Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
Genesis 36:8
Dear Church and Friends,
Once there was a poor man named, Jasper Roland. Mr. Roland found a laborers job working for the Haberman Steel Mill. The job included employee housing, and cafeteria access the cost of which came out of his monthly wages. He was grateful because without the job he would have been destitute.
Mr. Roland was always dreaming up ways to improve steel production. He would go to his dorm at the end of his shift and write down ideas. Some of these he shared with his supervisor. Most of the time his sketches were ignored. One day, Mr. Haberman himself walked by the desk of Jasper’s supervisor and saw one of his designs. He immediately saw the brilliance of the ideas.
That night Mr. Haberman was waiting in the dorm for Jasper Roland to arrive. He offered the poor laborer an office where he could develop his plans and a private residence at Haberman Steel. In exchange he would have to agree not to sell his ideas to any of Haberman’s competitors and promise to live on the company grounds.
Mr. Roland heartily agreed. Over the next few years Jasper Roland’s innovations revolutionized the steel industry. Of course, Haberman Steel Mill was the first beneficiary of these improvements. The Roland Methods (as they came to be known) made the poor laborer very wealthy and popular.
He began to resent his benefactor’s non-disclosure request. He started selling his ideas to the Steel Magnate, Arnold Schmidt, his wife’s uncle, under the table. Mr. Schmidt paid him twice what he was getting from Haberman. Yet all the while Mr. Haberman was doing everything to advance Jasper Roland’s career.
His wife Sarah, wasn’t happy living on the grounds of a dirty steel mill. She wanted a country estate where they could raise the children. The pressure to make more money, to buy property outside of the mill, and to continue to please Sarah gave him an excuse to clandestinely sell more and more of his “Methods.” Mr. Haberman knew what he was doing and said nothing. He continued to give him more responsibility and under Roland’s leadership the mill grew in profitability.
After raising enough money and leveraging a little credit Jasper and Sarah Roland bought their country estate. They made their move over a long holiday weekend when no one was at the mill. Knowing that he couldn’t go back to Mr. Haberman, he began to work from home. He loved the freedom of selling his designs on the open market but without his benefactor to promote them no one was interested because they hadn’t been proven in a working steel mill.
Without an income Jasper Roland found himself sliding back into poverty. They had to sell the estate, he declined into poor health, Sarah left him and took his final drawings to her uncle who developed them under the Schmidt name. Roland faded into obscurity and died in poverty.
This is Esau’s story. Esau had a bad habit of turning his back on God’s blessing.
- He despises his birthright. (Genesis 25:29-34)
- He took wives from among the Canaanites. (Genesis 26:34-35)
- He took a wife from Ishmael. (Genesis 28:8-9)
- He leaves the land of Canaan. (Genesis 36:6-7)
Just like Jasper Roland, Esau thought he could do things on his own. He didn’t need a birthright, he didn’t need to discriminate in his choice of wives, he didn’t need to live in the land promised to his father and grandfather.
And so, after being abundantly blessed by God in the land his final act of rebellion was to move away. He took for granted all that the Lord gave him and all that He required of him. He was sure it was his ability that caused him to be great and so walks away from his benefactor.
Are you packing your bags, preparing to move away? Don’t go! Stay under the direction and discipline of the hand of God. Only there will you find blessing.
Music: I Will Wait For You by Shane and Shane.
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Prayer Requests: Please pray for the following.
- Alan Barker is hospitalized to treat an infection from a recent surgery.
- Linda Johnson, Knoxville, Tenn. Linda Johnson is a chaplain serving as a life coach for Grace Resources, Inc., in Knoxville, Tenn. “A Jewish neighbor lady, whom I have gotten to know during lockdown, is searching for truth. She was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Our relationship continues but is greatly hampered due to the coronavirus. Please pray I will have quality time with her and that she will accept the gospel. Thank you.”
All my best.
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