WHAT IS DOMINION?

Dominion is "supreme authority."  It is "the power to rule," according to Webster's Dictionary.  Webster's also provides us with the definition of 'dominion' as an order of angels in the Celestial Hierarchy.  They are fourth from the top, below thrones, cherubim and seraphim.  

Dominion is a state of holiness.

God blessed man with supreme authority and the power to rule in Genesis 1:28  He created us "in his own image" (Genesis 1:27), and God is the Supreme Authority on earth and in heaven.  Our authority mirrors His authority.  

If we recognize our dominion to the smallest degree, then we are able to become powerful agents for the work of the LORD.  

The dominion that God provides for us is pure in its intent and function.

As with anything God provides for us, free will is integral to that function.  Consider Esau and Jacob.

Esau was ruled by the flesh.  He was short-sighted and impetuous as well.  He is described in Genesis 25:27 as "a skillful hunter, a man of the open country."  He was also his father's favorite (25:28), a position he took for granted.

When we think of the traits of the hunter, we recognize him as stealthy; a solitary sort who wanders without considered direction in search of prey.  A hunter must be hard. He is a predator. Instinctive and cunning, he must hunt and kill without pity or remorse.  He is responsible to skin and butcher that which he has hunted, more often than not.  He cannot be squeamish. A hunter is not sensitive, though he may have high regard for the animals he kills for food.  

Clearly, Esau was not given to planning.  He had no contingency for the times his effort produced no results. Nothing salted and put away for later, it seems. Consequently, he was at Jacob's mercy one day when his skill at hunting did not serve him.

 "I am about to die," he exaggerated to his crafty brother in Genesis 25:32.  "What good is the birthright to me?"

And so he cast his God-given dominion away for a bowl of stew: "He ate and drank, and then got up and left."

"So Esau despised his birthright."  (Genesis 25:34)

"Offense: It's Not Worth It!"  Pastor Shyami Maridjan, Crusaders Church, The Netherlands

Because his belly was growling, Esau cast away dominion.  

Esau was rash and reckless to a fault. He married two Hittite girls, who "were a grief of mind" (Genesis 26:35, KJV) to Isaac and Rebekah, his parents.  Likely they were the only women who could contend with such a roughneck as Esau. He took no thought to the Hebraic custom forbidding intermarriage with other tribes, nor did he care that his parents were vexed by their daughters-in-law.  The Hittite 'sons of Heth' were a ferocious people whose ethnic label corresponded to "Sons of Terror;" literally, their name meant "to beat down."  Ancient tablets depict them trampling helpless opponents with their chariots.  Elon, Basemath's father, was a strong chieftain.  Beeri, his other wife's father was likely a rich man--his name means 'deep well.' 

http://worldlightreview.com/scripture-commentaries/bible/old-testament/

By the time their father was enfeebled and foggy-eyed enough to be deceived by the goat hair strapped to Jacob's neck and wrists, it was too late for Esau to make things right.  Long before, Esau had shown God how little his dominion as firstborn son meant to him. Circumstances will work against you when you choose not to appreciate the blessings of God.  Esau's eavesdropping mom pounced on the opportunity to steal his blessing and give it to her favorite.  Without compunction she schemed for Jacob to get it, and God permitted her to succeed with the deception because Esau had already shown contempt for His provision!

Isaac was not fooled.  Not completely.  He asked point blank in Genesis 27:24 "Are you really my son Esau?"  

"I am," Jacob lied, and Esau's dominion passed to him:

"Be lord over your brothers and may the sons of your mother bow down to you." (Genesis 27:29)

God has got His way.  He will DO stuff in a manner that is undeniable. "Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence" (27:30) when Esau appeared from the hunt.  In complete ignorance, he prepared the game for his father, fully expecting to receive his blessing.  It simply never occurred to him that relinquishing his birthright might have lifelong (not to say, historic, generational) consequences.

"Eat this, Pop, so I can get my blessing," (27:31) was Esau's attitude.

A shaken Isaac broke the bad news:  "I blessed him...indeed he will be blessed!" (27:33)

Esau was without introspection.  He "gave a loud and bitter cry," begged for a blessing, and squalled, "He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!"(Genesis 27:36)

So Esau hollered and cried as his father explained that not only had Jacob "supplanted him," as it says in the King James version of events, but Esau would be subject as a servant to Jacob, "and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion (my emphasis), that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." (Genesis 27:40, KJV)

Fourteen years passed before the brothers met again.  Jacob was terrified, and took steps to ensure the safety of his family group. Sending them on ahead, he tarried alone by the Jabbok stream. Jacob wrestled with God's angel all night prior to meeting up with Esau again, and came away with a limp.  Unlike Esau, who cried and begged for any kind of leftovers, Jacob demanded a blessing from the angelic man, who had to dislocate his hip to get him to quit fighting!  

His refusal to accept less than a blessing is an example for all Believers to follow.

Jacob, now Israel, knew how to take dominion over a situation.

Esau seems to have left all animosity in the past when finally reunited with his twin brother.  Jacob still did not trust him, though Esau embraced him and kissed him with joy.  The brothers wept. "Who are these with you?" asked Esau. (Genesis 33:5)
Israel introduced them and they all bowed down to Esau, who was mystified by the obeisance and the gifts.  He had grown wealthy. Possibly he thought he had received the birthright after all. Jacob had run off to Laban's house, leaving Esau with their father's wealth. Perhaps this is the dominion to which his father referred.    Subsequently, Esau became father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.  But, consequences tend to persist when their originating causes are not rooted out.

Esau's life typifies the principles of dominion.  Even though he achieved a surface reconciliation with his brother Jacob, his descendants never stopped opposing the Israelites.  They refused to let them pass through their land during the Exodus from Egypt; from that point on, any opportunity to oppress or impede their Israelite kinsmen was taken up.  Generations after the life and death of the twin brothers, God meted out His retribution against the peoples of Edom.  We can surmise that Esau's reconciliation with his brother never touched his inmost being, never took root in his soul. This lack of repentance was borne out in future generations.

The lesson we learn from Esau's callousness and lack of consideration is that it stripped his dominion from him during his lifetime, and caused generational ripples which led to the annihilation of his descendants.  There is no reason to think that our lack of repentance and humility will not cause the same kind of problems for our descendants.

NEXT:  Dominion and Destiny.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog.