{"id":15978,"date":"2021-06-04T22:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-06-05T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_25_1-28-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-05-30T14:46:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T21:46:50","slug":"genesis_25_19-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_25_19-34\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Sell Out Your Destiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 25:19-34\u00a0\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Esau sells his inheritance for a bowl of red bean soup Genesis 25:30<\/p><\/div>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 25:19-34.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 25:19-21 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Isaac prayed to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The\u00a0LORD\u00a0answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-21:\u00a0\u00a0Just as Isaac prayed on behalf of his wife Rebekah, so\u00a0husbands we should pray on behalf of your wives, believing that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective<\/strong>\u00a0(James 5:16).\u00a0\u00a0Praying with and for your wife is one of the best and most important ways you can lead your wife and family spiritually.\u00a0\u00a0More generally, for those of you who are not married and not wishing to get married,\u00a0may this be a reminder that God hears the prayers of His people, so let\u2019s lift one another up in prayer, believing that God hears and God will answer in our time of need.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 25:22 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 22:\u00a0\u00a0Isaac was a man of prayer, and Rebekah was a woman of faith.\u00a0\u00a0When Rebekah does not understand what is going on inside her, she goes to God and inquires of Him (v22).\u00a0\u00a0Likewise,\u00a0when you don\u2019t understand what is going on in our lives, like Rebekah go to God and seek His counsel<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Do that before going to anyone else.\u00a0\u00a0Let the Lord be the first person you consult when you don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re going through.\u00a0\u00a0Believe that God will speak to you when you look to Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 25:23 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 23:\u00a0\u00a0Even before the twins in Rebekah\u2019s womb were born, God already speaks to Rebekah about the destiny of her twins.\u00a0\u00a0These two twins would become the founding fathers of two nations: the younger one, Jacob, would give rise to the nation of Israel, while the older one, Esau, would give rise to the nation of Edom.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Even before you were born, God already had a plan and destiny for your life.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As Psalm 139:13, 16 says, \u201cFor you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb\u2026All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing to note is that the older twin, as we will see in the verses that follow, would be driven by his earthly appetites whereas the younger twin yearned for more long-term benefits that could not be seen immediately.\u00a0\u00a0The fact that both of these twins would be wrestling in Rebekah\u2019s womb reminds me of how\u00a0in each of us there is a struggle between our sinful fleshly desires and the Spirit who lives within us<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0As Galatians 5:17 says, there is a war going on inside each of us between the flesh and the Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0Just as the older, more flesh-oriented twin would serve the younger, more spiritually inclined twin, so in the struggle between our flesh and our spirit, the flesh was always meant to serve the spirit, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

Genesis 25:24-26 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-26:\u00a0\u00a0Rebekah gives birth to the twins.\u00a0\u00a0The twins are given interesting names based on the way they came out when they were born.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Isaac and Rebekah name their older twin Esau (which means \u201cHairy\u201d) because he was very hairy.\u00a0\u00a0They also nickname him \u201cEdom\u201d (which means \u201cred\u201d) because he came out very red.\u00a0\u00a0Since the younger twin came out grasping the older\u2019s heel, Isaac and Rebekah name the younger twin Jacob (which means \u201che grasps the heel\u201d, or figuratively \u201che deceives\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0Interestingly, the way Jacob and Esau are named, as well as the way Jacob grasped Esau\u2019s heel at birth, would be a prophetic picture describing Jacob and Esau\u2019s relationship later in life.<\/p>\n

Genesis 25:27-34 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 27-34:\u00a0\u00a0Esau, hungry for food, gives up his birthright as the firstborn son in exchange for a bowl of soup.\u00a0\u00a0The firstborn birthright was a significant benefit.\u00a0\u00a0In Esau\u2019s case what exact inheritance rights the birthright included is not entirely clear.\u00a0\u00a0According to the law of Moses, the firstborn son\u2019s birthright was to receive a double share of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17), in addition to decision making power in the family.\u00a0\u00a0The fact that Esau would so quickly give up his birthright for the sake of a meal is shocking.\u00a0\u00a0This impetuous decision would impact Esau for the rest of his life as well as all of his descendants who came after him.\u00a0\u00a0Esau\u2019s actions here remind me of Judas selling out Jesus for thirty silver coins (Matthew 27:9); it wouldn\u2019t be worth it.\u00a0\u00a0Later in the New Testament, Esau would be called \u201cgodless\u201d for selling his inheritance as the oldest son (Hebrews 12:16).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s as if how godly or godless you are is reflected in how much you treasure the opportunities and benefits you have been given.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t take for granted the talents and gifts God has placed in your hand.\u00a0\u00a0Be careful not to trade your long-term destiny for the sake of a temporary pleasure.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t sacrifice your relationship with God for something worth much less.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, may I not take for granted the talents You have placed in my hand.\u00a0\u00a0May I not trade away my destiny for a short-term pleasure.\u00a0\u00a0May I treasure and take good care of the talents and future You have entrusted to me.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 25:19-34.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 25:19-21 (NIV)
\n19\u00a0\u00a0This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
\n20\u00a0\u00a0and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
\n21\u00a0\u00a0Isaac prayed to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The\u00a0LORD\u00a0answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.<\/p>\n

On verses 19-21:\u00a0\u00a0Just as Isaac prayed on behalf of his wife Rebekah, so\u00a0husbands we should pray on behalf of your wives, believing that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective\u00a0(James 5:16).\u00a0\u00a0Praying with and for your wife is one of the best and most important ways you can lead your wife and family spiritually.\u00a0\u00a0More generally, for those of you who are not married and not wishing to get married,\u00a0may this be a reminder that God hears the prayers of His people, so let\u2019s lift one another up in prayer, believing that God hears and God will answer in our time of need.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15978"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15979,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15978\/revisions\/15979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}