The Trade That Cost Everything

The rich aroma of venison stew filled the air as Esau staggered into camp, exhausted from his hunt. He'd struck out. He was empty handed. His stomach growled.

"Give me some of that stew," he said to his brother Jacob. "I'm starving."

Jacob looked up from the cast iron pot bubbling over the fire. His eyes were cunning. He eyed is brother, calculating. "No," he said. "I didn't make it for you."

"No?" Esau said. "Come on, bro, just a little. I'm starving."

"No. I don't want to. Go make your own dinner."

Even though they were twins, Esau towered over Jacob. Esau was built like bull; Jacob was scrawny and weak. He could have pinched Jacob's head off his skinny little neck.

Esau humored him. "Name your price."

Jacob eyes gleamed. He fought to suppress a smile. "Anything?"

Esau almost laughed. "Sure, the way I feel now... anything."

Jacob began ladling the hardy stew into a giant bowl, almost a bucket. The aroma was amazing. He saw Esau lick his lips. Jacob's mind was racing. "Okay," he said. "I'll trade you... I'll give you all this stew... I'll give you all of it. You give me... your birthright."

His birthright! This was Esau's exalted position. His legal rights as the firstborn son. His birthright meant a double inheritance. It meant a special blessing. It mean honor and privileges. It meant a special place in God's covenant promises.

All that for one meal?

Esau licked his lips. Weighed his options. "Look, I'm dying of hunger," he said. "What good is a birthright to me if I'm dead?"

He reached out his hands, Jacob handed him the stew, and with that, a man traded his sacred dignity for a fleeting pleasure that would satisfy for minutes and disappear forever. [Based on Genesis 25:29-34.]

"Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God... lest there be any... profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." (Hebrews 12:15-16)

Scripture calls Esau "profane" for this—the word means someone who couldn't see his own sacred value. Someone who couldn't see his own worth, his own preciousness to God.

I'm calling my talk today: Falling Short of the Grace of God.

We are continuing our journey through the Book of Ruth, and today is part 4.

I believe what we'll discover could set many of you free from bondage you might not even realize you're in.

Our theme for the year is "Resting in the Love of God," and we're using Ruth as our case study. Last time, we saw that rest is impossible in our own strength because we live in a fallen world and are members of a fallen race. The whole universe is in a state of endless labor, and nothing we do can reverse the fall.

But we also discovered a magnificent truth: God's commitment to you matters infinitely more than your commitment to Him. Grace means God's initiative comes first, and His faithfulness never wavers, even when yours does.

Today, we're going to explore what happens when grace is standing right in front of you, but you can't even see it, or you trade it away for something that just doesn't matter.

What causes a person to "snub" the very grace you so desperately need? Let's find out.

Last time we saw Naomi and Ruth begin a long journey to Bethlehem. Ruth, the daughter-in-law, made a self-sacrificial commitment to Naomi, the mother-in-law, a woman who had nothing to offer her and didn't even want her.

Ruth said, "I'm going to make a commitment to you!"

Naomi said, "I don't want a commitment from you. Did I ask for a commitment from you? Leave me alone!"

Ruth said, "Too bad, you're stuck with me."

Let's see what happens next in Ruth 1:19-22: 

 

"Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?'" (Ruth 1:19)

 

The city buzzes with excitement. But the tone isn't necessarily welcoming.

The women of town give Naomi a reception that's more curiosity than compassion. They ask, "So this is My Pleasant One, is it?" This is feminine trash talk.

It's actually a hostile question based on the meaning of Naomi's name. Naomi means "My Pleasant One."

Though her name connotes grace and favor, Naomi's appearance radiates the misery that's in her soul. Sensing this, the women swoop in for the kill. "So this is My Pleasant One, hahahahaha?"

She's lost her home, her husband, her two sons, and now, like vultures, her own hometown is pecking at her soul. How much suffering can one person take?

"But she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?'"(Ruth 1:20-21)

"Call me Mara," says Naomi. This is the Hebrew word for bitterness or misery. Call me BITTERNESS. Call me MISERY. Call me HEARTACHE.

And just where does her misery come from? She says it comes from God.

Naomi uses a particular Hebrew name for God two times. The name is SHADDAI. It is translated Almighty.

v. 20: the Almighty (Shaddai) has dealt very bitterly with me.
v. 21: the Almighty (Shaddai) has afflicted, literally done evil, against me.

There is some debate on the meaning of Shaddai, but the root meaning seems to be "He is sufficient."

When I visited Italy, I stayed with friends in their home. But there was so much food, I couldn't eat it all. And then our wonderful hostess would keep pressing us to eat more, till I had to say "Basta!" "Basta" means Enough. I'm full. I can't eat any more.

Naomi calls God the All-Sufficient One, but she doesn't yet experience him as the All-Sufficient One. The point of this name is that God has the kind of grace that feeds you till you are stuffed and then offers you more, until you have to push back from the table, loosen your belt, slap your belly, and say "Basta."

So what's the disconnect? Why can't Naomi experience this "Basta" kind of grace?

What happened to her faith? Where did it go? And we should probably ask the question, what exactly is faith anyway?