Legitimate Inheritance

But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Hebrews 12:8, 17)

As I looked at this verse again it suddenly came to me that this word inherit is linked back to the need to be a legitimate child in verse 8. And the relationship of being a legitimate child according to this passage is a willingness to accept and endure discipline from God and be subject to the Father of spirits and live. (v. 9)

While Esau may have been outwardly compliant with his father's requirements, at least when it came time to get ready to receive his blessing, his heart had long since rebelled from living under the authority of his father's God. He was not interested in aligning his life in any way with the Father in heaven. Even though his earthly father tried to arrange to pass on the birthright blessing to Esau in spite of the prophecy of God to the contrary before the boy's births, it could never happen because Esau had disqualified himself and nothing any human attempted to do could reverse that.

We so often think that God's dealings with us are arbitrary and have little or nothing to do with our choices about Him. But that is another one of the typical lies of the enemy that has permeated common religion. Even though the language of the Bible is written mostly from human distorted perspective and sometimes seems to make it appear that God does things arbitrarily without reference to our freedom, if we examine the big picture more carefully we will discover more and more that God fiercely protects and respects our freedom of choice about Him and reluctantly allows us to receive the consequences of our choices in the end. To believe otherwise is to blaspheme the reputation of God and His consistency.

The requirement for receiving an inheritance is very clear – one must be a legitimate child to be qualified to receive it. That idea is simply implicit in the idea of inheritance; it is the right and privilege of children or heirs particularly in early culture. The reason that Esau was rejected from inheriting the blessing was not because God was mad at him for something he did or said but because Esau was not a legitimate spiritual son in line to receive the spiritual inheritance of the blessing.

But even though Jacob on the surface appeared very messed up in his own thinking as well, there was still something deep inside of him crying out for a connection with God that continued to grow and intensify over the next several dozen years until it climaxed in really claiming that blessing with his heart after his struggle with the angel during the night. Jacob was a legitimate son of the promise, not because he was a good, obedient submissive kid growing up but because he was willing to live under the parentage of his father's God and receive the discipline designed to draw his heart into a deeper intimacy with the heart of his God.

Unlike Esau who is here declared to be unable to find a place in his heart for repentance, Jacob found himself repeatedly in a state of repentance all throughout his life. Yes it was a very long and torturous journey that he took to maturity and he made a lot of mistakes and produced a lot of collateral damage along the way. But even though Jacob needed a great deal of good discipline in his life that he likely failed to receive from his own parents growing up, he kept coming back to God each time he found himself in trouble or in need until he learned the lesson, like Martha's sister Mary, of staying with God. Jacob's life is a story of the transition from focusing on externals to resting on an internal dependence on the Father of his spirit.

Father, You know that my life has been a lot like Jacob's. I was raised with improper discipline that was sometimes lacking and sometimes too harsh. That has caused a lot of holes and sharp edges in my character that You have been working over the years to correct. I want to tell You that I appreciate You never abandoning me even though I have at times hated You in my heart. But You know that it was not really You that I hated but the false notions about You that I thought was You.

I am beginning to see that Your discipline is really designed primarily to disspell the lies about You that have tortured me for so much of my life as well as to re-shape my character to be more in line with You. Your desire is to re-create me in Your image so that I will be ready to fully synchronize with Your heart when Your glory and power is more fully manifested. Father, I submit myself to Your authority as my real Daddy who will never abuse me or hurt me needlessly. I am learning to trust Your heart and Your intentions for me – that You only and always work for my ultimate good and to deepen our intimacy together.

Fill me with Your Spirit today and dwell in my heart. Make me a channel of grace – a more open, expansive, accurate reflection of Your humility, Your patience, Your compassion, Your passionate love and caring. Father, reveal Yourself through me today in any way You desire and increase Your presence in this world through me today for Your name's sake.

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