Our Choice's Today Will Shape Our Tomorrows Series

Our Choice’s Today will shape our Tomorrows

DBF 02/17/02

Genesis 36

Esau’s History

Esau’s Legacy

You know people often tell me about how blessed we are to have a son like Dominique and to have the privilege to be in fellowship with the nice young people who come to Dillingham Bible Fellowship.

I do feel blessed to be around these young Christians because as a bi-vocational pastor whose other job happens to be as a Juvenile Probation Officer whose jurisdiction is larger than any half of the lower 48 states combined, I do see the other kids that are being referenced here.

I feel blessed but I also know that it takes a lot of time, effort, nurturing, prayer, and prayer, and prayer…… It is not a mistake or an accident when a child turns out the way that Christ calls them to be. The kids I see mostly have not had a great deal of any of the above.

I often tell the kids that come into my Juvenile Probation Office that I would love for them to make the right decisions in life. I point out the fact that all of us have made mistakes, and as long as we learn and change our behaviors and learn, we can be OK.

Oh, you don’t remember making mistakes?

God’s word tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are as filthy rags, unworthy, yet God still sent His only begotten Son to die for you and I on the cruel, cruel tree at Calvary—Praise be to our Risen Savior.

Here in Dillingham, you may know a few people who haves sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But the reality is that we all fall short, and other than the grace of God and the direction we receive from God’s Holy Word we are nothing without Christ in our lives.

We will look at the history of Esau, if you remember Esau married two daughters of the land of Canaan. His mother then asked Isaac to send Jacob back to her homeland to marry a daughter of their people. When Esau heard this he married a daughter of Ishmael, Isaac’s step-brother. Let’s look to God’s word for wisdom as we walk with Esau through Chapter 36 of Genesis.

Esau’s History

Genesis 36

1Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. 2Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 4And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; 5And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. 6And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. 7For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. 8Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

9And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: 10These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. 11And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 12And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife. 13And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

These are the generations of Esau—Here we have the genealogy of Esau in his sons and grandsons, and also the genealogy of Seir the Horite. The genealogy of the sons of Esau, born in Canaan, is related in Genesis 36:1-8; those of his grandchildren born in Seir, in Genesis 36:9-19; those of Seir the Horite, Genesis 36:20-30. The generations of Esau are particularly marked, to show how exactly God fulfilled the promises he made to him, Genesis 25 and 27; and those of Seir the Horite are added, because the families became blended with that of Esau.

His wives—Esau’s wives are Aholibamah, Adah, and Bashemath. Remember that Esau had first taken Aholibamah and Adah from the Canaanite people, then after Rebekah asked Isaac to send Jacob away to marry from their own people, Esau married on of Ishmael’s daughters, Bashemath.

We know from our previous studies that this type of arrangement is not the preferred order by God. God called them man and woman that they might cling to each other. Adam and Eve were a singular family unit, we see no Evone, Evette, and Eva Jane.