Esau: The Effects of Evil

Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Genesis chapter 36. Genesis chapter 36. And the Bible tells us about the man Esau. And he stands in scripture as a man who exemplifies for us the effects of evil. As you recall, he had a brother named Jacob. They had the same parents, raised in the same family, had the same opportunities. But one man became the father of a great nation, the nation of Israel. He would have 12 boys, and they would become the 12 tribes of Israel. The other man became a tragedy.

And we'll read about that tragedy this morning, as we examine Esau and the effects of evil. Genesis chapter 36, verse number 1. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan. Then Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all his household, and his livestock, and all his cattle, and all his goods, which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land, away from his brother Jacob. For their property had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock.

So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom. These, then, are the records of 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 Esau's wife, Adah. Rehul, the son of Esau's wife, Basemath. And the sons of Eliphaz were Timon, Omar, Zepho, and Getam, and Canaz. And Timnah was a concubine of Esau's son, Eliphaz, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau's wife, Adah. And these are the sons of Rehul, Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mitzah.

These are the sons of Esau's wife, Basemath. And these are the sons of Esau's wife, Aholibamah, the daughter of Anna, and the granddaughter of Zibion. She bore to Esau, Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Timon, chief Omar, chief Zepho, and chief Canaz. Chief Korah, chief Getam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Rehul, Esau's son, chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mitzah.

And these are the chiefs descended from Rehul in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Esau's wife, Basemath. And these are the sons of Esau's wife, Aholibamah, chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau's wife, Aholibamah, the daughter of Anna. And these are the sons of Esau, that is Edom. And these are their chiefs. You with me so far? Every time I think of Aholibamah, I think that she was a whole lot of mama. That's all I can think of. In verses 20 and following, you're going to realize that this is a list of people that Esau drove out there in Mount Seir.

Just to give you a perspective as to where we're at. Don't worry, you might be lost now. At the end of our message, you will not be lost. Verse number 20, these are the sons of Seir, the Horite, the inhabitants of the land, Lotan and Shabal and Zibion and Anna and Deshan and Ezer and Deshan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites. The sons of Seir in the land of Edom. And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Himam. And Lotan's sister was Timnah. And these are the sons of Shabal, Avon and Mahanath and Ebal, Jepho and Onam.

And these are the sons of Zibion. Yeah. Ai and Anna. He is the Anna who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibion. And these are the children of Anna, Deshan and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anna. And these are the sons of Deshan, Hemdan and Eshban and Aithran and Keron. These are the sons of Ezar, Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan. And these are the sons of Deshan, Uz and Aran. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites. Chief Lotan, Chief Shabal, Chief Zibion, Chief Anna, Chief Deshan, Chief Ezar, Chief Deshan.

These are the chiefs descended from the Horites according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir. Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom. Before any king reigned over the sons of Israel. Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom. And the name of his city was Dinhabah. Then Bela died and Jobob, the son of Zerah, of Bozrah. You circle that word Bozrah. We'll come back to that. Became king in his place. Then Jobob died and Hushman of the land of the Temanites became king in his place.

Then Hushman died and Hidad, the son of Badad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became the king in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. Then Hidad died and Samlah of Masraqah became king in his place. Then Samlah died and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. Then Shaul died and Bahanan, the son of Akbor, became king in his place. Then Bahanan, the son of Akbor, died and Hidad became king in his place. And the name of his city was Pow or Pi. And his wife's name was Mehetabel, daughter of Metred, daughter of Mezahah.

Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau according to their families and the localities. By their names, chief Timnah, chief Avah, chief Jetheth, chief Aholibamah, chief Elah, chief Penon, chief Kenaj, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, that is Esau, the father of the Edomites, according to their inhabitations in the land of their possession. And all God's people said, Amen. I know I said Amen after reading all that. We can go home now.

Now I know your hearts are truly blessed and you've received a great blessing because we read God's word this morning, Genesis chapter 36. But understand this, that all the records here are historically accurate as to the descendants of Esau. But what you're going to find this morning as we just look at this chapter briefly is some things that on the outside, as you're just reading, you might not pick up.

But the Lord will teach you many things this morning. People ask, are you going to read all those names? Yes, we are. Why? Because we read everything in the Bible. We don't skip over some things. We read everything that's there because within Genesis chapter 36 are some things we need to understand about the effects of evil that happen because one man decided to turn his back on the blessing of God. And if you're here today and you've turned your back on the blessing of God, if you've turned your back on the call of God upon your life, the effects of evil will haunt your life to the day you die.

Guaranteed. And Esau stands as a testimony to that. Notice what it says in verse number one. Now, these are the records of the generations of Esau. That is what? Edom. Ten different times in 43 verses it says Esau is Edom. Esau, the father of the Edomites. Everything about Esau's life stems from the day he denied the divine blessing that God had for him in terms of his birthright. Instant gratification is Esau. He is the man who wanted it now and did not want to wait until later to receive it. He's a man who wanted everything at his fingertips.

He, according to the Bible, is the characteristic of a godless man. For what happens in Genesis chapter 25 escalates in the life of Esau that takes him down a further road of immorality. Because on the day he had a chance to make a decision about his birthright, he turned around and turned against it to fulfill his own fleshy appetite. I want you to notice five things with me this morning out of Genesis chapter 36.

Number one is this. Esau's disobedience resulted in great pain to his parents and to his own life. Look what it says in verse number two of Genesis 36.

Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan. What he did was not only disobey his parents, but disobey the command of God not to take a wife from the Canaanite people. What he did was marry two women who are of the Hittite culture. Understand that the Hittites are the descendants of Heth. Heth is a descendant of Canaan. Canaan was the fourth son of Ham. And what began with a man who decided to accept a bowl of stew rather than the blessing of God, escalated to a man who would further walk away from God to marry the people of the world, which brought great pain to his parents.

And to his own life, great pain. We must understand that as children, it's important to obey our parents. There are people in this room today who are suffering great difficulty because they have dishonored their parents over the years. And the Bible is very clear that this is the first command with a promise.

If you honor your parents, God says, I will bless your life. But if at any time you become dishonored to your parents, you turn your back on them, whether they are believers or unbelievers, God says you will suffer the consequences.

You will. God expects, God demands that as children, we honor our parents. That we respect our parents. We might not agree with everything our parents do. We might not even like our parents. But you know what? They are the ones God gave us. And in the divine providence of God, He gave us two people that we can look to for advice and counsel. And that we can bounce things off of. And that God has given them the spiritual responsibility. They might not take it, but God has given it to them to raise us in the nurtured admonition of the Lord.

And even if you were raised in an ungodly home, God expects you to honor Him by honoring your parents. And Esau did not do that. And so when you come to Genesis 28, it says in verse number 6, Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Badan Aram to take to himself a wife from there. And that when he blessed him, he charged him saying, you shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. And that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Badan Aram. So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac.

And Esau went to Ishmael and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nabioth. He thought that if he married somebody else, but instead of Ishmael, maybe that would bring respect from his parents. But it didn't. Esau's disobedience resulted in great pain to his parents and even to his own life. Point number 2, Esau's departure from the land reflects the problem with his brother Jacob. It says down in verse number 6, The Hebrew translates, because of his brother Jacob.

If Esau wanted to be blessed, he needed to stay in the land of Canaan. But he did not. He turned and went away from his brother Jacob because of Jacob. And for years, there was that seething resentment. And we're going to look and see in just a few moments how that attitude of bitterness affected his entire descendants. That they became bitter toward the people of Israel. Even to this very day, they are bitter toward the nation of Israel. Because one man decided to fulfill his fleshy desires instead of receiving the divine blessing of God.

Now I want you to notice something. That God would even still bless Esau. Even in his disobedience, God would give him the land of Seir. Joshua 24 verse number 4 says this, Mount Seir is in Edom. And this man would depart and leave the land of promise to continue going down the route of destruction. God had blessed him, but he refused to capitulate. He refused to submit to God in his life. He wanted his own way. And he would be destroyed because he wanted his own way. Point number 3 is this. And two things I want to give you here.

Esau's descendants remind us of his father's prophecy. Go back if you would to Genesis chapter 27. Remember when Jacob received the blessing after Jacob had deceived his father? Esau begged his father, please bless me. Please give me some blessing. And this was Isaac's blessing to his son Esau. Then Isaac, his father, answered and said to him, verse number 39, In other words, away from the land of Canaan. Away from the blessing of God shall be your dwelling. And by your sword you shall live and your brother you shall serve.

But it shall come about when you become restless that you shall break his yoke from your neck. And that has been the life of the Jordanians even to this very day. That they want to rid themselves of Israel's rulership over them. They want nothing to do with Israel. And they will constantly fight against them. Esau's descendants remind us of his father's prophecy. As well as the fact that they refused to help the people of God. Over in Numbers chapter 20. So here is the nation of Israel. Somewhere between 2 and 3 million Jews.

Who have just been let out of Egyptian bondage. And they come to the king of Edom and say, will you please let us pass through. We are not going to trample on your vineyards. We are not going to ruin anything that you have. We are going to go down the king's highway. We are just going to go through and you are not going to even hear us or see us. Just let us go by. Listen to verse number 18. Edom. Edom is Esau. Esau is Edom. However, said to him, you shall not pass through us. Lest I come out with the sword against you.

What does his father say? His father said, you will live by the sword. And Edom came out against him with a heavy force and with a strong hand. Thus, Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Israel turned away from him. Now God gave Esau Mount Seir. God gave Esau Edom. But God would use that blessing as a source of his judgment against him. Why? Because he had the opportunity to bless Israel. And he who blesses Israel shall be what? Blessed. He who curses Israel shall be what?

Cursed. So when Israel calls, when Ariel Sharon calls the president and says, President Bush, will you help us through this terrorist act? Will you stand beside us? Will you be with us? And we deny him. We are in fact cursing Israel. And God have mercy upon America if we do that. When Israel cries out for help and you don't help him, you will be cursed. If you help them, you will bless them. And God promises way back in Genesis 12, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.

You don't think America is at a pivotal point right now with Israel and America? Oh, you bet it is. God is serious about what he says. Listen to point number four. Esau's destiny reveals the providence of God. Remember Hebrews chapter 12, but remember it says, be careful that a little root of bitterness doesn't spring up within you because with it, it defiles many. Esau's bitterness was so strong within him, it defiled his entire generation that followed him. So the king of Eden would not even let the nation of Israel pass because of the bitter rivalry they had with their brother Israel.

Everything that happened in Esau's life was ordained by a sovereign God who ruled the world. God's never out of control. Israel questions God's love in Malachi chapter 1. The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord, but you say, how has that loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau. And I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.

Remember Esau is Edom. God is going to judge Edom. God is going to damn Edom. And God will be glorified and magnified because he does it. That's what Malachi says. Paul in the book of Romans, the ninth chapter says, Listen, I want to let you know something, that before Jacob and Esau were ever born, before they were ever conceived in sin, before they ever had a chance to say a nasty word in the womb of their mother, God says, I chose Jacob and I did not choose Esau.

That's the way it is. Esau's destiny reveals the providence of God. I want to let you know, I chose Jacob, not because of his works, because you see Jacob was an evil man too, wasn't he? He deceived his father. He lied to his brother. He was a conniver. He was a sinner. But God says, I chose Jacob.

I chose him because I wanted him for myself. And I hated Esau. I did not choose him. You say, wow, Esau didn't have much of a choice, did he? In the mind of God, absolutely not. And Paul is saying, listen, this is how man's saved. Because God says, I don't want you to go around thinking, well, because I'm better than this person, or I go to that church and not to this church, or because I live this way and not that way, because I look this way and not that way, because I don't swear as much as they do, or I don't drink what they drink, or I don't say what they say.

I'm a better man than they are. Therefore, God loved me. He saved me. No, that's not the way it works. You see, God chooses to love. He chooses who is going to love and who is going to hate, because love is a choice. Love is always a choice. And God chose Jacob. He did not choose Esau. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. Salvation is all about God. Salvation is all about the mercy of God. It has nothing to do with man. It has nothing to do with what man can do, because Esau's destiny reveals to us the providence of God.

The problem is, how could God ever love Jacob? That's the problem. And for those of us who know Christ as Lord and Savior, we should rejoice. That's the good news. There's one more point I've got to give you. It's this. Esau's destruction reiterates the punishment of God. Esau's destruction reiterates the punishment of God. God is going to destroy all those who follow the life of Esau. Now, I know this isn't a very popular point. In fact, a friend of mine called me this week and read to me portions of the LA Times in Tuesday's edition about why our church will never be a megachurch.

It's because we preach on hell and damnation. And if you want a big church, you can't do that. And so the article goes on to talk about why this church, Christ Community Church, and other churches like us, will never grow to be a megachurch because we preach the truth. That's really what it says. Preach on fire and hell and damnation of the ungodly. People don't want to hear that. I know you don't want to hear that. But you know what? God says that.

And Esau's destruction reiterates to you and me that our God will punish evil and will destroy those who come against him and follow the life of Esau, who turn their back on the divine blessing of God in order to accept the fleshly pleasures of the world. Concerning Edom, Jeremiah 49, verse number 7, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman? Remember, Teman was one of the names in Genesis 36. Has good counsel been lost to the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed, flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dadan?

For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him at the time I punish him. If great gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, they would destroy only until they had enough. But I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places, so that he will not be able to conceal himself. His offspring has been destroyed, along with his relatives and his neighbors, and he is no more. Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive, and let your widows trust in me.

For thus says the Lord, Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it. For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, listen very carefully, that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and a curse, and all its cities will become perpetual ruins. Remember when I told you to circle the word Bozrah in Genesis chapter 36? Now, turn back with me if you would to Isaiah 63.

Isaiah has a vision of the coming of the Messiah. Chapter 63, verse number 1. Who is this who comes from what? What's it say? Edom, with garments of glowing colors from what? Bozrah. Bozrah was a city that was known for the dying of garments. This one who was majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength, it is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red, and your garments like the one who treads the winepress? I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with me.

I also trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I stained all my raiment. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption has come, and I looked, and there was no one to help. And I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold. So my own arm brought salvation to me, and my wrath upheld me, and I trod down the peoples in my anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth. Isaiah receives a vision of the coming of the Messiah in the end of the world.

If you have been to Petra, if you have been to that area, you know why that is where Jesus Christ himself will descend from glory. No, it is not on the Mount of Olives. He ends up at the Mount of Olives, and he splits the Mount of Olives, but that's at the end of his journey. He comes to one place. He comes to Edom, because Esau is Edom, and God has promised to destroy them. Isaiah 34, Draw near, O nations, to hear, and listen, O peoples. Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

For the Lord's indignation is against all the nations, and His wrath against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be thrown out, and their corpses will give off their stench, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood, and all the hosts of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. All their hosts also will wither away, as the leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. For my sword is satiated in heaven.

Behold, it will descend for judgment upon... Who? Edom. And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated, Esau has been devoted to destruction. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is satiated with fat, and the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has sacrificed in what? Bozrah. And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Folks, let me tell you something.

When Jesus Christ Messiah returns, I can tell you exactly where He's going to come. He's coming to Bozrah, in the land of Edom. Because if you've been there, that's the only place. That is the only place in the land of Israel that will accommodate all the armies of the world. The Valley of Armageddon will not do that. Oh, it's big. But it's not big enough to accommodate the armies of the world. Only Edom is. Dry, desert wilderness. And that's where Messiah will return. And that's where Messiah will destroy Esau, which is Edom.

Because, you see, Esau, who is Edom, is representative of all the unbelievers of the world, who love evil, who are into their own fleshy desires. And the armies of the world will gather together to destroy Israel. And on their route to destroy Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will descend. Will descend to Bozrah. That's why Isaiah already sees Him coming from Bozrah, already stained in blood. Because the battle has already begun. And the blood will flow from Edom to Esdalon, which is exactly 200 miles.

Where the book of Revelation says that blood will flow to the horse's mouth for 200 miles. If you're here today, and you've never given your life to Christ, that is your end. That's where you're going. Today, don't forfeit the divine blessing of God. Today, don't turn your back on what God offers you as a free gift of salvation in order to satisfy your fleshly desires. Don't do that. Oh, you can come to church, and you can live like everyone else lives. You can look like everybody else looks. You can sing the same songs that everybody else sings.

But God knows your heart, and you know your heart. And you know whether or not you've given your life to Christ. For Hebrews 12, and I close with this, says this. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. There was remorse, but there was remorse for what he didn't get.

There was not remorse for who he was. He was an ungodly, immoral person. And you see, to come to Christ, to receive the blessing, you've got to turn from your sin. You've got to repent of your lifestyle. You've got to repent of your ungodly life and give your life to him and say, God, I am wretched. I am sinful. I need you to love me. I need you to be merciful unto me. I need you to be compassionate to me, God, because I cannot do anything myself to obtain salvation. Where are you today? Where do you stand with God, with the living God of the universe?

Let's pray.