Ep.269: Hebrews 12: Inheritance Sale.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
Hebrews 12 says:
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone
and to be holy;. . .
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
See that no one is sexually immoral,
or is godless like Esau,
who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
Afterwards. . . when he wanted to inherit this blessing,
he was rejected.
Even though he sought the blessing with tears,
he could not change what he had done (Heb 12:14-17).
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone. That’s a broad statement. I can list lots of people I don’t need to be at peace with–drug dealers, motorcycle gangs, people who stage anti-vaccine rallies outside hospitals.
And what about those who have left the faith? Like Esau, who was in line to inherit the blessing God gave Abraham, but swapped it for lunch when he was hungry.
I make three comments on this passage.
First, we need to exert ourselves to build and maintain peaceful relationships. “Make every effort,” the passage says. It’s helpful to be a peacemaker. It’s unhelpful to stir up dissension.
Second, a lot of trouble in relationships comes from a lack of inner peace. If I know I’m right and you’re wrong about vaccines or masking or politics or religion, it’s very difficult for me to engage in peaceful discussion. I want to prove a point instead of engaging in dialog. I’d rather list your faults than hear your heart. I need a Facebook moderator inside me to edit out the shouting and suggest I start listening.
Third, the author of Hebrews describes Esau as sexually immoral, godless, and with messed up priorities. The author’s solution to Esau’s character, and to mine, is his statement,
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
There’s the solution: don’t fall short of God’s grace. Instead, receive his grace whatever your calling–whether the elder son inheriting the blessing or the younger son in submission to others. Resist the bitter thought that life hasn’t treated you well or that God shortchanged you. Being at peace with others starts by being at peace with yourself.
Let’s pray.
Our father, we release to you the bitterness in our lives. Our lack of progress in becoming spiritual, our inability to be at peace with ourselves and you, our need to project our problems onto others.
Help us not to fall short of your grace as Esau did.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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