Whenever anyone threatens to make a decision outside of the spiritual advice and direction offered by the Bible, choices have consequences. Moses points this out in Deuteronomy 28, serving as the pros and cons to obeying God. From a strictly numbers point of view, 14 verses are highlighted as blessings for making wise decisions. The remainder of this chapter, verses 15-68, 53 total, magnify that daily subtle (poor) choices result in major spiritual consequences.
Now this is the history of the descendants of Esau, that is, Edom. 2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 And Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 And Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau born to him in Canaan. 6 Now Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his beasts, and all his possessions which he had obtained in the land of Canaan, and he went into a land away from his brother Jacob, Genesis 36:1-6.
According to Moses, Esau had a tendency to make decisions based upon how he was feeling, Genesis 25:29-34. When he was starving one day, Esau’s first knee jerk decision resulted in selling his birthright to Jacob who was cooking dinner at the time. Wanting instant gratification rather than thinking about long term gain, also seems to influence Esau in his choice of women. Instead of waiting for a godly woman to come into his life, Esau put beauty in front of godliness.
Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it; the world, and all things that come forth from it. 2 For the Lord is indignant against all nations, and His wrath is against all their host. He has utterly doomed them, He has given them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall rise, and the mountains shall flow with their blood. 4 All the host of the heavens shall be dissolved and crumble away, and the skies shall be rolled together like a scroll; and all their host [the stars and the planets] shall drop like a faded leaf from the vine, and like a withered fig from the fig tree. 5 Because My sword has been bathed and equipped in heaven, behold, it shall come down upon Edom [the descendants of Esau], upon the people whom I have doomed for judgment, Isaiah 34:1-5.
Selling your birthright for a great tasting meal doesn’t sound that bad on the surface. However, Esau appears to live like the Judges of Israel, doing what’s right in his own eyes, Judeges 21:25. Esau followed humanism “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human nature rather than the divine.” Subsequently, when Moses records the direct descendants of Esau, the Edomites, in the remainder of the first 5 books of the Bible, Esau’s subtle choices result in major spiritual consequences. May the troubled past of the Edomities serve as a wakeup call to make Jesus your main priority in life, Galatians 2:20.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 