Vol.
XL June 3, 2008 No.
6
Esau’s Error
by Tom
McLemore
“See to it that no one becomes like Esau...” (Hebrews
12:15-17).
Esau’s error involved the present moment
vs. afterward. According to Genesis
25:29-34, at the present moment, Esau said, “I am about to die; what good will
my rights do me?” Yet, we are told in Heb. 12:17a that “afterward...he wanted
to receive his father’s blessing.” The
problem is a failure to consider in the present moment how one will think and
feel afterward...a failure to consider that you will think or feel differently
later. Remember how Hebrews 11:25 describes sin’s
pleasure: “the fleeting pleasures of sin.”
It is impossible of changing what one
has done under the influence of the thoughts and feelings of the present
moment, when “afterwards” arrives with different thoughts and feelings (Hebrews
12:17b). All the remorse, regret, tears
in the world will not change history.
All the searching for a way to change what we have done is of no avail.
We speak words out of feelings and
thoughts of the present moment (fear, resentment, hurt, anger, ignorance,
misinformation), and we
think and feel differently afterwards. Once spoken, once they have gone home to the
heart of the hearer, they cannot be retrieved, taken back, erased. There was a man who wanted to teach this to
his son. He went to an upstairs window, cut open a feather pillow and released
the thousands of feathers into the winds.
Said, “Son, go and gather all those feathers and put them back in this
pillow.” So are words, once spoken.
Words, once uttered, are like the contents of an aerosol can. Once it is let
out, it cannot be put back in.
Similarly, sins of the body cannot be
undone. Passions of the present moment
subside afterwards. Once one has lost
one’s virginity, it is lost forever. It
cannot be restored. Once a wife or
husband has been unfaithful, the knowledge thereof cannot be eradicated. Trust and affection can never be what it was
before, even when there is regret, remorse, apology.
There are vices which harm the body,
such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, reckless driving, over exertion. The thrill, the high, the buzz, the feelings
of social acceptance, the gratification of accomplishment of the present moment
subside afterwards...they don’t last.
After the body has been needlessly injured and racked and wrecked and
prematurely worn out, and diseased it is impossible for it to repair itself or
to be repaired, no matter how much regret, remorse, crying, and wishing one had
done otherwise.
Murder is often the result of passion.
Homicide, manslaughter, or maiming often result from
drunken driving. The passion which
prompts the murder passes after a time.
The confidence a drunken person has in one’s driving ability vanishes
when one sees death or injury that resulted from one’s drunkenness. Once murder
or manslaughter have been committed, once the mangling
and maiming have taken place, there is no way to undo it, to restore life and
limb, to bring victims back to their previous state. All the crying, the apologizing, the
self-abnegation in the world is powerless, “afterwards.”
How many women who have had abortions
feel differently afterwards? At the present
moment, one is influenced by feelings of shame for fornication, with the desire
to alleviate the guilt and stigma of illegitimacy, the dread of bringing up a
child for which one is neither prepared nor desirous. Afterwards, upon reflection, one regrets the
destruction of a helpless, innocent human soul. One is haunted by what might
have been, but all the regret, the tears, the remorse
will not revive the butchered and aborted baby.
It should be clear to us that once we
have made Esau’s error, there is no escaping it! The
only hope for us is to AVOID GETTING OURSELVES INTO IT in the first place! We must guard against it. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the
grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and
through it many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). An ounce of prevention is worth more than a
pound of cure, because THERE IS NO CURE for this!
How may we avoid getting ourselves
into Esau’s error? We must stop and look ahead.
We must be mature, spiritual, and wise enough to realize that feelings
are fleeting and thoughts change. We
must stop and look ahead. We must ask
ourselves, “What will be the consequences, if I do this?” Ask, “Will it be
worth it? Will the thoughts and feelings
which make me want to do it NOW be as important THEN?” We must resist the message of Satan, viz.,
“You can find a way to change it if it turns out afterwards that you wish you
hadn’t done it.”
Esau is a timeless memorial to the
fact that this is false! If he is not
enough, there are others. David, tried
to change what he had done in a moment of unguarded passion, and only got in
deeper and ruined not only his life but that of his children. For Judas, who
betrayed the Lord and afterward would have reversed his action, the realization
of a dilemma similar to Esau’s was more than he could live with. He took his own life.
Of course there is mercy and
forgiveness for every sin of which we repent.
BUT ALL THE FORGIVENESS IN GOD’S HEART cannot take away the pain, the
suffering, the consequences of the acts! The only wise course is to avoid Esau’s error
in the first place.
The author of the book of Hebrews
reminds his reader of Esau’s error for a specific purpose, viz., to keep people
from abandoning their faith. He knows
that once they abandon their faith, there will be no way that they can change
what they have done, though they seek for it with tears. He is trying to get people to weigh the value
of what they would be giving up against the consequences/significance of what
they are giving it up for!
Are you on the verge of abandoning
your faith? If so,
why? Will what you are feeling
and thinking now last forever? Once you
begin crucifying the Son of God afresh and putting him to an open shame, will
you be able to be brought again to repentance (Hebrews
6:4-6)? Are you neglecting your
opportunity to obey the gospel? At the present moment, Satan may be urging you
to think, “There is plenty of time...Your sins are not any worse than the average
person’s...God wouldn’t condemn YOU to hell...” Afterwards, after death and at
the judgement, the line is drawn, the gulf is
fixed. All the wishing for just one more
opportunity, just one more sermon, just one more invitation song, and all the
tears, remorse, and regret will not change your destiny!
Don’t fall into Esau’s error! Avoid it! With regard to all the things we’ve
considered, look ahead and consider the “afterwards” before you act. Obey the gospel NOW,
at the present moment...be restored to faithfulness NOW, at the present moment,
so that “AFTERWARDS” will not be a source of eternal pain.
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