Written by One of the tiring pleasures of parenting a three year old is the reality of fascinated joyful repetition. Some of you know what I mean. When you do something funny and your three year old begins laughing hysterically, and then with a big grin looks at you and says, ‘Do it again!’ Which of course leads you to ‘do it again’ until you get to the point where you simply can’t continue doing it again! This is exactly where our family is at the current moment. Piper is three and just this past week I chased her, picked her up, and tickled her. Which of course led to her laughing, looking at me, and saying ‘Daddy do it again!’ So what did I do? I did it again, and again, and again, until the point where I needed a breather from this unexpected and intense cardio session!
As tiring as these moments are, we love this about our kids. Yet as much as we love it, if all of us grown-ups are honest with ourselves, we’ve lost our fascination with joyful repetition. To us its just repetition, and it’s usually not even joyful anymore.
We need to be reminded of this as we come to Genesis 36 today, because it begins with repetition. Back when we began Genesis I mentioned that 10x in the book of Genesis we find a repeated refrain. “These are the generations of” is how we find it on our English Bibles, but in Hebrew it’s the word Toledot. This phrase occurs 10x in Genesis and each time a toledot appears it’s our cue that a new section of the book has begun. This occurs in 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, and 37:2. That God does this kind of repetition in Genesis shows us how He slowly and methodically zooms in as Genesis progresses from all humanity down to the one chosen people and the main redemptive storyline He wants us to hear and heed. So as you sit there today and notice the text before us is yet another genealogy, perhaps we need the reminder that repetition is a good thing in the Bible. For here in 36:1 we find God repeating the toledot pattern…this is the 9th instance of it, meaning God is still zooming down to the one chosen people, and He’s almost there. The tenth and final toledot is found in 37:2, where we finally get to see the descendants of Jacob, or, the people of Israel.
With Genesis 36 before us we have now arrived at the final sermon in Genesis for the year. Today I only have two aims. First, I’ll walk through chapter 36 to see what it is and what’s there for us. Second, I’ll trace back over all we’ve covered in the Patriarch narratives (the chapters devoted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to pull some grand lessons we must always remember and return to.
The Text (36:1-43)
“These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 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, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah 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 acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land 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 Edom.) These are the generations 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, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Timna 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, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 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. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 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. 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. 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, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, 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, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 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. These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, 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 Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his 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 Avith. Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 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. 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, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 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.”
This chapter, certainly painstaking in detail, is here in Genesis to prepare for what’s to come. We’ve already seen that in the brief mention of the repetition of the toledot’s from earlier. But we also see that this chapter prepares for what’s to come from a genealogical pattern we’ve seen before in Genesis. After Abraham died we briefly saw the line of Ishmael before we saw the line of Isaac. So too here, after Isaac died we briefly see the line of Esau before we see the line of Jacob for the rest of Genesis.[1] And this line of Esau is a big deal. Remember Genesis was written for the Israelites originally, and it just so happens that the Edomites (the descendants of Esau) are one of the thorns in the side of Israel. It was the Edomites would not allow Israel to travel through their land on the way to the promise land (Num. 20). It was the Edomites who would in the future wage war against the Israelites many times (2 Sam. 8, 1 Kgs. 11, 2 Kgs. 14). All of which brought about some of the most bitter prayers from the OT prophets (Lam. 4, Amos 1, all of Obadiah), and of course Malachi 1:2-3 where the Apostle Paul got his verbiage of God loving Jacob and hating Esau. All this Edomite imagery and content in Scripture launches out from right here in this text, Genesis 36.[2]
It is hard to find a structure in this genealogy. But I think we can divide into five portions.
In v1-8 we see Esau’s immediate family. In v1 as Jacob has been called Israel now Esau is called Edom. In v2-4 we find, much to his parents dismay, that he takes Canaanite women as his wives. Then in v5-8, as Abraham and Lot had to part ways in Genesis 13 due to the size of their possessions, so too there was a similar parting between Jacob and Esau, with Jacob remaining in Canaan and Esau making his home in Seir.
In v9-14 we see Esau’s sons and grandsons. Right away in v9 see it again, Esau is called the “father of the Edomites.” Many sons are listed here, but Eliphaz stands out as prominent. He’s mentioned more than once in this list and it also says he has a son named Teman. Teman would become a great city, which, according to Jeremiah 49:7 is famous for its wisdom. That the names Eliphaz and Teman are so close together here makes many think this Eliphaz is the Eliphaz present among Job’s friends. He is called Eliphaz the Temanite in Job 2:11, and he certainly did believe himself to have great wisdom.[3]
In v15-30 we see the chiefs descended from Esau. Notice Anah in v24 who found hot springs in the wilderness. This man and strange detail might have reminded Israel of the water from the rock at Horeb in their journeys after the Exodus.
In v31-39 we see a list of the kings of Edom. This might be a surprise to some of you, that a list of kings would be present in this list. But we need to remember, Esau was Edom, and Edom had kings. Also, we learn in this that Edom was one of the nations around Israel that kings before Israel. So when Israel desired a king (think 1 Sam. 8), Edom was likely a nation they desired to be like. Yet, unlike Israel, these kings of Edom were not installed by father-son succession.[4]There’s no mention of that. Instead, they could’ve been elected to office, or just put in charge of the people because they were well-known or loved by the people.
And lastly, in v40-43 we see a final list of chiefs. This seems more like a summary statement than anything else, where we once again find a mention of Esau being the father of Edom and thus, the Edomites as a whole.
Ultimately[5] what this chapter shows us is that the seeds of Genesis 3 are continuing on. Remember the gospel promise of Genesis 3:15? That the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent will both flourish but they’ll always be warring with each other until one comes to strike a death blow against the serpent? We’ve seen it trace out through all the chapters of Genesis since 3:15 and here again we see the seed of Esau here in chapter 36, before the chosen seed of Jacob next in the rest of Genesis. This reminds us that the seed of the serpent, the non-covenant people, are alive and well and growing in number and achievement. They do not live within the bounds of God’s promises, yet they continue to grow. The question that arises after thinking this is, how will the seed of the woman do? Will they grow along with Esau’s people? How will God fulfill His promises to His covenant people? That answer comes to us in the rest of the book of Genesis.
Well we’ve seen this chapter, now let’s look into the great lessons we’ve learned in our time in Genesis these past few months.
The Lessons
Time does not afford us to go all the way back to Genesis 1 and begin retracing the lessons we’ve learned. But since we’re now up to Joseph’s narrative, let’s look back to the lives of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and see what we’ve learned from them. Specifically, three grand realities.
Covenant
Ever since man was created by God, God has related to man through covenant. We saw this in Adam, we saw this in Noah, and for many chapters now we’ve seen it in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Long ago God came to Abram with great and precious promises. Promises of great blessing, that God would make Abram into Abraham, a great multitude of people. Promises that God would give His people a land. Promises that God would ever be with His people. And from being so blessed Abraham was then to be a blessing to the nations.
As we’ve seen God’s covenant promises prove true through the lines of the Patriarchs we’ve been stunned at two massive realities. First, we’re stunned at God. “I will be your God” is how God reveals Himself here to His people. God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob this. And no surprise, this is how God reveals Himself throughout all the Bible, from here to the Exodus, to Ezekiel, to the Gospels, to Revelation, this is the verbiage God has chosen to reveal Himself, which shows us His greatness and glory. But second, we’re stunned at what God says about us. Yes, God came saying “I will be your God” but He also came saying, “…and you shall be My people.” So while the first statement “I will be your God” gives us a foundation for all theology, this second statement “…and you will be My people” gives us a foundation for all anthropology. Meaning, this gets at the essence of what it means to be human. This is identity for us. And God so desires us to know this He created a covenant sign to make much of this visibly, in circumcision. Which shows us that from the very beginning of life God desires His people to know Him as their covenant Lord.
“I will be your God” and “you shall be My people” shows us both sides of the covenant. This is indeed great, greater than we know. But are the promises of the covenant for all mankind, free and unlimited? No, not at all. How then does anyone come into the covenant? That brings us to our next big reality from these chapters in Genesis…
Faith
Faith is how man comes into the covenant, how we come to enjoy and rest in these promises of God. By faith Abraham came into the covenant and was counted righteous by God. By faith Abraham clung to God, hoping against hope, as he walked up the mountain to kill his only son, and in such faith he rejoiced as he saw God provide for him with the ram caught in the thicket. By faith Isaac trusted that God would be God to him as God was God to his father Abraham, even while he was waiting in faith back at home as the servants went out to find a wife for him. And by faith, Jacob would come to live as well. At Bethel (where he saw the ladder) and at Peniel (where he wrestled with God) Jacob came into the promises made to his father and grandfather. At times we saw all three of the Patriarchs show strong and great faith and we were in awe of these moments as they didn’t waver but stood strong. But at many times we also saw the Patriarchs exhibit a weak and feeble faith, barely able to hang onto God. But how great has it been for us to see that the strong faith and weak faith gets the same strong God!
So Church, as it was with them so it is with us. The covenant promises are great, greater than we know, but we only come into them, into the enjoyment and rest they bring, through faith. So have faith in God. But know in your own ebb and flow of faith, whether you feel strong or weak in faith, everyone who comes in faith to Christ gets the same strong Christ!
So we’ve seen the grand lessons of covenant and faith, but it all leads to the final lesson. Grace.
Grace
It was all of grace. Throughout the lives of the Patriarchs one thing is clear. We have been appalled as we watched these heroes of the faith sin, grievously sin, time and time again. If it weren’t for the grace of God they’d be lost. In fact, it’s a good thing God chose them before they were born, because He certainly wouldn’t have chosen them afterwards! Sins of commission, sins of omission, sins against themselves, sins against their wives, their children, their cousins, their friends, their relatives, and the nations around them. The only thing good about these people in Genesis is God who exuberantly abounds in grace toward them.
Conclusion:
So too Church, the same is true of us. Are you appalled at yourself, for the many sins you commit? Truly, if it weren’t for the grace of God we’d be lost. But, into our darkness a light has come. Jesus Christ the descendant of Abraham, the true covenant king, the one we cling to in faith, who showers His grace on us – into our darkness, He has come!
[1] Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2001), 481.
[2] Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC (Waco, TX: Zondervan, 2000), 342.
[3] Derek Kidner, Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 189.
[4] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 339–40.
[5] John D. Currid, Genesis 25:19-50:26, EP Study Commentary (Holywell, UK: Evangelical Press, 2015), 180.
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