By Rev. Mike Scott
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For we know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. ~ Hebrews 12:16—17
The Hebrew nation begins with Abraham as Jehovah God moves in his life allowing his barren wife to bear a son by the name of Isaac who in turn has two sons by the names of Esau and Jacob. Being Esau is the eldest it should by right be through him that the promises of God are fulfilled, which would place him as being a direct descendant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even so, before he and his brother are born Almighty God knows that he will be a profane person (v 17); therefore, the Scriptures report God’s declaration “…Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13). In a real sense Esau represents all sinners in that he is worldly, willful and wicked, and through this message we will examine how these designations relate to all lost people.
We discover first of all that Esau is worldly in that he rejects that which is spiritual as he cleaves to that which is material. Esau is carnal in his nature and is depicted in Scripture as “…a cunning hunter, a man of the field…” (Genesis 25:27). While there is certainly nothing wrong or sinful about these activities, they do reflect his love for worldly endeavors. Sinners are likewise worldly individuals, and this is dangerous for three reasons.
First of all, the world is to be rejected because it is deceptive in that it makes promises it can’t keep, and beyond this all it offers is temporary. People look to this world for satisfaction, pleasure, profit and peace, but these virtues are unattainable apart from a right relationship with Almighty God. The apostle John says “…all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16); therefore, those who are looking to this world for their security are only deceiving themselves, for it takes far more than it gives.
A second reason as to why the world is to be rejected is because it is destructive, and the chief reason behind this truth is because it is controlled by Satan. Scripture calls the devil both “…the god of this world…” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and “…the prince of this world…” (John 14:30), which means he uses his sadistic power to intervene in the affairs of humanity. Those who are duped by the lies of the devil often find themselves consumed by their lusts and passions as they become addicted to alcohol as well as illegal drugs, plagued with a sexually transmitted disease, imprisoned due to their unlawful lifestyle and afflicted with any number of other maladies. The apostle James says “ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4); therefore, we are to “…come out from among them, and be…separate…and touch not the unclean thing…” 2 Corinthians 6:17).
Thirdly, the world is to be rejected because it is doomed. Again we look to the writings of the apostle John who says “…the world passeth away, and the lust thereof…” (1 John 2:17), which means Jehovah God is one day going to bring an end to this sin cursed world along with those who engage in its wicked activities. The apostle Peter speaks of a time in which “…the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heavens the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10), and in that day the world as we know it will be revamped as all iniquity is purged away.
Not only is Esau worldly, but he is likewise willful as he rejects his birthright for a bowl of pottage and conspires with his father to receive the blessing God intends for his brother (Jacob) to obtain. In much the same way all sinners are willful as they place their will above that of Almighty God. God has created all individuals with a free-will, which means they are free moral agents with the ability to decide that which they are going to do. While the Lord God Almighty has a plan, place and purpose for every person, it is up to the individual to discover that plan for himself or herself and then to fill it. But the wicked turn their backs upon the will of God in favor of their own sinful desires, and this is nothing more than pride and arrogance.
God knows that which is best for our lives, and it is likewise His desire to give us the very best He has to offer. But it is up to us to either receive or reject that which the Lord is willing to bestow, and by rejecting God’s intended purposes we are opening ourselves up to His wrath and divine judgment. Adam and Eve used their free will to eat of the forbidden fruit (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) and thereby lost Paradise, King Saul used his free will to keep King Agag as well as a portion of the Amalekite sheep alive and thereby lost his kingdom; Jonah used his free will to flee from God’s presence and ended up in the belly of a great fish; the inhabitants of Judah persistently sought after false gods (idols) and found themselves in Babylonian Captivity for a period of seventy years. It is with this thought in mind that Hosea writes “who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them:but the transgressors shall fall therein” (Hosea 14:9).
Like so many people today, Esau traded future glory for present satisfaction. When Esau comes in one day from hunting, he is both tired and hungry. His brother (Jacob) has made a big pot of pottage (soup), and Esau desires to have some. Jacob places on him the stipulation of selling him the birthright (the privilege of being called the eldest), and Esau readily agrees. This decision forever seals his fate in that any chance he may have had of inheriting God’s favor is taken away. Esau is more interested in the here and now than he is in Heaven’s rewards, and many in the world today have fallen into the same trap. Jesus instructs us to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, for by doing so “…neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and…thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20). But those who place their trust in the sinking sand of this present world are destined to suffer great loss, for in the great day of judgment that is yet to come they will hear the Lord say “…I never knew you:depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23).
Finally, Esau is not only worldly and willful, but he is also wicked. When Jacob and his mother foil the plan of Esau and Isaac to give him (Esau) the blessing God intends for Jacob to receive, he (Esau) vows to kill his brother. Esau has a heart that the prophet Jeremiah describes as “…deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9). Here, in our Scripture text, he is called a profane person (v 16), and this refers to one who treats religion with neither regard nor reverence and as an unholy thing. Esau is only interested in Esau, and because this is true, he has no respect whatsoever for the things of God.
In a very real sense Esau has crossed a line of no return in that our text says afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears (v 17). The truth of the matter is God allows us to make decisions, but he holds us accountable for the consequences. The apostle Peter describes those who willfully disobey God with the words “having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children” (2 Peter 2:14). This depiction includes Esau as well as all who walk outside of God’s perfect will.
Like Esau, all who follow in his pernicious ways are considered to be wicked. The Bible compares such individuals to chaff, which is an altogether useless commodity and is to be carried away by the wind (see Job 21:18). It likewise declares that the wicked will be snared in a trap of their own making in that Job declares “whose diggeth a pit shall fall therein:and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him” (Job 26:27). The prophet Isaiah states “there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21), and this judgment is repeated time after time again in Scripture as it declares they (the wicked) will die before their time (“…the years of the wicked shall be shortened”-Proverb 10:27), will pass away with no one to grieve for them (“…they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground”-Jeremiah 25:33) and will enter into a hopeless eternity (“…Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”-Matthew 25:41).
In conclusion, Esau represents all sinners in that he is worldly, willful and wicked. But the good news of the Gospel declares the vilest of sinners can become the redeemed of God if they’ll place saving faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ the Lord. The apostle Paul declares “this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15), and this simple statement can transform the worst of sinners into the happiest of saints.
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