Esau’s Heart Trouble

What Happened to Esau?

Genesis 24-27

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

25 July, 2010   PM

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Hebrews 12:15-17)

 

A.     Tomorrow starts our Victory Youth Camp.

 

1.      We will be looking at the life of a man named Jacob, and learning mainly from HIM, and hopefully learning from all his mistakes

2.      But Jacob had a twin brother named Esau

3.      Esau has ONE BIG lesson to teach us

4.      And I thought I might as well try and look at that lesson tonight

5.      It’s called the crippling sin of bitterness!

 

B.     Look at Hebrews 12

 

1.      Serious words “lest any main FAIL of the grace of God”

2.      Look at the words “lest ANY root of bitterness” – there are MANY roots of bitterness

3.      Notice how Esau is the example the Holy Spirit tries to bring to our attention concerning bitterness

4.      We will come back to this Scripture, but first, let’s look into the account in Genesis 24-26, and see Esau’s home-life, his hurt, and ultimately, his heart!

 

II.    Message

 

A.    Esau’s Home (Gen 24:1 – 25:27)

 

1.      A Right Start (Gen 24:1-4)

 

a.       Isaac and Rebekah were a match made in heaven

b.      Sought their marriage partner by permission

 

1)      Got their parent’s permission and guidance

2)      Abraham was actively involved in helping his son find the right bride

 

c.       Sought their marriage partner by faith

 

1)      Trusted God to direct their steps (Ps 37:23)

2)      Trusted God when they met

 

d.      Stepped out by faith (Gen 24:58)

 

1)      Rebekah sure did

2)      So did Isaac as he approached this women he had never met before

 

e.       Kept themselves pure till marriage (Gen 24:61-67)

 

1)      Not only waited on the right mate

2)      But waited for sex as well – we are designed to wait

 

f.       Took commitment seriously

g.      This couple definitely had a right start!

 

1)      But it is fairly easy to start well

2)      It is a lot harder to end well

 

2.      A Loving Family (Gen 24:67)

 

a.       Isaac loved Rebekah – it wasn’t an act, it was an attitude!

b.      She also evidently loved him, and loved the family she was now part of

 

3.      A Praying Family (Gen 25:19-21)

 

a.       Problems require prayer

b.      Not only Isaac, but Rebekah also prayed (Gen 25:22,23)

 

4.      A Normal Family (Gen 25:24-27)

 

a.       Two boys were born – twins

 

1)      Not identical twins though

2)      Each child was dramatically different

3)      The same is true with all your children

4)      One was very hairy – Esau

5)      One was very plain – but a bit of a hustler – a heel grabber – Jacob

6)      Bit of competition in the home! That’s normal

 

b.      The house was full of activity

 

1)      Esau with his hunting

2)      Jacob with his cooking

 

5.      This family would easily pass as a model family!

 

B.     Esau’s Hurt (Gen 25:28 – 27:41)

 

1.      This home began to become filled with hurt instead of strength and comfort

2.      A Backslidden Home

 

a.       Isaac rejected the Lord’s instruction (Gen 25:23b). He knowingly disregarded what God has said and made his own blessing (Gen 27:26-29)

b.      Isaac used to go out into the fields to meditate (Gen 24:63)

c.       Now all Isaac was interested in was the meat from the fields (Gen 27:1-4)

d.      Abraham was very dedicated to worship, Isaac was tolerant, Esau was not interested

e.       Don’t you try and tell me a little backsliding doesn’t hurt anybody (Mt 18:10). Children love spirituality, and love God by nature, and are hurt when you cool off in your relationship with God!!!

 

3.      A Divided Home

 

a.       Each parent had favourites (Gen 25:28)

 

1)      Isaac loved Esau

2)      Rebekah loved Jacob

3)      This is going to lead to some serious problems down the road… like with Joseph being Jacob’s favourite son (Gen 37:3)

4)      Did you know that every kid KNOWS when they aren’t loved

5)      And every kid who has too much attention turns out wrong

 

b.      Mom and Dad did not agree anymore

 

1)      They didn’t speak to each other much – a warning sign!!!

2)      They evidently usually fought in their home (Pr 21:19; 26:21; 27:15)

3)      Mom sought to manipulate her husband because of his stubbornness – which was just as wrong as is stubbornness!

4)      Rebekah used Jacob against Isaac, and taught him to LIE and DECEIVE (Gen 27:4-14; 22-29)

 

c.       Esau saw all this, and you had better believe it hurt him (Gen 27:30-35, 41)

 

C.     Esau’s Heart (Gen 27:41; Prov 18:19)

 

1.      Pro 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

2.      It became Defiled, Ruined

 

a.       Esau’s heart became like Cain’s – it became murderous (Gen 4:5-8)

b.      It was a pitiful truth that Esau’s heart was so soiled by hurt

 

3.      It was Bitter - His bitterness went DEEP

 

a.       Against his father and his mother

b.      Against GOD

c.       Against his twin brother – Jacob

 

4.      It was Determined – to get Revenge (Gen 27:41,42; 32:6-11).Unstoppable!

 

D.    Esau’s Ruin (Heb 12:15-17)

 

1.      God says He HATES Esau (Rom 9:13; Mal 1:3) to this day! Why?

2.      He became a Fornicator – married two wicked women of Ishmael (Gen 28:5-9)

3.      He became Profane –

 

a.       Ungodly, unholy, unclean.

b.      Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or undue familiarity; irreverent; impious. Irreverent in language; taking the name of God in vain; given to swearing; blasphemous

 

4.      He was uninterested in spiritual things – only in his belly being satisfied for the moment

5.      He never figured out how to get right

 

a.       Tried to get the blessing from his father – it was gone

b.      Went out bitter and hurt and scheming how to take revenge – for the next 14 years!!!

c.       Ultimately, God softens him through a humbled brother, Jacob, but it wasn’t enough to get Esau to want to get right with GOD

 

III. The Remedy

 

A.    There was so much that went wrong in that home

 

1.      Isaac did wrong

 

a.       Not teaching Esau the things of God

b.      Not obeying God himself and honouring Jacob as the next in line for the blessing

c.       Not honouring his wife’s urging and concerns

 

2.      Rebekah did wrong

 

a.       Manipulating her husband

b.      Teaching Jacob how to lie and deceive

c.       Not honouring her husband, and letting GOD work on him

 

3.      Jacob did wrong

 

a.       Taking advantage of his brother’s lack of interest in spiritual things

b.      Robbing Esau of the blessing

 

4.      But ESAU was the one who ended up doing the most damage to himself!

 

B.     Here is How to get Right, Tonight!

 

1.      Examine Your Heart, Your Hurts, Your Home – before your are RUINED (2Cor 13:5)

 

a.       Greater is he that is in you, if you are saved

b.      You already are more than a conqueror, if you are saved

c.       ARE YOU BORN AGAIN? Does Jesus dwell within?

d.      Are you hurting? Tell it to Jesus!

 

2.      Gauge your Grip on the Grace of God

 

a.       Have deep roots in GRACE, not Hurt (Mt 13:21)

b.      Grace is the ability to overlook a fault – God has GREAT Grace with us

c.       Trusting in the LORD and not in your own ways

d.      Gives you patience

e.       Enables you to love and bless those that USE you and hurt you

 

3.      Uproot ALL forms of bitterness (Eph 4:31)

 

a.       Uproot Unforgiveness – face to face with the one who hurt you!

b.      Bitterness can be well HIDDEN – only a root, not visible, but it is there

 

1)      And when something provokes you it SPRINGS up

2)      It needs to be uprooted BEFORE it springs up

3)      Look back in your past and start coving things in the blood of Jesus Christ

4)      Confessing the sin of holding onto those memories for hurt’s sake

5)      And casting them down from the place of power in your heart!

 

c.       Get closer to Jesus Christ IN the hurt (Mt 11:6, 28-30)

d.      Bless your enemies, bless them and curse not

e.       Throughout life, you will only get Better as a Christian, or Bitter

 

4.      Check just how little you love the things of God

 

a.       Esau cared for nothing that had to do with God – only with hunting, fishing

b.      Psalm 119:165

c.       If you don’t love to spend time in God’s word, and in God’s house with God’s people, and doing God’s work, then check your heart and confess your heart as hard and wrong!

 

C.     If you do not uproot bitterness in your heart, one of these days you will seek to get right and you won’t be able to!