Letter to the Hebrews Volume 166

 We Believers Must Renew Our Spiritual Energy Part 4

Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. KJV Note: CEV=Contemporary English Version

Most urgently for those Hebrew converts to Christ back then and all of us today and of every era and generation who have come to forgiveness of our sins by way of the Cross of Christ, the writer of Hebrews now reminds us of the case of the twin brother of Jacob and that being Esau with these words, "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." (Hebrews 12:16) (KJV). The English word 'fornicator' is translated by the Greek word pornos which means (by analogy) a debauchee (libertine): - fornicator, whoremonger. Our English dictionaries define it as the act of committing adultery or some man who has sex with a woman or women whom he is not married to or a woman who has sex with a man or men she is not married to. Although both definitions are correct, the writer of Hebrews means even a deeper sense of betrayal in the spiritual sense and that of going after other gods. Even though we know and are certain that there is but One God (Jesus Christ our Lord), however, Lucifer along with all of the angels from heaven who followed after him and were defeated and thrown out of heaven have supernatural power and he (the devil) along with them are the other gods. The little English phrase 'profane person' is translated by the Greek word bebēlos meaning (a threshold); accessible (as by crossing the door way), that is, (by implication of Jewish notions) heathenish, wicked: - profane (person). The English word 'birthright' is translated by the Greek word prōtotokia (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) it means primogeniture, that is, right of inheritance belonging exclusively to the eldest son (as a privilege): - birthright. Let us not forget the atrocious sin committed by Jacob and his mother Rebekah to get the blessing from his father Isaac (Genesis 27:6-29), however, before Isaac had even prepared to give his blessing to the firstborn of the twins Esau, he had already agreed to sell his birthright (as the firstborn of the twins to his brother Jacob), as it is written, "And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright." (Genesis 25:31-34) (KJV).

We often here of someone selling their soul to the devil, well this is accomplished when any sinner decides, declares, and determines that the temporary things of this world are more important than where they will be for all eternity after the death of their physical body. Subsequently, they want the gratification of the flesh (i.e. fine food, much money, fine clothing, fancy cars, great mansions, prestige, fame, popularity, and all the temporary things of this world and of this life that the devil has at his disposal to give) more than the satisfying of the soul, remember what he tried to offer even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself when he said to Him, "Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. The devil said to Him, 'I will give all this to You, if You will bow down and worship me.' Jesus answered, 'Go away Satan! The Scriptures say: Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.' Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help Him." (Matthew 4:8-11) (CEV). So, you see that although Jacob sinned by deceiving his father Isaac to receive his blessing first, Esau had already sinned the grievous sin of the two by selling his birthright to his brother for the satisfaction of the temporal, for rather than desiring the eternal he despised, disdained, and even disesteemed, that is, he had very little or no respect for that which was his by birth and regarded it with contempt over the gratifying of the flesh first. This is the mind set of those who will do whatever to get the things of this world that they desire and the devil stands at the ready to give them all of this world their inner man or inner woman desires, so long as they will bown down and worship him.

Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of Hebrews 12:16, "From the stem of selfishness, which will not brook the restraints of Church communion, springs, last and most dangerous of all, the profane, worldly spirit, which denies and mocks the very idea of consecration. It is the spirit of Esau, who bartered the right of the first-born to the promise of the covenant for one mess of pottage. The author calls attention to the incident, as it displays Esau’s contempt of the promise made to Abraham and his own father Isaac. His thoughts never rose above the earth. 'What profit shall this birthright do to me?' (Genesis 25:32). We must distinguish between the birthright and the blessing. The former carried with it the great promise given to Abraham with an oath on Moriah: 'In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' (Genesis 22:18). Possession of it did not depend on Isaac’s fond blessing. It belonged to Esau by right of birth till he sold it to Jacob. But Isaac’s blessing, which he intended for Esau because he loved him, meant more especially lordship over his brethren. Esau plainly distinguishes the two things: 'Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.' (Genesis 27:36). When he found that Jacob had supplanted him a second time, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and sought diligently, not the birthright, which was of a religious nature, but the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine, and the homage of his mother’s sons. But he had sold the greater good and, by doing so, forfeited the lesser. The Apostle recognises, beyond the subtilty of Jacob and behind the blessing of Isaac, the Divine retribution. His selling the birthright was not the merely rash act of a sorely tempted youth. He continued to despise the covenant. When he was forty years old, he took wives of the daughters of the Canaanites. Abraham had made his servant swear that he would go to the city of Nahor to take a wife unto Isaac; and Rebekah, true to the instinct of faith, was weary of her life because of the daughters of Heth. But Esau cared for none of these things. The day on which Jacob took away the blessing marks the crisis in Esau’s life. He still despised the covenant and sought only worldly lordship and plenty. For this profane scorn of the spiritual promise made to Abraham and Isaac, Esau not only lost the blessing which he sought, but was himself rejected. The Apostle reminds his readers that they know it to have been so from Esau’s subsequent history. They would not fail to see in him an example of the terrible doom described by the Apostle himself in a previous chapter. Esau was like the earth that brings forth thorns and thistles and is 'rejected.'  The grace of repentance was denied him."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…