What is a Salvation Plan: Part II

As Benjamin continued with the story, Ian and Julie were very interested in the out come of Adam and Eve's life. What happened to them ? When did they have children? How was life for them? So many questions was popping up in their minds.

Benjamin continued......."God wrote in his word the plan he made for us to follow, to lead us to the salvation from the sin debt made by Adam and Eve. In the verses that I am going to share with you, you will see and hear this plan." As Benjamin continued Isaac said a silent prayer that Iran and Julie would take God's word to heart and accept Jesus as their Savior. As Benjamin explained the Salvation Plan, he asked Ian and Julie to read the following verses as they came to them.

Ian read aloud first, " I John 1:8,' If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Benjamin asked "Ian to do you understand what that is telling us?" Ira replied, " Sort of, it is telling me that I am a sinner, but I am a good person. I treat others well, I obey the laws, I am a good and faithful man to my wife, I work hard for a good life for us, I don't understand why it says I am a sinner". Benjamin continued, " Well Ian, we all are sinners because we are children of a sinful decent. You see because Adam sinned with Eve in the beginning... that sin debt as been passed on down to each and every human child born from then until this earth passes away. God tells us this in His word , "Roman 3:10 which says, 'As it is written There is none righteous, no,  not one:' you see we all, everyone of us who have ever lived on this earth are sinners and worthy of the punishment of that sin which is a spiritual death away from God."

Then Benjamin asked Julie to read the next verse. "Acts 3:19,' Repent ye therefore, and be converted

, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"  Julie said.  As she looked up at Benjamin and Isaac Julie asked, " Repent means to ask forgiveness for our sins to God?" "Yes, that's right" replied Benjamin. At this point Benjamin decided it would be important to tell Ian and Julie that they would have to make this decision not together but individually. Dealing with the future of the soul and spirit is an individual matter. As much as Ian and Julie  would like to pay for the sins of each other they can not. Jesus has done that already for each of us and is the responsibility of each individual  to accept the gift that Jesus died to give us.

"Ian would you read the next verse?" Benjamin asked. "Ok", replied Ian, "John 3:16" For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him would not

perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." "Now Ian, could you put you name in the place of . asked Benjamin. As Ian read the verse out loud again he put his name in the sentence......"That's right Ian, God so love you that he sent his only begotten Son, to pay your sin debt so you could be saved from eternal damnation." "I never looked at it that way before" Ian said in a state of deep interest.
whosoever"

"Julie would you read the next verse please". requested Benjamin, "Sure", she replied, "I Timothy 2:5," For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" "You see you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus. You have an open channel to ask forgiveness, to pray for others, to talk to God and for God to talk back to you by claiming the name of Jesus as your mediator. No one else on earth can do that for you." Benjamin explained.

As Benjamin asked Ian to read the next verse he could see that the couple was being very attentive and interested in what they were sharing with them. Ian started reading the verse "Roman's 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" "That debt that must have to be paid for your sins, was paid for you by Jesus Christ, that is the gift God has given us......in order for us to be saved from hell and it's torments that we actually deserve. Because

God can not look upon sin, we would not be able to live with Him in heaven. Are there any questions so far?" Asked Benjamin

Ian and Julie looked at each other and said that they understood everything thus far. "Good" said Benjamin, "Let us continue. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of work's, lest any man should boast.' What that tells us is that being humans we can not do what Jesus did, and that it is only through Jesus willing to give his life as a sacrifice for our sin debt, this is the gift to us that must be accepted by faith." Benjamin shared.  Ian stated, "That's what you said earlier when you said that no matter how good I was, I was still a sinner.? "Yes that is right" replied Benjamin.

Benjamin continued with the next verse, " II Corinthians 6:2 " (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee; behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) and Revelations 3:20-22 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches."

"Now is the time", Benjamin continued " Now is the time for each of you to decide where you will spend eternity......you may never have this opportunity again, we are not guaranteed another minute on this earth, we never know when our time is up, would you decide today to accept the gift that God has given you through Jesus Christ  His only begotten Son?

Ian looked at Julie with tears in his eyes and said to Benjamin "Yes I would" As Benjamin looked at Julie he could see the happiness on her face, you see Julie had accepted Christ long ago as a child of 6 but she had grown away from Him though the years but now she was ready to reunite with Jesus and was so joyful that her husband was accepting Him too.

After Benjamin lead both of them through a simple prayer of asking God the Father to forgive them of their sins and asking Jesus  to come into their hearts to be their savior and God, they praise the Lord with gladness in their hearts.

Benjamin told the couple to join a good bible believing church  to grow in God's word and of course they were invited to come to FBC and would be welcomed with open arms as part of God's family, and that they were looking forward to seeing Ian and Julie there when they come.

After Benjamin and Isaac left Ian and Julie got the family bible out that Julies mother gave her and started looking into what God's statues and commandments were for raising a family. Now they had direction and a firm foundation to build their family on, and with God's help they prayed they would be blessed.

What is a Salvation Plan: Part I

Introduction: The following explanation of "What is a Salvation Plan"  is explained in a story form in a setting of a home visitation of a young couple just starting out in life, and then what that couple as individuals do with the information that they have received.

"

Julie and Ian were a young couple just married for one year and have gotten pretty

much on track of setting up their family rules and customs; what they wanted to continue from their family and what they wanted to leave out. How they wanted to raise their children, and how they wanted their children to hopefully turn out.

Ian who had been thinking a lot about the role of a father looked back on his life and what he and his father's relationship was like. In doing this he mentally discarded some of the things his father did... that he did not like or understand such as drinking and harsh discipline. Instead Ian thought that an understanding parent, one who used thought instead of action would be a much better way to raise a child.  Ian's family did not go to church, his father was a stern disciplinarian, and did not show much affection openly to the children, just kind of expected them to know that he loved them.

Julie also was thinking about becoming a mom, "What type of mom will I be. Like my mom?" She asked herself. Maybe, she thought, she would be like her aunt who was friends with her children and all of their friends as well. Julie came from a home where the family really did not communicate very well. They went to church every Sunday, but when they got home it was as if they had never been to church. There was bickering and fighting among the children. The dad would get mad because the kids were loud and interrupted the football or basketball games and mom was so busy cooking Sunday dinner that she did not have time to correct the children. This is not an unusual case as a matter of fact it is the usual case of families to day......they are either in each others face fighting about something or another or in the same room in the house but miles away from each other on the internet, cell phones or digital games.

They both realized how things were so much different being a parent instead of as just a young person. So many more responsibilities come with raising another human being. So figuring out how to raise children and to agree on a method was quite important to them.

On Thursday's FBC, Faith Baptist Church, a local church in their area, would send out soul

workers, two by two, to share God's good word on how to know where a person would spend eternity. Ian and Julie were only concerned about living on this earth and all the pressures of the obligations of life now that they were married and looking forward to having children. Why was it so important to worry abut something that seemed so far off.

But when Benjamin and Isaac came to the door and explained what they were doing Ian asked them to come in, so that maybe they could answer some questions he had been thinking about. Julie offered them something to drink.....they said they were fine.

Then Benjamin asked Ian and Julie if they knew were they were going to spend eternity. As they looked at each other  and said that they were to busy in this life to think about the next if there was one. Benjamin and Isaac were happy and sad for this young couple, happy because this opportunity gave them the chance to share God's word with them, and sad because there was a chance that they would not accept the gift that would be explain and offered to them. They explained to the young couple that we are not promised another moment, day or year on this earth. The bible tells us in  James 4:14 that "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." As they shared this verse with them the soul workers asked if they could continue.....Ian and Julie agreed.

The first thing that Benjamin and Isaac would have to establish is whether or not Ian and Julie believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, given to the ancient prophet's to be written down for us. The young couple said that they believe it could be. Julie was more sure than Ian and told the soul workers so. Then Benjamin asked if  Ian ever had a truly close friend.....Ian said he did at one time but then time came between them an they do not talk as much or are as close as they once were. Julie answered and said that she had many close friends and they do a lot of girl talks and support each other in their problems.

Benjamin said that that was good to hear. But he wanted to introduce them to a friend they never knew they had. This made Ian curious and he wanted to hear more. Julie was a little ahead of Benjamin and she said that she had heard something like this in church

As Benjamin went on he explained how God had made the earth [ the bible says in six days the earth animals and man was created, and God saw it was good and He rested on the seventh day].... to be a home for man whom he had made in his image [on the sixth day], and intended for Adam to take care of it and to names all the animals He made  and to play with them as pets( because at that time they were not meat eaters but grazers.)  How exciting that would be to play with all sorts of God's creatures with out the fear of getting hurt.  Ian eyes glistened at the possibility of that thought.

Benjamin went on to explain through free will that God gave to man Adam and Eve sinned. they did this by eating from the tree of  Good and Evil. That fallen angel Lucipher, disguised himself as an beautiful serpant. and enticed Eve to eat of the fruit and said that God was a liar and  that they would not surely die. Only, that old devil was the lair because he did not tell Eve that the death that God was talking about was the spiritual death from God's presents. 

After Eve ate of the fruit she became aware of good and evil and the physical death that she thought  would happen did not. So she offered the fruit to Adam and told him that he would not surely die.....Adam so loved Eve that he did not want to be parted from her-- as he knew God would do because Eve did sin....So he ate of the fruit also and God band them both from the garden of Eden, their beautiful and wonderful home that God had prepared for them. 

God also cursed the land and told Adam that he would have to till the land for food. Eve would have pain in child bearing. Adam and Eve found out that in disobeying God there were consequences to their behavior.  God was so sad because He would not be able to spend time with his beautiful creations any more, the way He did before, in the beautiful garden. 

As Benjamin continued he told Ian and Julie that God posted Angel guards at the gates of the garden so that Adam and Eve or anyone, could not enter back in. You see not only was the tree of Good and Evil in the garden but the tree of Life as well. If they had of eaten from the tree of Life, there would be no way that they could be forgiven from their sins. So God in his wisdom had to banish them from the garden to make a way, in the future, for mankind to be reconciled with Him. 

God loved mankind so much that He did not want to see them suffer with the fallen angels in hell for their sin debt .(John 3:16), ( Romans 5:8) Jesus also loved mankind so much that he was willing to give his life on earth to pay the sin debt so that mankind could be reconciled with God the Father, through His sacrifice of His life. (I John 4:9) Gods word tells us that there is no greater gift or love than a man to lay down his life for his friends. 

To be continued in Part II.

M

Daniel the Empire Prophet

 

Introduction: The miracles of the "fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, and lions subdued, happened in Daniel.  

In the chapters 1-6  Daniel tells us the history of that era and when the Jews were captive and enslaved by the Babylonians. The first captives were taken in 605 BC when Daniel was just a young man. He also tells of how the kings were so impressed about the knowledge and wisdom that his God gave him that they made Daniel their chief wise man and honored him with gifts.

Daniel predicted the kingdoms yet to come and to be overthrown: King Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, King Cyrus ruled over the Persian empire, King Darius also king over the Persian empire, (all of which Daniel served as chief wise man as he stayed steadfast servicing the one true God.  Then came the Grecian and Roman Empires which God reviled to Daniel. 

And finally the last kingdom that will never be overthrown and that will last for ever and ever, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the new heaven and the new earth for us to live with Him and the Father and the angles forever.

 In these chapters Daniel (whose Chaldeans name was Belteshazzar) was tested in a den of lions and his friends are tested because of their strong faith in the true God. Shad-rach, ( whose Jewish name was Hananiah) ,Meshach (whose Jewish name was  Mishael  ), and Abednego (whose Jewish name was Azariah ) were tested by Nebuchadnezzar for their faith and were sent into a fiery furnace---three were .in and the king saw four walking around in the fire.....when they were called out of the furnace their cloths were not burnt or even smelled of smoke--not a hair or hurt was on their bodies....then the king said "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's words, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon. (King James Bible Daniel 4:28-30)

Chapters  8-12 Daniels visions from God showed him the future great powers of this world and the coming kingdom of God. 

The book of Daniel in the Greek translation contains more information than the Hebrew and Aramaic text.  The Song of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, are the individual books that are listed in the Apocryph.

In my study at bible-history.com (access above) there are 70 weeks mentioned in chapter 9 of Daniel which they explain very well......."The 70 weeks of Daniel......

       The 70 weeks in Daniel are mentioned in Daniel 9, and they refer to a prophecy of Daniel where he claims that the king of Persia will release the Jews to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. When he makes this decree the Jews are to begin counting, and after 70 weeks (7 year periods or 490 years) the kingdom of the Messiah will be established on earth. But something interesting would happen, at the end of the 69th week (483 years) the Messiah will be "cut off" which indicates His death. 

 www.bible-history.com)
 

 The final seven year period is suddenly thrown into the future, to the time of the end of the world. This final seven year period is described in the book of Revelation as a time of the Messiah taking back the earth. It is divided into two 3 1/2 year periods and directly in the middle is when the anti-Christ sets up his throne in Jerusalem and reveals himself as God. Certain portions of this final seven years are mentioned in other prophetic books of the Bible like Zechariah. The book of Daniel assures God's people that their situation in exile would not be permanent, that God would keep his promise to Abraham, he would keep his promise through Jeremiah the prophet that they would return after 70 years. And he would also keep his promise that the Jews would still be the channel through which all nations would be blessed. The book of Daniel is a grand tribute to the providence of God and His lordship of history and the universe.

Daniel in short:

       [– –1-6 – – the prophetic ministry of Daniel from King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to King Cyrus and Persia– –

-- 7-12– – the visions of Daniel during the reigns of Belshazzar of Babylon, Darius and Cyrus of Persia.] (www.bible-history.com)

 This was a very interesting book and I loved reading it.

Proverbs 5

WISDOM TO KEEP YOU FROM SIN AND IT'S 

PENALTIES 

  1.My son attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding. 

 2. That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 

God here is telling us how important obeying words of wisdom is to not only the health of our soul, but also for the well being of our earthly quality of living  

 3. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil. 

 4. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 

5. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 

6. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 

 The cunning traps of the strange woman and how they can lead one into sin that has a costly end. In the beginning things seem sweet as a honeycomb, but in the end the sin is better and deadly as a two-edged sword.

7. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 

8. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

9. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

10. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 

God tells us here it is better to avoid the companionship of the strange woman (harlots or prostitutes) because of the consequences from God for giving into this type of temptation. We are to stay far from her , the monies spent on a extra relationship or a prostitute, takes hard earned money from family and bank accounts and makes others rich who did not work for that money. 

11. And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed. 

12. And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof. 

13. And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 

14. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

In these verses He tells us that we will remember our sins in hell. And  will recall the times that we were taught to stay away from sin and did not listen.

 

15. Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 

16. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 

17. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. 

18. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 

19. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. 

Here He tells us to not stray from the fruitfulness of what we have. To enjoy the bounty of our own wells or relationships with our spouses. We are to be so in love with our mates that we honor them at all times, will be looking for ways to show our love to them. You will be surprised what love can accomplish.

20. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. 

22. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 

23. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.  

God sees all that man does and He thinks on them, does he reward or send a life lessons. He says here that if we work at embracing our mate so that it brings the best out in them, they in return they will love us as much.The wicked will not listen to wisdom. The sins of the wicked will condemn him and he  will be bound with its cords and he shall die without instruction and all his foolishness will pass away as he spends eternity in everlasting torment. 

I pray that you will listen to wise instruction. Follow God's word for a happy life of fulfillment and blessings.

GENESIS CHAPTER 27: HOW MUCH IS A BIRTHRIGHT WORTH

Introduction: Esau learns the true meaning of the value of a birthright through the loosing of his.

1. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, "My son": and he

said unto him, "Behold, here am I." 2.  And he said, "Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3. Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4. And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die". 5. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 

Now the Lord had told Rebekah that the older son would serve the younger, so she devised a plan to deceived her husband so that the younger son would get the fathers blessing for the inheritance. When we take a situation that God has plans for into our own hands the ending is not as good as it would have been if we had just let God's plan come to fruition.  
 

 6. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard they father

speak unto Esau thy brother, saying 7. 'Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.' 8. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10. and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death" 11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing." 13. And his mother said unto him, "Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them." 14. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which ere with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16. and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17. And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 

Now Jacob was already uncomfortable in doing this thing that his mother had devised, but he trusted that she new what she was doing. The bible does not tell us that Rebekah shared her message from God with her son Jacob or even her husband Isaac. In any event we have the woman making the decision to mislead her husband (as Eve did, but Adam made the choice to follow Eve's leading). Have you noticed that sin trait's seem to follow families? Until the sin is forgiven? I have. 

18. And he came unto his father, and said, "My father": and he said, "Here am I; who art thou, my son?" 19. And Jacob said unto his father, "I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me; arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me." 20. And Isaac said unto his son, "How is it that thou hast

found it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the Lord thy God brought it to me." 21. And Isaac said unto Jacob, "Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not." 22. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice,but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24. And he said, "Art thou my very son Esau?" and he said, "I am".  25. And he said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee." 26. And his father Isaac said unto him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son". 27. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, "See the smell of my son is as the smell of the field which the Lord hath blessed:" 28.Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29.Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee." 

Now Jacob must have been very apprehensive to the goings gone of that moment. Earlier Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew, now

through this devised plan of his mothers Jacob is now receiving the birthright blessing from his father through lies and deception which would become a life lesson of how to or not to manage people under his household. God uses many different means to teach us life lessons to mold us into the person he had mint us to be. How much we fight those lessons or learn from them,  depends on how long it takes us to realize that God is in control of our lives not ourselves. Once this lesson is learned and learning from the other molding lessons the sooner we will be living a free and satisfied life here on earth and preparing ourselves to be part of the population in Heaven. For Heaven is not the training ground, earth is, Heaven is our reward for obedience to God's statutes and laws. And the very first one is to "Have no other God's before Him". 

30. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, and Esau his brother came in from his hunting.  31. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me". 32. And Isaac his father said unto him, "Who art thou?"And he said, "I am thy son thy firstborn, Esau." 33. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, "Who? where is he that hath taken venison and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed." 34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, " Bless me, even me also, O my father." 35. And he said, " Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing". 36. And he said,  "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me:"37. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, "Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?" 38. And Esau said unto his father, "Hast thou but one blessing, my father: bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice, and

wept. 39. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, "Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40. And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. "

 This is such a sad scene, the fruit of deception and the heartbreak of it. When Esau sold his birthright to Jacob he was not serious, he was thinking of himself and how hungry he was, he did not consider that Jacob was serious and that he would be accountable for the words he spoke to Jacob that day. Did Esau take his birthright seriously? Only when it came to the time that he should receive it. He took it for granted that he would receive the birthright. But God had other plans for the leader of that family. God knew that Esau's personality was flawed, and that Jacob had the traits that was needed to prosper the family and the lineage. How did God know this....because he designs us all and knows us before we are born, and has a plan for each of us in this world.

41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, " The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." 42. And these words of Esau her eldest son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, "Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44. And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away : 45. Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?" 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth,, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me:"

Through her actions Rebekah witnessed the strife that Esau had for Jacob for stealing the birthright that he had actually sold to Jacob halfheartedly. She also soon became a widow because Isaac was very old and would pass soon. Then she also had to send Jacob away to her family to save his life but also to gain a wife of her family and blood line, with the same beliefs and customs as were according to God's laws and statutes.  I wonder how Rebekah reasoned all of this in her mind. and how differently things wold have turned out if she had waited on the Lord to have this situation work out His way? How deep was the hurt in her heart to see her child Esau grow so bitter against Jacob who was only following her instructions. How the relationship between Isaac and Rebekah must have been strained because of these actions. When man tries to do God's work-- things become so complicated, so tangled with needless hurt all the way around the situation. How much better it would have been to let God's plan be played out by God who knows all the out comes. 
4I Praise Him because He knows us so well and makes plans B, C , and D

because we are so heard headed and stubborn.  He is so long-suffering for our happiness and our learning that he has so many back up plans already worked out for us to learn our life lessons. Jesus wants all of us to be saved through His blood. That is why He died on the cross. That is why he suffered so horribly, because that is what we will be receiving if he had not paid  our sin debt through his suffering and by His Blood and Death. Praise Jesus and God the Father that Jesus rose up again on the third day of His death to conquer death and hell so that we would also have eternal life with Him and the Father and the Holy Ghost in Heaven.