Today’s passage: Genesis 36:1-43
Helpful thoughts:
- Today’s passage closes the chapter on the life of Esau (“These are the generations of Esau”). Once we finish reading his genealogy, we will move forward to the next generation.
- The wealth of Esau was such that his and Jacob’s household could not dwell in the same area. The same proved to be true in Seir. Esau’s descendants (The Edomites) took over the region.
- Esau’s family produced fourteen chiefs (Or tribes) compared to Seir’s five.
- The shift away from tribal leaders to a monarchy happened in Edom long before it ever took place in Israel.
Questions to consider:
- In what way had “two nations” been in the womb of Rebekah back in Genesis 25:23? Why was it important for us to know what came of Esau’s lineage?
- How was the nation of Israel to be different than all the other nations? Who was to be their king? How does this chapter show they often were the same (1 Samuel 8:19-20)?
- With the account of where Esau’s descendants dwelled, what also becomes clear concerning Jacob’s and Esau’s place in inheriting the promise? Though Esau became wealthy and his family became a nation, what did he not receive? What part of the promise was far more significant than the land and the possessions (Hebrews 9:15)?