Reclaiming Your Birthright

You all know I am alway stressing the importance of studying the word of God.  The Bible is truly our life manual.  Some consider it antiquated and archaic, but it is so relevant for as modern as we think today’s times are, there is nothing that we do, say, or how we act or react that has not already been played out in the bible. To ignore that simple fact is equivalent to saying “I would rather walk around blind than to see clearly where I am going”

Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, is only 21 verses long. This book is often overlooked and rarely quoted from, but it ties into the story of Jacob and Esau and how God deals with those who keep bitterness going.

Obadiah is a prophet of God who gives vision concerning the condemnation of Edom for sins against both God and Israel. 

Let me give you a little background on the Edomites.  The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob. 

(Genesis 25:23) In the womb, Esau and Jacob struggled together, and God told their mother, Rebekah, that they would become two nations, with the older one serving the younger . 

As an adult, Esau sold his inheritance to Jacob for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:30-34), and he hated his brother afterward. By his negative example, Esau teaches us to hold fast to what is truly important, even if it means denying the appetites of the flesh. 

Esau’s choice to sell his birthright is used as an example of ungodliness—a “godless” person who will put physical desires over spiritual blessings (Hebrews 12:15-17)

Esau became the father of the Edomites and Jacob became the father of the Israelites, and the two nations continued to struggle through most of their history.

The quarrel between the brothers affected their descendants for over 1,000 years. The religion of the Edomites was similar to that of other pagan societies who worshiped fertility gods. Esau’s descendants eventually dominated the southern lands and made their living by agriculture and trade.

One night an angelic stranger visited Jacob and he did what we all must do. He confronts his failures, his weaknesses, his sins, his deceit and faces God. Jacob wrestled with God all night. It was an exhausting struggle that the scriptures say left him crippled. The significance of Jacob being left crippled, is confirmation that we cannot go against God without facing consequences and his life long crippled state was indication of from that point on his ongoing humility before God.

(Genesis 32:29) It was only after he came to grips with God and ceased his struggling, realizing that he could not go on without Him, that he received God’s blessing and God changed his name to Israel . 

Now note Jacob had an encounter with God and settled some things before him and God blessed him and gave him a new name and a new start.  But his brother Esau didn’t have an encounter with God and was still bitter toward his brother and the Israelites.

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