Two Lands, Two Peoples, Two Destinies

TWO LANDS, TWO PEOPLES, TWO DESTINIES

An Exposition of Genesis 36:1-37:1

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: April 14, 2024

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

36 ¹ These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).² Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ³ and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ 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 acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob.⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)

⁹ These are the generations 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 Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.¹² (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. ¹⁴ These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. ²³ These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.²⁴ These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. ²⁵ These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

³¹ These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. ³³ Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ 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 Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. ³⁸ Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, 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 possession.

37 ¹ Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 36:1-37:1)

INTRODUCTION

There are two things that we want to know about every passage of Scripture. The first thing that we want to know is: what is this passage telling us? The second thing that we want to know is: what is the significance of this passage? To put it simply, we have the “what?” question and the “so what?” question.

It is worth pointing out what is not present in this passage: there is no reference to the Lord, there is no reference to any overt actions or instructions from the Lord, there is no reference to any act of worship or prayer, there is no reference to any overt acts of obedience, there is no reference to any specific point of doctrine, and there is no moral evaluation of anyone’s conduct. So you might wonder: how is this passage going to help me this morning? That is a very good question. And yet, this passage is not excluded from the promise that: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). So, this passage is designed to help you, even if you’re not sure how. There are times when a passage such as this only shines brightly only after you have connected it with other passages in the Bible, and taken together the meaning and significance descend upon us. So, stay tuned! There is more here than initially meets the eye.

Going into this passage, we know that Esau is on a journey of walking away from the covenant promises bestowed upon Abraham and Isaac, whereas Jacob is on a journey of walking in the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and himself. Thus the title of this sermon: “Two Lands, Two Peoples, Two Destinies”. This sermon is designed not mainly to satisfy your intellectual or historical curiosity, but that you would align yourself with those who carry the promise in the land of their father’s sojournings.

The ‘What’: What is this passage telling us?

But let’s begin with the ‘what’: What is this passage actually telling us? There is obviously a lot of historical, geographic, and political information on the surface of this passage.

A man named Esau generated a nation called Edom, and early in that process he moved from Canaan to Seir. The tight connection between Esau the man and Edom the nation is highlighted in verses 1, 8, 19, and 43.

Verse 1 presents us with the ninth toldot (the Hebrew word often translated ‘generations’) or generations unit in the Book of Genesis. As I have said before, the Book of Genesis is structured in a simple way: Genesis begins with a prologue telling us about God creating the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-2:3), and following the prologue there are eleven interlocking units that could be called generations units or toldots.

• Prologue (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

• Generations Unit #1 (Genesis 2:4-4:26): “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 2:4).

• Generations Unit #2 (Genesis 5:1-6:8): “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” (Genesis 5:1)

• Generations Unit #3 (Genesis 6:9-9:29): “These are the generations of Noah.” (Genesis 6:9)

• Generations Unit #4 (Genesis 10:1-11:9): “These are the generations of the sons of Noah” (Genesis 10:1).

• Generations Unit #5 (Genesis 11:10-26): “These are the generations of Shem.” (Genesis 11:10)

• Generations Unit #6 (Genesis 11:27-25:11): “Now these are the generations of Terah.” (Genesis 11:27)

• Generations Unit #7 (Genesis 25:12-18): “These are the generations of Ishmael” (Genesis 25:12).

• Generations Unit #8 (Genesis 25:19-35:29): “These are the generations of Isaac” (Genesis 25:19).

• Generations Unit #9 (Genesis 36:1-8): “These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).” (Genesis 36:1).

• Generations Unit #10 (Genesis 36:9-37:1): “These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites” (Genesis 36:9).

• Generations Unit #11 (Genesis 37:2-50:26): “These are the generations of Jacob.” (Genesis 37:2)

It is interesting, of course, that Esau actually gets two units: the first unit (v. 1-8) focuses on Esau’s earlier years leading up to his departure from Canaan and move to Seir; the second unit (Genesis 36:9-27:1) focuses on what became of Esau’s extended family unit in the years after he moved to Seir.

Esau moves his family to Seir (v. 2-8)

Verses 2-5 tell us that Esau had three wives (Adah, Oholibamah, and Basemath) and five sons (Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah). Then verses 6-8 tell us that Esau took his family, his household servants, and his livestock and possessions, and moved to “the hill country of Seir” (v. 8). The land of Seir was located to the south/southeast of Canaan. Why did he make this move? According to verses 6-7, the land where Esau lived in Canaan was unable to support both him and his brother Jacob, so Esau left and Jacob stayed. Of course, in the case of Esau and Jacob, Esau’s departure from Canaan is the physical outworking of the underlying spiritual reality that Esau had for years been walking away from the God of his father Isaac.

Esau’s sons, grandsons, and chiefs (v. 9-19)

Generations Unit #10 – and the second unit about Esau – begins in verse 9. In verses 10-14, we learn not only that Esau had the five sons mentioned earlier, but also that he had ten grandsons (Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Gatam, Amalek, Natath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah).

Then in verses 15-19, the emphasis shifts from extended family to tribal politics. Here the word “chiefs” occurs eight times. We also learn that Esau had an additional grandson Korah (not to be confused with his son by the same name). All told, Esau generated fourteen chiefs: “chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek” (v. 15-16) – the seven chief-sons of Eliphaz; “chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah” (v. 17) – the four chief-sons of Reuel; and “chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah” – unlike the other eleven chiefs who were grandsons of Esau, these final three chiefs were Esau’s sons.

Thus far: one man, three wives, five sons, eleven grandsons, and fourteen chiefs (made up of the eleven grandsons and three of the five sons).

Horite chiefs in the land of Seir (v. 20-30)

Now at this point the text shifts our attention from Esau’s extended family unit to the broader social and political dynamics at work in the land of Seir. The land of Seir, which Esau had moved into, was abuzz with other people, other tribal units, and other chiefs.

As it turns out, “the hill country of Seir” (v. 8, 9) was named after a man named Seir – specifically, “Seir the Horite”. “Seir the Horite” had seven chief-sons: “Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan” (v. 20-21). Given the flow of thought in verses 22-28, the chief Anah appears to be the son of the chief Zibeon, and the chief Dishon was the son of the chief Anah – so Seir’s seven chief-sons are seven prominent male descendants, including sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. However, it is also possible that multiple persons (e.g., a son and grandson) had the same name.

In any case, Chief Lotan had two sons: “Hori and Hemam” (v. 22). Chief Shobal had five sons: “Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam” (v. 23). Chief Zibeon had two sons: “Alah and Anah” (v. 24). Anah had made a name for himself by discovering “the hot springs in the wilderness” while he was pasturing his father’s donkeys (v. 24). As already mentioned, Anah was a chief in his own right, and Chief Anah had two children: a son named Dishon, and a daughter named Oholibamah (v. 25). Chief Dishon, Anah’s son, had four sons of his own: “Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran” (v. 26). Chief Ezer had three sons: “Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan” (v. 27). Finally, Chief Dishan had two sons: “Uz and Aran” (v. 28). These seven chiefs of the Horites are named in order a second time in verses 29-30.

Now as far as the history of Esau and Esau’s extended family goes, the point of verses 20-30 isn’t merely to tell us that Esau lived in the Horite neighborhood. There is more. You may have noticed that there are two points of intersection between the family of Seir in verses 20-30 and the family of Esau in verses 1-19.

The first point of intersection is that “Oholibamah the daughter of Anah” (v. 25) was one of Esau’s wives (as we learned in v. 2). So Esau married into Seir’s family – and this may, in fact, be a reason why he moved to Seir in the first place, since he presumably had already married into Seir’s family before moving to Seir.

The second point of intersection is that Seir’s son Lotan had a sister named Timna (v. 22), and verse 12 tells us, “Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son”. So Eliphaz also married into Seir’s family.

There is another point of intersection that arises later in the Bible. The Horites dwelt in Seir before the Edomites did, but the Edomites ultimately dispossessed and destroyed the Horites. Indeed, the Lord gave the Horites into the hand of the Edomites, and gave the land of Seir to the Edomites (see Deuteronomy 2:5, 12, 22).

The kings of Edom (v. 31-39)

Moving to verses 31-39, we move from chiefs to kings. Chiefs rule over smaller, extended family clans or tribes. Kings rule over the broader network of clans and tribes. Long before Israel had kings ruling over it, the land of Edom had kings ruling over it (v. 31). There is given us a succession of eight kings: King Bela (v. 32), followed by King Jobab (v. 33), followed by King Husham (v. 34), followed by King Hadad (v. 35), followed by King Samlah (v. 36), followed by King Shaul (v. 37), followed by King Baal-hanan (v. 38), followed by King Hadar (v. 39). The kingship in Edom wasn’t a hereditary monarchy in which the throne passed to the king’s eldest son, but was obtained by other means. Once again, this list of kings has two points of intersection with Esau’s extended family.

According to verse 13, Esau’s son Reuel had four sons, one of whom was named Zerah. In verse 33, we are told that “Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah” became king. Assuming that the Zerah of verse 33 is the same as the Zerah of verse 13, this means that Esau’s great-grandson was king of Edom.

The second point of intersection is the king that followed Jobab, namely, “Husham of the land of the Temanites” (v. 34). The Temanites would have stemmed from Esau’s grandson Teman, the son of Eliphaz. Whether or not Husham was a blood descendant, he arose from the Temanite neck of the woods.

Later Edomite chiefs (v. 40-43)

After telling us about the chiefs and kings in the land of Edom in verses 20-39 and showing a few points of intersection with Esau’s extended family, verses 40-43 conclude by returning to the chiefs that hailed from among Esau’s descendants. Earlier, we had been told that Esau had fourteen chiefs among his sons and grandsons. But by the time we get to the information in verses 40-43, many years have passed – perhaps many decades have passed by the time we get to the eleven chiefs who are named in verses 40-43: “chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram” (v. 40-43).

The bottom line

The bottom line is that Esau had a large extended family in which his family was conjoined to the Horites through marriage, and Esau’s descendants had an abiding social and political presence in “the land of Seir” (v. 30), in “the land of Edom” (v. 31), “in the land of their possession” (v. 43) – in fact, not just a presence, but they actually came to dominate that land, and destroyed the Horites.

Don’t forget about Jacob (Genesis 37:1)

Last but not least, we cannot forget about the first verse of Chapter 37. In terms of how the Book of Genesis is structured, Genesis 37:1 belongs with Genesis 36. So, the author of Genesis doesn’t want to conclude the unit about Esau without telling us that Jacob was in an entirely different place than Esau was, thus signifying to us that Jacob was on an entirely different trajectory than Esau was. This observation may prompt us to ask questions of ourselves: Where is your place? What is your trajectory?

The ‘So What’: What is the significance of this passage?

Now I admit that I passed over some details, but hopefully the big picture of Genesis 36:1-37:1 is clear enough so that we can now consider its significance. So, let’s move from the ‘What’ of this passage to the ‘So What’: What is the significance of this passage? Believe it or not, there is a great deal of significance in this passage, and this significance is found in relationship to the unfolding storyline in the Book of Genesis and beyond.

Two Lands, Two Loves

But the bottom line reality is that there are two peoples, two ways, two directions, two destinies. This bottom line reality is deeper than the physical, social, and political activities that we see on the surface. Being an ethnic Edomite doesn’t damn you; being an ethnic Israelite doesn’t save you. But as a matter of fact, the Edomite story unfolded as an expression of their alienation from God, whereas Jacob’s story unfolded as an expression of the Lord’s gracious salvation conferred upon Jacob in spite of Jacob’s sinfulness.

The church father Augustine has a well-known quote about how the world is fundamentally divided at the spiritual level in terms of two cities: the earthly city (the city of man), and the heavenly city (the city of God). He wrote:

“Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; and the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of our conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, “Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of my head” (Psalm 3:3).”[1]

On the one hand, there is the self-exalting, God-belittling, and ultimately cruel kingdom of man. And on the other hand, there is the God-exalting, God-loving, and ultimately kind kingdom of God. This fundamental divide is evident in the comments that I’m about to make.

Esau’s off-ramp

So, in terms of the significance of this passage, this passage functions as the off-ramp for Esau’s exit from the narrative. When it comes to the sons who are not part of the genealogical line leading to the Messiah, the Book of Genesis’ signature way of saying goodbye to them is to briefly sketch their genealogy and history, and then never mention them again. Adam’s son Cain was not part of the genealogical line leading to the Messiah: Genesis said goodbye to him in Genesis 4:17-24. Noah’s sons Ham and Japheth were not part of the genealogical line leading to the Messiah: Genesis said goodbye to them in Genesis 10:1-20. Abraham’s son Ishmael was not part of the genealogical line leading to the Messiah: Genesis said goodbye to him in Genesis 25:12-18. Now the same thing is happening with Isaac’s son Esau. Esau is not part of the genealogical line leading to the Messiah, so Genesis says goodbye to him in Genesis 36.

The storyline of God’s grace

Only one genealogical line is perpetuated throughout the Book of Genesis: the line through Adam’s son Seth, down through Noah’s son Shem, down through Abraham’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob and thus to the twelve-tribe nation of Israel, out of which the Messiah would come in due course. The Messiah is the One who makes all the difference – Old Testament era saints looked forward to His coming, and New Testament era saints look back upon what He accomplished at His first coming (even as we also look forward to His second coming). The Messiah is the One who chooses us out of the world, who calls us into His light and His truth, and who pays the price to redeem us from our sins and restore us to fellowship with the Father. The difference between the Messiah’s people and the world’s people isn’t the difference of our achievement, our performance, or our track record: the Messiah’s people have received the Messiah’s grace and been rescued out of their sin, whereas the world’s people prefer to continue in their sin and so remain under the well-deserved judgment of God. As we read through the Book of Genesis and the Bible as a whole, we’re not tracing a human or moral strategy to do better; instead, we’re tracing the storyline of God’s grace to undeserving sinners.

Prophecy fulfilled

This passage also shows us how earlier prophecy was fulfilled. When Isaac’s wife Rebekah was pregnant with two sons in her womb (those two sons being Esau and Jacob), the Lord told Rebekah that these two sons represented two nations (Genesis 25:23). Here in Genesis 36 we see very clearly that Esau became the father of the nation of Edom. There is another interesting connection with the prophetic blessings and curses that Isaac declared concerning Jacob and Esau in Genesis 27. In Genesis 27, Isaac declared the blessing to Jacob: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” (Genesis 27:28) Later in Genesis 27, Isaac declared the curse to Esau: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.” (Genesis 27:39) Taken together, these declarations foretold that Jacob and Esau would not dwell together, would not dwell in the same place. Here in Genesis 36 we see this play out, as “Esau went into a land away from his brother Jacob.” (Genesis 36:6) Two different men, two different nations, two different lands, two different destinies.

Choose wisely the path you take!

And this leads very naturally into the most significant practical lesson from our passage: there are two divergent paths that are set before you – the path of the world and the path of the promise – and you must choose which path you will take.

Later on in Israel’s history, Joshua will challenge the people this way:

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

Singer Bob Dylan, who envisions a wide number of possible activities to which you might devote your life in his song “Gotta Serve Somebody”, gets to the heart of the matter in the refrain that recurs throughout the song: “You’re gonna have to serve somebody / Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord / But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”.[2] And the biblical reality is that if you aren’t serving the Lord, then you are serving the devil – as uncomfortable as it may be for you to reckon with this truth.

In terms of our Genesis 36:1-37:1 passage, if Esau in the land of Seir is walking the right path, follow him; but if Jacob in the land of Canaan is walking the right path, then follow him.[3] Of course, Esau isn’t walking the right path, whereas Jacob is walking the right path. Choose wisely the path you take!

Ultimately, Genesis 36:1-43 is sketching for us the development of a graceless civilization, of a far-from-God culture, of a nation that is being formed and shaped by something other than God’s promises. In contrast to Jacob whose journey is taking place within the framework of God’s covenant promises, Esau is undertaking his journey as a stranger to those promises. This is what the world does: the unbelieving world busies itself with all kinds of efforts to develop and manage civilization without God. That’s what the civilization that Cain started did (Genesis 4:17-24) – and it came crashing down at the Flood. That’s what the civilization that conspired at Babel attempted to do (Genesis 11:1-9) – and it came crashing down when God confused the language of the people. And the Edomite project was no different. Jacob would live by the promise of God (Genesis 27:27-28, 28:3-4, 28:13-15), but Esau would live by the sword: “By your sword you shall live” (Genesis 27:40). This is how the world lives: by the threat and power of the sword, by the imposition of pressure and fear, by the arm of the flesh and the wisdom of men. It may look outwardly impressive for a time, but it is fundamentally rotten all the way down.

The Edomites were always on a collision course with God’s judgment

The Israelites were instructed “not [to] abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother” (Deuteronomy 23:7), nevertheless the Edomites became enemies of God’s covenant people. In 1 Samuel 14, King Saul fought against his enemies, including both the Edomites and the Amalekites (remember that Amalek was Esau’s grandson). Then in 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was instructed to destroy the Amalekites as an act of judgment upon them. The Lord said to Saul, “I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.” (1 Samuel 15:2) Amalek opposed Israel as Israel was journeying to Sinai (Exodus 17:8-16). Israel won the battle, but Amalek’s rebellion was marked as a basis for ongoing judgment: the Lord said, “I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14) and Moses prophesied, “The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Exodus 17:16) When the time came for Samuel to execute Agag the king of the Amalekites, Samuel said to him: “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” (1 Samuel 15:33) Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. As Jesus said, “For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) But those who take up their cross and follow Christ will share in the triumph of Christ.

Later, Doeg the Edomite became the chief of King Saul’s herdsmen (1 Samuel 21:7), and tragically King Saul gave Doeg the Edomite the green light to massacre the priests in the city of Nob. Doeg killed eighty-give priests, and “Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey, and sheep, he put to the sword.” (1 Samuel 22:19) While Doeg provides an interesting snapshot, the larger reality is that Edom was always on a collision course with the judgment of God, and this collision course is explained clearly by the prophets.

The prophets proclaim judgment upon Edom

Consider the words of the prophets as they proclaimed judgment upon Edom:

• “For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.” (Isaiah 34:5)

• “Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you.” (Ezekiel 35:3-6)

• “And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. Thus says the Lord GOD: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.” (Ezekiel 35:13-14)

• “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” (Amos 1:11-12)

One of the primary manifestations of a proud, ungodly, self-righteous heart is enmity, anger, and wrath toward other people, and the casting off of pity and compassion. If you want to make yourself ripe for judgment, all you have to do is not care about other people, not have any compassion toward those in distress, not have any concern for those in need.

The small book handed down to us from the prophet Obadiah is a word of judgment against Edom. After calling attention to Edom’s proud self-confidence in verses 3-4, Obadiah goes on to say:

¹⁰ Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
    shame shall cover you,
    and you shall be cut off forever.
¹¹ On the day that you stood aloof,
    on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.
¹² But do not gloat over the day of your brother
    in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
    in the day of their ruin;
do not boast
    in the day of distress.
¹³ Do not enter the gate of my people
    in the day of their calamity;
do not gloat over his disaster
    in the day of his calamity;
do not loot his wealth
    in the day of his calamity.
¹⁴ Do not stand at the crossroads
    to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
    in the day of distress.

¹⁵ For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
    your deeds shall return on your own head.
¹⁶ For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
    so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
    and shall be as though they had never been.
¹⁷ But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
    and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
    and the house of Joseph a flame,
    and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
    and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken. (Obadiah 10-18)

Notice that Jacob’s house and Esau’s house are headed toward completely different destinies. The Edomites are condemned for their lovelessness. Jesus knew how to weep over those who faced impending judgment. Paul knew how to weep over those who were lost. Edom knew how to gloat, stand afar off, point the finger, and not care. To gloat or to simply not care when other human beings face calamity is the symptom of a sin-sick heart – and for such people, judgment is coming.

Think about how sad this is when we reflect on the development of Edom in Genesis 36 and then compare that with the promised downfall of Edom in the prophets. All the empire building, all the effort to build up your regional tribe, all the effort to build a nation and secure a place in the world, all the extended families and clans and chiefs and kings, are all destined for desolation, destruction, and ruin. And why? It wasn’t built upon the firm foundation of God’s grace. It wasn’t built according to the blueprint of God’s holy love. And everything that isn’t built upon the Lord and His words is destined for ruin. It doesn’t matter if what you are building is a nation or an empire, a business or a brand, a church organization or a ministry – anything and everything that isn’t built upon the Lord and His words is destined for ruin.

When you look at Genesis 36:43 in light of the end of the story, you realize that the Edomites are destined to lose everything in the land of their possession. They will lose everything, possess nothing, and be everlasting ruins.

When you look at Genesis 37:1 in light of the end of the story, you realize that “the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions” (Obadiah 17). Moreover, Obadiah concludes by telling us that the people of the house of Jacob will possess and rule Mount Esau, “and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (Obadiah 21). 

What are you carrying?

Whose kingdom are you seeking? Are you building something that is destined for destruction? Or are you building something that will last? More importantly, do you have confidence that you are part of God’s building project which will last forever? You might be part of a modest community of people on a pilgrimage in Canaan. The Edomites are down there carrying a sword and making something of themselves. What are you carrying? You’re carrying a promise – the promise of God. And that is enough.

ENDNOTES

[1] Augustine, The City of God.

[2] Bob Dylan, “You Gotta Serve Somebody”.

[3] I am echoing the way that Elijah put the choice to the people: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.