Genesis 36:6-8 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his house- hold, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.
Whether it was overcrowding or something else that drove Esau to move away, it remains that he knew the blessing of God was with Jacob. He knew God’s desire for Jacob and despite having sold the birthright he could have remained in the land. But, when he realized he had really lost his birthright, he asked for his own blessing, didn’t he?
He was still part of the family and could still have subordinated himself to Jacob who demonstrated his desire for the birthright above Esau’s desire. The blessing wasn’t just for Jacob, the blessing was for the FAMILY. There is a flow to blessings, as we saw with Abraham and Lot. God blessed Jacob and his family was blessed.
Esau, however, asked for another blessing, instead of clinging to the FAMILY blessing. Sometimes we go to God asking for things that are not the best … we want our blessing our way. Most of the time, God says NO and we never realize how God has blessed us in that answer. But sometimes God answers YES and we get what we’ve wanted … our best … just our best. Our best is nothing like God’s best.
Hang loose and let the Spirit lead. God did give Esau a place of his own:
Deuteronomy 2:5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
Esau got his blessing, but it paled in comparison to the blessings if he had considered his own failure to love the blessing, repented and remained with the family. My friends, seek God in all you do. Don’t just take steps without seeking God. Follow your own heart (which is advice we often receive) and you may end up in a bad spot.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Let God lead you and your family will thank you for it. Let your heart lead you and you may end up moving away from God’s best blessings.
As one studies through Genesis, one may notice that Jacob had all of his sons (except for one) in Syria and brought them into the land while Esau had all of his sons in the land and took them out of the land. Spiritual leadership is not a thing to be taken lightly.
Where are you leading your family?
Every action and every word of the Spiritual Leader of a household has consequences, either point- ing to God or something/somewhere else. Spiritual Leaders are responsible for where they lead.
It’s a sad commentary on the devastation of sin and the state of man that one of the earliest families in the bible is split by sin and one son moves his family away from the Lord. It’s even more sad realizing it happens every day as men choose to lead their families away from God and into the world.
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