THROUGH THE BIBLE - Genesis..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Genesis 36. These are the generations of Esau.

That is Edom. Esau took his wives from the Canaanites, Adah, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite, Oholibama, the daughter of Anna, the daughter of Zibion, the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Neboath. and Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, Basmath bore Reuel, and Aholibama bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 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 acquainted in the land of Canaan.

He went into a land far 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 Eden. These are the generation of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

These are the names of Esau's sons. Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau. Ruel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Katam, and Kenaz. Timnah was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son.

She bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Reuel, Nahath, Zerah, Shemua, and Mizah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. They are the sons of Aholibama, the daughter of Anna, the daughter of Zibion, Esau's wife.

She bore to Esau Jewish, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau. The chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenez, Zora, Katam, and Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah.

They are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son. The chiefs, Nahaph, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. They are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife.

The chiefs, Jewish, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anna. Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, that is, Edom, and these are their chiefs. These are the sons of Seir, the Horite, the inhabitants of the land, Lotan, Shobal, Zibion, Anna, Dishon, Ezah, and Dishan.

These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam, and Lotan's sister was Timna. These are the sons of Shobal, Alvan, Mahath, Ibal, Shepor, and Onam. These are the sons of Zibion, Ay, and Anna. He is the Anna who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastored the donkeys of Zibion his father.

These are the children of Anna, Dishon, and Ahol-Ibama, the daughter of Anna. These are the sons of Dishon, Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. These are the sons of Ezah, Bilhan, Zavan, and Akan. These are the sons of Dishan, Uz, and Aran. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the chiefs of Lotan, Shobal, Zibion, and Anna.

Dishon, Ezah, and Dishan, these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. Bela, the son of Boer, reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinaheba. Bela died, and Jobar, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in this place. Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Aveth. Hadad died, and Semla died, and Shewel of Rehoboth, of the Euphrates, reigned in the place. Shayool died and Balhanan, the son of Akbor, reigned in his place. Balalhanan, the son of Akbor, died and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pu. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mazahib.

These are the names of the chiefs of Esau according to their clans and their dwelling places. By their names, the chiefs Timna, Alva, Jepheth, Aholibama, Ala, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mizba, Mibza, Migdiel and Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom. That is Esau, the father of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possessions. Amen.

And this is the word of the Lord. I'll get a drink of water after that, I think. So, brothers and sisters, what we have before us is what we call a genealogy of the people from the loins of Esau, the brother of Jacob. I understand genealogies can be rather dry reading, and for most of us, maybe if we're honest, we may skip through and not read all the names, or we may read the names and think nothing of it, and then go to the very next passage. But all Scripture is God-breathed, and that's what we believe here.

and therefore we believe all scripture is also profitable. And so this morning, or this evening, I hope that we can find why it is that the Lord has allowed for Genesis 36 and this genealogy to be made its way into the Holy Script. Now typically, genealogies in the book of Genesis signify a closure of some sort, then a change in emphasis or direction of the text moving forward. In this case, Isaac's two sons, Esau and Jacob, have occupied the better part of the last ten chapters, to one degree or another. We've gotten to know them more personally in these chapters, their attributes.

We've understood their fears, their weaknesses, their faith or lack thereof, their intentions, the intentions of their hearts. And we've also got to know basically what it is that they live for. but now a branch of emphasis is being broken off. The emphasis on two brothers becomes one. Esau drops off the radar and Jacob, now Israel, becomes the focal point of our reading moving forward.

You see, Jacob, not Esau, is the recipient of the Abrahamic promise, and therefore he and his offspring would become the emphasis of these chapters from 37 through 50, and he actually narrows down. That focus is even narrower, is narrowed further down with Joseph, the firstborn of his now deceased wife, Rachel. You see, it's Joseph who will be used by God to preserve this family that becomes a nation and a nation from whom our Savior and the Savior of the world would come. This should be no surprise to us. After all, we've said on many occasions that the Bible has one overarching goal and purpose.

And that purpose is Jesus Christ. That's the whole book's focus. And so that's where the text is leading us. Okay, so what can we learn from this chapter, this chapter of genealogies? In the next few minutes, we'll see whether we can see why it is that it is being placed in the holy book that we have before us.

Well, we know Esau picked himself up, and the text tells us he picks himself up, him and his whole clan, all his possessions, and leaves his brother Jacob behind, and he leaves the promised land behind, and he goes and makes a permanent residence in the hill country to the south, in a place called Seir. The text tells us the reason why he left. Verse 7, it says, their possessions were, that is Esau and Jacob, their possessions were too great for them to dwell together because the land of their sojournings could not support them. They had been both immensely blessed by God with an abundance of physical blessing. But beloved, we have to understand this passage is talking about the immediate location of probably Hebron's where they were, but not so much the whole Canaan in land or in view.

Surely, no matter how prosperous these brothers were, And with all their abundance of possession and flock and cattle and whatever it is that they had, there were still areas within the parameters of the promised land that was promised to their fathers for which they could dwell. But it's interesting that Esau is the one that makes the move, not Jacob. Esau is the older. He was more settled. He was there longer than Jacob.

He had more possessions, and because he had a 45-year head start, his family was greater also in number. You see, a few chapters back, if you remember, we're told that he took 400 of his men with him to greet his brother after returning from Paddan Aram. That's 400 men that he saw talk. Beloved, in the next 10 to 15 years, Jacob will sojourn to Egypt because of a severe famine in the land, and he'll only take 70 people in total with him. Esau had 400 men.

He was very well prospered. So Esau certainly was more established and humanly speaking he had the right to the land. Yet we're told he is the one who makes the move, not Jacob. Now we aren't given the reason why it's Esau that picks up and leaves, and we shouldn't presume, but being the very person described in chapter 25 as despising his birthright, and taking into consideration the book of Hebrews which tells us he was an unholy man, meaning he was not concerned with the things of God, and I think it's fair to say that it's very likely he would have despised the promise of God and also despised the promised land, thinking nothing of turning his back on this land and moving away. Now, we can't be sure.

But no matter what Esau's motivation was, the sovereign covenant-keeping God was at work fulfilling his promises that would be realized through Jacob. You see, both Esau and Jacob would become nations. But God said the nation from the loins of Jacob would inherit the land of Canaan. God is faithful, and despite all odds, He will accomplish His purpose. And we see Him starting to do that even now.

Then the rest of the genealogy that we read this evening is an account by Moses looking forward several hundred years at how Esau prospers greatly in the land now called Edom. Edom simply means red, and it's a fitting name given to Esau, who was a red man. The Bible tells us he came out of his mother's womb and he looked red. And also, if you remember, he sold his birthright to his brother for what? Red stew.

But we see that he quickly also becomes a powerful nation. We're told of chiefs of different clans, which signify a hierarchy of power, which is very likely an organized structure of government. Then we're told of kings who reign over Edom. And these kings ruled before any king had reigned in Israel. Israel hadn't yet had a king, yet Esau had already had several kings, or Edom had several kings.

Edom had grown very quickly and become a nation, whilst Israel was still a people without a land. It's at this point, people of Israel may be asking, why? Aren't we supposed to be the object of God's blessings? You see, from a human point of view and in a physical sense, it certainly feels like the blessing and the power belongs to Esau. Had God forgotten his promises?

Is it true that the older will actually serve the younger? It feels like it's the opposite. The older has kings in place and the younger is still a nation of people without a land. For the most part, it seemed like Esau had the upper hand. When the Israelites were freed from Egypt, it was Edom that stood between them and the borders of the land flowing with milk and honey.

So when Israel, through Moses, request permission from their brother Edom to simply walk through the land, not to eat any of their crop or produce, not to drink any of their water, simply just to walk down the king's highway from one place to the other, Not only was that access denied, but they were threatened with deadly force if Israel even tried to trespass. Isn't Eden supposed to serve Israel? Certainly, it doesn't seem like it's the case here. And we don't have to read very far. If we open up our Bibles to the book of Obadiah, the prophet, and we come to grips with the shameful acts of Edom during the time of the Babylonians attack upon Judah, we'll quickly come to realize how ruthless this nation was.

Rather than helping their brother Israel, they disgracefully added to the plundering and the pillaging of the Babylonians, and they will be condemned for it. Edom had always been a formidable enemy of Israel with verse 12 deepening this point in our text. It reads, Timnah was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son. She bore Amalek to Eliphaz. Amalek is most agreed among commentators to be the father of the Amalekites.

And you know who the Amalekites were. They were the ruthless, bitter enemies of Israel throughout history. They are the people who attacked this weakened and exhausted Israelite people as they were journeying through the wilderness after they'd left Egypt. So what's going on? How is Israel to understand all of this?

You see, I think the question is answered for us by the psalmist in Psalm 73. You see there, the psalmist asks this question. Why do the wicked prosper? And I believe the conclusion of that start of the psalm is also the point of Genesis 36. You see, after the psalmist complains about how the ungodly and the unholy who seem to prosper with many physical blessings, he makes a conclusion.

And his conclusion is not a denial that some of the wicked have an abundance of physical supply and riches. He doesn't deny that at all, because they do. But rather, he defines what true blessing is. The psalmist concludes with these words, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. And then he says, but for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of your works. Beloved, take your eyes off the physical and acknowledge this. It's God who is the treasure of his people. His presence is all they need. This is why I believe Genesis 36.

You find these words throughout the chapter. You find them in verses 8, and you find them in verses 19, and you find them in verses 43. What are the words we find? Esau is Edom. Esau is Edom.

Yes, they are a great nation with chiefs and kings, but remember, Esau is Edom, but you are Israel. You are Israel. You're the covenant people of God. The covenant blessings of God belong to you, not to Edom. And in God's own time, he will fulfill everything he has promised.

His physical promises will come to pass. But beloved, the real treasure is not in the stuff. The real treasure is in God himself. The real treasure is in knowing God and God knowing you. You see, there's always someone out there who has more stuff than you and I.

Always. More flock, more possessions, more of everything. And if your eyes and mine are on the real treasure, and that is God, then you will not care what they have. Because it is God and only God's spiritual blessings that truly satisfies the hearts of His own people. Abraham knew this, and by faith, he said, and he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.

So do not envy Edom. They may have an abundance of physical power for now, but the spiritual promises belong to the people of God. They belong to the true Israel. It'll end with, well, I'll end with this. In the New Testament, Edom is called Edomia.

The Edomian king Herod mocked and treated with contempt the long-awaited promised offspring of his brother Jacob. The offspring that bears testimony to God's faithfulness to fulfill all his promises. This Herod, he sent this offspring, Jesus Christ, to be tortured, to be mocked, and then to be crucified on the Roman cross. That act of evil is meant by God to be the greatest act of good. Because Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, and as the King of kings and the Savior of all, He's risen to fulfill the salvation that God has promised back in Genesis chapter 3.

And He promised the offspring of a woman through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob. And for the most part, it looked bleak, but He fulfilled His promises. He always fulfills. His promises. And not only Edom, but every nation of the world, every king in the world and every principality and every power will bend the knee to this Jesus, because Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.