Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-01-20
DR.. HENRY breaches ON
"ESAU, THE FLESHLY FOOL
Bartering of 5irthright Is Made SUBJ
ject of impressive Sermo" at
First Baptist Church
Sunday Night

"Esau, the Fleshly Fool" was Dr..
IIenrys topic last night at the First
Baptist church. He chose for his text
Gen. 1884, "Thus Esau despised his
birthrlght." He said:
"The Bible is a most wonderful book;
it is, full of startling texts and timely
truths. The story of Esau is as modern
as the latest novel His folly is peren-
NAL. He swore away his birthright;
he sold his Inheritance for mess of
pottage. There is a great bear market
in birthrights in our day. Esau was
coarse, carmel, feshly and foolish; de-
void of what Matthew Arnold once
called the high seriousness of life
This is a fatal defect. He became
the enemy of the people of God. His
wedding was wicked. Esau was a sem
suous pagan wanting in spiritual in
sight. He represents the slow debase-
ment of character. His exceeding Bit
ter cry rings through the corridor of
the centuries, Bless me, oh, my father.
ut was too late The bad bargain
was sealed. No wonder he despised
Jacob; but the blame was not to be
shifted. Esau was the author of his
own ruin. He was self.polluting and
God-eorgetting man. He excommuni-
CdIeQ nlHlSelI Dy SOTQ1u
from the sanetities and sweetness of
life. The drunkard, glutton, libertine
and sensual of our day do the same.
"Esau was the slave of animal pas
sion. He sold the high for the low;
spiritual vision for fieshly indulgence.
The sun of such a life always sets in
blood. Woe to any man who casts
Gods good gifts back into his teeth
Scorned the Spiritual
"Esau scorned the spiritual side of
life Satan is a great bargain hunter.
Esau swallowed his manhood with that
red soup. What terrible thing to
swap the universe for an atom! To
sell a kingdom for a few cattle and
sheep. To betray tho Son of God for
thirty pieces of silver, or to be shut out
of the wedding chamber for little
sheep!
"His birthright was Esau's best in
heritance What did it mean? A
double portion of the family estate.
acknowledged authority over his breth-
rem. priesthood in the home. leadership
in the kingdom and the custody of the
covenant blessings, the chief of which
was that through his seed the Christ
should come. All this bartered for a
morsel of meatl
Christ for the cup! Wife and babies
for the bottlel> The souls patrimony
LOT one pluiBE IllO pCdoliii anu ACNpib-
ing vice! How horrible the dispropor-
toni
Samson still consorts with Delilah;
Peter continues to curse and deny
Christ; the treacherous lips of Judas
still betray the suffering Son of God.
The fatal bargain is still struck. Beau
tiful young women continue to barter
their future for titles and trouble; they
exchange their ducats for dukes, d.
vorces and disgrace. Satan throws a
sop, and 10! men part with spiritual
honesty, intellectual freedom, business
integrity.
"Esau found no place for repentance,
though he sought it carefully and with
tears The horrible nightmare of
black and guilty past! The ghost of a
misspent life! The specter of self
indulgent career. A soul Kissed in hell!
1.-THE birthright has passed beyond re-
call, but God still forgives. Christ's
blood cleanses from all SIM