Pillows Into Pillars

Pillows Into Pillars

Genesis 28

Our SS lesson today is found in Genesis chapter 28, which tells us of a transformative moment in Jacob’s life where he is on a journey back to his distant family in Padanaram, and when he stopped for the night along the way he dreamed of a stairway to heaven. But before we get into that, it would do us good to understand the context. In other words, what led up to this journey.

You see, in the 25th chapter of Genesis, we’re told about Isaac and Rebekah having two children, probably fraternal twins because they did not look alike or act alike, named Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, but Jacob was right behind him, hanging onto his heel which portends the struggle between these two brothers in the years to come. Esau grew up reddish in color, hairy, and very much an outdoorsman, while Jacob was smooth, peaceful, and mostly a homebody. Another indication that there would be problems in the future is the fact that we’re told that their father, Isaac, loved Esau, but their mother, Rebekah, loved Jacob. Now, if that isn’t a recipe for trouble, I don’t know what is.

At the end of chapter 25, we find Esau, returning home from a day out in the field. He was hungry and asked his brother Jacob for some of the stew he had been cooking, which he ended up buying a bowl from his brother in exchange for his birthright. He literally sold his right as the firstborn for a meal. He was more concerned about his stomach than his heritage. Then in the 27th chapter we have the story behind the “stolen blessing” which I don’t believe was really stolen because I would think the blessing would go hand in hand with the birthright. But there are behind the scenes maneuvering and machinations of the mother, Rebekah, in favor Jacob over Esau. Now, we might fault Rebekah for her part in this deceit, but remember, she had the prophetic utterance from God that stated, Gen 25:23 …"Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger."

The older shall serve the younger. She knew that one way or another, that the roles of Esau and Jacob would be reversed and that Jacob would be the child of promise, just like Isaac was the child of promise over Ishmael even though Ishmael was firstborn. So, Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob, and when Esau discovered what had happened, he ran to his father and said, Gen 27:38 …"Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." So, Esau lifted his voice and wept.

In the book of Hebrews, we see another perspective on this situation. It says that Esau was Heb 12:16 …immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. The word translated as *“immoral” is “pornos” which speaks of a “fornicator” or “sexual immorality”. And *“godless” is “bebelos” which speaks of a person who is “godless”, “profane”, or “not religious.” You see, Esau was a man of the world, not a man of God. He wasn’t ungodly in the sense that he was vile or wicked, or particularly unrighteous, he just didn’t have room for God in his life. He was profane in that regard. He was not religious. He was not a man of faith.

And you know, we see these same people everywhere. They live right next door to you. You’ll find them wherever you go. They have plenty of room in their lives for business, for golf, for football, fishing, money, and many other things, but they have no time, no room for God. Religion is in the church and the Lord is out of their lives. That was Esau. He thought no more about his birthright than a bowl of stew, and so God let him have exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be left alone, and so God let him go his own way.

And guess what? God doesn’t do anything different today. He does not and has not changed. If you love this world, then the world is yours. You will live in it, die in it, and be buried in it. When the world dies, you will die in it. When the world is destroyed, you will be destroyed right along with it. God hasn’t changed. If you love this world, you will have this world. You’ll have death, judgment, fire, and destruction. You will have it because you’re a part of it. You’ll have it all, but you won’t have the resurrection, because you don’t believe in the resurrection. You won’t have Christ because you refuse to have any part of Christ. You won’t have the kingdom of God because you don’t have any time for the kingdom of God and kingdom things. You will be rejected because you have rejected what God offers to you with each breath you take. If you don’t have any time for God, God will give you exactly what you want, which is no time with Him!