Esau I have hated and Jacob I have loved!

Wow, I want to review a talk I heard last night. I was just starting to think there seems nothing out there I haven't heard!! I know I haven't heard it all and I know that God is infinite, but there comes a point where you feel like there is little left that speaks to you. That's not trying to be big headed, it is a fact of life I think.

Anyway, last night I heard this guy talking about Esau and Jacob. It really spoke to me. At least I think it spoke to me, it seemed to be very helpful in looking at how I approach life and work.

There are three players aside from Esau and Jacob: God, Isaac and Rebekah. God and Rebekah both love Jacob and Isaac loves Esau.

Let's have a look at the first passage:

"29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. 30Esau said to Jacob, "I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew you’ve made.
31Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it."
32"Look, I’m dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"
33So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright." Genesis 25:29-34.

Before we start I want to say that as far as I'm concerned God probably loves Jacob because he wanted God's blessing and Esau didn't, it wasn't how he got the blessing, but the desire for it that pleased God. The guy last night was saying that God doesn't actually rebuke Jacob though even though later he tricks his dad and brother.

Right, it doesn't say, as I had been led to believe, that Esau didn't catch anything. The point is he had spent so much time hunting for the sake of hunting, he hadn't taken any time to cook what he caught. The Guy was saying that there are Esau nations and Jacob nations. For example Russia and Africa produce a huge amount of resources but are very "hungry" nations, other nations process what they produce.

Isaac probably liked the fact that Esau worked really hard, but his hard work left him needy. Jacob didn't work as hard but his work gained him what Esau had! Some people value hard work, but what is the use of hard work if all it produces is sweat and hunger?

Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, "10Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed." Often hard work is the result of a lack of wisdom. Excessive working comes from a lack of understanding of the overall process. Had Esau been interested in feeding himself he would have cooked something earlier. It makes as little sense as a country that produces gold and diamonds having people in it that are starving!

"1When Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?"
"Yes, Father?" Esau replied.
2"I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last. 3Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me. 4Prepare it just the way I like it so it’s savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die."
5But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau 7to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD’S presence before he dies. 8Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you. 9Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll prepare your father’s favorite dish from them. 10Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies."" Genesis 26:1-9

Here we see something of Isaac loving Esau as a hunter, yet all Jacob had to do was go and get two goats from the heard!! Esau would rather hunt all day, whereas Jacob had realised that all you need to do is catch a male and a female and you can have a steady supply of goats!!

I once heard an audio book based on Richard Branson's business philosophy. He said that the difference between a millionaire and a 9 to 5 worker is the mindset! Esau would never be a millionaire, he works hard but for what? He has to sell more than he makes buying what he needs. There was a lot of stuff there about selling tomorrow's provision for today's need. But regardless of what belongs to tomorrow or today, there is a basic economic balance that if you spend more than you make buying what you need you will go hungry!

Jacob on the other hand sold what cost him very little to buy something very precious.

There was an analogy from the guy, he was from Ghana, a place that produces a lot of gold. But Ghana doesn't process gold. He had a gold ring, that gold ring cost 20 more than the gold was sold for. They were not adding value to what they produced.

It really spoke to me about this idea of adding value to what we do. Making sure the axe is sharp. Not being foolish about what we make. For me it is about making sure that add value to what I produce. A farmer who sows more seed than the crop he produces will soon go hungry. If there is one thing I am not very sharp with it is money. I have always worked to earn money to pay for what I need to get over having to work! That is the same as Esau. Working made him hungry and he sold more than he had just to get over the effects of working. Whether it's holidays, alcohol, media, rent whatever, we have nations of people in debt. In my conscience it feels unscrupulous to be trying to thrive when so many are hungry, but should I allow myself to be hungry in sympathy!!? Surely not. I think that is my biggest obstacle.