We just read the genealogy of Esau. Do you feel inspired now?
These genealogies are tough. I’ve never heard of these people. Why should I care about them? They’re not the ones that Jesus would come from. In fact, these families would develop into nations that would fight against Israel. Why spill so much ink on people who are not going to move the story forward?
First, the thought that these people don’t matter is wrong. Remember that God promised Abram/Abraham that he would give him offspring as numerous as the stars. Esau is the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. God keeps his promises. Don’t overlook the importance of that. Even when Esau was playing fast and loose with God’s covenant God was still faithful. (He was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of soup! I mean, come on!) God blessed Esau with land, cattle, wealth and, most important, a huge family. That family grew and became great nations. No doubt God’s desire for these people was that they’d recognize His blessing and turn to Him, which they did not, but His goodness is not contingent on our behavior.
Indeed, that is a point worth pondering in itself. God does not require us to be good in order to receive His blessings. He is a compassionate and loving Father that provides for both the righteous and the wicked in this world. And when it comes to blessings, He gave His greatest to people (all people) whom He knew would reject it. He gave Jesus knowing that we did not seek Him, and He gave Him to die for all people so that we could be reconciled to Him. Jesus came – not for people who were worthy because they were so righteous. He came for sinners who did necessarily even know we needed a savior, and His love and mercy transforms our lives.
Second, remember that genealogies serve as buffers in Genesis. There are ten genealogies throughout the book and this is the ninth. The scene is changing, so to speak. For the last few chapters we have focused on how God continued His covenant promises through Jacob. Now the focus is going to rest primarily on Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph.
Interestingly, Joseph is not the heir who will receive the covenant from God. God blesses him through trials and struggles in order to save many people, including the family that would carry the promise of a savior. That family should have been Reuben’s, but in the last chapter we read that he had sex with Bilhah – one of his father’s wives. Next should have been Simeon, and then Levi, but they devised and executed to plot to avenge Dinah. Judah, therefore became the son to inherit the covenant, so the Kings of Israel were his descendants, and eventually Jesus would be born to his family.
Over the next fourteen chapters, we will get a close look at how God uses hardship to shape lives. We will see the struggle of trying to live an upright life rooted in faith in a hostile world. We will see God’s faithfulness in the midst of sorrowful situations, and how He can use evil for good. We will see the story of salvation continue forward, as God leads to the eventual conclusion of this story; when he brings us to be with Him forever in the new creation for Jesus’ sake.
Father, thank you for your faithfulness. Keep pressing on to the day when I come home to you! Amen.
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