Last 5 Days
God does not forget, but may we not forget
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.
Chapter 36 records the genealogy of Esau, whom we know became the kingdom of Edom. In the traditions of Genesis, the description of the family that has not been chosen by God is placed before the description of the chosen lineage. Such an arrangement shows us that the non-chosen family will still receive the blessings from God. (Gen. 17:20) The portion of blessings will be different from the chosen family of God, but it does not mean they will not receive any blessings. Some examples we see includes the lineage of Cain placed before Seth (Gen. 4-5), Japheth and Ham before Shem (Gen. 10), Ishmael before Isaac (Gen. 25) and here Esau before Jacob (Gen 36-37).
This chapter is split into two genealogies. The genealogy recorded when Esau was in the land of Canaan (1-8) and the other when he shifted into the hill country of Seir (9-43). These are two amidst the eleven genealogies in the book of Genesis. God fulfilled the promise of blessings which Isaac gave to Esau before Isaac passed on. (Gen. 27:39-40) God did not forget Esau.
It is easy to skip over the genealogy of Esau. It is a long list of names, many we do not know, and will not know since they were not the chosen lineage by God. Despite the fact that the lineage of Esau, like Ishmael was not chosen, faithful God continues to remember them. Despite Esau not being chosen, because he disregarded and gave away his blessings as the first born over a bowl of red soup, God continued to bless him. Esau continued to be fruitful, and multiplied and established the kingdom of Edom. In fact, the kingdom of Edom was established earlier than the kingdom of Israel. However, the Kingdom of Edom ultimately still fell because of their pride (Obadiah 1-4) and never were they mentioned in the bible again.
Dear brothers and sisters, no man is forgotten by God, regardless who we are. God is love and continues to pour out His grace upon all man. God will not rain over some, and not over the others. In the same way, when Christ came to redeem, He came to die for all and desires that all might come to Him. He came that all might be able to receive the blessings from Him. God does not forget the non-elect. However, just as how Esau despised the blessings that was given to him as the first born, there are those who will despise the saving grace of Christ, and there are major implications in eternity. May the Lord help us to choose Him who is lasting and eternal, that we do not despise what God has blessed us with, nor take for granted His grace for us on a daily basis. May we not forget what Jesus Christ has done on Calvary.
