Taste For Game
Views: 104
One staple of the Ghanaian is “fufu.” Often, people would want to combine their fufu with soup containing all kinds of meat and fish. But when you meet a Ghanaian talking about fufu and “akrantie” soup, the excitement is in a class of its own!
“Akrantie” is bushmeat popularly called grasscutter, and variously known as the marsh cane-rat, or ground hog; and in francophone West Africa, the “aulacode“. It is a rodent but not a rat proper, since it belongs to the porcupine family. It is a true delicacy!
Good tasting food is always great! And we all have tastes for different foods. There are some we call our “favourite foods” and which we find irresistible. But our favourite food could also be our point of vulnerability.
In the past four days, we looked at how Eve’s hearing was compromised in the devotional entitled, “The Compromise“; then we looked at how David’s sight was compromised in “Look Straight!“; then we looked at how a touch that looked trivial might have prevented Moses form entering the promised land in “Harmless Touch“; and how the fragrance of the perfume Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with stirred up greed and theft in Judas’s heart in “Nose of The Church Thief.”
We look at how Isaac’s taste for “bushmeat” became his point of vulnerability today. In Genesis 25:27-28, we read,
“…Esau became a skillful hunter… Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau…”(NIV)
This taste became a vulnerability point for Isaac, leading to arguably one of the greatest sibling rivalry and fraud and deceit recorded in the Bible. Let us read it in Genesis 27.
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
Isaac said,
“I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
(Genesis 27:1-4 NIV)
Isaac was old, and decided to bless his elder son, Esau, before he died. Because he loved wild game (meat from hunted animals), he asked Esau to go and hunt, and prepare some tasty food for him; then he would give him his blessings. Isaac got tricked into giving the blessing to Jacob (vv. 5-29); which would not have happened if he did not put his taste for wild game ahead of blessing Esau! When Isaac realized he had been deceived, the verse 33 says:
Isaac trembled violently and said,
“Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”(NIV)
It is interesting to know that Esau earlier sold his birthright, also because of food (Genesis 25:29-34)! Isaac’s desire for food, and his father’s taste for wild game led to a very significant loss for Esau; and Jacob’s offspring became the nation of Israel (Genesis 32:28)! But for these, we would probably be hearing something like,
“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Esau….”
All Esau’s problems were food related! They started with the taste and desire for food, but ended in disastrous trans-generational, and eternal losses!
Sad to say, that in Ghana, there are many stories of some of our young people being compromised; because someone bought them fried rice and ice cream; especially at the popular Oxford Street in Accra!
People are exchanging their faith, purity, sanity and clean health, for fried rice and ice cream! There are many stories too, of strong men and women being brought down and destroyed; through apparently harmless invitations to dine!
Children of God, we are worth much more than food! How much is the food worth anyway?
But it can cost us our psychological sanity, and physical health.
However, we could end up paying the ultimate price when we compromise our holiness and purity. The outcome could have trans-generational and eternal repercussions!
Don’t sell your birthright on taste! It is not worth it!
MEMORY VERSE
“Man shall not live by bread alone.”
(Matthew 4:4)
QUESTIONS
What foods and tastes are you following ?
Will they not lead to a compromise of your values, purity and holiness?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help me to have discernment so that I will not be lured by my tastes and other desires, into sin.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
Then develop your new relationship with God through your Quiet Time.
Then find a Bible-Believing Church where you can Fellowship with like minded people.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
The Testimony Devotional website addresses are: