Descendants of Esau

 Read Genesis 36

Read 2 Kings 3

It’s easy to preach about the descendants of Jacob, who we know as Israel.  That’s who God gave the Promised Land to and that’s who the Law of Moses would come through.  That’s who would spend over 400 years as Egyptian slaves.  That’s the line through which the Christ will come.

But what do we do with the descendants of Esau?

Let’s look at a couple of places where we see them in our Bibles.  One is when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Edom denied those who were with Moses passage through their land.

The harmonious reunion of Jacob and Esau had somehow given way to this less-than-hospitable state of affairs. The Israelites had to take the long way around, but they would take 40 years to enter the promised land, so maybe it was no harm, no foul.

Let’s look farther down the road to a time after Solomon and when the Kingdom of Israel was a divided kingdom.  This will come from 2 Kings 3.

The King and the land of Edom was involved, though the message of this passage is mostly about Israel.  It is interesting to see that both Judah and Edom allied themselves with Israel in this endeavor. The descendants of Jacob and the descendants of Esau unite in this effort.

Moab owed tribute to Israel. It was a big annual payment of 100,000 rams and the wool of 100,000 sheep.  That’s a big-time payment.

When the king of Israel—Ahab—died, Mesha, the king of Moab, decided to test his successor.  Ahab was succeeded by his son, Joram. How did he test the new king?

Moab stopped the tribute.  How would this new king respond?

We are told that Joram did evil in the sight of the Lord, but he wasn’t as bad as his parents.  Now there’s a bullet to put on your resume.  At least I’m not as bad as my mother and father…

Joram wasn’t going to let Moab’s insubordination pass.  He rallied the support of the kings of Judah and Edom and set out to make war with Moab.  That’s what you did when somebody didn’t pay their tribute.

That was politics long ago.  When you defeated someone in battle or just had the upper hand on them, you wanted to keep it that way.  Those were the politics of the world probably until the end of WWII when the United States introduced the Marshall Plan.  After that, it was profitable to lose a war to the U.S.

Let’s get back to these 3 armies marching toward Moab.

Now to get to Moab, you had to cross a lot of desert.  After a week, there was water for neither man nor beast. You want to see an ancient army or a modern army come to a halt?  See what happens when there is no more water.

You can have diesel fuel and ammunition galore, but if you are out of water, you are not going to defeat anyone.  In fact, you become a very vulnerable target for your enemy.

The king of Israel asked, has God called us together just to let Moab kill us?  Evidently, Joram had some regard for the one true God.

It seems that there wasn’t a logistician among them who would have figured out this water problem before embarking on this campaign, but there was a prophet.  Elisha was summoned by King Joram. 

Elisha didn’t care for Joram.  He was still doing evil, even if he wasn’t as bad as Mom and Dad.  He told Joram if it wasn’t for King Jehoshaphat, he wouldn’t give them the time of day.

In fact, Elisha told Joram, why don’t you just seek a prophet from those who worship false gods, like your parents did?  You have to love Elisha’s directness and lack of tact in dealing with these heads of state.

Because the King of Judah was there, Elisha agreed to seek God’s direction.  He needed a harpist.  There are a lot of unanswered questions here.

Why was Elisha going on this trip?

Why wasn’t he summoned before Israel decided to declare war on Moab?

Why does an army run out of water but happens to have a harp and a harpist available?

Those are rabbit trails for another day. Elisha got his music and delivered directions from the Lord to the kings.

He said to have your men dig ditches—trenches if you will.  You will not see a cloud or a drop of rain, but God will fill these ditches with water and deliver your battle with the Moabites to you.

In today’s world, the leaders would have just asked for another prophet.  This one is bonkers.  Get me one that won’t cause my army to rebel.

Why would the army rebel?  They are out of water and you want them to dig ditches. You can imagine that the army is in hunker-down mode, seeking shade, and conserving what water they still have in their bodies.

But the kings did as instructed and ditches were dug.

The next morning water began flowing from the direction of Edom and it filled all of the ditches.  There wasn’t a rain cloud to be seen but the ditches were filled and the army—man and beast alike—was replenished.

If you have ever gone by Lake Lugert—the one by Quartz Mountain State Park—you have seen what I am talking about.  The lake will be down.  It doesn’t rain anywhere in Greer County but somewhere miles and counties away, the rain falls and heads south to fill the lake.

Those ditches--dug in the heat of the day when the army was already out of water--were filled.

Now Moab got wind that the armies of 3 kings were headed their way.  You have to figure if you don’t pay the tribute that you owe, there might be someone headed your way to make you change your mind.  I would expect that Moab had some scouts out looking to see if trouble was heading their way.

So early in the morning, the army of Moab approached the encampment of these invaders.  It must have been about sunrise and the armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom must have been sleeping in because the encampment did not appear to be well guarded. No activity was detected.

The sun hit the water in such a way as to make the ground appear red like blood.  The Moabite commander assumed the 3 armies had fought each other and that most everyone was dead.

All that was left now was the plunder.  The Moabites could claim the spoils of war without having to win a major battle. The men were turned loose to claim the spoils from the battle they never fought.

The problem was that the soldiers of the 3 armies were not dead.  They were watered and rested and ready to fight.  They easily defeated the disorganized Moabites and quickly turned this victory into the first of many and the 3 armies went into Moab and destroyed anything of value and fouled the land.

God had delivered Moab unto Israel, Judah, and Edom.

The battle was won not in the early morning but in the hot sun when the men were out of water but the ditches were dug.  The battle was won by faithfully following the instructions of the Lord delivered by his prophet.

This was a story of faith.  Think of ordering your very thirsty army to dig ditches in the heat of the day with no rain clouds in sight based upon words that came from a prophet who didn’t like you.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

Genesis 36 is about the descendants of Esau, some of whom were involved in this story of faith. Some of these descendants claimed victory over the Moabites delivered by God through their faithfulness.

The descendants of Jacob and the descendants of Esau would share in this victory because they were faithful to the command of the one true God.

The lineages had separated.

Geography separated the people of Jacob and the people of Esau.

In this moment, faith in God united them in victory.

How do I connect this with our present situation? 

Faith is always connectable to your situation, but the lesson here is that God may call us to do something where we cannot connect the dots.  He may ask us to dig ditches in the heat of the day without a cloud in sight.

What do we do?

Trust in the Lord without all our heart.  Lean not on our own understanding.  In all our ways acknowledge him. Take the path that he gives us.

What do we do?

Break out our shovels and start digging. Trust that God delivers on his promises.

When God tells us to do something and our own understanding tells us that he is crazy, we do what God tells us to do, even if it’s digging ditches in the hot sun when we are completely out of water.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

Keep your shovels at the ready.  We might just have some ditches to dig this year.

Amen.

God will accomplish his plan

 Read Genesis 33

Do you want to know where you stand in your family?  Who is the favorite?  Who is the black sheep? Who is the no-filter uncle?

It was easy in Jacob’s family.  Everyone was on a track to meet Esau and his 400 men.  He had already divided his estate into 2 camps in case Esau attacked.  Maybe some could get away.

But the time had come to meet his brother and see what the future held.  Jacob was up front, but he was followed by his two servant wives and their children.

Behind them were Leah and her children.  Finally, there was Rachel and Joseph.  If they were attacked, maybe Rachel would get away. Maybe she could safely find her way to one of the camps and survive with Joseph to continue the line in fulfilling this Father of Many Nations business.

Remember, this whole 20 years in Paddan Aram began with Jacob wanting Rachel as a wife.  He ended up married to Leah first, but he really loved Rachel. In all, he worked 14 years to get Rachel as his wife.

He stayed there a total of 20 years, but the last few were just growing his flocks.

So here we are coming face to face with Esau and his 400 men and Jacob is totally unsure of how this will go.  He had sent gifts to try and appease his brother, but anger is anger and we might ask, did 2 decades soften it or intensify it?

Really, who shows up to meet their brother with 400 men? This might not go well, but it did.

Esau ran to greet his brother.  He asked him about all the flocks and herds, and then told Jacob that was not necessary.  Esau had plenty. Jacob did not need to give him anything.

Finally, Esau accepted the gifts.  Jacob did not want to go back with his brother right then.  He said the herds with mothers and their offspring couldn’t go further without rest.  It wouldn’t be so easy on the human kids either.

So Esau returned home.

Jacob did not follow.  He went to a place that would be called Sukkoth near the city of Shechem and settled there.  Sukkoth means shelters.

Why is any of this important?  Was Jacob back to his deceptive nature? Was this just practical?  Really, Jacob showing up at Esau’s place with everything he owned and saying, “Mind if we stay a while, would be a bit overwhelming.”

We don’t know all of the particulars, but we know that Jacob bought some property in  this area and settled down. Again, what is the significance?

The place where Jacob settled was part of what God promised Abraham.  The place where Esau settled was not.  It was just outside the Promised Land in present-day Jordan or perhaps as far as Saudi Arabia.

Edom—the land of Esau’s descendants—would be part of the southern border of the Promised Land.

So was Jacob—now called Israel—back to his deceptive ways or just being practical—the whole this town ain’t big enough for the both of us sort of thing?

In any case, the story that would take all of Jacob’s family into Egypt would move forward from this place in the Promised Land.

God was with Jacob as promised.  Esau did not destroy him.

Jacob did not live on top of his brother.  He put some space between them.  They were still neighbors in one sense, but each would live their own lives.

Jacob had not married from the local pagan girls.  Esau did, plus he had one wife who was a descendant of Ishmael.

These two brothers, both descended from Abraham, had different callings in life. Jacob’s family would save the known world through Joseph, produce God's Chosen People, receive God’s law through Moses, return to the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, and produce the Savior of the world.

Esau’s family would be known as Edom.  Remember that Edom means red.  Esau was reddish and harry when he was born and he sold his birthright for a red-looking bowl of stew.

Edom means red and so the Edomites are named after a red person.  Have you ever heard anything like that before in your life?

Anyone take Oklahoma history?  Oklahoma means red people.  I don’t think there is any biblical significance in that, but it’s a nice rabbit trail.

Edom is involved in more biblical history, but most of the story follows Jacob’s line. Jacob’s family would leave the Promised Land for Egypt and in something over 400 years, return to it.

This was God’s plan. You are part of God’s plan. Your job or next job, your education or your dropping out of school, your perfect game or your game with 4 errors are part of his plan.

It is sometimes hard to see at the moment, but we are being molded like clay into the creature—the new creature that God wants us to be.

Almost 10 years ago, I was sitting in my office as part of a ministerial alliance meeting.  Two of the pastors were going on mission trips.  Both said, we can always use another pastor.  It’s easy to find people to give out food and Bibles but a little more difficult to find someone equipped to preach, teach, baptize, and pray without notice.

I said, “I’ll know when God calls me to go.” This discussion did not seem like a call to me, but it preceded one.

The next week, I received an email from someone in Kenya claiming to be a bishop and wanting me to come to preach to and teach pastors and church leaders.  After some due diligence—I have also received those emails that say for just $1000 charged to my Visa, an imprisoned Kenyan prince would give me half of his multimillion-dollar fortune—I answered his email.

In the course of emails and phone calls, I asked him how he came up with me.  He said that he read one of my articles.  I think it was the one about love being the strongest force in the universe.  That’s when he contacted me.

I went to Kenya twice.  Most of you remember that, but I wrote that article with you as my target audience.  It was connected to a sermon a dozen years ago.

God will do what God will do and he will direct our paths to accomplish his will.

If you took some time to contemplate all of the seemingly insignificant things in your life, you might just see God at work.

So, your challenge for this week is to do the Psalm 46:10 thing and be still.  Know that he is God and reflect upon what is happening in your life.

Some of it might be to show you the path to which you are called.  Some might be to let you hit rock bottom so you trade in your own understanding for trusting God. Some of it is just too logical.  Some is not.

This morning’s message is that God will use your decisions to accomplish his will and finish the good work that he began in you. Make the best decisions that you can always seeking to please God, but remember, his plan will be accomplished.

You might mess up, make a complete mess of everything you thought you were accomplishing, and even find yourself at rock bottom, but you can’t mess up God’s plan, and that includes God’s plan for your life. 

You are not that powerful!

Because you have received Jesus as Lord, you are his and he won’t lose you.

Never give up for God never gives up on you.

Amen.

What do we believe

 Read Genesis 33

Esau lived in an area that is present-day Jordan or Saudi Arabia.  By the chapter’s end, we see there is no bad blood between Jacob and Esau.  If you choose to keep on reading not only Genesis but the rest of the Torah, you will see that Esau’s descendants did not continue this warm reception.

Let’s look more than 400 years down the road.  The Israelites have been liberated from slavery in Egypt.  They were in the wilderness and much of it was near the land of Esau’s descendants—Edom. Moses had wanted to pass through Edom but Edom denied them passage and even brought forth an army to say that they meant business in this matter.

Edom—the land of Esau’s descendants—would be part of the southern border of the Promised Land.  Esau’s descendants were still descendants of Father Abraham, but not included in the land promised to him.

In today’s chapter, we see that all of Jacob’s worry was for nothing.  His brother did not intend to harm him.  His brother did not need his offerings of livestock and took them only at Jacob’s insistence.  His brother was not out for blood.

Some say that time heals all wounds.  I lean more towards God uses people—imperfect people—to accomplish his good and perfect plan.

Esau and his 400 men would not destroy Jacob and his family.  God had special plans for Jacob—Israel—and those who would come from his line.  So is that it?  Is that the story of this chapter?  Pretty much, but I want us to think on God’s plan, at least the part that has been revealed to us.

To do that, we spend a little time in Isaiah.  Isaiah is still a few centuries down the road in man’s time, but the word of the Lord is revealed through him and that word is for all time. Listen to verse 46:10.

I make known the end from the beginning,

    from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

    and I will do all that I please.’

I am pretty good at forecasting the future.  Any time that alcohol is being consumed and the words hold my beer are interjected into the situation, I can forecast that business will be good in the emergency room.

Anytime that there is a group of young Marines who are unsupervised for the moment and there is a red button on a wall with at least a dozen sign’s that read DO NOT TOUCH or TOUCHING THIS BUTTON WILL DETONATE A NUCLEAR DEVICE or anything along those lines, at least one of them will go touch the button.

I am pretty good at forecasting the future.

If I look at an online ad for lawnmowers, in short order my Facebook feed, my email, and the text messages on my phone will be blown up with ads for lawnmowers.

I am pretty good at forecasting the future, but God knows the future from the beginning.  In fact, just so we know that he is God, he tells us what’s coming.

It’s not like he is going to email me next week’s lottery numbers or who is going to win the World Series.  He does tell us as he told Abraham that he would be the Father of Many Nations. 

He did promise a land to a specific people and just to make sure that the children of Abraham would not be fighting the children of Abraham by God’s design, he parked Esau on the other side of what would be one of the borders of the Promised Land.

God will accomplish his plan.  Sometimes it makes sense to us.  Sometimes it is contrary to our own understanding.  Sometimes we are completely oblivious but God will do what God will do and we are often blessed that he tells us what that is.

When Isaiah spoke these words of God to his people, it was as if to answer the question, “Is the God of all the universe still there?”  His answer is that there is no other god of substance.  There are none like me. I am the one true God.

While we see a cordial reunion of brothers and camps separated by enough distance that the relationship might stay that way, the story here is that God will do what God will do and when he tells us what he will do we should believe him.

But what do you believe?  God is real.  God sent his Son to save us from sin and death. You must use the King James Bible?  Tom should work on his jokes more.

What do you believe?

This morning, I am going to ask us to state together what we believe.  We might call these core beliefs.  We might differ on what we eat or what day we worship, but we do have some beliefs common to most Christians.

You remember Proverbs 3:5.  I know you know it.  It gets most of the attention when it comes to the verse that follows.

Sometimes, especially today, we need that sixth verse. We need to acknowledge verbally and in the presence of others the ways of the Lord.  We need to acknowledge what we believe.

Most of you know this as the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell.

The third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy church universal,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

 

Amen.

 

God will accomplish his plan.  We are well served to live in accord with his plan and less by what we think we understand that is contrary to his plan. This is our Christian maturity.

We get there by growing in God’s grace.

To you, this might just be Old Testament history, but if you have eyes to see, it documents the things that God said he would do long before they happened.

Why is this important?  When we step out on faith, it’s more of a step than a blind leap for we know that God does fulfill his promises.  God does what God does and we are blessed when he tells us what he is going to do.

We are blessed to trust him.

Trust in the Lord with all of you heart…

Amen.