Esau – A man without hope
Introduction
This morning we are looking at Esau – A man without hope
Hope is a wonderful word
All our hope will be realised when we are in heaven (if you are in Christ)
There will be no more need to hope and we will know joy unspeakable
We hope in this life – examples
We do not want to always think life will be full of troubles
The Christian looks to the final resting place – when we will be in heaven
No more suffering, temptation or sin
To live without hope is very sad
The unbeliever is separated from God and without hope in this world
We see this in an unbeliever on their death bed
No hope, only the fear of judgment to come
Today, looking at a sad case – a man who lived without hope
He never repented of his sin nor forgave his brother or mother
He lived in his carnal and fleshly lusts
Evidences and reasons for “hopelessness”
Our hearts go out to those who are hopeless
Examples of Thailand, Somalia, Russia, Ukraine
Abuse can make people hopeless
Esau initially had no reason to be hopeless
He had a good father
He had a covenant birthright – in the sense he was the eldest
He had great freedom
He had many advantages in life
He becomes a very hopeless man
Issac thinks he will die
He wishes to bless Esau …
… but realised he had been deceived by Jacob
Therefore, Issac trembled – v33
Esau cried out in bitter despair – v34
An “exceedingly great and bitter cry”
He suddenly realised he had lost all the blessings of God – with nothing left
He pleads with Issac
Is there no reserved blessing (v36), nothing else to give (v38)
His bitter cry leads to a bitter heart
It leads to anger and the desire/plot to kill his own brother
Imagine this!
There is no self-reflection, no repentance, no thought to sin
He feels entitled – that the blessing would automatically be his
Though God had already determined before his birth that Jacob would serve Esau
Hopelessness sets in
It can be through troubling and traumatic circumstances
Sometimes, it can be brought on by our own sinful actions and our neglect of God
Esau despised his birthright – he sold it to Jacob
He lived without God for so many years
His heart was becoming harder and harder
He was a wicked and profane person – Heb 12
He had no peace
We need to value eternal things
The blessings were part of the birthright
Esau did not search his own heart but became angry and bitter
When he lost the blessings, he could not control anything
He was angry over what he had lost
Application:
Do we live carelessly without any thought of God – examples
Hopelessness can set in – examples
Why? – because you have made yourself and not God the centre of your life
You have lived for self
Human Depravity
We see in Esau the depravity of the human heart
Examples of depravity
Without restraining grace – we are each capable of great wickedness
Esau’s parents never thought he would become a murdered in his heart – wanting to kill Jacob
We do not have a bias towards God but sin
Esau’s bitterness was rooted in jealousy and envy
He feels bitterness, jealousy and envy towards Jacob – v36
Yes there was a sense of injustice as Jacob had taken the birthright
He went on to hate Esau -v41
He had no love for his mother – it seems he hated Rebekah as much as Jacob
He need to be careful if bitterness comes into our hearts
It does damage to ourselves and others – Heb 12
Quote from Steven Diamond and other Psychologists
The ultimate remedy is forgiveness
To withhold forgiveness is destructive
We can only forgive when we have seen the forgiveness Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us
God tells us we must forgive others otherwise He will not forgive us
Jesus asked for forgiveness for the those who were crucifying Him
Once we see the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we cannot but forgive others
This brings such freedom
Esau could not forgive
Our only hope is Jesus
Esau is a warning to us
Matt 12:43-45
Morality helps no one
There is hope in Jesus Christ
Jacob was to find this hope
Although he was a deceiver and supplanter
We will see this next week
He was prepared to deceive but he never despised the blessings and promises of God
The promises of God given to us
The promised land – the fulfillment is in heaven
The protection of God – we find this fulfilled in Jesus Christ
Abraham, Issac and Jacob went to heaven through the blood of Jesus Christ
Jesus was a Lamb slain before the foundation of the world
Jesus takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh
People need to be born again
We need a new heart to love and follow Him
Jesus forgives our sin – past, present and future
Yes there will be a struggle against sin but Christ blesses us
Jacob found this hope but Esau never knew it
Do not be the person who knocks on the door but God says “I never knew you”
Do not live without God
Believe in Jesus today
He will forgive and save
Come to Him