most of us have struggles…

jacob was a man who struggled.  if life is easy for you, if you don’t have any struggles you’re probably not going to relate to jacob.  but most of us have struggles.  all of us have struggles and jacob was a man who struggled in his life.  he struggled on a way to a great faith.  and as we look at his life, i hope you might see your struggles in a brand new way, in GOD’s kind of way.

we’re going to look at some phases of his life, and as we look at these phases you’re going to recognize some phases in your own life.  some phases as you’ve grown from younger to older and some phases when you’ve faced certain circumstances in your life.

now one phase was the scheming phase. and for jacob the scheming begins very early in his life.  he begins to scheme for a blessing and the birthright.  it seems that when he was born it was revealed to him that somehow, even though he was the second born, he would get the birthright.  so he begins to scheme for it.  and finally he comes up with a plan. 

genesis 25, jacob and esau.  verses 27-34 (niv), as the boys grew up, esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the open country.  jacob was a quiet man.  he stayed among the tents.  isaac who had a taste for wild game loved esau but rebecca loved jacob.  [that’s a formula for trouble.]  once when jacob was cooking some stew esau came in from the open country famished.  he said to jacob, “quick!  some of that red stew.  i’m famished.”…jacob replied, “first sell me your birthright.”  “i’m about to die,” says esau, “what good is the birthright if i’m going to die of hunger?”  jacob said, “swear to me first!” and he swore an oath to him and jacob gave esau some bread and some lintel stew [bean soup] and he ate it and he drank.  so esau despised his birthright. 

so jacob steals the birthright.  but be very careful and notice what the bible teaches us.  the bible shares with us, not so much that jacob was wrong here but that esau was wrong. 

hebrews 12.16-17 (niv), see to it that no one is sexually immoral or GODless like esau who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.  afterwards you know that when he wanted to inherit this blessing he was rejected.  he could bring about no change of mind with GOD though he sought that blessing with tears.  he was GODless.   

now what does it mean to be GODLESS?  well, in esau’s life it was GODless for him to reject GOD’s birthright in his life.  in my life and in your life it’s GODless for us to reject GOD’s birthright in our lives.  what has HE created us to be?  what has HE made us to be? 

so if i reject that which HE’s made me to be, that’s GODless.  that’s leaving GOD out of my life and trying to build a life on my own.

just a thought from the front porch…