Sermon Tone Analysis

Thursday June 8, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 28:6-9-Esau Marries Ishmaelite

Lesson # 159

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 28:1.

Last evening we studied Genesis 28:1-5, which records Isaac blessing Jacob and agreeing with Rebekah’s idea to send Jacob away to her relatives in order to take a wife and warning him not to take a wife among the Canaanites.

This evening we will study Genesis 28:6-9, which records Esau marrying an Ishmaelite in order to please his please his father after discovering that his Hittite wives displeased him.

Genesis 28:1, “So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, ‘You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.’”

Genesis 28:2, “Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.”

Genesis 28:3, “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.”

Isaac “blessed” Jacob in the sense that he publicly honored and acknowledged and recognized that Jacob is the true heir of the promises, privileges, responsibilities and blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Like his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, the Lord would bless Jacob in the sense that the Lord would multiply his descendants so that his posterity was great in number both, racially and spiritually and multiply his possessions and livestock and prosper him financially.

Isaac’s desire for Jacob that the Lord would make Jacob “fruitful” means that the Lord would give Jacob the capacity to be prolific in that he would be the progenitor of a multitude of children in both a biological and spiritual sense.

Isaac’s desire for Jacob that the Lord would make him fruitful and multiply him refers to the Lord enduing Jacob and his descendants with the ability to be prolific in terms of posterity.

The expression “a company of peoples” refers to a community of nations that will originate from Jacob and echoes the Lord’s promise to his grandfather Abraham that he would become “the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:4-5) and “the father of nations” (Genesis 17:6).

The Lord’s promise to Abraham to make him “the father of a multitude of nations” and Isaac’s desire that the Lord would make Jacob a “company of peoples” would be fulfilled in a two-fold sense: (1) Biological (2) Spiritual.

In a “biological” or “racial” sense, the company of peoples that would originate from Jacob was the nation of Israel and in a “spiritual” sense the company of peoples would be all those who exercise faith alone in Christ alone who would be composed of all nations and races, both male and female, slave and freeman.

In the same way, that Abraham became a father in a “spiritual” sense to those individuals who exercised faith in Christ so also Jacob would become the father in a “spiritual” sense to all those who exercised faith in Christ (See Galatians 3).

Genesis 28:4, “May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.”

“The blessing of Abraham” refers to the fact that Jacob would not only inherit the promises, privileges, responsibilities and blessings of the covenant that the Lord established with Abraham, which are recorded Genesis 12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-6, 18; 17:1-8; 22:15-18; 24:7 but also that he would be in the line of Christ.

The “Abrahamic” covenant included not only “personal” (Isaac and land of Canaan) and “national” (Israel) promises to Abraham but also contained the “universal” promise of eternal salvation to all mankind through faith in Jesus Christ who is a descendant of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah.

The possession of the land refers to the “Palestinian” Covenant, which was a confirmation and enlargement of the original “Abrahamic” covenant and amplified the land features of the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen.

13:14-15; 15:18).

The “Palestinian” Covenant stipulated that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who exercise faith alone in Christ alone would not only come into permanent possession of the land of Canaan but also most of the land in Turkey, East Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Red Sea, Syria, Iraq, Jordan.

The boundaries of this land grant are on the Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, Euphrates River and the Nile River (See Genesis 15:18).

The “Palestinian” covenant will have its literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa.

11:11-12; Jer.

31-37; Ezek.

34:11-16; Hos.

1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph.

3:14-20; Zech.

8:4-8).

Genesis 28:5, “Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.”

Jacob’s name is listed first followed by Esau to demonstrate that both Isaac and Rebekah are now unified in their recognition that Jacob will receive the blessings of the birthright and the promises, privileges, responsibilities and blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant and not Esau.

Esau’s name is listed in order to establish a smooth transition with the information about Esau recorded in Genesis 28:6-9.

Genesis 28:6-7, “Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he charged him, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram.”

The prohibition to not marry a Canaanite woman and the command to marry a cousin corresponds to the prohibition and command recorded in Genesis 24:2-4 that Abraham gave his servant Eliezer regarding a bride for Isaac.

The family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was prohibited by God from entering into marriage with the Canaanites and instead were to marry Shemites since Noah prophesied in Genesis 9:20-27 that Canaan was under a curse and that Shem was in the line of Christ.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Shemites meaning that they were descendants of Shem and were therefore to marry other Shemites.

Rebekah’s family were Shemites and therefore, Jacob is sent away to marry one of his cousins.

Neither Jacob nor Esau had ever previously been taught by their parents that marriage to Canaanite women was against the will of God and unsatisfactory to their parents.

We know this to be the case since Isaac’s prohibition to Jacob to not marry a Canaanite was never in the past given to either Jacob or Esau since nowhere previously has this instruction been given.

This is further confirmed by Esau’s response to learning that his Canaanite wives were displeasing to his father when he went and married an Ishmaelite, which is recorded in Genesis 28:6-9.

Therefore, it appears that Isaac and Rebekah failed as parents in the eyes of the Lord since they did not teach Jacob and Esau Noah’s prophecy recorded in Genesis 9:24-27.

Genesis 28:8-9, “So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.”

When Esau learned of Jacob’s departure, he then finally realized how displeasing his Hittite-Canaanite wives were to Isaac.

Evidently, he did not know how his wives acted when he wasn’t around.

So he did not understand that the real problem that their Canaanite lifestyle caused.

He thought it was because they were not relatives.

So when Jacob was sent to get a wife from Rebekah’s relatives, Esau jumped to the conclusion that he could please his father by marrying a relative and somehow receive a blessing from him.

Esau never did understand the spiritual issues involved since he was soulish man and uninterested in the things of the Lord as manifested in his exchanging his birthright for a bowl of red lintel soup.

The fact that Esau was a naturally minded or soulish man and not a spiritual man is the reason why he never understood spiritual issues.

1 Corinthians 2:1, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

1 Corinthians 2:3, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.”

1 Corinthians 2:4, “and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”

1 Corinthians 2:5, “so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:6, “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.”

1 Corinthians 2:7, “but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory.”

1 Corinthians 2:8, “the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

1 Corinthians 2:9, “but just as it is written, ‘THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.’”

1 Corinthians 2:10, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:11, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?

Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”

1 Corinthians 2:13, “which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

1 Corinthians 2:15, “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”

1 Corinthians 2:16, “For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM?

But we have the mind of Christ.”

So Esau goes to his relatives, the home of Ishmael and takes a wife from among them.

But again he has no spiritual perception and doesn’t realize that Ishmael was not in the line of Christ either and that the Lord had chosen Isaac over him as Abraham’s heir.

In fact, Psalm 83:6 records an alliance of Edomites with the Ishmaelites against Israel!

Genesis 28:8-9, “So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.”

Genesis 28:6-9 also reveals how desperately Esau desired to please his father but he lacks spiritual understanding to connect with Isaac and Rebekah.

“Ishmael” was the son that Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar bore to Abraham and his name means, “God hears” which alludes to the fact that God heard or took notice of Hagar’s suffering when she was sent out of the home by Abraham and Sarah while pregnant with Ishmael (See Genesis 16).

“Ishmael” became the progenitor of the Arabs, who have traditionally been the enemies of Israel and also from the line of “Ishmael” came Muhammad and Islam, one of the most demonic of religions and a foe of not only Israel but also Christianity.

Genesis 25:12-18 records that Ishmael was the progenitor of twelve tribes who settled in the region from Havilah to Shur in the Arabian Desert and were hostile to their neighbors.

“Havilah” was located in the region East of Egypt in northwest Arabia (see 1 Samuel 15:7) whereas “Shur” was a city on the borders of Egypt and Palestine and a comparison of Genesis 20:1, 25:18, 1 Samuel 15:7 and 27:8 indicates that it clearly lies near the northern border of Egypt in the Sinai peninsula in the modern Suez region.

The fact that twelve princes originated from Ishmael is a fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy to Abraham that is recorded in Genesis 17:20.

Genesis 17:20, “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly.

He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”

Like Abraham, Ishmael was a believer since Genesis 25:17 records that he was “gathered to his people,” which is always used with reference to believers (Abraham in Genesis 25:8; Isaac in Genesis 35:29; Jacob in Genesis 49:33; Aaron in Numbers 20:24, 26; Deuteronomy 35:20).

The daughter of Ishmael that Esau married was “Mahalath” (tl^t&m*) (Hebrew: Machalath pronounced makh-al-ath), whose name means, “stringed instrument.”

The brother “Mahalath” was “Nebaioth” (ty)b*n+) (Hebrew: nevayoth pronounced neb-aw-yoth) whose name means, “heights” and whose descendants were the “Nabayati” an Arab tribe that was conquered by Ashurbanipal in the seventh century (668-633 B.C.) and are mentioned in Isaiah 60:7.