Piece by Piece

Never mind the horrible video quality, I had the last 10 seconds of this clip from the Single's Ward in my head today as I contemplated Esau (yes, Esau--these are the kind of things that keep me up at night--well that and the fact that Joe Biden is a heartbeat away from the highest office in government).
Anyway, listen for the part about the puzzle piece if you have 1 minute to waste in watching this:



I operate from the mindset that everything in the scriptures is there for a reason be it the doctrine of Christ or the seemingly inconsequential fact that Nephi's father, "dwelt in a tent" (1 Nephi 2:15).  
God is in the details. I remember as a little girl going to the Family Christmas party at my Grandma Furness's house and watching the aunts work on puzzles all afternoon.  They would search and search for just the right piece to finish their portion of the design.  
All of these details I read about in the scriptures are like those pieces of the Christmas party puzzle, and when I figure out how they fit into the picture that is the plan of happiness it brings me great joy.  The latest puzzle piece I've been working on came as I read an account about two brothers in Genesis 25.  Esau, the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah and his twin brother Jacob.

“And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain (read perfect, whole) man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” (Genesis 25:21-34)

I like this story. First, it is about a woman importuning the Lord for children and He grants her petition with twins. Sign me up for this treatment. Second, the account of Esau's bartered birthright is intriguing to me.  I thought growing up that pottage was oatmeal, and although I lived on the stuff through college it was curious to me that someone would trade their birthright for a bowl of the stuff.  

Well, the first thing I learned in studying this account is that the 'pottage' had lentiles, and so I'm guessing this was more of a lunch or dinner affair, which makes me wonder if Esau made the tragic mistake of skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Let this be a lesson to us all--skipping breakfast can have HUGE ramifications.  Anway. . .

I also learned that Esau had red hair, and that his nickname Edom means red, which is curious because the pottage he ate was red too.  Red, red, red.  I started thinking about what is red, and blood came to mind. But, not just any blood: spilled blood.  (Colton was fascinated when I explained that the blue lines in his arms and hands are blood--blue blood--so cool to a five year old) 

I also noticed that in describing these two sons, the author talks about Esau's abilities (hunter, man of the field, and a great cook according to his Dad) but Jacob is discussed in terms of his innate qualities (plain--which in Hebrew translates as whole, complete, perfect, simple, plain.)

So here are these two very different brothers, having this exchange. We all know well that you cannot get something for nothing and Jacob is not ignorant of this fact when he agrees to give his brother a meal if Esau gives him the birthright.  Birthright as defined by lds.org is: A right of inheritance belonging to the firstborn son. In a broad sense, the birthright includes any or all rights or inheritance transmitted to a person when he is born into a family and culture. 
Esau viewed his birthright in terms of what it could do for him.  Remember, at the point of overwhelming exhaustion Esau says in essence, "Have the birthright brother.  It isn't doing me any good. Besides, I'm hungry and I'm tired.  I've been working my tail off and all I want is a good meal.  I might as well eat and drink a little for tomorrow I very well may die." 

Jacob, I would counter had an attitude of what the birthright would enable him to become.  He was well aware of and hungered after the promises given by the Lord to his grandfather Abraham:

"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:2)

 
I need not expound on the fulfillment of this in Jacob's [Israel's] life.  All of us are members of his family, and have been blessed with the same promises that we too can realize as we prove faithful and true in all things the Lord has commanded us. 
I will issue this warning, however.  Many in our nation have an Esau Attitude.  It is an attitude of entitlement. 'You work awfully hard--enjoy yourself and live a little.  You're entitled to a little pleasure.  You deserve it.'  How is it the scriptures put it? Oh yes, I remember:

"there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God."

(2 Nephi 28:7-8)

A later source actually addressed this entitlement mentality by the following words:

"Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."  -John F. Kennedy

No one gains freedom by selling themselves for a mess of materialism. Esau could have been a type of Christ.  He who was in name and color red might have been an illustrative figure of the Only Begotten Son, whose innocent blood was spilled at the hands of a guilty generation.  He could have.  But he wasn't.  He was a firstborn son saddled with a poisonous prodigal paradigm.  

So I ask as we come down to the last two days of our countdown, are we an Esau or a Jacob?  Are we more worried about what we are going to get out of this deal or what it is we have allowed ourselves to become?  Where exactly do we think real hope and change comes from?   May God forgive us for our folly, and refashion us to be a people worthy of His blessing.  Let us begin anew to restore this country piece by piece.   Let me adapt a portion of the speech referenced earlier by JFK and say that if this election goes to the Romney/Ryan ticket this will be our charge as we begin the work ahead of us:

"All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation". . . In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
 And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
 My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."