Genesis: The Value Of A Birthright

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, January 09, 2016
Chapters: Genesis 25-27
Message: Genesis: The Value Of A Birthright

Hello My Friend,

Birthright, Any right or privilege, to which a person is entitled by birth. The second a person believes in and accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they not only are saved from the fiery pits of hell, they become heirs with Him and children of the Almighty Himself. The right or privilege we receive as children of God are eternal life with Him, a one on one relationship with Him, and blessings that only can be given by those who believe in His Son. “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” - Galatians 4:1,4-7.

When reading through the Bible it is interesting to see the descendants that came from Abraham, especially since they all play a part in Hebrew history, many of them becoming enemies. After Sarah died, Abraham remarried and had several children, their lineage is listed. Abraham made sure to separate them from Isaac, as he was the promised seed that would make up the Hebrew nation, and in which Jesus would descend. Years later Isaac asked God for children and He blessed them with twins, Esau and Jacob, even in the womb they were fighting, and we get an insight as to the events that take place in which Jacob would be fighting, beginning with Esau selling his birthright to Jacob.

“And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” - Genesis 25:28-34.

“and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” For a bowl of soup, Esau gave up his birthright, and this act of carelessness not only proved to God that he had no intention of following Him, it also would bring a division between the two countries, so much that God would eventually destroy it, also known as Edom. “But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.” - Jeremiah 49:10-12,17.

Being heir with Christ does not mean we will not face any difficulties in life, in fact, we may face more simply because we choose Him over the world. Being heir does mean that God has our back, and He will even bring us to live content lives in the midst of a messed up world. God sent a famine in the land, one in which Isaac found himself making the same mistakes as his father did. It was during this trial that God spoke to him and reminded him that He made a promise to his father that He will fulfill through him.

“And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:” - Genesis 26:1-6.

“Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,” We must realize that God does not keep His promises to us based on our works, He does them because He never goes back on His promises. No matter how good we try to be, we are mess, we do not always have a perfect heart for God. God knows this and that is why He promises that if we believe in and accept His Son, we will be His children forever and will never leave nor forsake us. “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:22-26.

We do not hear much about Isaac's life beyond him being the seed that God promised He would be to establish His covenant with Abraham. Much of this is due to the fact that he was about to bless Esau with great power, since Rebekah never forgot what God told her, she came up with a scheme to deceive Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob, thinking it was Esau. This was not going to be easy, and Jacob himself would soon find out that by listening to his mother he will face the consequences for deceiving his father, but the plan worked.

“And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.” - Genesis 27:27-33.

“And Isaac trembled very exceedingly,” Isaac not only was embarrassed by being deceived by his son and wife, he also realized he was wrong on what he had done. God told Rebekah that the first born would be weaker and serve his younger brother. He mentioned two nations, meaning that they would both be rulers of a nation and that Jacob's would be stronger and rule over Esau's. Esau is a type of the man of the earth, in many respects he is more nobler than Jacob, yet the fact that he lacked faith in God and despised his birthright made Him of no value to God. God’s choice of His children does not depend on their character, or even what family they are born into, it is dependent upon their faith in His Son. “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” -Romans 9:13-16.

Today's Prayer: God, When we put our faith and trust in Your Son we never fully comprehend just how merciful You are until we are faced with a situation that cries for Your mercy. Thank You, for Your grace, it is infinite and given freely given to all Your children. Lord, be with us in all that we do, lead us and guide us through the mercy and grace that only You can provide, while others mock us, remind us that Your grace is sufficient enough for us. Let us never despise our birthright, and help us to keep our heads up high no matter how many times we fall. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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