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One of the big ideas of the Torah reading וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“and He sent,” Genesis 32:4–36:43) is LORD sends us into the world to be His ambassadors (2Cor. 5:20) and part of the kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5–6; 1Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:5–6). We will learn as we go through the book of Exodus, that not only do we receive blessings from God but we are expected to extend those blessings to others.
The question is, will we go willingly (Isa. 6:8; 1Sam. 3:9)? Heaven is willing to cleanse our lips and prepare us, if we are willing to subject ourselves to Heaven’s cleansing (Ex. 6:12, 30; Isa. 6:5–7).
When we face the inevitable challenges of life, sometimes those trials are completely outside our control. But sometimes the trials come upon us because of our own action. Regardless of the source of these trials, how we respond to these trials is not outside our control at all. (James 1:2–8)
Toxic divisibility
“Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel….
Malachi 2:15–16 NASB
Division in the Kingdom of Heaven often is toxic. This is something that the apostle Paul warns about (1Cor. 1:10; 11:18; 12:25). It can tear families, friendships and even the fellowship of believers apart.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Romans 12:18 NASB
Israel’s mission is to bring the revelation of God to the world. Israel, as represented by the olive tree, has natural branches and wild branches. The natural are the native sons of Israel and the wild branches are those of the nations who God has grafted onto the tree.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3–4 NASB
This is not just a reiteration of the Golden Rule (Lev. 19:18). We need to always be mindful, not only of treating others as we treat ourselves, but also to act with our fellow believers in a team spirit and to be mindful of what each member of the team is doing and how to support each other.
There are people who can only do well on their own, like a prodigy. But if the prodigy can’t figure out how to work well with others, the prodigy will end up working alone. Extremely talented people who can’t work with a team will end up falling away from the team or getting kicked out of the team.
Every part of the team is important. And we need to have the humility to perform our roles without wishing that we were performing someone else’s role instead. (1Cor. 12:12–20)
Godly divisiveness
While we should pray for unity between members of the Kingdom of God, we need to remember that there must always be a division between the Kingdom of God (led by the Spirit) and the Kingdom of Edom (led by desires, aka the flesh). Unity for unity’s sake is not good (1Cor. 5:1–13).
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”
1Cor. 5:9–13 NASB; quoting Dt. 13:5; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21
Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) called sinners to repentance and He was willing to meet them where they were to called them to repentance (Luke 5:30–32). But those who claim to be believers but act worse than sinners need to be removed from the congregation (compare Matt. 18:15–18). This “tough love” may be the wake up call they need to attack that part of the flesh that is enamored with the knowledge of good and bad more than the knowledge of life.
We are not a secret club that exists just to be different. We have a message that is worth preserving and passing on to the next generation.
When Esau was younger, he wept because of his own foolish loss but when he saw Jacob again 20 years later, he wept tears of reconciliation and joy.
Struggling with God is something that every man or woman of faith has done from the two trees to the present day. Adam and Eve wrestled with the instruction to trust God’s voice rather than the voice of the serpent.
Kingdom of God vs. Kingdom of Edom (Hebrews 11–12)
| Edom: The dirt man | Ya’akob: The complete man |
|---|---|
| Despised his birthright: Knowledge of and blessings from God | Previously grasped at the birthright but then accepted at Beit El the true origin of blessing |
| Married outside the family: “Unequally yoked” (2Cor. 6:14–18) | After grasping via the flesh, he sought sanctuary from Eysau among family: Where do we run to confess our sin? |
| Envied the recipient of God’s blessing: Ya’akob and much later Israel | Reaches out to Edom for reconciliation, but later Israel would have to subdue violent Edom. |
When Esau sold his birthright, his state of mind is told in four verbs (Gen. 25:34):
- וַיֹּאכַל va-yokhal: He ate
- וַיֹּאכַל va-yishte: He drank
- וַיֵּשְׁתְּ va-yaqam: He rose
- וַיֵּלַךְ va-yilakh: He went
This string of four verbs in succession, unusual in Hebrew, communicates that he ate the food quickly and left immediately. Filling his stomach for a brief time was more important to Esau than keeping the birthright that lasted through the generations.
John E. Hartley, “Genesis” (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Baker Books: 2012, Grand Rapids), 237.
This story shows us how Esau despised his birthright because he was only thinking of himself, not of how that birthright would be a blessing to his descendants.
Esau also chose Canaanite and Ishmaelite women to bear his children, as the foundation of his family.
Esau also did not consider that by rejecting his birthright, he lost out on the opportunity to be an ancestor of Messiah Yeshua. Esau envied the fruits of the blessing (fertile land, superiority over the family and his brother) but not the legacy of the blessing. He didn’t grasp that the fruits of the blessing were only a means by which the patriarch would be able to act as an ambassador of God on earth. Esau didn’t think of the future, or his place in it, only the present time.
Even though Jacob and Esau had a brief rapprochement, we see through history that the people of Israel and the people of Esau/Edom often butted heads, rubbing each other the wrong way. We see later in history that a descendant of Esau (called Idumeans by the first century), Herod the Great — who should be called Herod the Terrible — tried to assassinate Messiah Yeshua, a descendant of Ya’akob.
When Rebecca and Jacob conspired to make sure that Jacob received the patriarchal blessing, both of them paid a big price for it. However, Jacob repaid Esau more than what he stole, demonstrating his repentance (Lev. 6:2–7; Luke 19:8–9; Matt. 3:7–9).
Esau, although he repented of wanting to kill Jacob, he did not repent of his desire to live a life separate from the spiritual legacy of Abraham and Isaac and Esau’s decision has reverberated even to our own generation where the majority of the people of Esau still do not have a heart towards the spirit of God.
Summary: Tammy
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