Hill of Beans

When Hairy Met Jacob

Why shouldn’t I want comfort? Get the next big thing, etc? I mean, doesn’t the Bible tell me that I can and should expect my walls to expand? For my flocks to grow? Shouldn’t I go for that 5 bedroom tent instead of the 3?

Most people only look at the now. Heaven later, I need that 80” tv right now. Or new car/job/account, etc. we as believers have lost track of what is important in this world. We are chasing the wrong things, desiring the wrong things, running after, the wrong things.

Its like the majority of the western church has forgotten that we live for a kingdom not of this earth. Why do we so quickly forget that? I know what Paul said in

For men/husbands it can become a huge hurdle because we so often base our success on the numbers game. How many peeps I have under me, how much money, etc. not did I lead my kids to christ but did I give them a better life than I had? Where is that in the Bible? I want them to enter into eternity above all, college is much lower priority than that! Let's see our prime example in this, read with me our text in Genesis. Jacob and Esau have been fighting since they were in their mothers womb, and now, it gets real.

Genesis 25:29–34 “Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. Says literally about to pass out, completely exhausted 30And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Mostly in their time stew was meatless. And who doesn’t love a good bean stew? Therefore his name was called Edom. How mad would you be when folks would diss you by calling you red after the stew you gave your entire future away for? 31But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” Most wouldn’t think anything of this if its not immediate and doesn’t seem real to you 32And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” WHEN YOU LIVE FOR THE MOMENT, A FUTURE IS MEANINGLESS TO YOU 33Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

FIRST OF ALL THEY SOUND LIKE 12 YEAR OLDS RIGHT? I MEAN DUDES CAN BE DENSE BUT… If it doesn’t seem real, immediate. Its not important. Kinda like when we hear of those selling their soul we can sometimes do the same even as followers of christ which is why we read turn

2 Timothy 2:3–5, 11-13 A HE SAYS “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2ND 5And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 11This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” He so dishonored his parents in this and this is one of the big ten. You know the ten right? Most think they do, but lets look

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” He literally connects how you treat your family, how you honor what they teach, as connected to your life and success in it. But Robert you say, I really think I am doing, x, y, z. And dont we teach family is the most important above all? Well, lets look what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:29–33 “But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. We dont have long and our chances are gone 32But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife.” Many men, not even married are married. To what?

What this is not saying. I am not telling you to dump your family, jobs, etc. I am telling you do it all for christ and in His name. To please him. To when you are with your family, Be with them. But all for Jesus!

We sometimes walk in sin, or live as one unsaved, we despise the work Jesus has done for us, the salvation he secured at such a great price.

A life lived without christ as it center and focus, is often no better than an animals. Ecclesiastes 8:15 “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.”

Listen to Jesus - Luke 12:15–21 “And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 16Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.””

Now this isn’t about giving your “money” to god, but about what’s important, you can’t buy gods kingdom with the things of this world. Luke 12:32–34 ““Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

No doubt this was the heart of Esaus worldview - what’s yours? He treasured only the here and now. What his flesh wanted. And it would show throughout this walk of theirs. Not that anyone else is much better here.

And when our actions come to fruition, it can be devastating. Look with me at Genesis 27 beginning with v18. Settings this up, Jacob and his mother have set up Esau because they know he is about to “get” the blessing. Since dad is blind mom figures she can sell it by making furry arm covers and cooking a stew because she knows ole lying Issac cant tell the difference between goat and venison.

Genesis 27:18–24 “So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Trying to imitate Esau? 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” Blasphemy name lord? You never swore to god in a lie? 21Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” Obviously suspicious. That Rebekah 22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.””

Jacob (supplanter the peanut) breaks one of the 10 as well by giving false witness - he lies, over and over. Lying is a big deal then and now, the last book of the Bible says this, Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”” Now most cultures dont like liars, usually their bad guys are liars and even those cultures that do like liars the liars are still troublemakers/bad.

Just to break this down real quick. Is God ok with this? No. He is simply recording what these guys did. This isn’t love or respect in any of these things - NLT: Romans 13:8–10 “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.”

Genesis 27:26–29 “Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. Some of yall already got this going on 28Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, 25:23 older serve other, not slave what issac trying to do here? And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”” Gen 12:3

Blesses as the head of the family, the primary (first).

Genesis 27:30–38 “Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 32And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, realized he played right into it? and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” 34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” 35But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” Did he really already know? 36And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, esau traded that for beans, like he cared and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.”

Goes from laughing over the idea, to weeping over the reality of what has happened. Esau didn’t care about such a thing as an inheritance until he was set to get it. We often live like that. We live like Esau ignoring or forgetting the amazing inheritance we have in christ. Hold/turn Hebrews 12:14–17 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.” You have an inheritance as well. TURN 1 Peter 1:3–5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten borned us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Are you living out that life? Knowing you have right now a guaranteed eternity? Not in fear of losing things of this earth, but confident in the fact that the same God that saved will keep and change? Are you walking in obedience as a member of that family? Are you honoring your Father? And what began in the flesh, ends in the flesh/close with back in Gen 27.

Genesis 27:41 “So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.””

And of course, that doesn’t happen. But this is all on Esau and Issac. Yes, Jacob and Rebekah lied. But Esau gave it away for beans and his pride made him think he was to be “the man”. And he blames it all on Jacob. We never want to find fault in our own hearts do we? THEY ALL thought dad was dying but took 43 years, lol lot of mourning, no wonder his heart changed. We skipped where they sent Jacob away, Rebekah would never see him again in this world. Had they all been obedient to the word of god, how much different would this story have turned out? We still would have the great task for love that Jacob is about to go on, but still?

What are we living for? What am I living for?