Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Nov 9, 2007 23:42:03 GMT -8
Shabbat shalom chaverim!
The following is the d'rash that will be delivered during our Shabbat service by Bret N., one of our
teachers at Synagogue Chavurat HaMashiach in Spokane, Wa ... Enjoy! 
Advertisement in the Desert Gazette. For sale. One birthright never used. Brand new. Still in the box. I have no use for it. All offers considered. May take trade for some good home cooking. Contact Esau.
In Parashat Toledot, we see the plan of Isaac. He wanted to pass on his inheritance according to the law of the first-born. Esau was supposed to be the recipient of this inheritance. But, Esau had a natural inclination toward Godlessness, while Jacobs character was of a more righteous nature. Though the description to the character of Jacob and Esau is short, it is very telling, and shows two people diametrically opposed in their dispositions.
“Esau became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed in his tent” - B’RESHEET (GENESIS) 25:27
Before this the only other man described in the as a hunter was Nimrod, and we are all very aware of the wickedness in his heart. I would imagine that Esau’s pastime would keep him away from home, and perhaps he found pleasure in killing things. He certainly did not need to hunt for sustenance; they had plenty in their flocks. And we know that Isaac had a taste for the “savory meat” that Esau provided to him. Perhaps this was just a way for Esau to stay on Isaac’s good side as his favorite son. Jacob on the other hand was described as a quiet man, who stayed in his tent. The actual Hebrew word “tam” is basically the same word used to describe; unblemished animals fit for sacrifice. Jacob could be thought of as an upright blameless man, who stayed at home with his family. So how could Adonai let the birthright pass to someone with the Godless nature that Esau possessed? The answer of course is He could not. How could the true and lasting divine inheritance be entrusted to him? Would he not have squandered it as well? Adonai knew that the lineage of Messiah could not come forth from such a deceitful, selfish man. The truth is Esau despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of food.
Esau was so intent on quelling his physical desires; he did not even bother to really see what was in the pot that Jacob was cooking. He burst in and said” Please let me gulp down some of that red stuff-that red stuff! I’m exhausted.” Jacob just calmly answered. “First sell me your rights as the firstborn” There was no deceit, no conning, no hidden terms. One could almost imagine that Jacob said this in jest not expecting that one would
sell his inheritance for a bowl of soup. But indeed, Esau did just that. He states, “Look, I’m about to die, what use to me are my rights as the firstborn”. Wow, Jacob must have thought, he is really serious… “First swear to me” Jacob retorts. And he did it, Esau swore to him and sold his birthright. He was so ruled by his appetite and desires, that, it made him have contempt for what was rightfully his. He did not give it a second thought. I believe that the cleverly and succinctly conveys Esau’s attitude with the simple descriptions of his actions: “He ate, and drank, got up and went on his way. Thus Esau showed how little he valued his birthright.” Esau was so flip and cavalier about the
whole thing, one could imagine that he my have had a new garment made that read, “I sold my birthright for a bowl of soup, and all I got was this lousy tunic”
But how cavalier are we sometimes when it comes to our birthright? What is our birthright anyway?…Messiah, and our pursuit of living as He did. A birthright, or inheritance by nature is bestowed upon someone by the one who is giving it, it is never chosen by the recipient. This rule does not apply to our birthright. We can freely choose to accept it or reject it. I once heard the results of an interesting poll conducted not too long ago, here in the United States. The survey suggested that roughly 90% of the respondents, when asked what their religious affiliation was, answered: Christian. Wow 90%. I don’t know about you, but it does not seem to me that 90% of the population of this nation is following the ways of the Master.
Look around you. Look at what is being consumed by the majority of Americans on a daily basis. Look at what is being accepted as mainstream today in our media, from movies, to television, to music. Look at the advertising that is around us. The other day my wife and I were at the Valley Mall and as we were walking its corridors, we came upon a national store chain that sells what were once known as women’s “unmentionables”. I think you may know what store I am speaking of. If Victoria has a secret, she is doing an extremely poor job at keeping it. In fact she is openly sharing it with everyone. My wife Mandy commented on how the last time she was at the mall with some of our children she had to distract them as they strode by so they would not be visually assaulted by the displays in the windows. The “unmentionables” were being mentioned, in fact they were being shouted out at everyone. Is not modesty one of the tenants of our faith? If 90% of our population were really believers, would such a public display be tolerated, much less be present to begin with?
Well, upon further examination of the poll, the follow-up question to what their religious affiliation was is, “why?”. Why are you a Christian? More than 75% responded, because they were born in the United States, and the United States is a Christian nation. Therefore they were Christians. They were Christians by fiat, it was their birthright. I firmly believe that at one point in our history the above statement was probably quite true. There is no denying that this nation was founded on traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs. And the early inhabitants of this country adhered to those beliefs as a daily part of their lives. But, we have slowly over time been selling that birthright. We have been supplanting His word and His ways with rules and morals of men, rules and morals of our own making. We pick and choose what of His we want, and don’t want to follow.
When we read the account of Esau, we think to ourselves, “man, I would never sell my birthright for a bowl of lentil stew…I would not have cast away my inheritance to satisfy the selfish desire of filling my stomach. I would have chosen better”. Well, it is my contention that we do just that on a daily basis. So, what is that red stuff in our lives? What do we give into that we sell our birthright for?
When we decide to watch a T.V show instead of studying the Word of God, we sell our birthright. When we ignore the needs of a brother, sister, or neighbor, we sell our birthright. When we choose to stay home and catch the big game, instead of helping someone in need, we sell our birthright. When we convince ourselves we are too tired to go to congregation or Tanakh Talk (our weekly men's study), we sell our birthright. When we decide it is probably no big deal to grab an espresso on Shabbat, we sell our birthright. When we decide to sleep in, instead of having a time of devotion with our family, we sell our birthright. When we decide to rent that R rated movie, instead of a more suitable one, we sell our birthright. When we mutter under our breath and glance fiery darts at the person ahead of us in the checkout that has clearly exceeded the 10-item limit, we sell our birthright.
Whenever we turn to doing what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do, we are no better than Esau. Esau’s focus in his life was pursuing the desires of his flesh…doing what he wanted to do instead of following God. His life revolved around the here and now, with no thought at all to things eternal. He wanted only to satisfy his immediate needs. This attitude made him grossly unfit to be the one to father the nation of Israel. I know it is easy to ignore and justify our selfishness. It is extremely difficult to live in the world and not live for the world. We are constantly being bombarded with attitudes that run contrary to God’s word. We live in a society that is telling us to follow our dreams, the more the better. Trust in yourself. Look out for number one. If it feels good do it.
Through the grace of Adonai we have a weapon to combat these attitudes. The. The reveals our sin to us. By pursuing the on a daily basis, we can learn to do what God wants us to do, and stop doing what WE want.
If belief in Yeshua as the Messiah is our birthright, then the is our inheritance. It is a treasure that we can impart to the next generation by bringing it fully into our lives. Thankfully, unlike Esau we cannot completely loose our birthright. Through Yeshua, the living , and His sacrifice, our birthright is secure. We can diminish its importance to us by selling off bits and pieces for some red stuff, but we can’t have it taken away completely. If we truly and sincerely pursue the , we will be less inclined to sell it off for our own wants. It’s importance to us will be restored, and we can allow Gods will to guide our lives.
Shalom
The following is the d'rash that will be delivered during our Shabbat service by Bret N., one of our
teachers at Synagogue Chavurat HaMashiach in Spokane, Wa ... Enjoy! 
Toledot
[/center]Advertisement in the Desert Gazette. For sale. One birthright never used. Brand new. Still in the box. I have no use for it. All offers considered. May take trade for some good home cooking. Contact Esau.
In Parashat Toledot, we see the plan of Isaac. He wanted to pass on his inheritance according to the law of the first-born. Esau was supposed to be the recipient of this inheritance. But, Esau had a natural inclination toward Godlessness, while Jacobs character was of a more righteous nature. Though the
description to the character of Jacob and Esau is short, it is very telling, and shows two people diametrically opposed in their dispositions. “Esau became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed in his tent” - B’RESHEET (GENESIS) 25:27
Before this the only other man described in the
as a hunter was Nimrod, and we are all very aware of the wickedness in his heart. I would imagine that Esau’s pastime would keep him away from home, and perhaps he found pleasure in killing things. He certainly did not need to hunt for sustenance; they had plenty in their flocks. And we know that Isaac had a taste for the “savory meat” that Esau provided to him. Perhaps this was just a way for Esau to stay on Isaac’s good side as his favorite son. Jacob on the other hand was described as a quiet man, who stayed in his tent. The actual Hebrew word “tam” is basically the same word used to describe; unblemished animals fit for sacrifice. Jacob could be thought of as an upright blameless man, who stayed at home with his family. So how could Adonai let the birthright pass to someone with the Godless nature that Esau possessed? The answer of course is He could not. How could the true and lasting divine inheritance be entrusted to him? Would he not have squandered it as well? Adonai knew that the lineage of Messiah could not come forth from such a deceitful, selfish man. The truth is Esau despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of food. Esau was so intent on quelling his physical desires; he did not even bother to really see what was in the pot that Jacob was cooking. He burst in and said” Please let me gulp down some of that red stuff-that red stuff! I’m exhausted.” Jacob just calmly answered. “First sell me your rights as the firstborn” There was no deceit, no conning, no hidden terms. One could almost imagine that Jacob said this in jest not expecting that one would
sell his inheritance for a bowl of soup. But indeed, Esau did just that. He states, “Look, I’m about to die, what use to me are my rights as the firstborn”. Wow, Jacob must have thought, he is really serious… “First swear to me” Jacob retorts. And he did it, Esau swore to him and sold his birthright. He was so ruled by his appetite and desires, that, it made him have contempt for what was rightfully his. He did not give it a second thought. I believe that the
cleverly and succinctly conveys Esau’s attitude with the simple descriptions of his actions: “He ate, and drank, got up and went on his way. Thus Esau showed how little he valued his birthright.” Esau was so flip and cavalier about the whole thing, one could imagine that he my have had a new garment made that read, “I sold my birthright for a bowl of soup, and all I got was this lousy tunic”
But how cavalier are we sometimes when it comes to our birthright? What is our birthright anyway?…Messiah, and our pursuit of living as He did. A birthright, or inheritance by nature is bestowed upon someone by the one who is giving it, it is never chosen by the recipient. This rule does not apply to our birthright. We can freely choose to accept it or reject it. I once heard the results of an interesting poll conducted not too long ago, here in the United States. The survey suggested that roughly 90% of the respondents, when asked what their religious affiliation was, answered: Christian. Wow 90%. I don’t know about you, but it does not seem to me that 90% of the population of this nation is following the ways of the Master.
Look around you. Look at what is being consumed by the majority of Americans on a daily basis. Look at what is being accepted as mainstream today in our media, from movies, to television, to music. Look at the advertising that is around us. The other day my wife and I were at the Valley Mall and as we were walking its corridors, we came upon a national store chain that sells what were once known as women’s “unmentionables”. I think you may know what store I am speaking of. If Victoria has a secret, she is doing an extremely poor job at keeping it. In fact she is openly sharing it with everyone. My wife Mandy commented on how the last time she was at the mall with some of our children she had to distract them as they strode by so they would not be visually assaulted by the displays in the windows. The “unmentionables” were being mentioned, in fact they were being shouted out at everyone. Is not modesty one of the tenants of our faith? If 90% of our population were really believers, would such a public display be tolerated, much less be present to begin with?
Well, upon further examination of the poll, the follow-up question to what their religious affiliation was is, “why?”. Why are you a Christian? More than 75% responded, because they were born in the United States, and the United States is a Christian nation. Therefore they were Christians. They were Christians by fiat, it was their birthright. I firmly believe that at one point in our history the above statement was probably quite true. There is no denying that this nation was founded on traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs. And the early inhabitants of this country adhered to those beliefs as a daily part of their lives. But, we have slowly over time been selling that birthright. We have been supplanting His word and His ways with rules and morals of men, rules and morals of our own making. We pick and choose what of His
we want, and don’t want to follow.When we read the account of Esau, we think to ourselves, “man, I would never sell my birthright for a bowl of lentil stew…I would not have cast away my inheritance to satisfy the selfish desire of filling my stomach. I would have chosen better”. Well, it is my contention that we do just that on a daily basis. So, what is that red stuff in our lives? What do we give into that we sell our birthright for?
When we decide to watch a T.V show instead of studying the Word of God, we sell our birthright. When we ignore the needs of a brother, sister, or neighbor, we sell our birthright. When we choose to stay home and catch the big game, instead of helping someone in need, we sell our birthright. When we convince ourselves we are too tired to go to congregation or Tanakh Talk (our weekly men's
study), we sell our birthright. When we decide it is probably no big deal to grab an espresso on Shabbat, we sell our birthright. When we decide to sleep in, instead of having a time of devotion with our family, we sell our birthright. When we decide to rent that R rated movie, instead of a more suitable one, we sell our birthright. When we mutter under our breath and glance fiery darts at the person ahead of us in the checkout that has clearly exceeded the 10-item limit, we sell our birthright. Whenever we turn to doing what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do, we are no better than Esau. Esau’s focus in his life was pursuing the desires of his flesh…doing what he wanted to do instead of following God. His life revolved around the here and now, with no thought at all to things eternal. He wanted only to satisfy his immediate needs. This attitude made him grossly unfit to be the one to father the nation of Israel. I know it is easy to ignore and justify our selfishness. It is extremely difficult to live in the world and not live for the world. We are constantly being bombarded with attitudes that run contrary to God’s word. We live in a society that is telling us to follow our dreams, the more the better. Trust in yourself. Look out for number one. If it feels good do it.
Through the grace of Adonai we have a weapon to combat these attitudes. The
. The reveals our sin to us. By pursuing the on a daily basis, we can learn to do what God wants us to do, and stop doing what WE want.If belief in Yeshua as the Messiah is our birthright, then the
is our inheritance. It is a treasure that we can impart to the next generation by bringing it fully into our lives. Thankfully, unlike Esau we cannot completely loose our birthright. Through Yeshua, the living , and His sacrifice, our birthright is secure. We can diminish its importance to us by selling off bits and pieces for some red stuff, but we can’t have it taken away completely. If we truly and sincerely pursue the , we will be less inclined to sell it off for our own wants. It’s importance to us will be restored, and we can allow Gods will to guide our lives. Shalom
