01-88 The Generations of Esau
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Genesis 36:1-8
Genesis 36:1-8
We are returning to the study of Gen this morning (after of couple of weeks) and find ourselves in a chapter that serves as a transition b/t the account of Jacob and what is effectively that last major section of Gen—a focus on Jacob’s son Joseph. Ch 36 is the account of Esau’s descendants. It is an important ch b/c it introduces us to the beginnings of the nation of Edom, a nation that will play a significant role later in the history of Israel (we’ll look a little more at this next time).
There is a principle that is thoroughly expressed in the Bible and which is highly applicable in our own lives today…
God’s promise/purpose/plan is not hindered by man’s sin.
This truth is established from early on:
Garden of Eden—Adam and Eve’s sin cannot hinder God’s purpose (redemption is God’s eternal purpose, decreed before the foundation of the world which must take into account the sin of His creatures—God’s purpose to redeem the sinner is not hindered by man’s sin/evil).
The account of Joseph that takes us to the end of Gen will show that despite the evil his brothers were intent on doing, God had a greater purpose that could not be hindered by their sin:
20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
The greatest evil perpetrated in the history of humanity was the murder of LJC—Son of God.
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
All this to say that God’s purpose, His promises, His plan cannot be hindered by the sin of man (anyone).
2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
When it comes to Esau—there is not a clear declaration of his relationship with the God of Israel.
15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
He seems to have had no interest or perception of spiritual matters. Regarding the birthright that he sold for a single meal:
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
That meant he treated with contempt, scorned, undervalued that which would have been most precious to him—certainly more than a simple bowl of stew. If Esau forgot the God of his father, it is true that God did not forget Esau.
Esau was the son of Isaac, the g-son of Abraham. He was the brother of Jacob (Israel) and he would become a “brother” nation to Israel. God’s promise included him in His dealings with humanity.
23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
Once Jacob had stolen the blessing from Esau, Esau cried out to his father, Isaac:
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. 40 “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.”
The promise of becoming a nation, the blessing of his father which entails servitude (prophetic) would eventually lead to independence for Esau which is depicted in our chapter. God could not forget Esau—even in light of his sin and other’s as well.
God’s promise cannot be hindered by man’s sin. Let me show you 4 things that bear out this truth in vv 1-8.
1. The Formulation
1. The Formulation
vs 1. “generations” a term that you are already familiar with—a formula that is found previously in Gen “toledot.” This word appears 8x in ch 1-35. We find it 2x in ch 36, 1x ch 37. A toledot refers to the origins of something. It is the perfect word for Genesis (the book of beginnings) b/c we are introduced to the beginnings of “heaven and earth” (ch 2), then consistently translated “generations” when referring to people (Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob). Using this formulation we are now being introduced to the generations of Esau—his physical descendants. And they will be thoroughly documented in this ch.
In fact, there are 2 accounts of Esau’s descendants (vs 1, 9—toledot appears 2x). The 1st account details the immediate descendants of Esau thru his wives and their so-journey. It ends with the note that Esau settles in the hill country of Seir—becoming the nation Edom.
The 2nd account will include more generations of descendants noting that among them are chiefs and kings that make up Edomites.
In vs 1 Moses makes the connection that Esau is Edom (repeats in vs 8; “father of Edomites” vs 9).
25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.
Likewise, Edom means “to be red” presumably the color of skin/hair and also describing Esau’s preference for things that are red “let me have a swallow of that red stuff (stew)” (25:30).
So this is the formula that unifies the entire account of the book of Genesis.
2. The Fusion
2. The Fusion
2-5
Esau was what people would call “a man’s man.” Alexander Whyte (19th C Scottish preacher):
Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Chapter 52: The Generations of Esau
Esau was full of the manliest interests and occupations and pursuits. He was a very proverb of courage and endurance and success in the chase. He was the ruggedest, the brawniest, and the shaggiest of all the rugged, brawny, and shaggy creatures of the field and of the forest, among whom he lived and died. Esau had an eye like an eagle. His ear never slept. His foot took the firmest hold of the ground. And his hand was always full both of skill, and strength, and success. Esau’s arrow never missed its mark. He was the pride of all the encampment as he came home at night with his traps, and his snares, and his bows, and his arrows, and laden to the earth with venison for his father’s supper. Burned black with the sun; beaten hard and dry with the wind; a prince of men; a prime favourite both with men, and women, and children, and with a good word and a good gift from the field for them all.
He was his father’s favorite son. But he was also a man with a sensual nature and that nature drove him deeper into sin. vs 2 begins a description of Esau’s wives—the women that he was joined together with (fusion). “took wives from daughters of Canaan” (would later be strictly forbidden: Dt 7:1-3).
Abraham went to great lengths to ensure that his servant Eliezer would not find a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites (24:1-9). But Esau took 2 wives from the idolatrous Hittites which would become a profound hardship on family life.
35 and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
How many people have encountered that bitterness by marrying an ungodly spouse? For the believer, God’s will for you is to marry only in the Lord, to not be unequally yoked. Esau, a man of sensuality, not only married ungodly women, but he married multiple women (contrary to God’s established purpose for the home).
Turn to Gen 26:34; (28:9) Esau is said to have married 3 women altogether. We encounter a bit of a problem here in that their names are different. We reject the solution of those who think the Bible has been corrupted in its transmission. Others have said that Esau married as many as 6 wives.
So here’s the list of his wives:
Gen 26:34; 28:9
1) Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite
2) Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite
3) Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael
Gen 36:2-3;
1) Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite
2) Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite
3) Basemath, daughter of Ishmael
The easiest explanation reconciling these 2 lists is that each woman had more than 1 name. This would not be unusual as living in a different culture would mean different names. Adah is the same woman as Basemath (26:34) as both are identified as the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Basemath is the same as Mahalath both are the daughter of Ishmael.
The last is Oholibamah to be identified with Judith. The objection is that their fathers have different names. That difficulty vanishes if the 2 fathers are actually the same man with different names (Anah the Hivite is also Beeri the Hittite). The change in nationality may have to do with Esau trying to conceal the history of idolatry of his wife from his parents.
Moses’ point is that these wives bear children to Esau in vv 4-5. These are his direct descendants which are more fully developed in the next section.
It is clear that despite Esau’s sin, his disregard for the institution of marriage as ordained by God—that God’s promise would not be hindered. Esau would become a nation—a mighty nation at that.
3. The Friction
3. The Friction
6-7
In their previous meeting, Esau and Jacob took different paths. Jacob headed west to Shechem (and horrible account of Dinah’s rape). Esau proceeded to journey south to Seir (33:16). At some point, he is summoned upon the death of his father and returns to his homeland when he and Jacob bury Isaac together. It is presumed that this is their final meeting (though Scripture is silent after this). For a time, Esau remains in the land of his birth, alongside of Jacob. This will create friction b/t the 2 brothers, not unlike the friction that happened b/t Abraham and Lot. When Lot moved away the Lord promised Abram that his descendants would receive the whole land (13:14-17).
You can see the hand of God blessing Esau with tremendous wealth—at the same time God was blessing Jacob. Though the 2 had reconciled, they couldn't really remain in close proximity b/c of the size of their possessions. Moses writes “their property had become too great” and the land could not sustain both groups. Here is a glimpse of just how God had blessed Esau in a material sense.
Esau departs on peaceful terms and just like Lot’s move brought the promise of the land, when Esau moves it is reaffirmation of God’s promise to Abraham of the land being a possession thru Jacob. This becomes a partial fulfillment—for there is still more land to inherit.
4. The Formation
4. The Formation
vs 8
We have this note of Esau establishing his home in the hill country of Seir with the additional explanation that Esau is Edom. That is Esau has become the nation of Edom and is living within the boundaries of that country. This had become Esau’s permanent residence.
The kingdom of Edom would dispossess the original inhabitants of the land—the Horites. Their home was “the hill country of Seir” and this land would become the possession of Esau’s descendants. On the eve of entering the Promised Land, God told Israel:
1 “Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days. 2 “And the Lord spoke to me, saying, 3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, 4 and command the people, saying, “You will pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; 5 do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
This land extended from just south of the Dead Sea all the way to the gulf or Aqaba (of the Red Sea). It stretches for about 100 miles in length but was only roughly 20 miles wide. This is what God had given to Esau as a possession (Josh 24:4). This is affirming another aspect of God’s purposes not being interrupted or hindered by man’s actions.
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
Even the nations are appointed by the Lord (their rise and fall, their boundaries). We see this in respect to Esau. God is carrying out His purpose and the question has been asked, “was Esau a believer?” Most commentators view him as an unbelieving lost soul—mainly in connection with what Hebrews says about him. But the Bible is ambiguous on this point. Kent Hughes gives his perspective:
Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Chapter 52: The Generations of Esau
But the question is, does this refer to Esau’s entire life? Is it his life epitaph? Or does it apply to the event early in his life when he sold his birthright and lost his blessing—a time when his life was characterized by immorality and unholy conduct—a period in which he acquired his Canaanite and Ishmaelite wives—a graceless time in his life? As to the famous statement quoted in Romans 9:13, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” which Paul uses to illustrate God’s sovereign choice (particular, individual election) of Jacob over Esau, it must be remembered that it is a quotation from Malachi 1:2, 3, which is a centuries-later oracle of judgment against the Edomites for their abuse of Israel. In Genesis 33 there is no acrimony but rather forgiveness and mutual love and affection. And the brothers stood in solidarity at their father’s death (35:29). One day the second table of the law would be summed up by the call to love your neighbor as you love yourself (cf. Leviticus 19:18), and here Esau appeared to be doing just that. Perhaps it was because he had first come to love God—and grace was effectual.
This is a helpful perspective that we can’t judge Esau simply b/c we don’t have all the details. What we should do is judge ourselves. Examine our own lives in the light of how the Bible calls us to live before God.
Let me offer some applicational points before we come to the Lord’s table:
We cannot determine spiritual health on the basis of material possessions. Esau had accumulated tremendous wealth and that b/c God has caused him to prosper. The promise of the gospel is not prosperity, wealth (not even health) but the gospel calls you to repentance and faith where you will receive forgiveness of sin and are made right with the Creator God. Any material blessing or the lack of it cannot be a measure of one’s spiritual position.
Esau’s life becomes an illustration of what it is like to live apart from the Lord (at least his earlier life). Esau was bitter, he bore a heavy grudge, desired to kill his own brother. He also married multiple wives who themselves became a terrible source of contention within Esau’s larger family. Living apart from God brings hardship. Living by your own standard will always yield difficulty—perhaps Esau recognized this when he saw how miserable his wives had made his parents—he then takes a 3rd wife, this time from extended family (daughter of Ishmael) hoping that this would temper the bitterness of his other wives.
God was gracious toward Esau. His common grace can be traced from the beginning as God did not forget Esau but greatly blessed him. Today, God’s common grace will become a reason for God’s greater judgment on anyone who does not repent of their sin and live by faith in JC. We live in a place where God’s blessing has been manifest for such a long time—and it is actually being repudiated, scorned and defiled by godlessness. These things will become evidence against those who do them in the day of judgment.
Esau is a different man than he was some 20-30 years earlier. Those who know the LJC will not be the same person they were earlier. You are being transformed:
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Examine yourselves—test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. We’re all called to do this especially as we remember the work of Christ for us.