In this study surrounding Hebrews 12:15-16, the understanding is made clear that the root of bitterness is at the source of the hate of everything having to do with the family of Elohim. Those who harbor bitterness, such as Esau when attempting to repent but did not receive it, will cause destruction and division within the family, along with a spirit of unrest that will run rampant until the Prince of Peace arrives to squelch it. From the great whore, Rome, back through Esau, and all the way to Adam in the garden, the bitterness of failing to receive forgiveness, stems from a lack of humility in true repentance–seeking only the restoration of the privileges of the firstborn’s birthright. To despise the gift of favor of being the firstborn of the family of Elohim, is to reject and spit upon the Creator of the universe whose only desire is to have a family who truly loves Him. The temporary pleasures of the flesh are in no competition to the hope that lies ahead for those who embrace their birthright through humility and brokenness in their plea of repentance for the blood of the Lamb to cleanse them. There is no one righteous–no not one. There is only one way back into the family of Elohim–through His Son Messiah Yahushua. Find out how the root of bitterness is the cause by which many have become defiled and will not enter the Kingdom of Light because of their refusal of truly repenting before an awesome Elohim.
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”Pursue peace with all, and pursue apartness without which no one shall see the Master. See to it that no one falls short of the favour of Elohim, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, by which many become defiled, lest there be anyone who whores, or profane one, like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wished to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears. For you have not drawn near to a mountain touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness and storm, and a sound of a trumpet, and a voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that no further Word should be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot through with an arrow.” And so fearsome was the sight that Mosheh said, “I exceedingly fear and tremble.” But you have drawn near to Mount Tsiyon and to the city of the living Elohim, to the heavenly Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), to myriads of messengers, to the entire gathering and assembly of the firstborn having been enrolled in heaven, and to Elohim the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect…”–Hebrews 12:14-23 ISR
“And the boys grew up. And Esau became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, while Ya‛aqoḇ (Jacob) was a complete man, dwelling in tents. And Yitsḥaq (Isaac) loved Esau because he ate of his wild game, but Rivkah (Rebecca) loved Ya‛aqoḇ. And Ya‛aqoḇ cooked a stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” That is why his name was called Edom. But Ya‛aqoḇ said, “Sell me your birthright today.” And Esau said, “Look, I am going to die, so why should I have birthright?” Then Ya‛aqoḇ said, “Swear to me today.” And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Ya‛aqoḇ. Ya‛aqoḇ then gave Esau bread and stew of lentils. And he ate and drank, and rose up and left. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”– Genesis 25:27-34 ISR
Esau loved the temporary pleasures of sin. Esau said, “I am going to die, so why should I have birthright?” This is the response of those who do not have hope of the resurrection. Their birthright means nothing to them, because they cannot see the hope that lies beyond the curse—“in the day you eat of it, you will die.” Esau is earth bound while Jacob is heaven bound. Those who walk in the Spirit, know the value of a birthright.
Hope for eternal life is despised by the demands of the flesh right now—in this lifetime.
As Adam and Eve in the garden, they too for a single meal, sold their birthright. And afterward, Yahuweh knowing, like Esau, that Adam would wish to inherit the blessing, which is the right to the tree of life, He did not grant him repentance. However, instead of granting repentance, like Esau, Adam was rejected (sent out of the garden) where he would continue to seek repentance, but never find it. If Esau had been granted repentance and received back the blessing of the inheritance, it would have set a precedence that humility and brokenness for despising the gift of Elohim, is not necessary to gain it back. In other words, true repentance would not be necessary to gain eternal life. This is exactly the reason Adam was sent away because had he eaten from the tree of life, He would have gained the inheritance and blessings of eating from the tree of life without true repentance for breaking the commandment of Elohim. In others words, salvation would be by works alone, and this would corrupt the entire plan of salvation already in place through Messiah Yahushua. Salvation is by favor alone, and favor is granted by true repentance alone.
Before Adam was sent away, he desperately sought repentance in trying to gain back the blessing of the firstborn by covering himself with his own righteousness. Repentance cannot come until the Spirit of Yahuweh comes to grant it as a gift. Mankind, like Esau, can seek repentance with great tears, but still be rejected. How is that? Because like Esau, the flesh of mankind only desires to seek repentance in order to gain back what it voluntarily gave away—its birthright. The flesh wants no consequences for its actions. Repentance is not granted because you want back into the family to get back the position of inheritance lost through whoring and profaning it—no—repentance is granted because of the sorrow of breaking the commandments of Elohim in whoring for something more than what He graciously provided. To whore after more than what He has given, the stew instead of the birthright, in the case of Esau, is to profane it, spit upon it, and treat it as something of nothingness.
Jacob knew that Esau despised his birthright in his heart. He knew it didn’t mean anything to him if he was willing to give it up for the temporary relief of a stomach satisfied. To despise the firstborn status, is to rub the Creator’s face in the very dirt from which mankind was formed. It was no wonder that Elohim hated Esau but loved Jacob. Love and hate are simply one’s preference. Elohim loved Jacob because He preferred Jacob’s nature. Why? Because Jacob’s nature was like His own. To whore after the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to despise the right to the tree of life. In this, man has profaned the gift of life—loving death more. In the world we are in, it is nothing for people to sell what is precious in exchange for temporary pleasures. Everyday, Elohim’s commandments are despised, rejected for the brief pleasures the world’s system has to offer.
This is classic Roman nature—this is classic Esau nature, for Rome is Esau and Esau is Rome. Essentially, what Yahuweh said was that He hated what Esau would become—the enemy of the plan of salvation. Yahuweh sees the end from the beginning. It was Rome that continued the despisement of anything “Jewish”, thus the despisement of all that Jacob is—all that Israel is. To exercise lawlessness, is to exercise the despisement of one’s birthright. Mankind was created in the image and likeness of Elohim. You and I were the firstborn of the family of Elohim—yet we gave up that privilege for the sake of bowing down to the desires of our flesh. Messiah Yahushua, the Son of Elohim, never gave up His status of being firstborn, therefore making it possible, by His death and resurrection, for our adoption back into the family of His dear Father. King David sought repentance and received it. Not because He desired a restoration of the position and relationship he once held with Elohim (getting back in His good graces and blessings), but because he was truly sorrowful in sinning against Him. Getting back in good graces with someone should never be the aim of repentance, but brokenness for causing that person hurt.
Psalm 51:4, 13 says, “Against You, You alone, have I sinned, And done evil in Your eyes; That You might be proven right in Your words; Be clear when You judge. Let me teach transgressors Your ways, so that sinners turn back to You.”
You see, Esau sought repentance to get—David sought repentance to give!
David sought repentance so that Yahuweh would be proven right in His Words, while Esau sought repentance so that Esau would be proven right in his words (meaning that what he swore to Jacob meant absolutely nothing, because one day he thought he could walk right in and receive back the inheritance that was rightfully his—like somehow he would be justified in what he did in selling his birthright.) Esau took no stock in the legality of his agreement with Jacob in selling his birthright. Yahuweh, takes great stock in the legality of His agreement, in the words He once spoke to Adam—“in the day you eat of it, you will die.” Sin produces death, and David knew this. David sought repentance to prove Elohim was righteous and justified in His dealings with him in the acceptance of the loss of his child because of his own sin.
It was humility that drove David’s plea in seeking repentance, yet it was pride that drove Esau’s plea in seeking repentance. This is evident in the description of Esau in Genesis 25:27. Esau was a hunter, a man of the field. Nimrod was also a great hunter. It says that Esau was a cunning hunter. The word cunning means to know. Interesting how this relates back to the tree of ‘knowledge’ and those who worship it as did the Gnostics.
According to Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac, he was to live by the sword. Esau was never to remain peaceful, but live as man of war and unrest. A man of the field, roaming from one place to the next. Interesting that the nature of disembodied spirits (demons), are un-restful, yet they seek “peace” through inhabiting a host or body. Spirits, whether of fallen angels, or human spirits, were originally created to dwell in peace with their Creator.
Jacob, on the other hand, was a complete man—one who dwelt in tents. The word complete means blameless, and peaceful. For a blameless man in the eyes of his Creator, is at peace. This is why Messiah came—to restore our spirits to a place of peace, completeness, and blamelessness through His blood. In this understanding, it makes it easy to see why Elohim said that He hated Esau but loved Jacob. It is the nature of a person—what they do externally based upon the heart’s desire–that causes Elohim to hate or to love. Elohim hates war, unrest and death—the taking of life. Elohim loves completeness, peace, joy and rest. Elohim loves what is born of Him. (1 John 3:9) Elohim cannot love what is not born of Him. Elohim was able to love us, even in our sins, because He knew our outcome from before the foundation of the world. Our names were written in the Book of Life. Thus, before the foundation of the world, we were born of Him. Those not born of Him, were never His to begin with. Esau was a threat to Yahuweh’s plan of salvation, and still is through his offspring—Rome.
Under the rulership of Messiah the King, rest and peace will be the nature of both man and beast. The animal kingdom will have no more animosity with mankind. The cobra will have no problems with a little child playing outside of its hole. It will have no desire to kill because the DNA of creation will have changed. Why? Because man no longer has to draw near his Creator in great and exceeding fear and trembling (Hebrews 12:18-21), but in confidence and peace through the blood of Messiah Yahushua. We will again gather as an entire assembly of the firstborn, a group (remnant) who have not despised our birthright, but have truly desired a relationship with our Father and not just the blessings alone of being His firstborn.
Father Elohim, Yahuweh, desires fellowship and a relationship. He desires to sit and rest with His beloved. Who wants to have children who only desire to be in a relationship with their parents based upon what the parents do for them? Yahuweh’s only desire is to dwell with His people and His people choose to dwell with Him solely out of purity in love for Who He is and not for what He can do for them. Is that your desire? How would a father feel if he knew his firstborn son only loved him to get his inheritance? How much worse would that father feel if his son only sought his forgiveness to get back the inheritance he once despised? I do not believe that Isaac was completely in the “dark”, so to speak, about Esau’s wiles.
Oh the pain that Yahuweh went through (and is going through) to finally get to this moment in history in finding, saving, and honing a people that He can dwell with. Adam gave up His rights as firstborn in desiring the Tree of Knowledge more than Elohim. The children of Israel gave up their right as firstborn when they desired the golden calf more than Elohim. Then, rather than all of the 12 tribes serving as firstborn unto Elohim, Yahuweh had to pick only one tribe to serve Him (the Levites). And even then, as the time drew near for the destruction of the Temple, the Levites also gave up their rights as firstborn unto Elohim when they desired fame and popularity of the people while they worshiped other gods instead of Him. Eventually, it was Yahuweh’s only Son, whom He knew would never give up His right as firstborn, that Elohim could finally have a chance at receiving the family He has always wanted. “My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Finally, thought Yahuweh, a Son who didn’t sell His birthright! Through Messiah, Yahuweh has hope now of a people who will desire Him more than anything their eyes and ears (their flesh) would desire. Truly, Elohim would be their inheritance and they would not despise Him.
This morning, as I finished reading Hebrews 12:14-15, which are mentioned in the very moving and powerful article, “Tying Up Our Loose Ends in Preparation for Our Resurrection – A very personal testimony – February 22, 2017,” by Yedidah, I was launched into this understanding. For if the bitterness is allowed to take root, by which many will become defiled, it is as one who whores and profanes the birthright, given by Elohim, for the temporary pleasures this life offers.
The words ‘many will become defiled’ can be seen now as plain as day, in that through Esau’s despisement of his birthright, Rome’s despisement, in the 4th century, of those who followed the teachings of the True First Born (Messiah Yahushua), has caused many to become defiled. Rome’s root of bitterness has caused the defilement of many! Think of the bitterness of the original Watchers when they were not granted their request to be restored to their inheritance. See Enoch 1. They have returned in full force now, to destroy anyone who has received the forgiveness of Elohim through His Son. Esau, through Rome, has returned in full force to go after brother Jacob, because Jacob received the blessing He wants. And the root of it all is bitterness.
Esau/Rome has desired to take the blessing of Jacob in forcing the nations to bow down to him and the peoples to serve him. If Esau cannot have the blessing of the firstborn which was given to Jacob from Isaac (Genesis 27:28-29), he will attempt to force it to happen. This is Rome and the spirit of the whore who joins with Babylon who has sold herself out for temporary, fleshly desires. I believe that what lies beneath the great whoredom and profanement of the woman who rides the beast (a product of Rome, through Esau/Edom and Babylon), is the root of bitterness, with a hate to kill Jacob. This is also the spirit of the anti-messiah in Revelation 12. The one who pursues Jacob/Israel into the wilderness. Interesting that in Genesis 27:41, Esau says that when his father Isaac passes, he will kill Jacob. Isaac is a type and shadow of a restrainer–protector of Jacob/Israel. Could it be that President Trump is a type and shadow of Isaac, who when removed by the ‘offering up of the sacrificial lamb’ by the elites, that those who desire the death of Jacob, will be in hot pursuit? A fascinating scenario indeed.
As it says in Hebrews 12:14, no one will see the Master if there is no set apartness to Him. And if there is no pursuing of peace, there can be no set-apartness. It was Jacob who pursued peace, dwelling in tents. It was Esau who was filled with all bitterness and unrest. Bitterness causes madness. Bitterness causes one to give up what is most precious—what is most lasting–for the deceitfulness of a temporary fulfillment.
It is no wonder then that the precious act of forgiveness is given up (sold) for the temporary pleasures of unforgiveness. It all boils down to this. Father cannot forgive those who do not forgive. Thus, Esau is not forgiven because Esau did not truly seek repentance, but only the restoration of his birthright through selfishness. And when he did not receive it, he grew bitter against anything that had to do with Jacob—the one who ‘supplanted his right as firstborn’. Same with the Watchers. Same with Rome. If then, no forgiveness is granted because there is no true repentance, man will come up with his own system to achieve the blessings he once lost, even if he has to grant another man the authority to forgive sins—i.e. the Pope. Religion is born out of the refusal of truly repenting for one’s sins. It is a system of attempts to gain the privileges of the birthright without a humble action of true repentance for once despising it.
Bitterness doesn’t care what it destroys. Bitterness, without the gift of repentance given by the Spirit of Yahuweh, will always seek relief but never find it. If it is the favor of Elohim that saves us, then what causes us to fall short of that favor? As it says in verse 15 of Hebrews 12, a root of bitterness that is allowed to spring up, will cause one to fall short of the favor of Elohim. For if the root is allowed to remain, it will cause trouble, by which many are defiled. And that is one thing that Yahuweh will not allow to occur in His family—defilement. For in defilement, there is division. Bitterness divides the family of Elohim. It drives a person to care more about nurturing their root of bitterness than about others. Bitterness drives a person inward, causing a separation from those who truly love them—including Yahuweh.
Notice that Romans 8:38,39 says that nothing is able to separate us from the love of Elohim—except that the list fails to mention one thing…self. We alone have the power to separate ourselves from His love. And if we continue in bitterness, it will eventually defile everyone around us to the point of utterly destroying what Yahuweh called good. This is why He had to reject Adam and send him out of the garden. Yahuweh must protect His family. In the natural, even a mother will go at great lengths to protect her children, and there is no justification for her actions to do so. Who then, can question Elohim in His actions to protect those He loves?
So, on this Shabbat, I join in with Yedidah’s plea to rid ourselves of all bitterness and unforgiveness. Truly, it is the crack in the dam that will only grow with the pressures of this life pushing against it. There is a small window of time left to get ourselves in a position to be used by Elohim, as His firstborn, to take as many as possible for His Kingdom’s sake. For every one person that is snatched into the kingdom of darkness, we must be more diligent than our enemy to snatch two for Yahuweh’s Kingdom of Light. It is time to seek repentance, through humility, because we have hurt Him. We hurt Him by our own disobedience and despisement of what He has given to us. He gives us His love to show to others. For in showing others His love, they see how much the Creator loves them.
Peoples hate of the Father of all creation comes from the example of hate we show them. How will people ever experience the love of the Father if they have no example in the earth to see? Messiah IS our example of how to love others. We are the directional markers that either point the world TO the Savior, or AWAY from Him. And it all begins with what we harbor inside. Doing what is best for yourself at the moment may seem ok, until the moment comes when you realize that what you did at a moment in time, has eternal ramifications. Sell your birthright to no one. Remain steadfast in the faith once delivered and do not be deceived by what seems to be the right thing to do at the moment. Cry out for discernment from the Spirit of all spirits. And finally—let no root of bitterness remain within you—for this will only bring destruction to others and great judgment upon yourself.
In the case of Lucifer—as sugar causes cancer to grow, so pride causes bitterness to grow. In bitterness, there is no peace. Yahuweh instructed Enoch to give the Watchers His response to their cry for restoration…Yahuweh said they would have no rest. Why? Because they only wanted back their inheritance of blessing—their status as firstborn messengers of Elohim–not because they were truly humble and sorrowful for what they did.
Now is the day—now is the time for truthful evaluation…Though we may seek repentance, we must ask ourselves—what is the motive behind it. Is it to regain the positions we once held without any recourse or responsibility to what we have done to someone, or is it because we have a responsibility to others to seek their forgiveness simply because we have caused them much hurt?
If so, in this humility of heart, one will eventually be restored, by the favor of Elohim. Our job is never to seek to be restored to a position within the family for the sake of gaining a blessing, but to humble ourselves in repentance for those we have hurt. Only then, will Yahuweh exalt us and restore us–not because of some pretense to gain His good favor in getting back into a position to be blessed by Him, but because of heartfelt repentance through brokenness and humility.
With love and respect for His family—my brothers and sisters,
Derek
“In the same way, you younger ones, be subject to elders. And gird yourselves with humility toward one another, for “Elohim resists the proud, but gives favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, then, under the mighty hand of Elohim, so that He exalts you in due time, casting all your worry upon Him, for He is concerned about you.”—1 Peter 5:5-7
“And all these My hand have made, and all these that exist,” declares Yahuweh. “Yet to such a one I look: on him who is poor and bruised of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.”—Isaiah 66:2