Dec 29th, 2002
Int. A. W. Pink’s introduction to this verse is worth quoting.:
1. "The verses which we are now to consider are among the most solemn to be found in the Word of God.
a. "They present a most pointed warning against apostasy.
b. "They bring before us what is to all tender consciences a terror provoking subject, namely, sin for which there is no forgiveness.
c. "It is indeed to be deplored that recent writers have dealt with it like they do with most matters — very superficially or quite erroneously.
d. "Either they have limited themselves unto two or three passages, ignoring many others directly relating to the theme, or they have wrongly affirmed that no one can commit "the unpardonable sin" during this present dispensation.
e. "On the other hand, most of the old writers seem to have devoted their efforts to re-assuring weak and fearing Christians that they had not committed this awful offense, rather than in making any attempt to define the character of the transgression itself.
2. Concerning this apostasy, Paul said in (2 Thess 2:11, 12) "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
a. The life of Esau supplies us with one of the tragic biographies among the men of the Bible.
3 (Heb 6:4-6) "
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.4. (Heb 10:26, 27) ""For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries;"
5. The Biblical Illustrator says: "Esau is held up as a beacon of warning; and by a profane man is meant one who has no perception of the sanctity of Divine things."
6.
When Esau set more value on one meal than on his birthright, he lost his blessing.7. Then Esau lied by accusing Jacob of taking his birthright; instead, he sold it for a mess of pottage. (Gen 27:36)
8. Notice the three "lest's" in (Vr. 15-16)
9. William Jay says: "As the Israelites fled from the tents of Korah, when the ground clave asunder and swallowed them up, saying, lest the earth swallow us up also--so should we abandon the course of the ungodly world, lest we share in their tremendous ruin." (Num 16:34)
10. Calvin says: "He mentions a particular kind of defilement, and says, "Lest there be any fornicator."
a. But he immediately comes to what is general, and adds, "or a profane person;" for it is the term that is strictly contrary to holiness."
I. ESAU WAS PROFANE IN HIS PERSON.
Intro: "At the age of forty years, to the great grief of his parents, he married (Gen. 26:34, 35) two (Hittite) or Canaanitish maidens, Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Bashemath, the daughter of Elon. Long after this, when the descendants of Jacob came out of Egypt, the Edomites remembered the old quarrel between the brothers, and with fierce hatred they warred against Israel."
A. HE SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT.
1. He sold his birthright not only to Canaan, but to all the privileges and distinguished honours of the Messianic people.
a. (Gen 25:34) "......
Ill. Alexander Whyte says: "He had mulled the worthlessness of this over in his mind many times before. His increasing distaste for the life and religion of his father had finally caught up with him."
b. So many today, despised the things of God. His Word, His Sabbath, etc.
c. Esau had no eyes for the unseen. To him, a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.
2. It was a birthright, therefore, in which the spiritual interests of Esau’s children, and children’s children, were most vitally implicated.
3. Of this matchless and marvelous honor, Esau flippantly said,
a. "Behold I am at the point to die (which, as we have already said, was not true), and what profit shall this birthright do to me?"
4. This stripped Esau of the headship of the people through which Messiah would come. Thus, the lineage became Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
5. J. Vernon McGee says: "The word profane comes from two Latin words: pro, meaning either "before" or "against," and fanum, meaning "temple."
6. "Therefore, it means against the temple or against God. It means that Esau was just a godless fellow."
7. "He saw no need of any recognition of God, or of any relationship to Him, or of any responsibility toward Him.
8. "So he despised his birthright and counted it as something of no value.
9. "He was even willing to trade it in for a bowl of food!
10. "There is many a man who has sold his soul. Some have sold it for liquor, some for drugs, some for sex, and some for dishonesty."
B. CONSIDER WHAT THIS BIRTHRIGHT INCLUDED.
1. Had a right to the priesthood, (Exodus 22: 29.
a. (Ex 22:29) "
2. And a double portion of all the father’s possessions, (Deut 21:17).
a. (Deut 21:17) "
3. And was lord over his brethren, (The blessing pronounced upon Jacob that was due Esau)
‘
a.
4. And in the family of Abraham the first-born was the very source whence the Messiah as the Redeemer of the world, and the Church of God, were to spring.
5. The first-born had the right of conveying especial blessings and privileges when he came to die.
a. Isaac pronounced blessings upon his two sons, Jacob and Esau.
b. Jacob blessed both the sons of Joseph.
1. (Heb 11:21) "
6. John Gill reminds us that it was God's decree for Jacob to get the blessing.
a. (Rom 9:12) "It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger."
b. (Gen 25:23) "And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.".
c. (Mal 1:2-3) "I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness."
d. (Prov 16:33) "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD."
C. HE IS DESCRIBED AS BEING A PROFANE PERSON.
1. This word "profane" is found 33 times in Scripture, and means: "heathenish or wicked"
2. Clark Commentary says: "Esau is here termed profane, because he so far disregarded the spiritual advantages connected with his birthright , that he alienated the whole for a single mess of pottage."
II. ESAU WAS ALSO PROFANE IN HIS PRACTICE.
A. YOU ARE WHAT YOU PRACTICE.
1. It was the selling of station, honor, influence, power, pre-eminence, for a dish of soup.
2. His act was voluntary. No one forced it from him — he sold it.
3. He despised his birthright, choosing a full belly over such an inheritance.
4. William Jay in his "Short Discourses" pg. 228 says:
"Broad is the road that leads to death,
"And thousands walk together there;
"But wisdom shews a narrow way,
"With---here---and there---a traveller."
5. He had danced with the daughters of the Canaanites and had now married two of them.
6. He had hunted with the brothers of these girls for years and now he had moved in with them.
7. He had no doubt joined in the worship of their "gods." of the fields and streams.
B. CONSIDER HIS PRACTICE IN LIFE WITH MANY TODAY.
1. Esau was like Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, who for a number of garments lied to Naaman and his master, and became the subject of a fearful leprosy.
2. Esau was like Judas, who for thirty pieces of silver, betrayed the Lord.
3. Esau, like Ananias and Sapphira, who to retain a portion of their property, lied to the Holy Ghost.
4. Esau, like Herod, dared to receive the flattering homage of the crowd, and was eaten of worms. (Acts 12:23)
5. Esau, like a person here in our community, who rather than humble themselves, vowed to never serve a God who would take a child from their home.
6. Esau, like many today, use some mighty little excuses for not serving God with all their heart.
7. Esau, like many today, had the wrong kind of sorrow and repentance.
a. (2 Cor. 7:10) "......the sorrow of the world worketh death."
8. Esau, like Lot's wife, stands as a severe warning to all that hear.
9. Esau, like many today, have been born in a Christian family with all of the advantages of proper upbringing, only to sell their birthright for a mess of this world's pottage.
10. Many today, like Esau, have sold their birthright and now dance with the world and run with the hounds of hell for their amusement.
C. CONSIDER THE PRICE OF THE BIRTHRIGHT.
1. What is the price of the birthright? An empire? A crown? A crown sparkles in the eye of ambition.
2. A throne is the highest pinnacle of human pride: nothing like it — but a despicable trifle, "one morsel of meat" — "a mess of pottage" —
a. The dearest dish, says Bishop Hall, that was ever purchased, except the forbidden fruit.
3. Like many, "he worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator,"
III. ESAU WAS PROFANE IN HIS PASSING.
A. CONSIDER HIS DYING TESTIMONY.
1. If you die without Christ, your loss will be inestimably greater than his loss.
2. After all his disappointments he had something left, and could entertain himself with the diversions of the field; but your condition will be destitute of heaven itself..
3. Paul tells us of a "sorrow of the world which worketh death."
4. Like many, They will yield up home, friends, happiness, for a moment’s passion.
5. Eternity is lost, that time may be their delight.
6. As Joseph Parker said: "What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his birthright?"
7. Thomas Watson said: "As the husbandman knows what seed is proper to sow in such soil; so Satan, knows what temptation is proper to sow in such a heart."
8. The Preacher's Cabinet records the following story: "Ly/si/machus, besieged by the Goths, suffered so severely from thirst that he finally offered his kingdom to his foes for a supply of water. Having satisfied his thirst, lie cried: "Oh, wretched man, who for a little joy has lost so great a kingdom!"
Conclusion:
"He found no place of repentance:.." (Vr. 17)1. Matthew Henry says: "From this story we learn, "that apostasy from Christ is the fruit of preferring the gratification of the flesh to the blessing of God and the heavenly inheritance."