Grace Valley Church

Imagine winning an award for something you didn't do. Or finally hearing the words of affirmation and love you have been longing to hear, but knowing the person speaking those words intended them for someone else. That's what Jacob was experiencing in Gen. 27:1-29. And if he didn't already feel like a less-than son, he sure did after this encounter with his father Isaac. Although Jacob willingly participated in his mothers plan to force a blessing on him, it couldn't have felt very victorious after it actually happened. It's kind of like how some modern day people will pretend they are someone completely different to get the affirmation and love they crave. Think of the social media influencers, the politicians, the person who desperately wants a spouse or the highschooler who will do anything to fit in. God's love for you has nothing to do with your performance or the way you look. It has nothing to do with your birth order, your clothing or your social status. It's freely given and it's given to you - the you that He created, the you that exists outside of any temporary facade you've created. You don't have to pretend with God, you've already got His blessing. You've already got His unwavering, undying love and promise of an eternity spent with Him, with nothing to prove and only the pure joy of being who you were created to be in the first place.

Esau is one of those guys that's easy to like. That's one of the reasons it feels so jarring to read that he was considered godless (Heb 12:16). There are people who are easy to love through the worlds eyes but if we look at them through God's eyes it shows a different perspective. Esau was a "seize the day" kind of guy, but God calls us to live our lives with eternity in mind. So while Esau rejected and brushed off the blessing that was his through Isaac, when he fell away from his family who (imperfectly) worshipped the Lord, he committed himself to a life without God in it. He was, in fact, godless. We see evidence of Esau's heart posture as he begs his father Isaac to change his mind when he gave the blessing to Jacob (Gen 27:1-40). He's crying worldy tears of all that he will lose, focused on the temporary things of wealth and property and not focused on the things of God. As relatable as Esau is, he's also a warning to all of us to stay in step with God's ways because no matter how likeable we are, if our hearts are not aligned with His, we will end up in a temporary life instead of life everlasting with Him.