Beware! Part 2

Today's sermon is going to be part two in a series of sermons that I started on the last day of Unleavened Bread. And you might be thinking, well, I didn't realize he started a sermon series on the last day of Unleavened Bread. That's because I didn't realize it at the time either. But this is part two, and the series itself is going to be titled Beware, with an exclamation point, Beware.

And it's going to be a series of sermons running between now and the Feast of Pentecost. Maybe even some afterwards, we'll just kind of see. But beware! And it's going to focus on the things that either Jesus Christ or the apostles cautioned us to be aware of. Things that he warned us about throughout his ministry and their ministry. Things that could cause us to stumble spiritually. Things that could cause us to fall short of the grace of God. As we're counting towards Pentecost, we're very much looking at the concepts of first fruit harvest, and the maturing of the saints, and the maturing of the first fruits. And these are things that could actually derail us along the way.

So the first sermon on the last day of Unleavened Bread, as it was posted to the website anyway, was titled Beware, Part 1, Beware the Eleven of the Pharisees. And so today is going to be Beware, Part 2, and the subtitle will be Beware a Root of Bitterness. Beware a Root of Bitterness. I'd like to begin back in Deuteronomy chapter 29. And again, I appreciated the first message today, and this will tie together well with a number of points that were raised during that message.

But Deuteronomy chapter 29 is a reconformation of the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai. Here they're up in the area of Moab now, and it's roughly 40 years later. So this is a reconformation, not with the older generation that perished in the wilderness, but with their children who are now preparing to enter into the promised land. And it's during this reconformation that we find an important admonition regarding a root of bitterness.

Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 14, and this is essentially Moses speaking on behalf of God and conferring this covenant. Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 14 says, I make this covenant in this oath not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today. He's speaking of those who would come later, their children, their grandchildren, as successive generations, because this covenant was to be a perpetual covenant throughout their generations.

Verse 16 says, For you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and that we came through the nations which you passed by. And you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them, wood and stone, silver and gold, so that there may not be among you, God's people, a man or a woman or a family or a tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you, notice, a root-bearing bitterness or wormwood.

Wormwood is essentially, we have it growing out in our horse pasture. We've been trying to kill it for 20 years now, and it's a very bitter plant, and it smells bitter, it tastes bitter, has this thick, stocky root that's hard to get rid of that just burrows into the ground, and you break it all up, you think you've killed it, now it comes back in a number of pieces, and it's bitter.

And when the Bible references wormwood, it's bitterness, it's a poison really unto death. So he's saying that there may not be among you a root-bearing bitterness or wormwood. Verse 19, so that it not happen when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart, as though a drunkard could be included with the sober.

So the point being made here is that a root of bitterness among Israel could actually defile them. And you know what, you could start out in an individual alone, or a family, or a tribe, whatever it was, it had the potential to spring out even beyond that, but the point is, no matter how small it is, it could cause them to stumble in their covenant with God, to go after other gods, and they could do so while thinking, I'm okay.

You know, you're okay, I'm okay, and yet this root of bitterness lies underneath. And Moses says, don't even let that get started in your midst. Because what we'll see then is that the consequences of allowing bitterness to spring up and take hold, the consequence ultimately is unto destruction.

Verse 20, it says, So what we find here is God takes it very seriously when His people, either whatever the cause is, but in this case He's talking bitterness, but out of it, break from that covenant. Go after other gods, turn aside from what it is that God's given to them because of this root-bearing bitterness, and the warning is beware. Beware. You know, it could start out as a person, as a family, or a tribe, but He says, don't even let it get started among my people. Now, we essentially find the same warning regarding a root of bitterness in the New Testament as well. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 12. This is probably a little more familiar to us.

Hebrews chapter 12, and here beginning in verse 12, it says, Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather healed. You know, it's talking about doing things here actually that put us on the right path, that strengthen us, strengthen those around us, not putting a stumbling block in anyone's way. Verse 14, pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. The author of Hebrews here, which is likely the apostle Paul, that's my assumption anyway, he's saying look carefully, examine yourself for this root of bitterness, said beware of it, watch out for it so it doesn't become a part of who and what you are, so that it doesn't spring up in your midst to cause trouble, and it doesn't affect many defiling them along the way, because there is, as we saw in the Old Testament as well, there can be an effect. It springs just from a person, or just from a family, or just from a tribe, but if it's not rooted out, so to speak, the effect could spread to all and defile many. A question we should probably answer before we go much further is, what is bitterness anyway? What is bitterness anyway, and where does it come from?

Where does this root come from, and what is, I guess we could say, the root cause of bitterness?

Well, most simply defined, bitterness is essentially unresolved anger, unresolved anger, and because it's unresolved, it's anger that builds and builds into the one who is holding on to the anger, now becomes resentful and becomes a bitter person, because they haven't dealt with it.

They haven't walked through the process of resolving it as they should. They've held it inside, and it's built and it's built as unresolved anger, eventually becoming bitterness. Bitterness most often starts out as an offense, whether it's real or an imaginary offense, but an offense that creates a hurt, and sometimes it's, you know, this person did this to me. This person said something to me, and it created a hurt and an anger that's now built into bitterness, but it could also be an imaginary offense, like that guy cut me off in traffic, but that person has no clue, and yet we're harboring this emotion now, and it's brewing inside. So it's bitterness that comes out of an offense, either real or imagined, and it's not been properly addressed or dealt with. A quote here for you from Gregory Popchak. Gregory Popchak is a psychotherapist, and he says, quote, bitterness is unforgiveness fermented. I thought that was kind of an interesting concept to think about. It's bitterness is unforgiveness fermented, as in, you know, you've held it inside and you've allowed it to stew and to brew in your life. It's kind of bubbling under the surface, fermenting, and you dwell on it. You think about it, you know, that offense. You play that videotape in your head over and over and over, and you go back and have the argument again, and you go back and you have it again, and it builds, and I can speak from personal experience that I've done that myself, you know. Somebody said something, and then maybe down the line you're thinking, well, this would have been the comeback, right? And you roll through that whole process, but you could do it again and again until, you know, it's done, it's gone, but you're getting angrier and angrier and more resentful and bitter because it's fermenting. It's boiling under the surface. I want to read you a quote from an article that appeared in a January 14, 2015 article from Psychology Today. This was posted online on the Psychology Today website in January 2015, and it's by Leon Seltzer, PhD, and it's titled, Don't Let Your Anger Mature Into Bitterness. Anger is where it starts if it's unresolved, it matures into bitterness, and I think he does a good job at describing how this process can come about. He says, quote, All bitterness starts out as a hurt, and your emotional pain may well relate to viewing whoever or whatever provoked this hurt as having malicious intent, as committing a grave injustice towards you, as gratuitously wronging you and causing you grief. It says, Anger and resentment is what we are all likely to experience whenever we conclude that another has seriously abused us. Left to fester, that righteous anger eventually becomes the corrosive ulcer that is bitterness. He says, Fellow Psychology Today blogger, Steven Diamond, PhD, defines bitterness as a chronic and pervasive state of smoldering resentment.

In my mind, when I think of smoldering, I just, maybe from when I was a kid, I get this visual image of we used to pile all the leaves in the yard, you know, and burn a pile of leaves, and sometimes if they were just wet or something, you just have this pile, and it's just, it's not like a raging flame, but there's just smoke that's just kind of smoldering out from it, and there's this heat that's, it's more under the surface, but it's continuing to build. So he defines it as a chronic and pervasive state of smoldering resentment, and he regards it as one of the most destructive and toxic of human emotions. He says, If we repeatedly ruminate over how we've been victimized, then nursing our wrongs may eventually come to define some essential part of who we are. It may take hold of our very personality. We'll end up becoming victims, not so much of anyone else, but of ourselves. You see, that's, that's who's doing the damage to us, you know, down the line. Circumstances pass, but we're actually damaging and hurting ourselves through, through that resentment and that just playing over and over the issue. He says, Frankly, it's all too easy to hamper ourselves by falling into the trap of righteously obsessing about our injuries or outrage. Doing so does afford us the gratification of feeling that we're better than or morally superior to the source of our wrongs, yet the benefits of retreating into acrimonious victimhood, defaulting to bitterness, invariably carries a high price tag. The article just simply goes on to show what are the physical effects of bitterness and the psychological effects as well.

And there's studies that have been done that show that, you know, people that are resentful and just really hold on to bitterness. It's, it increases blood pressure, heart disease rates, it increases all these things physically, but it does a mental effect as well. And so it's dangerous, and it's damaging to the person that would hold on to it. And the warning is beware. You know, look for it in yourselves for the purpose of putting this away. Binnerness is a poisonous root, and it can easily spring up in our lives if we're not careful. If we're harboring an unresolved grudge towards someone or something that we've just, we've hung on to, and we just simply won't let it go, or if we're unwilling to extend forgiveness to others over the offense that's taken place, again, bitterness can end up being that direct result if we just can't forgive. And while I was working on this, the term that Mr. Irons has used over the years just kept popping into my mind where he just said, just let it go. You know, just let it go. One time I had an employee that put a rock through a sliding glass door at an apartment complex, and I was just like, you know, I was, oh, you know, what's this gonna cost? You know, he was talking about complaining about an employee, and I remember a number of years ago, and I kind of had this little complaint. He was just like, it's only money, just let it go. And sometimes that's what you got to do. It's just like, all right, just let it go, and release whatever it is you're hanging on to. But Paul says, look carefully. Beware.

Because the root of bitterness springing up in our lives has the potential to cause serious spiritual trouble, and it has the potential as well to defile many. Because it's rarely contained to simply the person where it originated. Again, Hebrews 12 and verse 15 says, looking carefully, you know, examining yourselves, looking inside, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.

You see, bitterness loves company. It loves repeating a matter. It loves telling the offense to someone else and drawing them in so now they're included in the offense because I feel better. They're offended we're on the same page with this, but that's how it can defile many. Because, as was mentioned in the first message, you might have an internal thought about something, but if you're spreading it and you're sharing it, then it starts to pull in more and more. And that's why God said to Israel, if it starts as a person or a family or a tribe, whatever it is, it's just got to stop. It's got to be rooted out. Think about Satan the devil in this regard. Think about Satan's ploy, what it was, and I would say to a degree, obviously what it still is. Satan's a master of infecting others with bitterness. In Heaven, he was able to convince one-third of the angels of an offense that they'd never even experienced for themselves. So just think about this for a minute. He had the angelic creation, hundreds of millions, times millions and millions of angels, and a third of them rebelled against God and fell away over an offense. Well, what did God do? God is a perfect God, and there was nothing that God would have done in that sense to create an offense, but Satan, the Bible doesn't exactly say what that offense was, but I would sum it up into the concept of, God's not fair. You know, God's not fair, and somehow he was able to sell that bill of goods to others. You know, maybe it's God's going to make this physical creation, and one day they're going to be over us. They're going to reign over us, and God's not fair, and I can show you a better way, and a third of the angelic creation thought it'd be better to dispose God and install Satan in the process, and they became offended, and many were defiled. Now, the book of Hebrews, as it goes on, Paul gives us an example of someone who became infected by bitterness, and I think it's a rather instructive study for us today, and we'll see how this can take place in the human realm. Verse 16 says, "'lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.'" So the story of Esau is the story of bitterness, and it's the story of how many people can become defiled by one man's bitterness. It's actually a generational bitterness, as we'll see, that has traveled from Esau all the way down the line to today, and even to the end of the age.

But what we're going to see is that there was bitterness of Esau towards Jacob over a birthright, over a blessing that he felt was stolen from him, and it's continued all the way down the line. Let's look at the source of the offense to start with. Genesis chapter 25.

We'll look at the source of what ultimately opened up this unresolved anger in the life of Esau.

Because, again, that's what bitterness is. It's anger that's been unresolved, is allowed to ferment and become bitterness, and we'll see how this has played out actually through the generations. Genesis chapter 25 and verse 20 says, "'Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian of Pandan Aram, the sister of Laban, the Syrian.' Verse 21, "'Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled within her, and she said, if all is well, why am I like this?' So she went to inquire of the Lord." And I think it's an interesting story to look at and consider. There was contention between these two from the womb, and she says, well, you know, if everything's well, why am I like this?

Verse 23, "'And the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. Two people shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.'" Now, when you understand what went on in the ancient world in terms of birthright inheritance and what was passed from the father to the son, this was actually a reversal of roles, because Esau was the firstborn, and to have the older serve the younger was something that just didn't happen. You know, you traditionally submitted to the firstborn as the family leader that carried forward once the patriarch in the family died, and yet God could clearly see from the womb that wouldn't be the case with these two. There was something different he was going to work out with Esau and Jacob. Verse 24 says, "'For when her days were fulfilled now to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, and he was like a hairy garment all over, and they called his name Esau.'" Which means hairy. I mean, this must have been one hairy baby.

Every mother loves their child, right? Esau. Harry. Verse 26, "'Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel. So his name was called Jacob, or supplanter, or one who takes the heel. And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. So the boys grew, and Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.'" We start to get a glimpse here as to how trouble could have been brewing in the family from the start. Anytime you have favoritism, favoritism of the parents towards the children, you know, Isaac loved one more, Rebekah loved the other more, you end up with competition, you end up with bitterness between the children now vying for the attention of the parents. And it's a dysfunction that seems to be the case here in this family.

Verse 29, "'Now Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary. Therefore his name was called Edom.'" I want you to take note of the name Edom. It means red, but we'll come back to it down the line. Remember Edom. Verse 31, "'But Jacob said, Sell me your birthright as of this day. And Esau said, Look, I'm about to die, so what is this birthright to me? Jacob said, Swear to me as of this day. So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils, then he ate and drank rose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." Esau despised his birthright. We're not talking about just any birthright here.

Again, Esau was the firstborn, okay? And as the firstborn, he would have received a double portion of the inheritance of the family wealth as it would have come down to him. He would have received the authority in the family as the head of the tribe, as the one that everyone looked to, and the one who made the decisions for the family in that way. But not only that, because contained in the birthright promise was the blessing that would come down as well to Esau from Isaac.

And it's the same blessing that Isaac received from Abraham. It's the one that Abraham received from God. What was that birthright and that blessing from God? Well, it was, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I'll make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Ultimately, too, according to the prophecy, right, the Messiah would come through this family line. And so this was the birthright blessing that Esau despised, and that Jacob went after, and he grabbed hold of. Because of his bitterness, Esau was willing to sell his firstborn inheritance for a meal. And I think it's an incredible, incredible story to consider. As we go on, Genesis chapter 27, we come forward now a number of years, Genesis 27 verse 1 says it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see that he called Esau his older son, and he said to him, my son. And he answered him, saying, Here I am. And he said, Behold, now I am old, I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver, your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die. He says, you know, go prepare this meal, and once I've eaten, now I'm going to convey this firstborn blessing that goes hand in hand with the birthright.

Verse 5, Now Rebecca was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau, his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebecca spoke to Jacob, her son, saying, Indeed, I heard your father speak to Esau, your brother, saying, Bring me game and make me savory food, that I may eat of it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you, go now to the flock and bring me from their two choice kids of goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father such as he loves. Boy, talk about a dysfunctional family. Maybe we don't think that about the patriarchs. I'm just saying there were points of dysfunction that we can look at and we can learn from. If you talk about a dysfunctional family structure, you have one parent that's favoring one child, the other parent that's favoring the other. There's competition between the children. There's a brother that's willing to to take advantage of his other brother to take the birthright. There's the wife who's willing to deceive the husband to get the blessing to her favorite child. Okay, so I think we would could rightly acknowledge there's a serious level of dysfunction here.

Partly, that's where bitterness comes from, living through those things, being a part of those things. But as the story unfolds, Jacob brings in the two goats to his mother to prepare. They put the skins on his body because Isaac's blind and, you know, he just kind of feels him and feels these skins on him. This must be my hairy son. And he goes to give him the blessing. So, Esau is tricked into giving Jacob, excuse me, Isaac is tricked into giving Jacob Esau's firstborn blessing. Again, that blessing that went hand in glove with the birthright. Verse 30, in chapter 27, verse 30, says, Now what happened as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac, his father, that Esau's brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me. And his father Isaac said to him, Who are you? He said, I'm your son, your firstborn. It's Esau. And Isaac trembled exceedingly and said, Who? Where's the one who humped it game and brought it to me? I ate of all of it before you came, and I have blessed him, and indeed he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry. And he said to his father, Bless me. Bless me also, O my father. Esau had lost out on the birthright. He didn't value it. He despised it. He let it slip through his fingers, and now he's too late to receive the blessing. And he's angry, and he's bitter, and it's too late for even anything substantial in terms of the blessing from Isaac. You know, if you go on and read, we won't go through it, but basically what Isaac gave Esau wasn't necessarily a blessing. It was basically a prophecy that you're going to be oppressed by your brother, but you'll eventually, you'll break free at some point. But it wasn't the blessing of God through Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob.

Verse 35, Esau said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me now these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? Verse 36 again shows us that if you were to read on, there's not much that was left there from him by comparison. But you know, God knew from the womb that who it was that was to receive the birthright, and who it was to receive the blessing. And in this case, it wasn't the firstborn. And it appeared that God could see something in these two boys from the beginning that told him, You know what? Jacob will fight for the birthright. He'll value it. He'll hold on to it. And my blessing can go through him. Esau will sell it out. He'll give it away. It won't be of value to him, and he'll despise it quite easily. And there was something in these boys that God could actually see in that sense from the womb. So the birthright went to the right one, the one God intended, but the means of deceit by which then Jacob went and got it.

Jacob still had some things to learn as well. And he had some process of refinement and trial that he would walk through as well to try to wipe clean that deceitful attitude by which he did this. But again, it is what God ultimately allowed to take place for his purpose. But the deceit by which Jacob acquired it created the continuing offense that allowed the bitterness that was already in place to just simply be ripped wide open. You know, he took advantage of me. He took my birthright. He said, okay, I'm going to get the blessing. Well, now he gets the blessing. There's nothing left for me. And I'll be under his thumb effectively in terms of the head of the family and all the blessing that he'll have. And it just ripped this bitterness and hatred and resentment wide open. Verse 41 says, so Esau hated Jacob. That's a strong word for your brother.

Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing, which his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, the days of warning for my father are at hand, then I will kill my brother Jacob.

You know, he said, as soon as dad's dead, as soon as he's passed and he's gone, I'm going to do my thing. And Jacob's a dead man. I'm going to kill him myself. As soon as dad's puts a rest, we are going to have it out. And Jacob is a dead man. Again, the anger, the bitterness, the unresolved anger that was allowed to ferment, it developed out of an offense. And then another offense on top of it until it became just uncontrolled resentment and bitterness and anger.

So that's what we find here in the story of Esau. And looking through the Bible, we can find a perpetual line of generational bitterness, just as it went down generation to generation to generation. You know, parent to child. Child now grows up, parent to child. And this resentment, this hostility and bitterness towards Jacob by the line of Esau carried on.

There was a brief time, and we won't go there, but Jacob goes, he flees to Laban, spends 14 years plus there, picks up his two wives. He's traveling back to the Promised Land. He and Esau meet basically in passing. And then they go on. But what we find is there wasn't actually really a reconciliation of the resentment. The resentment continued. Ultimately, Jacob became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Esau became the father of a sizable family as well. And if you go to Genesis, excuse me, Exodus 36, you're going to see that Esau was the father of the people known as the Edomites. Remember when he took that red stew, and he says his name is called Edom, red. He became the father of the people known as the Edomites. All right. And additionally, one of his grandsons was Amalek, who was a tribal leader who became the father of the Amalekites. So Edomites, Amalekites, they actually had significant impact and interaction with Israel and Judah down through history. You can constantly find these descendants of Esau pushing back and bitter competition against the descendants of Jacob time after time after time through the Scriptures. And its bitterness and its resentment over a birthright that in their view was stolen and not rightfully Jacob's. If we look into the history here, we'll just take a quick overview of some of Israel's history, but we get some insight into how the generational bitterness played out. And it's interesting because we read through these accounts, but we don't always put the puzzle together of who these people are. You know, they're descendants of brothers, they're cousins, they're family. And it's a family feud that's played out through all the way down through history. Numbers chapter 20. Let's look first at Edom. Numbers chapter 20. You'll recall after Israel came out of Egypt, Moses is leading the children of Israel now towards the Promised Land, and they needed to cross the land of Edom because that was the most direct path in the direction that they were heading and the safest path it would seem at first. So they, but they need permission. Numbers chapter 20 and verse 14 come up to that border.

It says, now Moses sent messengers to Kadesh to the king of Edom. Thus says your brother Israel, you know all the hardship that has befallen us. We're hundreds of years down the road now.

You know, there was, I think Israel was in slavery for, you know, at least a couple of hundred years, a little greater than a couple hundred years, but it was over 400 years from the promise of Abraham down to their delivery from Egypt. So we're down the road from Esau and Jacob's interaction, at least a few hundred years here of no contact. And Moses is simply saying to the king of Edom, thus says your brother Israel. You know, we're brethren and I'm approaching you here as a brother. Verse 15, he says, how our fathers went down to Egypt and we dwelled in Egypt the long time. The Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. He says, and we cried out to the Lord and he heard our voice and he sent the angel. In the English, it actually, angel, because we're talking about the word who became Christ here, it's malek, it's messenger, a little better translation.

But we cried out to the Lord and he heard our voice and he sent the malek. And he brought us out of Egypt. Now we are here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. Verse 17, please, let us pass through your country. He says, we will not go through the fields or the vineyards, nor will we drink water from the wells. He says, we will go along the king's highway and we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory. You know, just the beeline straight through, we're not going to mess anything up along our way.

Verse 18, then Edom said to him, you shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.

Detect a little bitterness here, a little anger, a little resentment. You're not going to step one foot on my land or I'm going to kill you. Well, where did this come from? What, you know, we're brothers, right? These are cousins, essentially, by now descent. They came from Isaac and Jacob, but it's like you step one foot on our land and you're dead. Family feud, maybe? Bitterness still being held on to. Verse 19, so the children of Israel said to him, we will go by the highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot nothing more. And he said, you shall not pass through. So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. You just even try it and we're ready to slaughter you. That was, they're welcome. Verse 21, thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him. It's a sad commentary, really, of ongoing generational bitterness. Again, pass down parent to child, parent to child, over a birthright and a blessing.

Essentially, they took what was ours, and that was the offense, and that was the anger, that was, that was what they could never seem to resolve and get past, and resentment continued, again, for hundreds of years. So that was the Edomites. The Malachites, again, are probably a name that's familiar to you. You see it take place from virtually as soon as Israel came out of Egypt. You see them identified, and actually wars that took place once Israel was in the Promised Land. The Malachites, again, were from Amalek, the grandson of Esau, and Israel had a run-in with them as well shortly after coming out of Egypt. Exodus 17. Again, brethren, I'm just trying to illustrate for us how the root of bitterness or unresolved anger can defile many. It just came down the line in this family generation after generation. Exodus 17 and verse 8 says, Now Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. If you look at some other accounts later on that refer back to this point in time, it basically says that Amalek came out and attacked Israel in the rear. Those who were tired, those who were slower in the rear ranks, they came around and attacked Israel basically in a sucker punch from the rear. And Moses said to Joshua, verse 9, Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and her went up to the top of the hill. And so it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed, cousins on the battlefield. Verse 12, But Moses' hands became heavy, so that they took a stone, put it under him, and he sat on it, and Aaron and her supported of his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

And Moses built an altar and called its name, The Lord is my banner, Yahweh Nisei. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

And there was, if you recall the story, there was war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Constantly, as Israel came into the Promised Land, that bitterness of the descendants of Esau against the descendants of Jacob was always there. When Saul was crowned king, one of the first opponents he faced was the Amalekites. King David also fought against the Amalekites. Eventually, they disappeared from history and fulfillment of God's prophecy to blot out their remembrance.

Okay, and appears maybe some of them were absorbed into the Edomites. They were of the same general family in that sense, but it was warfare, it was contention, all down through the generations. There was also generational warfare between Edom and Israel in the days of King Saul, King David, and King Solomon. And again, the sad part of all of this is that this was family. These were cousins. Esau and Jacob were brothers, and now the children were at contention over this bitterness, generation after generation, a dysfunctional and embittered family.

And the complaint was, this is our birthright, right? This is our land, and you stole it from us.

We'll never forgive you, we'll never let that go. That is ours, and we want it back.

Again, it's a very sad commentary to consider. We can even find evidence of the Edomites sharing the Babylonians on during Jerusalem's destruction, at the time that then Judah was hauled out of the land into captivity into Babylon. Let's look at Psalm 137 in verse 1. You think after time, maybe the bitterness would fade, or the anger could get resolved, but it was never set aside. It was fed over and over and over, rehearsed generation after generation. Psalm 137 and verse 1 says, By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yes, we wept when we remembered Zion.

This will seem familiar to you. We have actually a song in our hymnal, By the Waters of Babylon.

And this is a psalm that was written not by David, but actually when Judah was in captivity in Babylon. If we go to verse 7, it's interesting. It says, Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, who said, Raise it, raise it to its very foundation.

Sometimes we sing these words, and we maybe don't always remember or consider what's the story behind, you know, some of these words in the song.

Our song, By the Waters of Babylon, this particular verse in there, we sing, In that day of Jerusalem's fall, when the children of Edom said, Down with her, down unto the ground, even to the foundations. It's Edom. It's the descendants of Esau, cheering the Babylonians on, as they come in and they destroy Jerusalem, as they're ripping the Jews out of the land, taking them into captivity into Babylon. And essentially, they're cheering the destruction, because you know what? That shouldn't have been Jacob's blessing anyway. They stole it.

So rip it down, burn it down, and haul them out of there. That was Edom's response. It's rather a sad story.

Now, unfortunately, this generational bitterness hasn't ever ended. The resentment between Esau and Jacob's descendants, the resentment of Edom towards the descendants of Israel, exists even today. And actually, you know, you look around, the majority of the world doesn't even necessarily recognize what the source of this conflict truly is. They look back a couple of hundred years.

But it's going on yet today. In 1948, the Jewish people were allowed to establish themselves in the territory known today as Israel. And that territory includes Jerusalem, and what had been Jerusalem prior. Okay, so this is a pocket of the same land. And it's the largest grouping of the Jewish people in the world today. They're in Jerusalem. Where are the Edomites? Who are the Edomites by general population? Does anybody know, have an idea, who the Edomites might be?

Palestinians? Palestine? Yes. Now, not every Palestinian Arab is an Edomite, and not every Edomite is a Palestinian. Okay, you have other Arab nationalities mixed into there, but in today's day and age, you can pinpoint the Edomites, by and large, in concentration in that region, to the Palestinians. And to this day, you have the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that is our land.

You get off. And it continues yet today. And the history of what generally is looked at in today's day and time. You go back, well, 100 years, 200 years, 300 years. Maybe this is kind of where this conflict came at. No, it goes back thousands of years. And it's generational bitterness that has never been resolved. The book of Obadiah pronounces God's ultimate judgment on Edom for their bitter actions against Jacob. And it's just a one-chapter book. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but I do want to delve into just a little bit of it, because it helps us to understand the end result of unresolved anger and bitterness if it's not put away. What the end result will be. Obadiah.

Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. It's easy to miss. Three pages in my Bible. Obadiah.

Verse 1 says, The vision of Obadiah thus says the Lord God concerning Edom.

So we understand the emphasis of this prophecy and judgment is against Edom, the descendants of Esau. He says, We have heard a report from the Lord, and a message has been sent among the nation, saying, Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle against Edom. Verse 8 says, Will I not in that day, says the Lord, even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau. He says, Then your mighty men, men, O team, and shall be dismayed, to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. And notice why. Verse 10, For the violence against your brother Jacob. That's why. God's judgment against Esau for their perpetual generational bitterness and violence against your brother Jacob. He says, Shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. In that day you stood on the other side. In that day that strangers carried captive his forces. We're talking about the Jews being hauled out of now the Holy Land into Babylon. When foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were as one of them, as one of the oppressors. Verse 12, But you should have not gazed on the day of your brother, in the day of his captivity, nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah, in the day of their destruction, nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress. You should not have entered in the gate of my people on the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance. In the day of their calamity, verse 14, you should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped, nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. It appears that Edom actually were capturing escaping Jews and turning them over to the Babylonians. And God says, you were as them, not your brother. I mean, what kind of brother, what kind of family, what kind of dispute is this? You actually stood at the crossroads and you cut off those among them who escaped. Verse 15 says, For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near. As you have done, it shall be done to you. Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. It's a transition here that's taking place now. It's pointing forward to the day of the Lord, the return of Jesus Christ. And now the judgment, that's going to come upon Edom, because just as they did against Jerusalem and Judah back in that day of the captivity, other prophecies indicate they're going to do again at the end of the age against the people of God. So there's going to be judgment at the day of the Lord and at the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 16 says, For as you drink on my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually. Yes, they shall drink and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been. But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph aflame. But the house of Esau shall be stubble, and they shall kindle them and devour them. And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. And would it be, brethren, at the return of Jesus Christ, the descendants of Esau will be destroyed completely because of their oppression, because of their bitterness, and their assault against the descendants of Jacob.

Now that doesn't mean destroyed from eternity, okay? There is the second resurrection. There will be opportunity for them to repent and be part of the kingdom of God. But, you know, I've tried to reason this in my mind. Why would God see that there was a complete destruction of the descendants of the house of Esau at the end of the age? And honestly, the only answer I can really come up with is, you know, God's going to preserve a remnant of Israel, and he's going to bring them back into the land. And he's going to settle them into the promised land to be a model nation for the world. And you don't need Esau there pecking at them continually as they're settled into the land to be that model from God. The one that's going to be contesting the birthright needs to be put aside for a time so that God's purpose can be fulfilled because the bitterness won't be let go. The resentment won't be resolved. He says, there'll be no survivor, so remain of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. Again, the reasoning why that's an opinion. Verse 19 says, the south shall possess the mountains of Esau. So we're talking now about the regathering and Israel being resettled in their land. And the low land shall possess Phyllistia, and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead, and the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites. As far as Zarephath, the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sephirad, shall possess the cities of the south.

It says, then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. It's the end result of unresolved bitterness and contention and hatred, again, between Esau and Jacob, that was never resolved.

Rather than bitterness is a very dangerous attitude, and again, it rarely affects just one person. And the story of Esau and Jacob is a clear example of confirmation of Hebrews warning that the root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by this many become defiled.

And Paul said, watch for it. Look out, and let it not be so among yourselves.

As we wrap up, I want to look briefly at a few scriptures that provide the antidote.

Okay, if bitterness is unresolved anger that's fermented, what is the antidote? Because there is a cure, and there's a way from stopping it taking place to begin with, or if it has begun to take place in our life, there's a way to root it out altogether. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 26. These are, we'll look at three passages today, these are words to live by.

How do we set unresolved anger leading to bitterness aside? Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 26. Paul says, Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Holding on to unresolved anger, brethren, opens the door for Satan to come in and to do his work. He says, Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Don't hold on to it. Don't rehearse it.

Find a way to let it go and let it go quickly. Let it go quickly. Verse 31, Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

And that's the antidote right there to bitterness and anger. It's forgiveness.

It's forgiveness. It's letting it go, letting go of the anger. Even if the circumstance hasn't fully resolved itself, you can do your part to let go of what it is that you're not willing to resolve in your heart. You must forgive. It's been said that bitterness is emotional suicide.

It's actually drinking poison, hoping that someone else will die. It's, you know, because you're the vindictive one, and you're fighting that battle internally over and over and over, right? And it's drinking poison. It's that root of bitterness, hoping that someone else will die. And it's emotional suicide. Because you see in the end, we're the victim. We're the one punishing our selves. We're the ones who can't seem to break free. The other person's going on with their life, and you're becoming sick, and you're driving yourself down physically and mentally.

Battling bitterness means choosing to love and to forgive the subject of our anger. And, you know, that's not always easy. And I understand there's various circumstances that certain things need to be evaluated in, you know, abuse is something that is, you know, I'm not trying to give you a complex solution to everything. But in general terms, bitterness and letting it go means choosing to love and forgive the subject of your anger. And it's not always easy, but what did Christ tell us to do? He said, love your enemies. That's counterintuitive, but did he not do the same? He died for his enemies. He told us to love our enemies, and with God's help we can. And it's the only way to overcome bitterness. Clause in chapter 3 verse 12.

Clause in 3 verse 12 says, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so must you also do. Again, we must forgive. As God has forgiven us, as Jesus Christ has forgiven us, while we were sinners, he died for us. While we were enemies, God sent his only son. We went through that, pass over days of unleavened bread. It's what we must extend to others as well.

Because, you see, we have to allow peace to rule in our hearts. Verse 14, above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you also were called in one body, and be thankful. So he says, love, he says, forgive.

He says, allow the peace of God to live in your heart. And the fact of the matter is, brethren, bitter people aren't peaceful people, because they've had their peace robbed, because of the poison that continues to well up and ferment inside. Their peace has been robbed.

It overrides everything in their life, and God's word, though, shows there is a better way.

Let's wrap up in Romans chapter 12.

Romans chapter 12 and verse 14.

Rather instructive for us, Romans 12 verse 14 says, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Well, that's kind of hard, isn't it? You know, what does that even look like? Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

You know, what does that even look like? Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Well, it's much easier to do the opposite, isn't it? Much easier to tell everyone how that person persecuted you, and why your anger is justified, and now that they've heard it, they're going to be angry at that person as well. And misery loves company. What's the opposite effect? What is God's word? It says, bless and do not curse. And if you don't have anything nice to say, maybe just don't say anything at all. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Be the same mind towards one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. You see, humility tends to put away offense. And I would just say, by recognition, humble people tend to be less easily offended. It's as if you're proud you have toes to be stepped on. But if you're humble, you know, I don't see Moses in the illustration I was given in the sermonette being horribly offended. I see God being upset with what was said against Moses. But Moses was humble and he allowed God to handle it. And again, the point is humble people tend to be less easily offended. Paul said, stay humble. Verse 17, repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for all good things in the sight of all men. And if possible, as much as it depends on you, it's not about the other person and what they should be doing, it's about what depends on you that you can do as much as possible. Live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. God will handle it.

Verse 20, therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a drink, for in doing so you will keep coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil. I think we could see through this message, bitterness, rather than is evil. It says, don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Forgive. The Psychology Today article I quoted for you earlier has a heading that says, The Cure for Bitterness. And it says, quote, virtually every writer who has weighed in on the subject of bitterness has discussed its ultimate remedy, forgiveness. It says, forgiveness alone enables you to let go of grievances, grudges, rancor, and resentment. It's the single most potent antidote for the venomous desire for retributive justice poisoning your system. It says, if this impulse hasn't infested you physically, it's at least affected you mentally and emotionally.

Learning to forgive your violator facilitates your recovering from a wound that while it may have originated from outside yourself, it has been kept alive from the venom you have synthesized within you. If an anger imitates the most irresistible impulse for revenge, then forgiveness is mostly about renouncing such vindictiveness. It can hardly be overemphasized that when you decide to forgive your perceived wrongdoer, you're doing so not so much for them but for yourself. Because you're the one that's being damaged by holding on to these things. He says, if your welfare, he says it's your welfare that is primarily at stake here. And as has already been suggested, the longer you'll hold on to your anger, the more you'll sink into the destructive quagmire of ever-cycling feelings of hatred and resentment. The answer to these things is to forgive.

Again, brethren, Hebrews 12 and verse 15 warns us to look carefully, to watch out, to examine ourselves, and to be aware. Let anyone fall short of the grace of God. Let any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Brethren, we must always be aware of any root of bitterness that is springing up in us. And if we identify it there, take care of it. Root it out. Consider the source and consider what forgiveness you need to extend to somebody else. If we're not willing to root it out of our lives, we will ultimately end up falling short of the grace of God and unto destruction.

That is the biblical example. God has called us to be people of love, joy, peace, forgiveness, and holiness. And as we head towards the Feast of Pentecost this year, let's keep those concepts in our mind. Let's obsess about those things in a right way. Let's ferment those concepts in our mind. Love, joy, peace, forgiveness, and holiness. It is those things, brethren, that ultimately lead to life.