) Conflict between Jacob and Esau.
shared in the womb.
birth of twins
the case of the sale of the birthright
Today's verse, which presents an aspect of God's sovereign election, teaches the truth that the last can be first. Esau had the birthright, but passed it on to his younger brother. Through the text, we must carefully look at the mistaken thinking of those who do not realize their mission, who neglect spiritual things and give priority to material things. And we must realize that individuals, societies, and nations that prioritize material over spiritual values must have disastrous consequences.
1. Those who pursue only the flesh are unhappy.
Esau was only clinging to physical hunger, thinking nothing more than that. His goal was to satisfy a hungry body, and he considered only material things to solve it. The goal of the carnal man is always in material things.
(Luke 12:16) And he spoke to them in parables, saying, “There was a rich man in his field that yielded abundantly (Luke 12:17), and he thought in his heart, and said, “What shall I do, since I have no place to store grain?” (Luke 12:18) And he said, "This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns, and I will make it bigger, and I will store all my grain and goods there." (Luke 12:19) And I said to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke 12:20) But God said, "You fool, this night your soul will be required of you, and whose will then be what you have prepared?" (Luke 12:21) Lay up treasure for yourself, and be rich toward God. Such is the one who has not failed.
The foolish rich man was content to see only the material piled up in his storehouse, but he did not fill the storehouse for his soul with anything. Esau is a typical puppeteer of modern people who are obsessed with materialism.
2. Matter gives instant satisfaction, but at the same time gives eternal regret.
Esau filled her stomach with a bowl of red bean porridge and got instant satisfaction. But he had given up on the greater good of the future for the satisfaction of the present. The nature of sin is always instantaneous pleasure and instinctive pleasure. But it soon brings deep regret. Those who do not prepare for eternity and dwell on the present day, will be abandoned outside, weeping and gnashing their teeth on the day they stand before the Lord.
(Matthew 25:30) Cast this useless servant out into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
3. Jacob gave priority to spiritual values.
Jacob is commendable for cherishing spiritual things, even if his method was not right. Jacob does not know how much effort he made to receive the birthright, the blessing of his father Isaac, and the blessing of an angel at the river Jabbok. He is a person who knows the value of spiritual blessings and has worked tirelessly to obtain them. Looking at the appearance of modern people today who seek only the moment rather than eternity, and only physical satisfaction rather than spiritual, it is clear why God chose Jacob over Esau.
4. Materialistic thinking inevitably leads to destruction.
Matter is an object of use for human life and cannot be a subject that dominates human beings. Of course, material is necessary for human life. It is similar to how a ship needs water to navigate. But no matter how much water is needed, if you try to bring it into the ship, the ship will sink. We humans should live using money as much as we need for our lives, never let money rule our lives. When money dominates humans, the ship of life has no choice but to sink. (Economic consumption trend)
Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of red bean porridge, is the image of modern people who are obsessed with materialism and neglect spiritual things. Modern people, who live only on physical satiation, material abundance, and temporal happiness, ignore the preciousness of spiritual values and spiritual exhaustion and downplay them. As a result, they enjoy material abundance, but become more spiritually poor, causing many side effects. (Overseas outing, studying abroad, shopping.)
What is important to us is eternity, not a moment, spiritual satisfaction, not physical satiety, and the eternal kingdom of heaven rather than the earthly world. Individuals without God, a society dominated by material things, will come to a tragic end. We must acknowledge God as God, and we must put things back in their place. Those who belong to the spirit will have to think and pursue the things of the Spirit.
(Romans 8:5) Those who are after the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are after the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:6) The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is eternity and life.
Prayer
Eternal Lord God, we are entangled in physical things and cannot see spiritual things, and we live in a chaotic world dominated by material things instead of God. Lord, grant us eternal faith in this dark world. May we not live for the moment, but for eternity. Help me to break free from the life of the flesh and live the life of the spirit anew. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.