Ideologies

DEVOTION

GENESIS

IDEOLOGIES

Gen 36:1-43

36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite —  3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. 9 This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. 12 Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. 13 The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 14 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon,whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam and Korah.  15 These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah. 17 The sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 18 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs. 20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs. 22 The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister. 23 The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25 The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26 The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. 27 The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir. 31 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned: 32 Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king. 39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40 These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.

This was Esau the father of the Edomites.

NIV

This is the whole of the account of Esau. We will see records of him in the future but not as it is here. This is all his sons and descendants that became kings and dukes. His clan became a nation called the Edomites. He became a great nation onto himself. There does not seem to be a place where we can find a truth as a life lesson among all the “who had this son and the names of the following sons along with names of wives”. The only record here that might serve us as a lesson is in the move of Esau and his reasoning. First we remember how he took wives from the Hivites and Hittites which is what angered his mother Rebekah. This is why Isaac had to send Jacob to take a wife from their own clan, from his mother’s brother Laban. The hatred Esau had for Jacob has been settled and they have once again gained their brotherly relationship. But with both of them being a rather large clan of their own and with all the herds and flocks the land could not support them both, so Esau decides he will be the one to leave to a new land. That was rather nice of him since he had been living here all along while Jacob was working for twenty years in the household of Laban and has now just recently returned with all his livestock. This surely shows a changed man in Esau. One who hated to the point of wanting to kill, now has not only forgiven, but allows Jacob to have the land he had been living in while Jacob was gone. What once was a great division between brothers seems to have been resolved. But we know the future of their descendants. In the final analysis of it all, the Edomites were always at war with Judah in some form or another. David attacked the Edomites and killed thousands of them. The Edomites attacked Judah and carried off many prisoners. All throughout the rest of the Old Testament the two have been at war. Why? Esau left with good relations with his brother Jacob. Esau’s intentions seemed honorable. Yet it still comes down to who was Esau, what god or gods did he serve. Although he was raised in the household of Isaac and Rebekah who served the Lord God most high, he married women who served false gods. We are never told Esau became a believer in the Lord God, but most likely he and his descendants served these false gods of his wives. What Esau did was not influenced by God but rather by his humanity. While Jacob was gone, he became a very wealthy man in his own right with many servants in his household. He now had no reason to be jealous of Jacob. Yet with what we know happened between the descendants of Jacob and those of Esau always being at war, we have to assume this is because Esau serving these foreign gods instilled this kind of attitude toward Jacob and so as they both grew into nations, their descendants waged war. It always comes down who serves the Lord and who serves false gods. The two can never have a lasting treaty. They have no common ground. What does the righteous have in common with the unrighteousness? We should learn this well. We cannot make lasting treaties with those who do not serve the Lord God. Either they become believers or we will ultimately be at war with them in some manner. Surely not in the sense of war as armies or nations wage. But we are in an ideological war and will forever be throughout the generations. It will forever be about differing ideologies.