Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

minute,"good!"~lovedJUNIOR TOPICOctober 3, 1954Mrs. M. K. CarsonESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHTScripture: Genesis 25:19-34Memory Verse: I Thess. 5:21bPsalms :Psalm of the Month is Psalm 46: 1and 6, page 118.Psalm 105:1, 2, 4. page 257Psalm 78 : 3-4, page 187.References: Answer these questions.1. Whom did Abraham marry after thedeath of Sarah? Genesis 25:12. Which son of Abraham received allhis possessions? Genesis 25:53. How old was Abraham when hedied? Genesis 25:74. How old was Isaac when his sonswere born? Genesis 25 :265. Which was the older of the boys?Genesis 25:256. What was his nickname and whatdid it mean? Genesis 25:30margin)(and7. Where was the home of Jacob andEsau? Genesis 25:118. What did the name of the wellmean? Genesis 16:14 (margin)9. Which boy did the father love best?Genesis 25:2810. Which boy did the mother love best?Genesis 25:28Last week we had one of the beautifullove stories of the Bible, the story ofIsaac and Rebekah. They had a wealthyhome, for in verse 5, we read thatAbraham gave all he had to Isaac, andAbraham was a very rich man. But moreimportant than that, love lived in theirhome, for in chapter 24:67, we readthat Isaac loved Rebekah.But just as Abraham had to wait formany years for the son God had promised him, so Isaac and Rebekah waitedyear after year for children to come totheir home. God had told Isaac, as hehad told Abraham, that his descendantswould be as manyas the sand on thesea-shore in number. So Isaac knew thathe would have sons, but it seemed a longtime to wait. Finally, when they hadbeen married for twenty years and Isaacwas sixty years old, twin sons wereborn to them. It is about those twinboys that our story is today.We think of twins as looking andacting alike and often dressing alike, butthese two boys, though they had thesame great and wise grandfather andthe same father and mother, were yet asdifferent as two boys could be. Theylooked different even when they werebabies, for in one of the references welearned which of the twins was bornfirst,what he looked like and what hisname was. If you look in verse 26, youwill find the name of the second twinand over in chapter 27:11,170you will findhow different he looked from his broth-er. But they were different not only inlooks but in mind and heart, and thetwo boys lived to go very differentit, and he promised quickly. So the birthroadsthrough life, one in the way ofthat from now on the birthright wouldbe Jacob's and not his. Esau was toohungry to wait or to think much aboutright passed from the brother who caredGod's choosing and the other in the not at all for it, "despised it," says thevery opposite way. Bible, to the brother who wanted itWhile the boys were still small,grandfather Abraham, who was by nowa very old rememberman, was probably often withthem and would tell the little boys sto-ries of how God had led him to a newSain he had madecountryand had been with himWeandblessed him and done many wonderfulthings for him.thatJacob, who was a quietlittle fellow and liked to stay in thetent could listen by the hour to thesestories and wondered if God would blessthought of selling it for a meal, no mathim,too, and make him a great manlike his grandfather. But Esau was rest-less and would often run out and playwith his little bow and arrows ratherthan sit and listen. And so it was as theboys grew older and the grandfatherwas no longer with them, that Jacobwas still the quiet one who lived in thetent and thought much of the greatpromises God had made for the yearsto come. Esau was seldom inside, butroamed the fields, more and more skill-ful in hunting, but finding no interest inHearthe things of the Lord.One of the things that troubled Jacobwas that, since Esau was the older sonand was born first, he would have thebirthright (that is, the chief place in theJacob did wish that in some way thebirthright might be his instead of Esau's.Surely it would not be God's will to haveEsauEsau carry on the name and blessings ofAbraham and Isaac.verv much-and a11 for *e Price of abowl of stew- Years later- Esau wouldthis day and would cry withstrong crying and tears to undo the harsometimes feel that Jacob askedtoo w&h a Price for the bowl of stew^s brother should have had for theasking, yet if Esau had really cared forthe birthright, he wouldnever haveter how hungry he was. From his veryboyhood, he had begun to "despise" thebirthright, and this day was only theresult of years of thought and actions.Often great and important decisionshang on very small actions, yet thefoundation of those decisions is beinglaid every daV m the things we think andsay and do- Lst us ask God to help usmake riSnt choices every day. Let ushold fast that which is good. (MemoryVerse)is yur puzzle today instead ofa new flash card (courtesyof Mrs. Phil-firSt letter 0f each WOrdiP11M*rtin\)11The,fm.edWl11 make the word that tells theV* Esau Paid.for a bowl of stew. 1.Ja^ob had a twmfamily and the larger share of the bless-ings and possessions of the father). Howand 7"Z Ishmaelburied Abraham. 3. Isaacmarrled 4- Isaac hadsons' 5' Esau was red and 6-Jacob' 7 lovedEsau" 8' told Rebekah thatwould serve Jacob- 9' Esau was a10. Jacob lived inOne day, when the boys had becomeyoung men, Jacob was in the tent help-SO HE STOLEing his mother and making for their "Gambling and/or drink" caused 17.6dinner a big pot of stew of lentils and per cent of the embezzlers to steal fromother vegetables, well-flavored and spicy, their employers in 1935.Esau had been gone since early morningFor thirteen or fourteen of the precedandJacob, as so often was the case, wasthinkingof the birthright and what it waswould mean to the one who had it. TheThen the use of intoxicants was legalstewwas just about ready to eat and adelicious smell filled the tent. Jacobmust have been a good cook. Just thening fifteen years the use of intoxicantsillegal and discouraged by law.ized, and high-pressure salesmanship ofevery sort was used to increase drinking.One of the results was that fifteen yearsEsau burst in, hot and tired from the later 23.08 per cent of the embezzlerswork of the morning and so hungry hethought he would faint. "Just in timefor some of that good red pottage,"said to Jacob, "and will it taste"Wait ahesaid Jacob, "it was alot of work to make this stew. What'sits worth to you?Yourbirthright?""Sure"said Esau, "I'm about to passstudied blamed drinking and/or gamblingfor their predicaments.These revelations are confirmed in asurvey entitled, "EmbezzlersPost War,"published by the United States Fidelityand Guaranty Company of Baltimore,Maryland.This survey analyzes 1001 defalcationsout, I'm so hungry. I can't eat a birth- in business in the years 1947 through 1949right, can I? You can have it and wel- inclusive. A similar study, "1001 Emcomejust pass over some stew." bezzlers,"Butwas published in 1937. It stu-Jacob wanted to make sure, so before hedied the embezzler of 1935 and severalgave Esau his meal, he made him swear years previous. The Foundation.COVENANTER WITNESS