Genesis 25:27 “And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Genesis 25:28 “And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

How do you connect with people? What are your friendships based on? What is the basis for your connection? … Real, deep, lasting, true relationships and fellowship can be hard to find in life.

Yes, we all have friends and acquaintances (maybe some enemies also!), and some more than others, and we all surround ourselves with many people and build our networks… but a real relationship in those that goes past surface deep is not common for anyone in this world… not just Christians.

In Genesis 25, we are introduced to a shallow relationship that a dad has with his son… Isaac with his oldest son Esau.

These two have a relationship based on “common interest” and “mutual benefit”. Is that what yours are based on? Here was the depth and extent of their loving relationship…. Esau loved to hunt deer… and Isaac loved to eat it.

And Isaac was proud of his boy “hes my boy!” He would no doubt tell everyone when Esau hauled into camp like the man… He wasn’t so proud of homeboy Jacob, his other son, but he was verrrry proud of Esau!

The thing is, many parents have this kind of a relationship to their children… I’ve seen many dads who have a relationship with their boys based mostly on a sporting ability or so on… but it doesn’t go much further than that.

It’s amazing how we can build our relationships around the most vain things and stay there also. Isaac based his relationship and fellowship with his son on deer hunting… not God.

And so Isaac had no spiritual connection with Esau at all. Their relationship was not based on God, God’s word or the things of God. Can you truly build a deep relationship without God to tie it all together?

The deepest relationship you can have with someone is spiritual, and ultimately based on having the same spirit of faith. And the best relationship you can have with someone is not by skirting around truth, but based on truth.

The problem with creating superficial relationships is that they’re not actually real and can’t handle real life. Because these two would have problems later on over “blessing”.

Isaac’s blessing was upon Esau, the son who had no interest in his God. But God’s wasn’t. And leaving God out of their relationship, and forming a bond and affirmation and approval based on carnality rather than spirituality, and teaching Esau there were things more important than God was the critical mistake Isaac made with Esau.

It’s amazing how much is in the Bible! … including practical wisdom on relationships and fellowship. We all have relationships in this world… hopefully you’ve got good ones… the best friend anyone will ever have in this life is the Lord Jesus Christ… base your relationships on him and God will give you a few great ones!

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