Esau with No Place of Repentance Hebrews 12:17

The writer of Hebrews exhorted his readers to “look diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God” so no“root of bitterness” would “spring up” to “trouble” and “defile” them. In chapter twelve and verse seventeen of Hebrews the writer shared how Esau “found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” where we read:

For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

The verse begins, “For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected:”. The writer began with the words, “For you know how” which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore the readers of Hebrews had knowledge” “that afterward” which means “since and thereafter”, “when he would have inherited” or “at the time Esau would have received his lot as an heir” “the blessing” or “laudation, benediction, consecration and benefit”, “he was rejected” which means “Esau was disapproved and repudiated”. When it was time for Esau to receive his “inheritance”, he was “disapproved” and regretted his decision to sell his birthright.

The verse continues, “for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”. The writer added the words, “for he found” or “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore Esau came upon, discovered, detected and recognized” “no place” which means “portion or space marked off” “of repentance” or “changing his mind of a purpose which he formed or of something he had done”, “though he sought it carefully” which means “though Esau looked, searched, investigated, scrutinized, begged, craved and required it” “with tears” which refers to “tears flowing from his eyes”. Though Esau passionately cried and begged for an alteration to selling his birthright, he could not change the results from doing so.

When we think through these words in Hebrews, we see the futility of Esau's pursuit for his father's “blessing” after he sold his birthright for “one morsel of meat”. Esau desired a temporary satisfaction instead of that which was lasting. People today reject Jesus Christ's offer for “eternal life” and rather choose the temporary things of this world. There comes a time there is “no place of repentance”, and though people seek “it carefully with tears”, there is no alteration or salvation for them. The Bible is very clear, “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2), therefore let all who read these words receive the warning given through the example of Esau.

Next time the writer shares how his readers have “not come unto the mount that might be touched”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.