Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-01-17
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
PROFESSOR HUGH BLACK.
Subject: Esau's Temptation.


Black, of Union Theological Semin-
airy, preached Sunday in the Lafay-
cite Avenue Presbyterian Church to a
large audience. His subject was,
"Esau's Temptation" He took his
text from Genesis 25:32: "And
Esau said, Behold, am at the point
to die; and what profit shall this
birthright do to me?" Professor
Black said:
We cannot suppress natural SYM
pathy with Esau in this scene be-
tween the two brothers. He seems
as much sinned against as SHINING,
and in comparison with the cunning.
crafty character of Jacob he appears
| the better of the two. His very faults
lean to virtues side, we think, as we
look at his bold, manly, impulsive
| figure. There is nothing of the cold,
calculating. selfishness, the astute
| trickery, the determination to get
his pound of flesh, which make his
| brother appear mean beside him.
With our swift and random and sur
| face judgments We are inclined to
think it unjust that Esau should be
| set aside in the great history of grace
| for one who could be guilty of both
malice and fraud in advancing his
own interests. We are not at present
| dealing with the character of Jacob
or we would see that this hasty judy
ment, true so far as 1t goes, is some
thing less even than half the truth,
and til at though enere and elsewhere
sinped and was punished through all
his life for his subtlety and selfishness,
yet ne was not the monster of unbroth-
erly malice merely which this scene
might suggest, and that he had quail
| tiles OF heart and spirit which made
| It inevitable that he, and not Esau,
| should be chosen for the line OF God s
purpose. Our subject is Esau and his
| weakness and fall in the presence of
his overmastering temptation.
Esau's good qualities are very evil
dent. being OF the kind easily recog-
nized and easily popular among men,
the typical sportsman who Is only a
| sportsman, bold aud frank and free
and generous, with no intricacies of
character, impulsive and capable of
magnanimity, the very opposite of
the prudent, dexterous, nimble man
of affairs, rather reckless indeed and
hot-blooded and passionate. His vir-
tues are already, we see. dangerous
ly near to being vices. Being largely
creature of impulse, he was, in a
crisis, the mere plaything OF animal
passion. ready to satisfy his desire
without thought of consequences.
Without self-control, without opir-
itual insight, without capacity even
to know what spiritual issues, were,
judging things by immediate profit
and material advantage. there was
not in him depth OF nature out of
which q really noble character could
be cut. This damning lack of SELF
control comes out in the passage of
our text. the transaction of the birth
right. Coming from the hunt hungry
and faint, he finds Jacob cooking
pattage of lentils and asks for it. The
sting of ungovernable appetite makes
him feel as IL ne would die if he did
not get it. Jacob takes advantage of
his brothers appetite and offers to
barter his dish OF pottage for Esau's
birthright.
There would be more superstition
In the minds OF both Of them as to the
value OF the birthright. Both Of
them valued 1t as vague advantage,
carrying with 1t a religious worth,
but 1t meant nothing tangible; and
here was Esau's temptation, terribly
strong to a man OF his fiber. He was
hungry. and before his fierce desire
for the food actually before him such
q thing as prospective right OF birth
seemed an ethereal thing of no real
value. II he thought OF any spiritual
privilege the birthright might be sup
posed to confer, it was only to dis
miss the thought as not worth con-
,idering. Spiritual values had not a
high place in his standard of things.
He could not be unaware OF the ma
terial advantages the possession of
the birthright would one day mean.
He must have known that 1t was
something to be recognized as the
| eldest son, with special rights of in
| heritance and precedence and author
lily after his fathers death. These
things. were real enough to MIN, even
though he might have no notion of a
deeper meaning in being the heir of
the promise. But In the grip of his
appetite even these temporal advan-
tages were too distant, to weigh much.
In the presence o. immediate satisfac-
ton the distant appeared snadowy
and unreal and not worth sacrificing
present enjoyment for. He feels he
Is going to die, as a man of his type
Is always sure he will die IL he does
not get what he wants when the
passion is on him; and surprising
he does die, 1t will be poor con-
ISOLATION that he did not barter this
intangible and shadowy blessing Of
his birthright. Behold am at the
point to die; and what profit shall
this ,birthrignt do to me-"
The Bible writer's speak of Esau
always with certain contempt, and
with all our appreciation OF his good
natural qualities, his courage and
frankness and good humor, we can
not help sharing in the contempt.
The man VINO has no self-control,
who is swept away by every passion
OF the moment, whose life is bounded
by sense, who has no appreciation of
the higher and larger things which
call for self-control-that man is,
after all, only a superior sort of ami
NAL, and not always so very superior
at that. The author of the Epistle to
the Hebrews calls Esau "a profane
person, who for one morsel of meat
sold his birthright." "Profane"
means not blasphemous, but simply
secular, man VINO is not touched to
fine issues, judging things by coarse
earthly standards, without spiritual
aspiration or insight, feeling every
sting of flesh keenly, but with 20
sting OF soul toward God. Bold and
manly and generous and with many
splendid constitutional virtues he may