Love your birthright

Genesis 25: 19 – 34

A birthright is a special right of possession or privilege someone has from birth, something you got from just being born. It is something that is of great importance to you even if you don’t know it. It is not something you can touch or see. It won’t give you a job or put food on your table. It won’t give you good health or free you from pain and suffering, it won’t fill your empty stomach when you are starving. “Look I am about to die” Esau said, “What good is the birthright to me?” Gen 25: 32.

But the things you received by birth are precious and special. In the Old Testament your name was also coupled to your place in the family, the first born was very important. The first born had a special blessing from his father. This blessing was aimed at the first born being a conqueror. Successful in what he does, prosperous and increasing the land on behalf of the other members of the family. This was his father’s prayer for him or her, his hope for them. The vision that Jacob had for his first born was also his blessing: May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness- an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.

Gen 27: 28

So you did not only inherit a name but also a prayer a wish and a blessing from your parents. You inherit their dreams and hopes, their blessings and love for you! Esau was destined for great things and vast riches. The vision for him was to be an important ruler and a successful warrior. Through birth, the adoration and love of his father and his sibling position Esau’s future was a paved highway to power, fame and wealth! Something any proud father wishes for his favorite boy.

God, in a sense, also have special people he loves to spoil. Many years ago the Levites occupied a special place in the heart of God. They were the clan who performed the temple duties and had the responsibility to sustain the religious institution. God said to the Levites don’t worry about inheriting land and property and money. I am your inheritance. I am your inheritance and your portion amongst the Israelites

God said to Aaron. Num 18 : 20

What more could you ask to have God, the almighty omnipotent God of heaven and earth as your inheritance, your birthright. This is huge, this is big it actually sounds impossible! But no it isn’t, this is exactly what God said, I am your inheritance, all God’s pureness, power and glory is given in all its fullness to the Levite clan as an inheritance. This is so beautiful, so magnificent in a sense you can’t get enough of it. It is exactly what the prophet Isaiah said and predicted about the Messiah.

Everybody will eventually inherit God through the work of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Through Him we will inherit all the goodness, blessings and graces, God wants to bestow on his people. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; his glory!

(Because we shared in his suffering). Romans 8 : 17

Previously a birthright had to do with a man’s desire to conquer and rule. Blessings were normally associated with having access to huge areas of land and ruling over many loyal subjects. This is how it was in the ancient world, in modern terms not viable anymore and definitely not desirable! Power over others and possessing vast areas of land is definitely not a blessing anymore!

The most important birthright then for us then, is the grace of God. Grace is everything you will ever need and we inherited it from the life and work of Jesus. All the blessings Jesus accumulated for us through his death on the cross is given to us as a birthright through grace. All these things create in us a uniqueness, this specialness uniqueness isn’t  a magic carpet and won’t solve all your problems but it will be crucial in your overall performance. Paul prayed for healing but was only promised grace. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12 : 8

Because we inherit salvation from Jesus our lives are distinguished by grace and that is our power and our trademark. You will surely be able to recognise somebody whose life is permeated by grace and one who isn’t. Grace made Paul strong and devoted. It helped him to become a great apostle. It gave him peace that passes all understanding and because of that he could endure!

Grace made Jacob a good father and a perfect spiritual champion for his whole clan. He became the founder and patriarch of the Israelites, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Grace however is not a magic potion and you will still have all life’s troubles and challenges to handle. You won’t feel happy all the time. You won’t escape the threats of depression anxiety and other illnesses, life will still be life. You however will surely know when you lose that specialness, then you will wail and cry but it will be too late it will be gone.

What we have in Jesus as an inheritance is extremely valuable and precious. Do not despise your birthright and spiritual inheritance. This is not an inheritance of guilt, nor an inheritance of condemnation and embarrassment. This is not an inheritance to be ashamed of, no definitely not!  With this inheritance come salvation, peace and an abundance of other good gifts.

These are things that make you a worthy person, it creates goodness and pureness deep inside you. God made you alive in Christ to be unique and exceptional. You are God’s chosen people dearly loved and holy. Colossians 3 : 12

God gave us himself, that is our inheritance, he promised it long ago to the priest Aaron, and this promise has been fulfilled in Jesus. Therefore Jesus, and his love for us, is our most important inheritance. Our inheritance is grace and mercy in abundance. It is loads and loads of kindness and favour from God. This is your inheritance.

Love it! Be proud of it. No matter what the world say about it. All this may look worthless like Esau thought about it once. It may be despised by unbelievers or reckless people. Some might think it is unimportant but be cautious how you handle it.

Remember no matter how small or minuscule your inheritance might look at the moment, it is yours, don’t waste it, don’t look down on it, never ever despise it!

Understand your specialness, understand the wideness and goodness of grace. Love it, be proud of it, treasure it and enjoy it.

RSE Erasmus