With Eve it was simple, she wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit, for Adam, maybe it was just trying to please Eve.
Cain let jealousy rule his actions and the exchange was the life of his brother. Esau took a bowl of beans in exchange for his…
Hebrews 12:14-17 “Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise, you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.”
Samson is more known for exchanging his eyesight and eventually his life for giving the woman Delilah the secret of his power than for being a good judge over Israel for twenty years.
King Saul had been chosen and anointed by God, he had walked with the prophets and himself prophesied, yet he gave up his life for jealousy of the Psalmist, the future King, David.
We are given many examples of this type of exchange in the Word. Why do you think those examples are there? It is to teach us, by reading examples from people who should have known better, what NOT to do, and yet it seems, to me, that we continue to rush headlong into situations that could ruin our life.
Why? Maybe we think we could be the exception, not get hurt, and not get caught. Like teens, which seem to have no sense of their own mortality, we go at high speeds toward danger and when the tragic end comes, we wonder why “God let this happen to me!”
When I was four, I remember one day when my mother was ironing I stood and watched the iron going back and forth across the material, steam was raising and it intrigued me. I kept putting my hand under it, as mother would bring it down, she warned me not to do it or I would get burned, did that stop me? No, what DID stop me was putting my hand under it as it came down and she grazed my knuckles with that hot iron, it burned me, only then did I, with my little fingers wrapped in ice, get away from the heat of that iron.
Why did I have to be burned rather than listening to the authority? We push ourselves to the very edge of danger and then are surprised when we fall over the side. We slip-slide along and think that everything will continue as it always has, until one day it is too late to bring it back! 2Peter 3:4 First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they’ll mock, “So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.”
I don’t want to be caught not looking, giving my soul to the devil in exchange for a momentary sweet that turns bitter in my stomach. I want to be found doing His work, giving my best effort. Is it easy?
Matthew 7:13-14“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God! —Is vigorous and requires total attention.
Harolene.com 