Esau vs Ishmael.

ESAU

Genesis 25:30 NKJV

And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

Edom was a sister nation to Israel, but it hated Israel more than any other nation. Throughout all of history we see a burning hatred of Edom against Israel. It is for this reason that Edom is frequently presented as a representation of all the nations that hated the Jews.

The Edomites were conquered by the Nabatean Arabs, perhaps as early as 500 b.c.

Nelson Glueck, The Other Side of the Jordan explains that not all the Edomites left the region of Edom when the Nabataean Arabs took control of the area. Those who did leave the land of Edom and went to the area of southern Judea (the land on the western side of the Dead Sea) these became known as Idumeans, also mixed the with people already living in that that area.

Edom means Red

Isaiah 34:5–8 NKJV

“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness.” For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Isaiah 63:1–4 NKJV

Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come.

The descendants of Esau settled towards modern day Jordan. The Edomites forsook Israel in their hour of need and as a result incurred the wrath of God.

Psalm 137:7 NKJV

Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!”

Obadiah 1–10 NKJV

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord. “If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night— Oh, how you will be cut off!— Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left some gleanings? “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it. “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.

The Edomites suffered under the Babylonians and were ultimately destroyed by the Romans.

As of today there is no clear record of their modern day descendants. Typically it is said to be part of the bloodline in Turkey, scatters of the Muslim world, and claimed by some palestinians.

Esau referred to as a sinner

Hebrews 12:15–16 NKJV

looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Ishmael

Like Issac had 12 sons

Genesis 25:12–18 NKJV

Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

There is a popular theory common among Muslims and some Christians that Arabian Muslims are direct descendants of Ishmael. In fact, Muhammad was a major proponent of this idea, claiming to be a descendant of Ishmael according to the Quran. There is most likely some truth in this theory. According to missionary and author Kenneth Fleming, “what we know for certain seems to support the theory that the Ishmaelites are, at the very least, a major element in the Arab genetic line. Old records clearly link the north Arabians with Ishmael’s descendants” (“Ishmael and the Bible,” Emmaus Journal 13:2, 2004). But it’s unlikely that all of those in Arabia are descendants of Ishmael, as the descendants of Keturah and the children of Esau also lived in the Arabian Peninsula.

Ishmael was rejected of God.

Romans 9:13 NKJV

As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

But Ishmael was not cursed like Esau.

Ishmael was not chosen for God’s plan, but it was by God’s choice.

Esau willingly rejected God by selling his Birthright.

However, in modern day it seems that both the Spirit of Ishmael and the rejection of Esau are prevalent.

Although there is no clear evidence as to the genealogy of modern day arabs. It seems that they are predominantly descendants of Ismael, with some being partial descendants of Esau.

What we do know is that the descendants of Esau, or at the least his spirit, will play a part in end time events.