Unexplained Grief

Scripture: Esau was forty years old when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they brought grief to Isaac and to Rebekah. Genesis 26:34-35

Observation: Near the end of the passages about Isaac, there is suddenly one sentence about Esau taking two Hittite wives, with the statement that "they brought grief to Isaac and to Rebekah". Again, this is completely out of the blue - Esau wasn't even previously mentioned in the chapter. This begs the question, what type of grief could these two women have brought upon Isaac and Rebekah, but without any explanation in the text and no future reference to strife?

The one possible explanation from the text is that they were Hittites, and therefore taking them as wives violates prior instructions from God. Thus, their grief could be that Esau has continued his path away from his family and away from the covenant bond between their family and God. Esau already surrendered his inheritance, and now turns away from the promises of God. In this, Esau is really demonstrating impatience and disdain for long-term benefits.

-- He has chosen to ignore God's covenant and thus the possible legacy of his offspring.

-- He has chosen to forgo his future inheritance and thus future riches from a very rich father.

-- In return, he has received one good meal and two likely lovely women (their names mean "she will be praised" and "sweet smelling" ... yes, had to look that up ... but clearly these are complimentary names).

Application: When walked through methodically, the lesson of Esau becomes obvious. God makes a covenant promise for long-term and eternal blessing, and some instead choose earthly pleasure and surrender that blessing even with full knowledge of what they are forgoing. This decision isn't accidental - it is purposeful and informed, and whether it is performed methodically or hastily it is a reflection of a decision to reject God's promise.

Esau is all of us ... fully informed but worldly minded people, who make decisions every day about whether we will accept God's eternal promises or instead pursue short-term earthly gains. Too often, everyone - including me - choose the earthly gains. I seek a boost to my personal pride instead of humility toward another person. I choose fun instead of disciplined learning. I choose evil thoughts instead of meditation on the word.

Like Esau, I don't do this out of ignorance. I am fully aware of God's instructions and Jesus' teaching, and I act differently. For most around me, they too don't reject God out of complete ignorance. Even those with little understanding of Jesus have a basic concept of the Gospel message - eternal life through faith - and actively reject the concept. Today's pleasure is more important than eternal joy. And our acts grieve our dad, God, just like Esau grieved Isaac and Rebekah.

Prayer: Abba, daddy, I believe in you, I believe in Jesus, and I believe in your promises. Please forgive me when I possess a short-term way of life, and behave thinking about only today's opportunities and issues. I seek an eternal outlook, a kingdom view, and a heavenly mindset. May my actions reflect a 10,000 year plan, not a "Tuesday" plan. Amen.