LEST THERE BE ANY FORNICATOR OR PROFANE PERSON

Tuesday 18

“lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.”
Hebrews 12:16 (NKJV)

READ: Hebrews 12:15-17

This passage admonishes that believers should not be a fornicator and they should not be profaned.

A profane person, like Esau, as cited in the passage, is the person who treats something important or sacred with abuse, irreverence, or contempt—desecration. It also means serving to debase or defile what is holy—irreverent.

One of the reasons why a believer could profane godly gifts or endowments is when such is despondent. At the time of distress, if care is not taken, you may want to despise or take lightly the things of the spirit which you have laboured for, or spiritual things which took you years in the service of God before you could get them.

Because of weariness or tiredness or discouragement, frustration of the whole labour of the day—hunger and being famished—Esau considered his birthright as nothing. He decided to trade it for a single morsel of meal. Birthright is synonymous with the blessing. In other words, when birthright is mentioned in Hebrew’s culture, it means the blessing.

Whoever has the birthright is entitled to inherit the blessing of his father—the inheritance. But unfortunately, Esau forfeited that because of food.

It shows that Esau was a person who values not sacred things. He is a profane person. It was when Esau wanted to receive the blessing that should be given to the person with the birthright but he could not. It was then that Esau realized the importance of the birthright which he traded cheaply because of one morsel of food (Hebrews 12:17).

Although, his brother, Jacob, tricked him to collect the birthright and tricked their father to collect or receive the blessing,
however, if Jacob did not trick their father, the blessing would have still been his, because the birthright was already given to him by barter or exchange.

When Esau sworn to Jacob that the birthright was his, the deal was sealed and recognised by heaven (Genesis 25:29-34).

The important lesson to be learnt in the passage is about valuing what God has given to you, what you are endowed
with. It could be a gift, ability to do certain things well, or whatever, do not despise it.

The fact that the gift or endowment does not seem to be useful at the present moment, that does not mean it is less important.

There is no gift or endowment of God that is less important. You might have not found the usefulness of the gift or ability yet, but do not despise it.

Without doubt you will eventually find a purpose or usefulness of the gift(s) as you progress in your journey in life—in your walk with God.

The call of God on your life should not be traded as well. The call or vision given to you by God might yet be materialized, however, do not sell it.

Now, how could a vision be sold?

A vision or call is sold when you are at struggling stage of the vision, when the vision is not comely, no one wants to
identify with you in fulfilling the vision, no money, no result whatsoever, in short, nothing to show forth as regards the vision.

At such a time, some people might approach you and counsel you to jettison or abandon the vision, and join them in fulfilling their own thriving vision. Do not do it. If you do that, it means you have traded your vision, you have sold it, and you would be considered a profaned person like Esau who traded his birthright for one morsel of food (Hebrews 12:16).

Your vision that seems not to be thriving today will eventually thrive, if the vision was actually given by God.

Your gifts or ability or endowment that seems not to be fruitful today would later be fruitful, thus, do not sell or trade it.

Those who have come to you, counseling you to abandon it are doing that because they have seen that you have a good
potential or ability which they can use for their advantage if you move to join them in what they are doing—their own visions. Do not agree with them! Peace.

Reflect:
• Is there a gift, calling, or vision you have been tempted to give up on because it has not borne fruit yet?
• Who has been counselling you to abandon what God has given you, and why?

The August 2026 Edification Daily Devotional is here. It features 31 days of edifying messages to help you in your walk with God this month.
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