At first glance this chapter may seem to be about as much fun as reading a phonebook.
However, we'll see, God has good reason for including
it.
All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2
Timothy 3:16
Diligently paying attention to and digesting a chapter
like this shows more honor, more respect, toward God, more maturity in Christ,
than feasting on a dozen cherry picked, tickle my ears, make me feel good, sermons.
It's telling God, I love you, and so, no matter what
You have to say, I'm listening, I want to hear. Even if it’s hard. I'll pay
attention and study to show myself approved.
Why do we call it, The Scroll of Esau?
Originally Genesis wasn’t written with fifty chapters
in book format. It was eleven scrolls. Each scroll began with the words, elleh
toledoth; meaning, this is the genealogy of...
So, whenever we read, "This is the genealogy
of..." (or something like that), then, we know we're entering a new
scroll.
This is the tenth of the eleven scrolls that
made up the original writings of Genesis.
Notice, it's only a chapter long.
However, check out the scroll for Esau's twin brother, Jacob, starting in Genesis 37:2 and covering 14 chapters, to the end of the book, in Genesis 50:26.
Notice, scrolls 7, 9, and 11 covering Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, are by far the largest of the Genesis scrolls, even dwarfing the
creation of the universe.
God's obvious focus and theme throughout
Genesis, and the whole Bible is the redemption of mankind through the Promise
of His Son.
The Old Testament points to the New Testament saying,
He’s coming!
The New Testament points to the Old Testament saying,
"He came! just as it was written; and He’s coming again, just as He
said!
GENESIS 36 OUTLINE
1-5: Esau's Wives and
Sons
6-8: Esau's Move
9-14: Esau's Grandsons
15-19: Chiefs from Esau's
Sons
20-30: Chiefs of Seir
31-43: Kings and Chiefs
of Esau
Genesis 36:1
Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.
Called, Edom, today we’d call him,
“Red.”
Verse 1, 8, 19 we see the phrase, Esau who is
Edom. Verses 9, 43 we see the phrase, Esau, the father of the
Edomites.
God always fulfills His promises, and He said to
Rebekah to nations are in your womb. Gen. 25:23.
Esau is the nation of Edom.
Edom wasn’t a wonderful nickname for Esau, because it
triggered the memory of the day, he gave his birthright (inheritance)
for a bowl of red stew.
Actions have consequences and Esau is
forever remembered as a godless, profane person who despised his
birthright:
Hebrews 12:16-17; lest
there be any fornicator or profane person
like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold (despised,
rejected, counted as nothing) his birthright. 17 For you
know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected,
for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it
diligently with tears.
Esau put satisfying his flesh, first. Thereby, despised,
rejected, counted as nothing, the things of God.
Dear Church, dear nation, Jesus is nonstop knocking. Every
moment you won’t yield to His prompting, you are despising, rejecting, counting
as nothing, Jesus as Lord.
Beware, one day the knocking will stop.
When it happened to Esau, he was rejected,
and found no place of repentance, though he sought it diligently
with tears. Hebrews 12:16-17.
2 Esau took
his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon
the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the
daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
Speaking of red... there’s some red flags. These
wives grieved his parents, Isaac and Rebekah, (Genesis 26:35; 27:46).
Canaanites, Hittites Hivites, will be enemy-ites of the
Israelites.
(FYI: Esau also married a woman named Judith
(Genesis 26:34) not named in this chapter. Perhaps she died, or maybe she
didn't have any children, or perhaps her name didn't sound Biblical enough. 😊.
3 and Basemath,
Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
Ishmael was Grandpa Abraham and Hagar’s son.
Father Isaac’s, half-brother.
So, does that make Ishmael, Esau’s half-uncle, and therefore,
Esau married Basemath, his half-cousin?
4 Now Adah
bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 5 And Aholibamah
bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were
born to him in the land of Canaan.
Esau's three wives bore him five sons.
In the next verse, we’ll see Esau also had daughters,
but they’re not listed.
Genesis 36:6-8 Esau's Move
6 Then Esau
took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his
household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had
gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of
his brother Jacob.
Apparently, Esau had possessions in Seir, and in Canaan.
Remember, Jacob sent word to Seir, to tell Esau
he was coming home, Genesis 32:3.
And then after they met, Esau left Jacob and returned
to Seir, Genesis 33:16.
Now that Jacob has returned to the land promised to
him by God, Esau willingly yields to the one he once wanted to murder, but now
he makes room for his brother.
When
a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with
him, Proverbs 16:7.
Many obstacles and impossibilities lay in the way like
snares before the path and plan of God. But, as we patiently, in His timing, obediently
walk it out, He works it out.
7 For their
possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where
they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.
Sound familiar?
Remember, it happened just like that with Abraham and
Lot. Genesis 13:5
When material blessings crowd out room for
family, we should ask if the blessing has become a curse
It did for Lot. He wound up living in a cave,
drunk, and getting his two daughters pregnant.
Esau's descendants were largely enemies of
Israel, one of which, Herod the great, tried to kill Jesus by
slaughtering all male children two years old and under. (Matthew 2). His son,
Herod Antipas, beheaded John the Baptist (Mark 6); and his grandson Herod
Agrippa, killed the apostle James, persecuted the early Church, and was struck
dead instantly by God and eaten by worms. (Acts 12).
8 So Esau
dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.
Seir is south of the Dead
Sea; only about 50-60 miles SE from Hebron, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt,
and are buried.
The earth is the Lord's and
the fullness thereof. He can give any land, to anyone. The Promise land was
promised to Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, and thereby, Israel.
However, God reserved
Mount Seir for Esau. Many years later when Joshua and crew were conquering the
Promise Land, God told them to leave Esau's family, in Seir, alone, for He had
given it to them. Deut. 2:5; Josh. 24:4.
Genesis 36:9-14 Esau's
Grandsons
9 And
this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount
Seir.
Now the Lord lists the
names of Esau's sons and grandsons, to the third and fourth generation, but not
their history.
The spotlight of the
Bible is not on the world, but on the line that leads to the Light of
the world.
Esau's abbreviated
genealogy is included because of his proximity to that line. He's the grandson
of Abraham, son of Isaac, twin brother to Jacob.
His descendants, the
Edomites, were neighbors to Jacob. They're mentioned over 100 times, and
repeatedly involved in the lives of Jacob's descendants.
Genesis 36:15-19, Chiefs
from Esau's Sons
15 These were the
chiefs of the sons of Esau...
Chiefs,
dukes, captains, leaders, princes, officers that had soldiers under them
for Esau lived by the sword, Genesis 27:40.
Jacob was the one with
the God given blessing and promise.
Yet, Esau and sons were
the ones with prominence and power. They were moving and shaking and making names
for themselves, titles, and positions of authority. They firmly, squarely possessed
their land.
Many times, in the world,
that's how it goes. The world gives all they’ve got to climb to the top,
because this world is all they've got.
However, dear Child of
God, through faith and patience we inherit the promise, Hebrews 6:12.
Jacob and crew were
simply tending the sheep. Hanging out with family. Simply happy to be called shepherds.
Living quiet peaceable lives.
Jacob was probably teaching
the boys about his unique sheep breeding program, that produced the esteemed Jacob's
Sheep, still around and in high demand to this day.
The winnings of the
wicked may be quick, but they are short lived, soon ripe, and soon rotten; but the
products of the promises of God, perhaps slow, are sure and steadfast, enduring
forever.
Genesis 36:20-30, Chiefs
of Seir
20 These were the
sons of Seir the Horite...
The Edomites unite with
the inhabitants of Seir. The pagan, corrupt, accursed, Horites.
Away from God, folks
unite with the world, and things of the world, in an effort, to fill that
lonely void, only God can fill.
That's why they come
together and often echo with one voice, even the most pagan, corrupt, accursed,
horrific, ideas.
Genesis 36:31-43, Kings
and Chiefs of Esau
31 Now
these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king
reigned over the children of Israel:
Esau's family possessed their land and rose to royalty
and reigned as kings.
While Israel, the people of promise, fled to Egypt in famine,
and for a while all was well, but before long they were in bondage, and 400
years later, they were still there.
But God always fulfills His promises. He never forgot
Israel. In His time, He delivered them and fulfilled His promises to them.
Israel reigned with kings and priests and delivered to
the world, the greatest King ever to walk the face of the earth, the King of
kings, and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
Israel is alive and well to this day.
Not so with Esau.
Esau was so close to the promise. He was a twin to
Jacob, Israel, yet he chose to sell his eternal birthright, for a bowl
of temporary stew.
The book of Obadiah deals specifically with Edom’s
judgment. The Edomites were proud (Obadiah 1:3), violent (verse 10), and
apathetic to the destruction of Israel (verse 11), and God promised a
reckoning.
God always fulfills His promises. Esau, and the
lineage of Edom, have vanished from the face of the earth.
There is this dwelling place with God, infinitely more valuable than anything this world has to offer.
No matter how hard, no matter the cost, it is worth seeking.
No matter how long, it is worth waiting.
It puts everything in perspective.
The brevity of the sufferings of this life.
The futility of power and riches.
The weakness of worry.
The Power of Prayer.
The satisfaction of simply walking with Him.
The Peace that comes from casting every care on Him.
The joy of knowing how it all ends.
It's telling God, I love you, and so, no matter what
You have to say, I'm listening, I want to hear. Even if it’s hard. I'll pay
attention and study to show myself approved.
When all’s said and done, two nations remain. Edom and Israel. Which one are you?
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus,
You are oh so Holy.
We are oh so not.
You’ve
made a Way, for us to come to You, follow You, be with You, forever. For this
we should be filled with eternal joy and gratitude.
Yet, we are oh so not.
We all too often, like Esau, dwell in
Edom, seeking first our own kingdom, rather than yours. Please forgive us and
help us to get our priorities straight, and seek first Your Kingdom, not our
own.
From now on, we choose You. And Edom, oh
so not.
Thank You.
We Love You, forever.
Amen.
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
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Thank you for sharing.
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