There is a passage in Hebrews 12 that Christians can consider to see more clearly the resolution of the hyper grace notion of infinite grace . Is it not curious that God would bring old – covenant failure Esau , who never had the Blood , into the new testament for our edification ?
We all know the story of Jacob and Esau ; how Esau sold his birth right to Jacob for a serving of pottage . Here is Genesis 25 : 29 – 34 :
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 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.
On that fateful day , Esau sold more than the livestock and land he would have inherited . He departed from the way of the Lord . Here is Genesis 26 : 34 – 35 :
34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
And :
Genesis 28:8-9King James Version (KJV)
8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
And :
Genesis 36:2King James Version (KJV)
2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
The Bible records that the Edomites came from Esau :
Genesis 36:8-9King James Version (KJV)
8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
9 And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:
And we see how Esau had departed from the Lord in subsequent scriptures :
Jeremiah 49:7-10King James Version (KJV)
7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
And :
Obadiah 8-9King James Version (KJV)
8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
And :
Obadiah 18King James Version (KJV)
18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.
We see how God felt about Jacob and Esau :
Malachi 1:1-3King James Version (KJV)
1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
2 I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,
3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
So, we see that Esau departed from God . He did not just sell some cattle and land with his birth right . He sold his standing before God ! Esau willfully departed from God, forsaking God in his heart of hearts . Thus, God’s contempt for Esau .
So, What of the example of Esau in the new testament ? It is in Hebrews 12 :
Hebrews 12:14-17King James Version (KJV)
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Failing of the Grace of God by Forsaking One’s Birth Right Makes One Irredeemable
Did you catch that , brothers and sisters ? This is talking to new covenant Saints . It is not speaking to people who never accepted Christ and have no birth right from Him to sell ! Yes , Hebrews was written to … Hebrews ; some of which were Christian by then , and some were not . Lest ANY man fail … Lest there be ANY … profane person , as Esau . And now, there is neither Jew nor gentile, male or female in Christ . ANY is potentially Anybody in the Church now , too !
It is warning us not to fail of the grace of God. Not grace failing ! But the potential for US to fail of God’s grace . How would we possibly do that ? By the commission of killing sin . Forsaking Jesus from the heart for worldly pleasures, money or any idol . Depreciating the Blood . Blaspheming the Blood and by extension, what the Blood bought for us ; that being the indwelling agency of the Holy Spirit of God . Or by blaspheming the Spirit directly . Or by taking willful, overt , unrepentant unforgiveness beyond the grave . God cannot deny Himself. We are not higher than Him ! Unforgiveness kills ! Selling out the birth right given in our new birth by forsaking Jesus from the heart makes one profane and irredeemable .
The warning is given not to promote a spirit of fear in the church . For He has not given us a spirit of fear . But the warning is given because we can imperil ourselves , by misusing the free will . God is dredging up the bones of old covenant failure Esau into the new testament because we can STILL sell a birthright even to this day ! NOT just to ” neglect ” our birthright ! Or else , why was Esau unable to repent ? He profanely FORSOOK God at heart !
There is no such thing as infinite grace , i.e. , covering just ANY sin , or we could not fail of grace to a place where repentance is not possible . God’s grace does not fail . But we can fail of His grace when we are foolish with the use of our God – given , free human will . God’s grace does everything it was designed to do . It was never designed to be infinite that way . You cannot say or do just simply anything to the King of Kings and keep your salvation ! I know ! I almost BURNED ! See my account RIGHT HERE .
I know, brothers and sisters . I crossed the line with one foot only . And the foolishness I spoke with my mouth was not my heart of hearts . That is the only reason I am alive today to warn and educate . To blow satan’s cover so he can not ambush my brothers and sisters so easily . This vessel marred upon the potter’s wheel, now re – formed to another purpose . To mend lines for the Master Fisherman , lest any of you fail to be caught all the way by Jesus . Let NOTHING sever the line between Christ and YOU !
Maranatha . I am a lineman for Jesus !
