“Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.”
~ Genesis 36:7
Hi James and Ellen,
The area where your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living in Georgia was covered a month or so ago with a myriad of springtime colors. Lime green to burgundy red tree leaves were beginning to unfold from their buds. Pear, peach, apple and dogwood trees dotted the landscape with their white and pink blooms. Forsythia and azalea bushes added their bright flowers to the lawns that were turning green. Warm springtime air and periodic rain showers were encouraging leaves to emerge, trees to bloom, bushes to flower, flowers to blossom and grass to change from a dull brown to a bright green. It was as if to your grandmaa and grandpaa that God was painting His handiwork in a way that they had not seen before. The warm springtime air changed about two weeks ago to frigid cold accompanied by a killer frost. It took only a couple of nights for the killer frost to cause leaves that were unfolding from their buds to become a sad, droopy brown, kill blooms that were blanketing trees causing the blooms to fall to the ground, wrack havoc on flowers that were blooming from annuals causing the flowers to become wilted and ugly and cause plants to croak that were flowering that were planted too early. The Georgia area where your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living is now blotched everywhere with sad looking trees, bushes and flowering plants. Many of the trees that had their blooms killed by the killer frost will not be able to produce fruit this year. Why do you think that God would first allow a beautiful patchwork quilt of fascinating colors to emerge only to allow a killer frost undo what He had already done? Why do you think that God allows sometimes the sudden destruction or the killing of what He has allowed to begin to unfold in stunning, spectacular ways? God is omnipotent or all-powerful – which means that God was absolutely, completely in control of the massive, lingering mass of cold, killing air that He had show up to do a devastating number on the emerging colors that were beautifying the Georgia region where your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living.
Isaac and Rebekah lived about 4000 years ago on planet Earth. Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys born to them. Esau was the name that Isaac and Rebekah named the first twin kid who was born to them. The name Esau means hairy. Jacob was the name that Isaac and Rebekah named the second twin kid who was born to them. The name Jacob means follower. Jacob was holding unto Esau’s heal as Esau was being born. Esau became his dad’s favorite kid. Jacob became his ma’s favorite kid. Esau liked to hunt. Jacob liked to hang around the house. Because he was the firstborn kid – per the custom of the time, Esau was to receive a special birthright blessing from his dad shortly before his dad died. The special birthright blessing per the custom of this time was to receive a double portion of the inheritance that each kid was to receive when their dad dies. Because Jacob really wanted this special birthright blessing from his dad, Jacob was able to one day trick his famished bro into trading his birthright blessing for some homemade bread and a bowl of stew. Jacob – with the help of his conniving ma, ended up having his dad give him the special birthright blessing that was to have been given to Esau. Esau – needless to say, was very angry with his kid bro when he found out what Jacob had done to be given the special birthright blessing that was to have been given to him. Jacob had to leave home to escape his big bro killing him. Jacob and Esau – a number of years after their dad died, would meet and reconcile with each other.
Because his extended family had grown too large to live in the same land area where his kid bro’s extended family was living, Esau – a number of years after Jacob returned to where he grew up in Canaan’s land area, moved his extended family and all their things and livestock from Canaan’s land area to the hill country of Seir. Genesis 36 summarizes the rapid growth of Esau’s people group – the Edomite people group of guys and gals. Moses recounts in verse 7 Esau’s move to the hill country of Seir “Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.” The hill country of Seir – a region area of reddish, sandstone rock formations, became known as Edom. The land area of Edom was located south to southeast of the Dead Sea. Even though God pointedly said per a minor prophet called Malachi that He hated Esau, Esau’s extended family became a very large people group of guys, gals and kids. Because what became the Edom land area is today Saudi Arabia’s southern tip, your grandpaa thinks that a good number of Saudi Arabian guys and gals are descendants of Esau. Your grandpaa does not sense a gnawing hatred from Saudi Arabian guys and gals today against the Israelite people group guys and gals – like there is among guys and gals who are living in other Middle East countries; your grandpaa senses today more of an innate tolerance by Saudi Arabian guys and gals towards the Israelite people group guys and gals. God is omniscient or all-knowing – which means that God was in complete control of how Esau and Jacob were born, how the birthright blessing unfolded, how the Edomite people group or nation of guys and gals grew and how the Israelite people group or nation of guys and gals grew. Why do you think that God at times allows ugly interpersonal strife to have a family fragment from being as a united nuclear family? Here is something for you to think about – if God really hated Esau, why would God have Esau be born and then have Moses dedicate one entire chapter in the Bible just to Esau? God’s ways are unfathomable to comprehend.
Genesis 36 (834)