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Temporary and Permanent Birthright holders

God has given the Birthright temporarily to many different nations throughout biblical history. Giving the Birthright to Esau-Edom in 1948 is only the latest example of this. The fact that few people realized what was going on is not relevant. The story is plain to all who know the story of Jacob’s deception in the book of Genesis and how the laws of God operate.

The key is to read how Edom (Greek: Idumea) was conquered and absorbed into Jewry in 126 B.C., when the surviving Edomites converted to Judaism. Isaac’s prophecy to Esau, “when thou shalt have the dominion you will break his [Jacob’s], yoke from off thy neck” (Genesis 27:40), had to be fulfilled at some point in history. Jacob had to give back the Birthright for a season to allow Esau to prove himself worthy or unworthy to exercise godly dominion in the earth.

The earlier prophecy that “the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23), established the outcome, of course, but the process was thwarted when Jacob deceived his father and stole the Birthright. One cannot presume to help God fulfill prophecy by unlawful means (lying). In this case, the consequences can be seen throughout history and even now are culminating in the war in Gaza.

The Birthright itself is the Dominion Mandate (Genesis 1:26), granting the right to rule under God and by the laws that define His nature. Anyone holding that Birthright is responsible to rule in a godly manner, and if he does not do so, God reserves the right to judge him and/or give the Birthright to another. In fact, God did this seven times in biblical history.

For sure, those other nations were not ultimately called to hold the Birthright. Hence, it was a foregone conclusion that those nations would misuse their authority and ultimately lose the Birthright. Throughout the book of Judges, we see the history of Israel and how they fell into sin and idolatry. We see how God then “sold them” (Judges 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 10:7, etc.) into the hands of other nations. In doing so, God transferred the Dominion Mandate from Israel (specifically Judah) to other nations in the region.

Simply put, Israel lost its independence and was put under the authority to nations (one after the other) which did not know God at all. Some may question God’s sanity in doing this, but Scripture attributes these captivities to God Himself. It was not that those nations (or their gods) were so powerful that they were able to take the Dominion Mandate for themselves. All of the captivities were the result of Israel’s failure to fulfill their Birthright responsibilities.

God is impartial in His judgments. He also knew ahead of time that those other nations had little or no revelation of the true God. He knew that they would misuse the Dominion. Yet He gave them Dominion as a temporary solution to give Israel time in which to repent. When Israel repented, then God raised up a Judge to deliver the people, thereby transferring the Birthright back to Israel (Judah).

Ultimately, even the physical nation of Israel never succeeded in fulfilling the terms and responsibilities of the Birthright. That is, they failed to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). They had no difficulty bringing forth physical children in the fallen image of Adam, children who were both mortal and corruptible, but this was not God’s real intent and purpose. The only way for anyone to fulfill the terms of the Birthright is to bring forth the sons of God, children in His image. This, of course, is one of the main themes developed in the New Testament.

The true (permanent) Birthright holders are the sons of God, begotten by faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12). One may trace the genealogies of men and nations to find out who is and who is not descended physically from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-Israel, but in the end, all such natural-born people cannot please God as mere children of the flesh. Their mortality itself, inherited from Adam, makes it impossible for them to be true sons of God. Instead, it requires a new begetting by the Spirit of God, who imparts the seed of His Word to those who believe.

The point is that God gave the Birthright back to Esau-Edom in 1948. Jewry includes Edom, and so out of Jewry came forth Zionists manifesting the spirit of Esau, whose desire to possess the land of Canaan/Palestine had never ceased over the centuries. Wiser Jews centuries earlier had established that there should be no attempt to possess the old land until the Messiah came. Only He could sort things out and fulfill God’s purpose properly.

Zionism arose as a heretical sect within Judaism. Those who rejected Zionism have remained out of the disaster zone that is prophesied in Isaiah 29 and in Jeremiah 19. For the past 76 years, however, God has defended the Edomite Zionists, on account of the Birthright—not because He condoned their militancy or their land theft. But the time has come for the Birthright to be taken from Esau. It will not be given back to Jacob but to Israel.

Who is Israel? That is the relevant question for our time. In my view, fleshly, natural Israelites have had their opportunity to prove themselves worthy during their time in Canaan. They failed, and were divorced from God (Jeremiah 3:8), and sent out of the house into captivity. The only way to be reinstated is by faith in Jesus Christ. This requirement is the same for all people, regardless of their genealogy or nationality. The playing field has been leveled.

More accurately, the revelation of Sonship has been proclaimed as part of the New Covenant. It was always in the mind of God that the Birthright would be given to those who are in the image of God, as seen in the example of Jesus Christ. But this revelation was obscured for a long time and revealed incrementally and progressively over a period of thousands of years. In other words, the playing field was level from the beginning of time, though this was somewhat unclear for centuries.

We today are at the point in history where we ought to have the clearest revelation ever. The “chosen” remnant of grace has some understanding of this, while unfortunately, the rest are blind (Romans 11:7). As I see it, this is why it is vital that we study the Sonship message carefully. I have come through many different movements, each with their own revelation, and I have concluded that it really all boils down to Sonship. The sons of God are the only ones who truly qualify to receive the Birthright, because they will exercise the authority of the Dominion Mandate according to the mind of Christ.