Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Lessons from Esau -- Part 2

Genesis 25:34, "And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."

Despise: to look down on with contempt or aversion; to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful1

At that moment, Esau despised his birthright, or regarded it as negligible or worthless. He regarded the stew as more important than his birthright. We may scratch our heads and wonder what kind of fool is this? The question that immediately came to mind was, "In what ways have I despised my birthright?"

I am not George and Martha's first-born, I'm actually fifth-born, so I'm not referring to a human birthright. However, I am born of God. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13 As a child of God, we have a birthright.

Birthright: a right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by birth2

We have privileges and possessions which become ours by the virtue of being born from above.
* We are adopted into the family of God - John 1:12-13, Ephesians 1:5
* We are friends of God. John 15:14-15
* We are His delight. Psalm 18:19
* We are heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Romans 8:17
* We are more than conquerors. Romans 8:37
* We have been given garments of salvation and robes of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10
* We are the bride of Christ. Isaiah 54:5
* We have been set free from the power of sin. Romans 6:14
* We have been forgiven. Colossians 2:13
* We bear His name. Acts 11:26
* We have been set free. John 8:36
* He is our provider. Genesis 22:14
* He is our healer. Exodus 15:26
* He is our peace. John 14:27

This is just a very small sampling of the truths in Scripture about our spiritual birthright. As we consider Esau, what lesson can we learn from him? Are there ways in which we despise our birthright, exchanging the rights and privileges as His child, for anything that is more important to us at that moment?

Diane

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