According to His Good Purpose

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PURPOSE

Gen 36:1-8

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.

NIV

We are about to enter lists of wives, sons, and daughters of Esau and his descendants, plus those of strangers, non-Israelites, people, and kings in Edom that have little significance at this time but will at some later date. Nevertheless, we will not find a truth for our lives within such a list. However, we do find it interesting that Esau was the one who moved away from the place he had settled in for many years, the land of promise given to his grandfather Abraham. This left Jacob or Isreal to occupy the land of promise, which is how it must be for the nation of Isreal to be living in the land God promised to their father Abraham. For Esau to concede the land he had to his brother took both courage and humility considering how he felt at the time Jacob stole both his birthright and blessing. That could be our lesson regarding living with humility giving way to others. However, it is also interesting how God intervened in this situation, perhaps inspiring Esau to leave, so that Isreal would be where he was supposed to be according to God’s good purpose. This is also a lesson for us in that we should always be aware, being in touch with our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, our everlasting Father, so that we are always in the right place according to his good pleasure and purpose. That place can be in the physical, material, and spiritual sense. We think the spiritual would be the most important, living in the realm of the kingdom of God, listening and obeying the voice of the Spirit who lives within. This would include having the Spirit manifest all His fruit in our relationships, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. We would also think God would want us to live according to his definition of love, which he inspired Paul to write to the Corinthians. Both those combined with gifts of the Spirit would fit into both the physical and Spiritual sense. However, physical condition could also be applied to where we live, as we see with Esau and Jacob. It could mean the exact city, home, and place of worship. It can also apply to our material state, as we learn to be content, perhaps knowing what it is to have plenty and be in want. Living without envy, jealousy, or pride. We know that our Heavenly Father is sovereign and that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and we are the sheep of his pasture. So we should be following him, being in the place, physically, materially, and spiritually according to his good purpose for our lives.