The Generations of Esau

For most of my life, I was terrified of spiders. Not the little spiders that you find in your house most of the time, but anything big and hairy. I don't know that I ever learned to be scared of spiders, but seeing one just filled me with existential dread.

I remember once taking the boys to a pet store when they were young, and while we were wandering the aisles, I looked up and saw—about 30 feet away from me—a tarantula in a glass cage. And I literally froze, petrified with terror. I had to talk myself into acting normal, but I definitely avoided that part of the store.

Something changed, though, a few years ago when I watched a nature documentary, produced by a God-fearing man, who made the simple observation that we should like spiders because God likes spiders.

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). And that includes spiders with eight hairy legs and eyes all over its head. Those things weren't invented by the devil. God thought them up and designed them just as much as he did with cats and dogs and koala bears and red pandas. And He declared them good.

And who am I to disagree?

That question totally changed my perspective. The next time I saw a picture of a big spider, I paused for a extra moment, noticing it, considering that the God I love and pray to made that thing. Eventually I gave myself exposure therapy by going to a website and looking at pictures of the world's largest spiders, and marvelling at their design.

And to the present day I wouldn't say that big hairy spiders are on my list for next pet, and I know how dangerous some of them can be, but in general, I'm way more okay with spiders than I used to be.

Thinking about things from God's perspective has a way of shifting our perspective, doesn't it?

I was thinking about this yesterday in connection to Genesis 36. Genesis 36 is a chapter in the Bible that's easy to skip. Esau is about to fade from the pages of Biblical history, and spending any time on these 43 verses about his descendants and the chieftains of the places where they lived seems like a huge waste of time.

Who cares about Genesis 36?

Well, God does. God cares about this chapter. It matters to God because it's in His word.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

"All Scripture." Do we believe that? Does that include Genesis 36? It sure does. This part of the Bible is from His mouth as much as any of it.

And so if God thinks this is important, than we need to. We don't decide what's important and relevant—God does. Our preferences don't set the agenda—God's do. And we need to let God's perspective reorient our perspective.

And as we do that, we might find that Genesis 36 is quite a bit more interesting and relevant than we thought.

Why Genealogies?

Let's start by talking about genealogies in general. Most of Genesis 36 is genealogies or similar records of children, descendants, chieftains.

There are genealogies all throughout Genesis, and in fact, the plot of Genesis really moves forward through these genealogies. Genealogies are often used to introduce new characters or trace the lineage from a previously featured person to the new generation. So we can trace the line from Adam to Noah to Abraham and now to the sons of Jacob.

This is important because back in chapter 3, God promised to the serpent that an offspring of the woman would crush his head. And so every list of offspring from Adam and Eve on down is rich with anticipation, because each generation is one closer to that promised rescuer. And for the most part, these genealogies are tracing that line of promise from Eve on downward.

Genealogies also become important after Abraham, because God promised him many offspring. So a genealogy, showing all the children who came from a certain person, is a record of God's promise-keeping.

Why This Genealogy?

But why a genealogy for Esau? He didn't inherit the promise. He wasn't in covenant with God. Why this genealogy?

I want to suggest, in the rest of our message, five reasons for why these genealogies and lists for Esau are here in chapter 36. And these reasons will be what walks us through the relevant portions of these verses.

1. It shows us Esau had some blessing through Abraham

First, this genealogy shows us that Esau had some blessing through Abraham.

We found this back with Ishmael, Abraham's first son, is that even though God didn't establish his covenant with him, he did experience some measure of blessing simply for being Abraham's son.

“As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation” (Genesis 17:20).

And that's why, after “Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people” (Genesis 25:8), and his two sons buried him, we were told about the generations of Ishmael, with a short genealogy of his descendants. Ishmael was fruitful and he did multiply and twelve princes did come from him, and his genealogy is evidence of God keeping His word.

So, we're not totally surprised that when “Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days," "and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” (Genesis 35:29)—just like with Abraham and Ishmael, we are given a genealogy of Esau, the first son who did not inherit the covenant promises.

Just because he didn't inherit the covenant promises doesn't mean that there were no blessings for him at all. He is descended from Abraham, and for the sake of Abraham we should not be surprised to see him being fruitful and multiplying at least in some measure.

Later on, Deuteronomy 2:22 is actually going to tell us explicitly that God was with Esau's people as they relocated and found a land to live in.

So that's one reason for what's happening here in chapter 36. God's promises to Abraham are being fulfilled, even to those who are not in direct covenant relationship with the Lord.

2. It helps us see that the Edomites were real people

Secondly, this genealogy helps us see that the Edomites were real people. This list of people here in chapter 36 would have confronted Israel with the reality that the Edomites were real people with their own history and their own experiences.

These weren't just "faceless enemies," like one author put it. They were their own nation with their own history, their own leaders, their own heroes.

More than that, the Edomites were the Israelites' closest relatives. “‘You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother” said the Lord through Moses many years later (Deuteronomy 23:7).

Edom was one of the nations that Israel was to seek to make God known to. Psalm 22:27 says “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you,” and that includes the Edomites.

Israel did not do a good job of remembering this truth. They very quickly began to act like they were the only people on earth that mattered. If you weren't a child of Jacob, you basically didn't matter.

But chapter 36 is a direct rebuke to that kind of attitude.

I wonder if there's a lesson for us. We live in a time in history where it's very easy for us to lump the people who are different than us into one big group and write them all off as lost causes. If they don't think like us or agree with us, then they are lost causes.

Politics is one of those places where we see huge divides. Huge divides between liberals and conservatives—speaking of people who think certain ways, not necessarily the political parties. In Canadian politics we don't just have the left-wing, right-wing divide, we have the east-west divide, the rural-urban divide, and, as we've discovered lately, the boomer-milennial divide.

And I'm concerned that Christians I know are getting caught up in these polarized ways of thinking, talking about "liberals" or "the left" or "boomers" or "millennials" as if they were one big solid thing.

And they're not. Do you know who "the left" is? People. Do you know who "liberals" are? Who boomers and millennials are?

People. People made in the image of God. People who are more than just the sum of their political viewpoints. People who have children and grandparents, people with histories and emotions and stories that are all as unique as yours is.

People whom God cares for, whom God is keeping alive right now (Matt 5:44-45), people whom we can't write off simply because we think they are wrong about some important things.

Now I'm not saying that we should just ignore our differences and sing Kumbaya. What someone believes about certain so-called "political" issues really matters. Because we are moral agents, made in the image of God, we will be held accountable and judged by God for the things we believe and do.

The question is, when you look at someone, what do you see? When you see that person with a red or an orange sign on their lawn, do you see "a liberal," or do you see a person, another human? A person who you could probably get along with if you walked over and started a conversation?

When you see a group of people gathering to promote a cause you think is abhorrent, do you see "the left" or do you see a group of confused and lost people who have a lot to answer for, and who need to hear the gospel so that they can repent?

When you think about all of those folks in Toronto who, yes, will basically decide what government gets elected in our country tomorrow night, do you roll your eyes and say something insulting, or do you feel the Lord's compassion on Nineveh, and pity a great city of people who, as far as you are concerned in this case, don't know their right hand from their left?

When you see someone a generation behind or a generation ahead of you doing or saying or thinking something that makes no sense to you, do you write them off, or do you think to ask why they think that way, what experiences they had that shaped their perspectives, and try to understand before you dismiss?

There's a lot more we could say here. More and more I see Christians having their whole worldviews shaped by political categories, and reading those categories into the Bible and into their relationships, instead of allowing God through His Word to shape their thinking and their categories of thought and the way they treat other people.

But let's bring it back to our passage today: Genesis 36 is here so that when Israel thought about Edom, they didn't just think about a faceless people who didn't get the blessing and so don't matter anymore. They were to read names like Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah, Jeush, Jalam, Korah, people who came from Abraham and Isaac like them, people with a history and experiences, people who mattered to God enough that He had some of their names written down more than once in one of the longest chapters in Genesis.

And that's why I see in Genesis 36 a call to see and notice across the human divide.

3. It causes us to reflect on Esau's mistakes

Third, this genealogy causes us to reflect on Esau's mistakes—the mistakes that shaped his life. Verse 2 reminds us of how “Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth” (Genesis 36:2–3).

Right away, we have something interesting to deal with, because names of Esau's wives here, and even the names of their fathers, is not the same as the names we were given back in 26:34 and 28:8-9 when we were first told about Esau's wives.

And the question of why is an interesting one. It seems somewhat clear at this point that Moses, or some other divinely-guided editor, was working with pre-existing sources as they compiled Genesis together. One of those sources listed Esau's wives names a certain way, and here in chapter 36, where we actually have two separate lists of his wives and sons, their names are listed another way.

Does that mean there is a mistake in the Bible? It does not mean that. Scholars have come up with several possible solutions for how this could work. One suggestion is that Esau married four women, and one of his earlier wives is not listed here because she didn't bear him any sons.

And, as was often the case in the ancient world, a couple of these women had more than one name and that is recorded differently in the two locations.

We don't know for sure, because the details aren't preserved for us. The point is that life is messy and there are multiple ways that this could have worked itself out.

The bigger point, though, is that Esau married Canaanite women. We know, from chapter 26, that these women "made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah" (26:35). They were a part of the reason for why Jacob had to go find a wife in the land of his forefathers in Paddan-Aram.

But Esau should have known better. Esau should have known how his grandfather Abraham wouldn't let his dad marry one of the women of the land, and how he sent his servant back to Paddan-Aram to find a wife for Isaac.

There's no way that Jacob and Esau wouldn't have heard that story growing up.

But Esau didn't follow in his father's path. He pursued women of the land who had no knowledge of God, who would have been firmly enmeshed in the pagan religion and wicked practices of those people.

If you want to know how bad the Canaanites were, or at least how bad they were going to get, just read the law of Moses and the things that God had to tell his people not to do. Things like bestiality. He had to tell them not to do things like that because that's what the people of Canaan were doing.

And it was a foolish thing for Esau to choose these women for his life partners, to be the mothers of his sons, to join their families by marriage.

Is it any wonder that Esau never shows any interest in the God of his Grandfather Abraham or following the Fear of his father Isaac?

Is it any wonder why, years later, God would specifically prohibit the people of Israel from marrying people from other nations who did not acknowledge Him as Lord?

And is it any wonder why Paul tells the unmarried woman that she "is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord" (1 Cor 7:39)?

Now, I understand there are many cases where people come to the Lord, or grow in their maturity, after they are married, and find themselves in a marriage where their faith is not shared by their spouse. 1 Corinthians 7 actually addresses that situation earlier, and tells a spouse in that situation to not leave, and encourages them to stay and have an influence on their spouse.

But for someone who is not married, to deliberately set aside your beliefs and choose to pursue romance with someone who doesn't share your faith is to take a step onto a steep and slippery slope that is worn smooth by the many who have made that same mistake before, thinking they were the first person in history strong enough to resist the pull of gravity.

One compromise leads to another to another to another until, so often, you find yourself in the place of Esau, far away from where you belong and far away from the Lord.

So young people in particular: learn from his mistakes, heed the warning, and realize that if this could happen to Abraham's grandson, it could happen to you. Be so very careful of who you give your heart to.

4. It prepares us for Israel's greater rule

Fourth, Genesis 36 prepares us for Israel's greater rule. Here's how we see that.

First, notice what verses 6-8 tell us. “Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)” (Genesis 36:6–8).

We are not sure exactly at what point this took place. Esau was in Seir already when Jacob came back from the East (Gen 32:3), but being nomadic, perhaps Esau went back and forth a few times, maybe following game herds, until there was a final parting after Isaac died. We don't know enough to be certain, but what's clear is that eventually Esau settled in Seir permanently.

And we know that Seir wasn't empty. In fact, verses 20-30 are a list of the sons of Seir, after whom the land was named, with their chiefs. These are people with no relation to Abraham's family. They were just living in that land.

But then you get to verse 31 and you read "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom." In other words, a few big changes have happened. Somehow the land of "Seir" has been renamed "Edom." And Esau's descendants conquered the Horites, and they are now reigning as kings over that land.

We actually read that in Deuteronomy 2:12: “The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.”

Esau has done pretty good for himself. The wandering hunter now has a country that bears his name with a series of kings that rule over it.

This is in keeping with God's promise to Rebekah that "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided" (Gen 25:23). Esau did become a nation and a people.

But what about the second half of that promise? "The one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger."

Jacob is supposed to rule over Esau. So what's happening here? Why is Esau getting kings "before any king reigned over the Israelites" as verse 31 goes on to say?

Well, it's simple math. Remember learning about "lesser than" and "greater than" in math, around grade three or so?

If Esau has done this well for himself, but Jacob is going to be greater than Esau, than all of this this is preparing us to see just how great the people of Israel are going to be. If Esau has kings like this, than how much greater will Israel's kings be?

And this promise becomes history in the days of Saul and David and Solomon, who conquer Edom and bring it under the authority of Israel (1 Sam 14:47, 2 Sam 8:14, 1 Kings 9:26). Eventually Edom would rebel against the kings of Judah, but after falling to the Babylonians, Edom would never recover again, according to the word of several of Israel's prophets (Jer 49:7-22, Eze 25:12-14, Amos 9:11-12, Obadiah, Mal 1:2-5.)

There's another fascinating piece of history that plays out here, which we see in verse 12. Esau had a grandson, born through a concubine, named Amalek.

Amalek goes on to father a whole nation of his own, the Amalekites, who become one of Israel's most bitter foes. It was Amalek who attacked Israel on their way out of Egypt (Ex 17:8), where Moses lifted his arms to give Israel victory. The Amalekites joined the Midianites in oppressing Israel during the days of Gideon (Judges 6:3, 33, 7:16).

Saul struck the Amalekites (Deut 25:27-19, 1 Sam 15:3), and it was Saul's failure to kill Agag king of the Amalekites that cost him his throne (1 Sam 15).

Years later, in the time of the exile, a descendant of king Agag named Haman would try to eliminate the sons of Israel completely, but the Lord would save his people through a courageous Jewish girl named Esther and her cousin Mordecai.

And right now, it is a son of Israel who is the king of kings, ruling on the throne of the universe. And whatever descendants of Edom will be alive when Christ returns, their knees will bow and their tongues confess that Jesus Christ, son of David, is Lord.

5. It reminds us of God's sovereign choice

Now, there's not a whole lot more to say about Genesis 36 this morning. But as we end this chapter, and not just this chapter but this whole section of Genesis, let's remember where this all started. Where our series started, and where this relationship between Israel and Edom all began.

“And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, ‘If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger’” (Genesis 25:21–23).

Our first message in this series, back in January, was called "Before they were born," and we considered Paul's words from Romans 9 that “when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger’” (Romans 9:10–12).

All of this messy history between Jacob and Esau, all of this messy history between Israel and Edom and Amalek—though it involves their actions and their choices, and nobody will ever be able to accuse God of being unjust—at the end of it all, it comes back to God's sovereign choice.

God could have just as easily chosen Esau instead of Jacob. He could just as easily have blessed Edom instead of Israel. But He didn't. And so this genealogy reminds us of God's sovereign choice.

And the point here isn't that Esau and his offspring were treated worse than they deserved. The point is that Israel and his offspring were treated way better than they deserved.

God showed Israel and his children a mercy and a kindness and a lavish grace that had no source in them as people, and had nothing to do with how good they were or what they deserved.

Rather, it comes down to God's purpose of election, which is not about excluding people who otherwise deserved a blessing, but about blessing people who otherwise deserved exclusion.

“So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Isn't that good news? That it doesn't depend on us, our will, our hard work? It all depends on God who has mercy.

And you can know the sureness of that mercy this morning. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5).

If you believe the gospel and have experienced the Holy Spirit's assuring and purifying work in your life, you can know that you've been chosen by God. And you can rest in that marvellous, mysterious, majestic truth. It's out of your hands. You're in his hands (John 10:29).

If you don't know if this is true for you this morning, you don't have to stay away and wonder. The invitation—even the command—is there. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

There's this beautiful scene in C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair when Jill and Digory are trying to get into Narnia. They call out Aslan's name, and a short while later, they find their way into that magical land.

When Jill meets Aslan, he tells her that he has called her there, and she tries to correct him. Nobody called us, she says—we were calling you.

And then comes the beautiful sentence: "'You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,' said the Lion."

So hear his call this morning. Know that you have no hope but Christ. Come and throw yourselves on his mercy. Just come.