It's just an endless genealogy,
the family and the descendants of
Esau. Let's just read a few verses,
chapter 36, verse 1. Now, these are the generations
of Esau who is Edom. And he took his wives of the
daughter of Canaan, and verse 3, Bathshemath, Ishmael's daughter. It goes on down to say, verse 9, these are the generations
of Esau, the father of the Edomites. Verse 15, they were dukes. These
were the dukes of the sons of Esau. And it lists many of these
dukes or noble men. Verse 29, these are the dukes
that came out of the Horites, the sons of Esau. Verse 31, they're
kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned
any king over the children of Israel. There's much more here
than a genealogy. The Lord certainly writes things
to give us facts that we can prove, such as genealogies,
but there's much more than that, much more than history, much
more than the history of the children of Esau. Verse 1, look
at this, it says this four times, Esau who is Edom, verse 8, thus
dwelt Esau on Mount Siar. Esau is Edom, verse 19. These are the sons of Esau who
is Edom, verse 43. The last line, he is Esau, the
father of the Edomites. Edomites. These people are significant. And what we're going to see is
that Edom, the Edomites, Esau is the father of, represent the
world. everyone in the world. When the Scripture speaks, it
speaks of two classes of people, the world and Israel. Right? Scripture distinguishes
people this way, the sons of men and the sons of God. The world, John said, they are
of the world. John said, We are of God. We
know that the whole world lies in wickedness, but we are of
God. This is what our Lord, and this
is how He distinguished Look at 1 John. Go over there. 1 John
2. This is a Bible study, so by
definition, we study more deeply the Scriptures. We look at more
Scripture. 1 John 2. Much is said about the world
throughout the Scriptures. Our Lord, in His prayer, spoke
of the world often. don't know that the word world
is used in many different ways in the Scripture. 1 John 2, verses 15 and 16. And most people only know John
3, 16. God so loved the world. But here it says, verse 15, love
not the world, neither the things. So, see, it's distinguishing
between the world and things. Neither the things that are in
the world. Any man that loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. All that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof. Chapter 3, verse 12. Chapter 3, verse 12 speaks of
Cain. They were first two brothers,
remember, in the garden. Not in the garden, outside the
garden. But two brothers who represent all religion, just
like Jacob and Esau did. Cain was of the wicked one. What is the wicked one called?
The God of this world. But God is the God of Israel,
the God of this world. Cain, of that wicked one, verse
12, slew his brother. Why? Why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil
and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, world
hate you. Chapter 4, verse 1. Beloved,
believe not every spirit. Try the spirits, whether they
are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Verse 5. They are of the world,
therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. Chapter
5. Verse 4, Whosoever is born of God overcometh the world. The world. And then verse 19,
I quoted, We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth
in wickedness. Esau is Edom. The Edomites are the world. Now his name, Edom, means red. That's what it means. There's
nothing wrong with that name. He was red all over. But He was
given this name forever, Edom, because of He sold the birthright
for red bean soup. It was red soup is what it was. And He was given this name, Edom,
forever. And He's forever called Edom. and his descendants who were
just like him, Edomites, because he sold the birthright. He didn't
care anything about God. He sold it for a bowl of red
soup. So the Lord called him Edom from
that day forward. Edom is the world. And Paul said
this, he said, I even say now weeping that their God is their
belly. Most people, the world over,
don't give God a thought. They don't worship God. They
don't think about God. God is not in all their thoughts. The
only thing they think about and they live for is their belly,
the lust of the flesh. Red. Eat them. Eat them. Alright,
now the Scriptures, throughout the Scriptures, talks about the
people of God. You're godly. Why is someone
called godly? Although that does mean their
character has got a good character and ways and work, but it means
they think about God. God's on their minds. Godly. They're of God, so they think
about God. They thank God. They worship God. They love God's
Word. They love God's people. But then
you've got the wicked. The wicked, who don't think God,
they don't think about God. You've got the people of God
who are godly, and you've got the people of the world. You
see how the Scriptures, Edom, Red, all their descendants are
Edomite. And all the descendants of Adam
by nature are of the world. We just read that. They are of
the world. Therefore, speak they of the
world, and the world hears them. The world here is the things
of the world. They're worldly. They're not
godly. They're worldly. Worldly. You see that? Edom is all kingdoms
of the world. Look at verse 2. Verse 2 speaks
of the Hittite. See that? He took wives, the
daughter of Canaan, Ada, the daughter of Elam, the Hittite.
And in Anan, the daughter of Zibion, the Hivites, verse 12,
Timnah was Kakima unto Eliphaz, Esau's son, Shibert to Eliphaz,
Amalek, Amalekites. Now these are names of people
that Israel went through their lands, and these people hated
Israel. And verse 21, Dashun and Ezar
and Dashun, these are the dukes of the Horites, sons in the land
of Edom, Horites. So all the kingdoms of this world,
kingdoms of men, they name their kingdoms after themselves. Alright, what's the kingdom,
the eternal kingdom? What's the name of it? The kingdom
of God. It's not named after anybody
but, you know, the kingdom of His dear Son. The kingdom of
the world, the Hittites, the Parasites, the Amorites, the
Amalekites, named after some men. One kingdom. And they come
and go. All these kingdoms of men, they
come and they go. But there's one kingdom that
lasts forever. The kingdom of His dear Son. The kingdom of God and His Christ.
Christ's King. And He reigns forever. Listen
to Daniel. I almost preached from this today. Listen to Daniel chapter 7. He
says, It was given, it says, I saw one like the Son of Man
who came with the clouds, came to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought him near before Him. And it was given him, speaking
of Christ, dominion and glory and a kingdom. that all people,
nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom
shall not be destroyed." The kingdom of God. And even the
kingdoms of men, Daniel wrote, said, the Most High ruleth and
giveth them to whomsoever He will. was Jacob's brother, wasn't it? Esau, Jacob's brother. They were born of the same father. Flesh and blood kin. Sons of
Isaac, weren't they? Twins. They're twins. There's no difference. When they
came out of that womb, there was no difference, wasn't there?
Except in appearance. But they're both sons of the
same Father. Sinful sons of the same Father. But there's a difference. There
is a difference. What made the difference? Who
maketh thee to differ? God said. Here's what God said,
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated, and I'm going to destroy
him and all his descendants. But all the sons of Jacob are
mine forever. That's what God said. This is
something the world doesn't believe. But God said it, didn't He? Edom
was Jacob's brother. They were twins. And the Lord,
in sovereign, electing love and mercy and grace. You get tired of hearing this. God chose Jacob. Not for anything
He saw in Jacob. Just because He wanted. Even
so, Father, it seemed good in my sight. It pleased the Lord
to make you His people. to call you one of his own. And
he revealed himself to Jacob. He changed Jacob into Israel. And though Jacob was sinful and
unworthy, no better than Esau when the Lord found him, God
said, Jacob have I loved. And we'll always love him. We'll
always love him. Not because of Jacob. but because
God made a covenant concerning Jacob in Christ. It's not the
world. The Lord doesn't love the world. This is so plain in the Scripture
today. But a people chosen out of the
world, out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue in the world. Edomites were filled with wise,
mighty, and noble people. The last part of chapter 35 gives
the sons of Jacob, doesn't it? It says in verse 23 of chapter
35, the sons of Leah, Reuben, Simeon, it gives their names,
doesn't it? What does it say about what they could do or what
they accomplished or what office position? It doesn't seem like
they were anything or anybody. What were they? When they got
to Egypt and Pharaoh asked them, what do you do? They all said,
we're shepherds. They weren't dukes. They weren't
kings. They weren't mighty and noble,
wise in the world, but God chose them. You see your calling, brethren? Now, not many wise men at the
class. Edomites were wise in the world, wise in the manment
of riches, and they had great substance. Verse 6, they took
wives and sons, Esau did, and all the persons of his house,
and cattle, and all his substance which he got in the land. He
had great substance, long before Jacob had anything. Listen, Esau
was still at home when Jacob ran, remember? And Jacob left
with a stick in his hand, a staff in his hand. And Esau had already
had wives, sons, daughters. He had riches, he had houses,
he had land, he had everything, while Jacob was just roaming
with nothing. Isn't that a picture? God did
make Jacob wealthy and these things, like us. But God, see,
here's the thing, God chooses them that are nobodies and nothings,
not the wise, mighty, and the noble, to make them wise. To make them mighty through His
strength. To make them noble. Not the noble men of this world,
but God's noble men. Sons of God. They're going to
be called sons of God. Reigning in a kingdom of God.
Dukes and kings. Verse 15 says, these were the
dukes of the sons of Esau, sons of Eliphath. Duke this, duke
that, duke that. Verse 29, dukes, dukes, dukes.
Everywhere you read, there are dukes of these Edomites. They were all dukes. And then
verse 31 says, there were kings that reigned in the land of Edom.
Kings. Before there reigned any king
over the children of Israel, there were kings, and they reigned.
It gives their reign. It keeps mentioning these men
who came and they were kings, and yet they didn't last. No,
they died. They died. But I'm here to tell
you that Israel had a king long before Edom. Long before Edom
had a king. The Lord Jesus Christ has reigned
forever. Always has. Before the world
began, He was Lord over all. He's the one who set up all these
dukes. He's the one who set up these
kings. The Lord Jesus Christ. And we don't make Him king. We don't make Him Lord. God hath
made Him Lord long before, like Psalm 2 said. So all these dukes,
you know, these dukes reign for a while. Duke will reign for
a little while, but somebody else is going to reign next year.
Duke, duke, come and go. Kings, come and go. But our Lord
reigns forever, ever. Jacob was a plain man, wasn't
he? What is he now? The plain man. Just the plain man. He hasn't
changed. He doesn't think he's changed.
He is changing. We're seeing that change come
over. Oh, he's still sinful. He's still sinful. He's still
cowardly. He's still Jacob. But the Lord is growing. And it's
a slow, almost imperceptible growth, but He is growing. Edom
is the godless world. There's no mention ever of Esau
or any of these people calling on God. None of them. None of them called on God. No
mention of any of them building an altar, building an altar,
worshipping. Solomon wrote in Proverbs that
the Lord put the world in their hearts. And they prosper in the
world and build up all these things. And even God's people
benefit from that. The Lord has people, industrious
in the world, wise. Nearly everybody in here works
for somebody in the world, don't you? Like the Israelites worked
for the Egyptians, didn't they? And God gave the Israelites favor
sometimes in the sight of the Egyptians. But the whole world
exists for God's people, for their benefit, not the world. It's not for the world. The meat
shall inherit the earth. See, this land that they were
all in, it belonged to Jacob. Edomite said most of it. Who
did it belong to? Jacob. Abraham. God said, I have given you this
man. These people were squatters. The earth is the Lord's in the
fullness thereof. And it belongs to God's people. And God uses these things and
these people for His people. And that's the reason they prosper. It's for our benefit. Verse 43
says this, that their habitation, the last verse says, their habitations
were in the land of their possession, the Edomites. That was their
possession. That was their habitation. That's where they lived. But
their habitation, our Lord said, will be desolate someday. God's going to destroy this world
and they that dwell therein. They're not them that dwell in
Him, in Christ. No, no. And their possessions
perish. All the possessions of the men
and people of this world perish. Not our possession. What is our
habitation? We have here no continuing city,
but one that's builder and maker is God. He is our dwelling place.
O Lord, Moses wrote in Psalm 90, thou hast been our dwelling
place throughout all generations. He's our habitation. What about
our possession? What about our portion? We have
here, this is not our portion. Sodom, Lot almost perished in
it. and the well-watered plains of
Sodom. But the Lord said to Abraham and all his people, I am your
portion. I am your exceeding great portion. And we get him. He's our possession. Edom hated Israel, starting with
Esau. Right? Okay. But starting with
Esau. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. It's not that Esau didn't deserve
it. He hated God. He showed that. He sold his birthright. What do I care about God? Here,
give me some soup. What do I care about God? Give
me a bowl of that soup. And the world over right now,
passing by right now, don't stop to worship God, would rather
drink a Budweiser. Honestly. Unbelievably. Such were some of you. That was
me. Shall I say it? But God chose you. Chose you to set your
affection. He set His affection on you that
He might set your affection on Him. Not red suits. My, my, David said, Whom have
I in heaven but thee? And there's none on earth I desire
beside thee. That's of the Lord. Edom hated
Israel. Go in closing to a few scriptures. Numbers, you've got to see this.
Numbers chapter 20. Moses wrote extensively of these
Edomites. Numbers chapter 20. Though Esau was Jacob's brother
and neighbors, they lived beside each other. You know, Edom right
now is Jordan. The land of Jordan is Edom. Okay? You can't tell them apart. Could
you tell Jordanians apart from Israel? Oh no, no way. They're
twins. They're brothers. They're kin.
They hate each other. They never have dwelt together.
Why is that? Why can't they get along? That's
the way it is. Numbers chapter 20, here it is,
verse 14. Moses sent messengers from Kadesh
unto the king of Edom. Thus saith thy brother Israel.
Israel, this is your brother. Now notice the treacherous veil
that has befallen us. We're in trouble. Our fathers
went down into Egypt. We dwelt in Egypt a long time.
Egyptians vexed us. And our father, when we cried
unto the Lord, he heard our voice, sent an angel. He's telling them
the truth, Edomite, and brought us forth out of Egypt. Behold,
we're in Kadesh, the city in thy border. Let us pass, I pray,
through thy country. We'll not pass through your fields,
your vineyards, neither will drink the water of your well.
We'll go by the king's highway. We'll not turn to the right hand,
to the left, until we've passed through thy border." Adam said,
you're not coming through here. Why not? Read on. We're going to come
against you with a sword, verse 18. The children of Israel said
unto him, We'll go by the highway. If I and my cattle drink of thy
water, we'll pay for it. We don't want anything from you.
We're just passing through. Verse 20, And he said, Thou shalt
not go through. And Edom came out against him
with much people with a strong hand. And Edom refused to give
Israel passage through his border. That's where it started. And
you remember God sent Joshua, who is Jesus Christ. And most
people in the world hate the mention of Joshua. All they think
is Joshua was a bloodthirsty, murderous man that went through
the land killing everybody in sight. Innocent people, slaughtering
innocent people in the name of Israel. Not so. You read it with me. And Joshua
even said wherever he went, now he's taking the land that God
gave to his people. And he's coming through and he
even told them, if you'll be peaceful, you can dwell with
us. He even said that. And they came out against him.
So Joshua said, okay. Isaiah 63. Who is this that cometh
from? Read it with me. Isaiah 63. Turn
over that. Isaiah 63. And you know, when
people hear about our Lord Jesus Christ coming to destroy the
world, they say, oh, we don't believe that. How could He? Isaiah 63. How could He? The people that slew Him. Why would God send His Son to
destroy a world? They hung Him on a cross and
spit in His place and mocked His pain? The Holy
One of Israel? And you don't understand why
God says, wipe them out? You understand, don't you? Look
at Isaiah 63. Who is this that cometh from
Edom? Dyed garments. What are these
garments dyed in? Blood. Verse 2, read in thine
apparel. Verse 3, I have trodden the winepress. The people, there was none with
me. I'll tread them in mine anger, trample them in my fury. Their
blood shall be on my garments. Didn't they say? Let His blood
be on us and our children. Didn't we say? Didn't we say
that? Yes, we did. Shall I say that? But, God, the same thing. Let His blood
be on us and our children. God said, OK, but you meant it
for evil. And I'm going to make this for
good. His blood is going to be on you and your children. Good. Edomites deserve it. They hate
God. Jeremiah, I had several scriptures
I wanted you to look at. Jeremiah, let me just read this
to you, and I'll close with this, I promise. Jeremiah, there's so much here. It's not just the genealogy.
Jeremiah said this in chapter 49, the Lord said through Jeremiah,
He said, Edom shall be a desolation. Everybody that goes by it shall
be astonished. It's going to be like Sodom and
Gomorrah. No man is going to abide there.
Nobody is going to dwell in it. I'm going to wipe out Edom. Well, look at this in closing.
And do you know in David's story, 2 Samuel 8, right before 9, Mephibosheth,
is the story of David's conquest. And it says, David made all Edomites
his servants. Did you hear that? David made
all Edomites his servants. The world serves our Lord. Well, chapter 36 ends with the
Edomites, the generation of Esau and the Edomites. And it's going
to have an end. Now, chapter 37, here's how this
began. Jacob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Now, these
are the generations of Jacob. Joseph. And Stephen, it doesn't mention
anybody else. Now we're going to talk about
all these Edomites and all these great men and all that. Now we're
going to talk about the descendants of Jacob, Joseph. Who's Joseph? Oh, he's Jesus Christ, is who
he represents. I hope now, I hope you'll read
from now on, because it now begins the story of Joseph. And every knee... Joseph is just
17 years old right there. So here he is, here he comes,
Joseph. And the rest of the Genesis is
about Joseph. And every knee, the Edomites
got to come. to Joseph and beg him for food. The one that said, You can't
come through here. Oh, I just might let you. Oh, my. Now, stay tuned because the rest
of it gets as if it wasn't good up until now. The story of Joseph. All right. get more loud