Genesis 36
Genesis 36
To fully appreciate and understand this genealogy today we have to be reminded of what God said to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23…
“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.”
As I was researching this passage I came across a great commentary on this passage…
Esau was not the son of promise. Jacob was. Yet God prospered Esau and made him into the great nation of Edom, the strength of which is indicated by the lists of kings and chiefs in this chapter.
At the same time, remember that Esau did not prosper spiritually. His life was a long process of decline, and the nation he founded eventually became a special object of God’s judgment (described prophetically in the Book of Obadiah).
Hebrew 12:16-17 says, “that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”
In dramatic contrast to the expanding, powerful line of Esau, 37:1 notes that Jacob was dwelling in the land of Canaan still just a family. Jacob had a very late start.
If we were to only look at God’s material blessing at this juncture, we would call Esau the chosen and Jacob the one passed over. Remember that Jacob reunited with Esau with a fledgling family. Esau was accompanied by 400 armed men. It takes the entire 36th chapter to list Esau’s descendants. Jacob’s life was summarized in the first verse of Genesis 37.
But we would be wrong. God does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart, and in God’s evaluation as recorded in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Esau was “unholy” (Heb. 12:16), while Jacob was a man of true faith (Heb. 11:21). [https://www.biblesumo.com/descendants-esau-genesis-36/]
God had a plan for the line of Jacob. A plan to bring about a Savior for the world. God also has plans for your life… plans to use you. Walk with Him in uprightness and holiness.
By: Nick Parsons
To fully appreciate and understand this genealogy today we have to be reminded of what God said to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23…
“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.”
As I was researching this passage I came across a great commentary on this passage…
Esau was not the son of promise. Jacob was. Yet God prospered Esau and made him into the great nation of Edom, the strength of which is indicated by the lists of kings and chiefs in this chapter.
At the same time, remember that Esau did not prosper spiritually. His life was a long process of decline, and the nation he founded eventually became a special object of God’s judgment (described prophetically in the Book of Obadiah).
Hebrew 12:16-17 says, “that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”
In dramatic contrast to the expanding, powerful line of Esau, 37:1 notes that Jacob was dwelling in the land of Canaan still just a family. Jacob had a very late start.
If we were to only look at God’s material blessing at this juncture, we would call Esau the chosen and Jacob the one passed over. Remember that Jacob reunited with Esau with a fledgling family. Esau was accompanied by 400 armed men. It takes the entire 36th chapter to list Esau’s descendants. Jacob’s life was summarized in the first verse of Genesis 37.
But we would be wrong. God does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart, and in God’s evaluation as recorded in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Esau was “unholy” (Heb. 12:16), while Jacob was a man of true faith (Heb. 11:21). [https://www.biblesumo.com/descendants-esau-genesis-36/]
God had a plan for the line of Jacob. A plan to bring about a Savior for the world. God also has plans for your life… plans to use you. Walk with Him in uprightness and holiness.
By: Nick Parsons
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