Understanding Scripture Part 2
Let's continue looking at the story of Esau. First, it begins with God's
"love" toward Jacob and God's "hate", (not man's hate) toward Esau each
manifested at the proper time:
Gen 25:29-34, the story; One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry and said, "I'm starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!" That's how Esau got the name "Edom." Jacob replied, "Sell me your rights as the first-born son." "I'm about to die," Esau answered. "What good will those rights do me?" But Jacob said, "Promise me your birthrights, here and now!" And that's what Esau did. Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.
Now the Prophecy is fulfilled. Esau probably had no idea that he was making a choice to fulfill God's will (as did many others in Scripture and exterior to scripture). He probably just thought he was making a choice to fill his stomach. Nevertheless, he sold his birthright. Let's go back to the end of that last line. Here is how the King James Version rendered it: Gen 25:34, Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau DESPISED his birthright. Is that word "despised" to be understood as we humans understand it...as hate?
Esau hated his birthright. Or, did he? If Esau despised his birthright, he had a strange way of showing it when he went to his father. Esau said, "My brother deserves the name Jacob, because he has already cheated me twice. The first time he cheated me out of my rights as the first-born son, and now he has cheated me out of my blessing." Then Esau asked his father, "Don't you still have any blessing left for me?" (Gen 27:36)
Does that sound like a man who emotionally hated his own birthright? If Esau emotionally despised his birthright, he sure has a strange way of showing that by grieving for it and sorely wanting it. The fact is, Esau did hate his birthright...in the sense that he chose Jacob's stew over it. It had nothing to do with emotion.
Clearly, God "loved" Jacob and "hated" Esau and we just witnessed how. But, let us keep on with these two. Let's not give up on them too soon. Jacob stole Esau's rights and blessing. Then he ran far away, because Esau, in his human way, was angry with Jacob and swore to kill him. Time passed. One day though, the Lord said to Jacob: "Jacob, go back to your relatives in the land of your ancestors, and I will bless you." (Gen 31:3)
Esau, having been tipped off, amassed troops and waited to strike and kill Jacob.
But just look what happened:
Gen 33:1-12, Later that day Jacob met Esau coming with his four hundred men. So Jacob had his children walk with their mothers. The two servant women, Zilpah and Bilhah, together with their children went first, followed by Leah and her children, then by Rachel and Joseph.
Jacob himself walked in front of them all, bowing to the ground seven times as he came near his brother. But Esau ran toward Jacob and hugged and kissed him. Then the two brothers started crying. When Esau noticed the women and children he asked, "Whose children are these?" Jacob answered, "These are the ones the LORD has been kind enough to give to me, your servant."
Then the two servant women and their children came and bowed down to Esau. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down; finally, Joseph and Rachel also came and bowed down. Esau asked Jacob, "What did you mean by these herds I met along the road?" "Master," Jacob answered, "I sent them so that you would be friendly to me."
"But, brother, I already have plenty," Esau replied. "Keep them for yourself."
"No!" Jacob said. "Please accept these gifts as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. Please accept these gifts I brought to you. God has been good to me, and I have everything I need." Jacob kept insisting until Esau accepted the gifts. "Let's get ready to travel," Esau said. "I'll go along with you."
According to people haters, God hated Esau. God HATED him. God had a passionate gut wrenching emotional revulsion for Esau, the way people haters believe God has for sinners, right? In fact, God hated Esau so much, He sent Jacob back to him, promising Jacob a blessing. And what a blessing Jacob received: HE BOWED TO ESAU SEVEN TIMES AND WAS REUNITED WITH HIM. Jacob's blessing was his reuniting and reestablishing his relationship with Esau. What kind of screwed up hatred (as compared to us humans) does God have, it is nothing like the hatred the people haters have!
God is nothing like you or I in the way we think. His ways are not our ways, they are higher than our ways. His thoughts are not like our thoughts, they are higher. Even His so-called "hate" is "love" compared to our weak human emotional hatred we show our enemies. Do you see how easy it is for God to melt the human heart with His "hatred?"
How absurd to think that God, who tells us to love our enemies and do good to those that despitefully use us, would Himself HATE His enemies. Such is the deception of the warped thinking of sinner haters.
God says many things in the Bible that shock the carnal mind. Make no mistake, "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." But if you understand "fear" in human terms or understand the things God says within your own human psychology and fail to understand that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts and how ancient people talked you will not understand "fear" of God correctly. Some preachers go so far as to label God's anger with sinners as "Holy Hatred." If they are marrying the word "holy" with their human emotional hatred, which proceeds from a deeply flawed, dark, and desperately wicked heart, the deception they are deceived by is great.
Part 3 to follow
Gen 25:29-34, the story; One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry and said, "I'm starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!" That's how Esau got the name "Edom." Jacob replied, "Sell me your rights as the first-born son." "I'm about to die," Esau answered. "What good will those rights do me?" But Jacob said, "Promise me your birthrights, here and now!" And that's what Esau did. Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.
Now the Prophecy is fulfilled. Esau probably had no idea that he was making a choice to fulfill God's will (as did many others in Scripture and exterior to scripture). He probably just thought he was making a choice to fill his stomach. Nevertheless, he sold his birthright. Let's go back to the end of that last line. Here is how the King James Version rendered it: Gen 25:34, Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau DESPISED his birthright. Is that word "despised" to be understood as we humans understand it...as hate?
Esau hated his birthright. Or, did he? If Esau despised his birthright, he had a strange way of showing it when he went to his father. Esau said, "My brother deserves the name Jacob, because he has already cheated me twice. The first time he cheated me out of my rights as the first-born son, and now he has cheated me out of my blessing." Then Esau asked his father, "Don't you still have any blessing left for me?" (Gen 27:36)
Does that sound like a man who emotionally hated his own birthright? If Esau emotionally despised his birthright, he sure has a strange way of showing that by grieving for it and sorely wanting it. The fact is, Esau did hate his birthright...in the sense that he chose Jacob's stew over it. It had nothing to do with emotion.
Clearly, God "loved" Jacob and "hated" Esau and we just witnessed how. But, let us keep on with these two. Let's not give up on them too soon. Jacob stole Esau's rights and blessing. Then he ran far away, because Esau, in his human way, was angry with Jacob and swore to kill him. Time passed. One day though, the Lord said to Jacob: "Jacob, go back to your relatives in the land of your ancestors, and I will bless you." (Gen 31:3)
Esau, having been tipped off, amassed troops and waited to strike and kill Jacob.
But just look what happened:
Gen 33:1-12, Later that day Jacob met Esau coming with his four hundred men. So Jacob had his children walk with their mothers. The two servant women, Zilpah and Bilhah, together with their children went first, followed by Leah and her children, then by Rachel and Joseph.
Jacob himself walked in front of them all, bowing to the ground seven times as he came near his brother. But Esau ran toward Jacob and hugged and kissed him. Then the two brothers started crying. When Esau noticed the women and children he asked, "Whose children are these?" Jacob answered, "These are the ones the LORD has been kind enough to give to me, your servant."
Then the two servant women and their children came and bowed down to Esau. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down; finally, Joseph and Rachel also came and bowed down. Esau asked Jacob, "What did you mean by these herds I met along the road?" "Master," Jacob answered, "I sent them so that you would be friendly to me."
"But, brother, I already have plenty," Esau replied. "Keep them for yourself."
"No!" Jacob said. "Please accept these gifts as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. Please accept these gifts I brought to you. God has been good to me, and I have everything I need." Jacob kept insisting until Esau accepted the gifts. "Let's get ready to travel," Esau said. "I'll go along with you."
According to people haters, God hated Esau. God HATED him. God had a passionate gut wrenching emotional revulsion for Esau, the way people haters believe God has for sinners, right? In fact, God hated Esau so much, He sent Jacob back to him, promising Jacob a blessing. And what a blessing Jacob received: HE BOWED TO ESAU SEVEN TIMES AND WAS REUNITED WITH HIM. Jacob's blessing was his reuniting and reestablishing his relationship with Esau. What kind of screwed up hatred (as compared to us humans) does God have, it is nothing like the hatred the people haters have!
God is nothing like you or I in the way we think. His ways are not our ways, they are higher than our ways. His thoughts are not like our thoughts, they are higher. Even His so-called "hate" is "love" compared to our weak human emotional hatred we show our enemies. Do you see how easy it is for God to melt the human heart with His "hatred?"
How absurd to think that God, who tells us to love our enemies and do good to those that despitefully use us, would Himself HATE His enemies. Such is the deception of the warped thinking of sinner haters.
God says many things in the Bible that shock the carnal mind. Make no mistake, "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." But if you understand "fear" in human terms or understand the things God says within your own human psychology and fail to understand that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts and how ancient people talked you will not understand "fear" of God correctly. Some preachers go so far as to label God's anger with sinners as "Holy Hatred." If they are marrying the word "holy" with their human emotional hatred, which proceeds from a deeply flawed, dark, and desperately wicked heart, the deception they are deceived by is great.
Part 3 to follow
Comments
Post a Comment