Esau’s Family

Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno on Unsplash
How do you think about your enemies? It can be a complex question. On the one hand we are to be kind to our enemies, bless those who curse you and all of that. But how do you get to that point? How are you able to bless your enemies, even if they come from your own family? This passage doesn’t directly answer that question, but the rest of the story that this chapter sets up, does. 
We will look at two points today: Your enemies are under God’s control and Your enemies can be made family in Christ. 

Your enemies are under God’s control

In order to understand this text properly, we are going to have to remind ourselves of where it all began back in Genesis 27:39–40 “Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”” In that passage, we see a sort of anti-blessing that Isaac puts on Esau after Jacob “stole” the patriarchal blessing from him. Of course, Jacob was always supposed to receive it from God’s order. 
These divine words spoken over Esau set up pretty much the rest of the Old Testament in terms of the relationship between the Israelites and the Edomites (Esau’s children). In the first few verses of our chapter today, we are given the first steps of how Esau came to form a separate people. 
It begins with a reminder of Esau’s multiple, foreign wives. As we remember, this was something that the people of God were not supposed to do. Already, Esau was intermarrying with the cursed line of Canaan, and therefore was already separating himself from the people of blessing. 
Next, we see that although the prophecy is that he would be away from the fatness of the land, his association with Jacob still grants him blessing. After all, ever since Abraham, those who bless the Abrahamic line will be blessed. And Esau is indeed. In fact, there are so many possessions, that the land aint big enough for the two of them…and their stuff. Rather than reduce and remain, Esau chooses to leave for a land of his own. 
Esau arrives in a place called Edom (which means “red” after the stew he traded the blessing for, it also is a place of red hills). However, as we see later on in our chapter, it was already occupied by a people called the Horites. These people are replaced by Esau, which shows that Esau is a mighty hunter and conquerer. The family grows a lot and becomes a fixture of government, ruling over the land. 
This sets up a real contrast to Jacob and family. As Ross points out, when you get to verse one of the next chapter, Jacob is still just, well, settling in Canaan. There aren’t any major lists of kings, and in fact nothing is really going to happen in terms of any sort of authority until Joseph comes along. It can be tempting to look at this situation and think that having God’s blessing doesn’t do much. It would seem that Esau has just as many children as Jacob does, and he has even more wives than Jacob has to produce more children. All of those children and grandchildren go on to become powerful themselves, so much so they are taking over other areas of the land. Do we not sometimes see our enemies prosper and wonder about it? (Ross, 588). 
The land that they ruled over was, as God said, away from the fatness of the land. According to scholars, in the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible 
“The land of Edom was, on the whole, inhospitable though there were areas where farming could be undertaken, particularly in the northeast. Here too herds of animals could be grazed. Edom’s wealth, however, came largely from the caravan trade which came up from the south and brought goods from India and South Arabia to the Mediterranean coast and Egypt.”
To help explain such success, we actually find out later that this land was given to them by God. Look at Deuteronomy 2:4–5 (172) “and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.” The land, low-fat though it is, is there’s by divine gift. 
Interestingly, there is an expectation that this land, again, close to Israel’s possession, would allow the Edomites to know and love God. Later on in Deuteronomy 23:7–8 (195) we find this,““You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.” This seems to expect at some level that the Edomites would have the opportunity to come to the Lord. 
Do you see the mercy of God here? Esau, adamantly not in the covenant, nevertheless his children will have the opportunity to enter the temple and worship God. After all, Esau is the brother of Jacob. He is legitimately from Isaac’s seed. There is hope for him. This was always the plan. 
“Now wait a minute,” you may say, “I thought that Esau was going to be serving Jacob. How does that play out?” First of all, good on you for remembering that, and second, yes, his descendants do end up serving Israel. 
Despite having kings first, Edom is eventually conquered by King David. Saul was the first to go to war with them, but David was the first to bring them under his rule. This arrangement lasted, interestingly enough, for as long as they had a faithful king on the throne. When the kings of Israel and Judah obeyed God, Edom served them. When they disobeyed God, they would break out and rebel. This once again shows the comprehensive control of God over all people, not just the covenant family of Abraham. 
Edom ends up being condemned a number of times in the prophets for the way that the treat the Israelites later on. For example, Obadiah condemns them for taking advantage of Israel when they were fighting foreign enemies. Obadiah 1–4(918) “The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!” Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.” 
History seems to confirm that this is exactly what happened to Edom. According to one commentator, Babylon eventually came in and after conquering the rest of Judah, probably swallowed up Edom as well. There is some evidence to suggest that the people endured, but they took on a new identity, Idumeans (Matthews). Fascinatingly enough, there was one famous person in the gospel who, as told by secular history, was an Idumean: Herod the Great (Matthews). This is the Herod that tried to kill Jesus at the very beginning of his life! My! How the tables turn! A son of Esau attempts to kill THE Son of Isaac, yet is unsuccessful thanks to yet another early warning and flight from the promised land. 
Your enemies can be made family in Christ. 

Is it meant to always be this way? Are some people just destined to be enemies forever? It can sure feel that way. It seems as though Jacob and Esau, despite the patriarchs of the respective families reconciling, the kids that remain carry on the grudge. Where’s the hope? 
It turns out, like a lot of things, the hope actually begins in the Old Testament. Another famous prophet named Amos talks about some hope for Edom: Amos 9:11–12 (916)““In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.” Did you catch that? God is saying that in the midst of the Edomites, there will be those who are elect! There is hope for Edom! We see the seeds of that hope manifested in Mark 3:8 “and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.” 
Did they listen? Look at Acts 15:15–18 Paul and Barnabas reports what the Lord is doing amongst the Gentiles and they quote from Amos! “And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’” The Gentiles stand in as a representative of the Edomites. That means that Edom as well as the rest of the nations have been brought near in Christ! 
So what does all this have to do with how we view our enemies, even the ones who hate us specifically because we follow Christ? We are called to love them, decry their hatred of Christ’s church, but always pray that they may become our brothers. 
You may remember the story of Jim Elliot, a missionary who wanted to reach out to a specific tribe in Ecuador. He, along with his friend, Nate Saint, were speared to death upon first contact. Their death’s launched a movement of missionary work, even amongst that very tribe. In fact, the very men who stabbed the missionaries came to Christ and became life-long friends with Nate’s son, Steve. By the way, the wife of Jim and sister of Nate went back to the tribe within two years of their relatives’ death. Enemies can become brothers again. 
What does this mean for you? 
Don’t ever count someone out. Even the most Calvinistic person can never say, “Well, that person is definitely not elect, definitely will never go to heaven.” That can never be said. The Edomites found a place in the kingdom and so can your enemies. Maybe you might even think you are beyond hope. You’ve hated God for as long as you can remember. You are never beyond God’s grace. We all, including the man you are now listening to, were once God’s enemies. That is a very scary place to be, an enemy of God. But God is so kind and gracious that He will bring people who were once His enemies and make them His adopted Children. Jesus is the friend of sinners, so come to Him today. Don’t be an enemy.