5 Lessons from the Life of Esau

 
5 Lessons from the Life of Esau by Akinjobi Oluwagbemisola

Esau, who was one of the twin boys born to Isaac can be said to be one major Bible character who most people tend not to emphasise with and see as the"antagonist" in his life story. I mean; deceived by his brother, schemed against by his mother, helpless against his father, unlucky in marriage and hated by the majority who reads Bible stories!. It seemed like everything and everyone was against him, however, it is necessary to note that beyond every pitiful man is a lesson to be learnt from their experiences.


1. Esau failed to see the importance of the Abrahamic blessing.

The blessing of Abraham was divided into three main categories and we can see that Esau lost all of it in useless ways.

He lost the blessing of the firstborn (birthright) over a pot of porridge! Genesis 25:33, "But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob." (NLT) This, in turn, made him lose the blessing of kingship and priesthood when the time came. (Genesis 27:4 says, "Prepare my favourite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son before I die.”)

The blessing was for the firstborn but Esau lost that opportunity easily. As believers, we must learn to see the blessing as everything we have. The blessing of the Lord is a tangible asset for the believer today and we must not let it slip out of our hands because of the issues of this world.

Galatians 3:14 says, "Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith." [NLT]. This means that we have all the audacity to declare the Abrahamic blessings into our own lives because we have been delivered from the curse of the law, so, dear believer, the blessings in Genesis 27:27-29 belong to you!


2. Esau refused to take responsibility for his actions.

It was Esau's fault that the blessing of the firstborn slipped out of his hands. However, instead of repenting and changing for the better, he decided to hate his father and plot to kill his brother knowing fully well that the God of Abraham was against this.

Genesis 27:41 says, "From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” [NLT]

As believers today, whenever we feel that we are already out of the Abrahamic blessing, we must be ready to turn back to our first love(Jesus Christ) and refuse to sink deep into iniquity instead of hating our parents, the society, your government or God Himself for what happened to you.


3. In his marriage, Esau did not go with God's will.

God had told Abraham that his descendants were not to marry the Canaanite women, however, Esau shocked his parents when he brought back two heathen wives who made his parents' life unbearable(Genesis 26:34-35).

As a believer today, we must learn to follow God's will too and refuse to be acquainted with the sons and daughters of Belial. A man or woman who is not of the same faith as you are can never and will never be God's plan for you! Never let contemporary society determine who you marry unless you're ready to have the devil as your father-in-law.

Genesis 28:8 shows us that Esau realised late that his parents were not in support of his marriage partners but, it was a bit late to correct it. He had to make do with an alternative (Genesis 28:9).

Likewise, as a believer, learn to make a careful exploration of whomever you want to get married to, corrections might be too late to be made later.


4. Esau grew to be content with what he had

Though Esau made a lot of mistakes in the earlier part of his life, he grew to become a better person in his later years as seen in Genesis 33:9, “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.” [NLT]

As a Christian today, refuse to remain in the same place forever. Move on and grow yourself to have a better personality. Be content with who you are and what you have now and strive to grow more every day.


5. Esau Learnt how to Forgive

"I can never forgive you!"

You might have said this a lot of times but could you just sit back and compare your life with Esau's?

Why would Esau who lost the greatest asset on earth still be able to forgive the person who robbed him of this blessing? If he could forgive Jacob, you, as a Christian, have no right whatsoever not to forgive anyone who has done you bad.

Genesis 33:4 says, "Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept."

How beautiful!

Dear believer, pour out all ill feelings and give your trespasser your forgiveness today!

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  1. We need to look beyond Esau's forgiveness which seems to be partial in truthfulness. His children behavior after him is an indicator afterward towards his brother's children.

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  2. Great lessons here indeed.God bless you.

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