Friday, October 06, 2006

Esau's Plea for a Blessing

Genesis 27 verse 38 caught my attention earlier "And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept."

Here is a picture of a man very distressed. He has sold his birthright and has been tricked by Jacob out of his blessing as the firstborn. Issac understood that he blessed Jacob instead of Esau being blind he thought it was Esau. Yet, the blessing to Jacob would stand. v33. The verse above is the second plea he made for a blessing. Look at verse 34 "And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father."

I think there are instances when a fervert plea is appropriate to our Heavenly Father. Although Jacob received the main blessing, after Esau's pleading Issac did come up with a blessing for Esau. "...Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above; v39 . It continues with the burden Esau must bear in life.

I am reminded of Jesus prayer in the garden when he prayed to his Heavenly Father. It was just before he was to be crucified. Matthew 26:39 "...O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt. It was the earnestness of a soul facing the most difficult of tasks. A woman came to Jesus of Canaan who was not Jewish. She needed help for her dauther who was vexed with a devil. Mathew 15:22. Jesus at first said "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." v24.
But she persist in v27 after hearing that it was not proper to give the children's bread to the dogs. She prayed on "...Truth Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." She had accepted her position in life but needed help for her daughter. Jesus was making a point on faith. v28 "Then Jesus answered and said unto her O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."

My point is that a casual prayer is not always enough. Sometimes we must persist and as it appears in Esau's language be in anguish over our needs. I do not believe God is being mean in any respect. The woman above knew her place and station in life. She persisted and her daughter was healed. Esau had lost his blessing but he persisted and received a blessing for the fatness of the land. We perhaps need to remember that we are really unworthy of any blessings and that it is only by the grace of God that he provides for us. I believe He hears our very whispers but there are times when we need to get down to business.

James says it like this in James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
fervent: very hot glowing marked by great intensity of feeling, impassioned, ardent, fervid,fiery,passionate ---- fervid means zealous
according to Webster. (It is not our usual and casual prayer.)

2 comments:

Ed Dickson said...

Milton - Found your site via Prying1. Great read on a Sunday.

Milton said...

Thanks for the post. My study here is not meant to dive real deep into the Bible but rather to point out the content. People use to know what was in the Bible but I'm afraid these days the content is known by fewer and fewer. If I can show how the old relates to the new I will have accomplished my two most desired objectives.