to read for us the entire chapter. If you have looked ahead in Genesis, then you know that this morning we are coming to a very exciting passage, the generations of Esau. And in doing so, I always like to find a passage that corresponds to our Old Testament reading, finding a passage that in some way connects with it and perhaps instructs us in a way that we find within the passage. And so this morning, the reason I chose Galatians 6 is, first of all, I think it's helpful for us in light of the announcement we shared last week. But along with that, because within this closing chapter in Paul's letter to the Galatians, there is, while there's certainly these exhortations to the present, there is also an encouragement for us to look to the future. There is a forward look to it. And anytime we come to a genealogy, that's really what it's intending to do. It's it's it's driving us forward. It's it's it's encouraging us to to look ahead to the future. And so in that regard, for those reasons, I felt that Galatians six would be a good chapter for us to read. So if I could ask you to please stand and. And in doing so, give honor and attention to the reading of God's word. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary of doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then as we have opportunity let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that you may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. You may be seated. And parents, you can dismiss your younger children at this time. And for the rest of you, if you would turn in your Bibles to Genesis 36, As once again, we come to one of these genealogies, and this is the last genealogy that we encounter in the book of Genesis. And in doing so, you know, I think it's important for us to pause and and spend a bit of time reflecting upon it. Simply because I think there's a tendency among us all I know there's a tendency within me when you come to one of these genealogies to sort of Just put our foot on the gas and try and get through it as quick as we can And and in doing so we might miss some of the things that are embedded within them And that's certainly the case here this morning now now that's not to say that there is some sort of profound truth that we're going to unpack here that is going to change your life that nowhere else exists anywhere in Scripture and But it is to say that the things that are here are important in the history of redemption and they're also lessons that sort of leak out in the midst of it that will hopefully provide some kind of practical instruction and encouragement for us. And so if you would, please Look with me at Genesis chapter 36 and pray for me as I try to get through these names once again. These are the generations of Esau, that is, Edom. Esau took his wives from the Canaanites. Ada, the daughter of Elan, the Hittite. Oholabama, the daughter of Anna, the daughter of Zibion, the Hivite. and Passamath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, Passamath bore Reuel, and a whole Abama bore Jeush, Jalom, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. Went into a land away from his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom. These are 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 Adah, the wife of Esau. Ruel, the son of Basmath, the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were Taman, Omar, Zephu, Gatham, and Kenaz. Temna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son. She bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Ruel. Nahaf, Zerah, Shammah, and Mitzah. These are the sons of Basmath, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Aholabama, The daughter of Anna, the daughter of Zibion, Esau's wife. She bore to Esau Jeush, Jalom, and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau. The chiefs Temen, Omar, Zephu, Kanaz, Korah, Gatham, and Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah. These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son. The chiefs Nahas, Zerah, Shammah, and Mitzah. These are the chiefs of Ruel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basmath, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Ahol-Abama, Esau's wife. The chiefs Jeus, Jallam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Ahol-Abama, the daughter of Anna, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, that is Edom, and these are their chiefs. These are the sons of Seir, the Horite. The inhabitants of the land, Latan, Shabal, Zibion, Anah, Dishan, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the son of Seir in the land of Edom. The sons of Latan were Hori and Hemam, and Latan's sister was Timna. These are the sons of Shobal, Alvan, Manahas, Ebal, Shefo, and Onam. These are the sons of Zibion, Eah, and Anah. He is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of Zibion, his father. These are the children of Anah, Dishan and Oholabamah, the daughter of Anah. These are the sons of Dishan, Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Kiran. These are the sons of Azar, Bilhan, Zavan, and Akan. These are the sons of Dishan, Uz, and Aran. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibion, Anah, Dishan, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom, the name of the city being Dinhabah. Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah and Batsra, reigned in his place. Jobob died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Beddad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. Hadad died, and Samlah and Masrekah reigned in his place. Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. Shaul died and Baal Hanan, the son of Akbor, reigned in his place. Baal Hanan, the son of Akbor, died and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city being Powel. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Metzahab. These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names. The chiefs Tinna, Alva, Jetheth, Oholabama, Elah, Pinan, Kenaz, Teman, Mitzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom. That is Esau, the father of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Father, we this morning come to you, a people who are grateful for the redemption that we have in Christ. And that even as we look at this genealogy filled with names of real people and real history. Father, we can see ourselves, God, as those in the midst of redemptive history who are yours. We're loved by you and have been purchased by the blood of your son and have been forgiven of all of our sins. And we thank you for this, because we realize, Father, that this is only by grace. That none of us sought you out, none of us chose you. But, God, you sovereignly and graciously set your love upon us and made us your own. For this, we thank you and we entrust ourselves to you, believing God that you will indeed continue the work you have begun in us and that one day you will bring that work to a beautiful, beautiful completion when we are glorified together with your son in his presence and glory. So we thank you for this and pray that this morning you would now minister to us by your word for we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Well, back at the beginning of our study in Genesis, which actually began just over a year and a half ago, which means we've probably got just about a few more months to go, but about a year and a half ago. Back at the beginning, you may remember how we noted that the book of Genesis is, at least in the broadest sense, divided into really two parts. The first part, which runs from chapters one through 11, is referred to as primevial history. And that part of the book really focuses on the four major events of the ancient world, the creation, the fall, the flood, and the Tower of Babel. Then there is the second part of the book, and this runs from chapters 12 up through chapters 50, and this contains what is known as patriarchal history. And this part of the book focuses on the four patriarchs of the faith. Abraham, whose story we read of in chapters 12 through 20. Abraham's son Isaac, whose story is contained in chapters 21 through 26. Isaac's son Jacob, which we find in chapters 27 through 36. And then Jacob's son Joseph, whose story we read of in chapters 37 through 50. And that's really the broadest kind of way to divide up and understand the book of Genesis. But along with that basic outline, we also noted that there is a more detailed division that exists in Genesis, and that division is marked off by this heading, these are the generations of. And we've noted how this heading, which occurs 11 times in the book of Genesis, that this heading exists in order to narrow the focus of what's just been said and drive us forward with fresh focus on individuals and families that figure prominently in the history of redemption. And that's precisely what we find here in chapter 36. We find ourselves being pushed ahead from Jacob's story into the story of his son Joseph. but not before we first have a bow tied upon Esau and his generations. And that's what we have here in this genealogy is a history of Esau and his descendants. Now, we all know about Esau. We know that technically, even though he was twins with Jacob, he was the older brother. And we know that Jacob stole his birthright and stole his blessing and that as a result of it Esau wanted to kill Jacob. And we know that because we recently saw all of this unfold and sort of come to a climax in their reunion when Jacob crossed back over into the land of promise and there encountered his brother as he made his way back home into the land of Canaan. But there's more to Esau and Esau's story than just these big events. And it's important that we understand this as we seek to kind of unpack a little bit what's going on here in this genealogy. For starters, going back to chapter 25, when he and Jacob were together in the womb, we were told, and you might remember this, that the two of them, they struggled together in their mother's womb. You might remember that word that's there translated as struggled actually speaks of or literally could be translated as crashed into each other. But this wasn't just sort of playful kicking around in, you know, mommy's belly. But this is two brothers who are already going at it, who are already crashing into each other violently with this sort of animosity and angst that they had towards one another. And this was something that that troubled Rebecca greatly. And you recall how she cried out to the Lord saying, what what's going on here? And the Lord said to her. He said, there are two nations in your womb and two people that are divided and the older will serve the younger. And so before they're even born, we get this very clear statement about the future of these two boys, that they would develop into two nations. And these two nations, just like these two brothers, would not get along with one another, but Jacob, whom we know to be Israel, would have the upper hand. And so with that, the two of them are born. And we're told that when Esau came out, he came out red and all his body like a hairy cloak. We're told that he was a skilled hunter and a man of the field. And we saw how that description, while seemingly, you know, kind of on the surface, you know, didn't seem to contain all that much. It seemed like a fairly harmless, benign statement, was actually meant to tell us something about Esau. That Esau was like a wild animal. He's red and he's covered in hair. And he lives in the field and he stalks his prey. And Esau is this guy who there's something base and something savage and something carnal about. And we saw that right from the beginning. And that reality was further seen later on in that chapter, in chapter 25, when when he sold his birthright, despising his heritage and this position of honor and spiritual leadership in his family, that he handed it over for a pot of stew and how there in that scene we got this image of a man, again, who was driven by his appetite, who didn't just eat the stew, but literally the word there in Hebrew is a word that is only used to speak of the way animals eat food. It's just stuffing their face. That's the picture that we're getting of Esau. And so time goes on for Jacob and Esau. The time for Isaac to die draws near. And as we saw back in chapter 27, Isaac, in disobedience to what he knew to be the will of God, summoned Esau to himself in order to bestow his blessing upon him. And we all know what happened. We know that Jacob Rebecca got wind of it and Jacob deceived his father and went in disguised as his brother and and stole the blessing. When Esau found out about it, how he just completely flipped out and he starts crying out to his father, Father, you must have a blessing left for me. You must have a blessing left for me. Now, we kind of hear that and we we think, what's the big deal? I mean, we say things to our kids, and if I pronounce a blessing over my son, it doesn't mean that it's going to come true. But we saw this back in chapter nine with Noah, that this is like an oracle. This is a prophetic statement that's being spoken, and it's in many ways determining their future. And so Esau wants this blessing. He demands this blessing. But all Isaac can tell him is that your brother will be Lord over you, and you will dwell away from the fatness of the land. You won't be in the real fertile, good, crop-growing part of the land. But you'll be away from the fatness of the land, and you will live by the sword. That's what would await Esau, and that's what would await his descendants. So from that we see Esau marries three women, two Hittites and one Canaanite, at least that's all we're told of. And then he settles in the hill country just to the southeast across the border from Canaan in the hill country of Seir. And in doing so, Sayer was already a place that was occupied by the Horites, but as we know from places like Deuteronomy chapter two, Esau and his descendants destroyed them and dispersed them, at least a great majority of them. And so here is Esau. married to these women, again, marrying women outside of the covenant, showing that he is despising the things of God, despising those things that God would desire for him as part of one whose life is in the covenant. We see him going outside of the land and settling in the land of Seir and in doing so, waging war in order to carve out a space for himself. And so if we sort of put it all together, we get a kind of a picture, this guy Esau. We see that he and Jacob aren't just two people, but they are two nations. We know these two nations are Israel and Edom. Four times we are told in our passage, this genealogy, Esau is Edom. Be clear about who Esau is. And we know that their relationship would be tense. And we know what type of person Esau is and the Edomites would be. That they would be an aggressive and rebellious and carnal people. And so that's our picture of Esau. But the question is, why include his genealogy in Genesis? Well, I will say it's not completely unusual that we find this, that the reprobate brother and his line being mentioned. We see it with Ishmael as well, Isaac's brother. And so it's not something that's completely out of the ordinary. It is something that we find elsewhere. But why include it? Well, first and foremost, it's included because of who Esau's descendants were. and the role they would play in Israel's history. Now, as I just mentioned a moment ago, Esau is Edom. And his descendants are the Edomites. And we see this in verse 1, verse 8, verse 19, and verse 43. And this is something we also saw even in Esau's birth. If you'll recall, at that time they said Esau is Edom. Because Edom means red and that was a the way that Esau came out, red and hairy, so they named him Red. This name stuck because when he sold his birthright for the pot of stew, it was a red stew. And again, even in the land he ended up dwelling in, the land of Seir, which became the land of Edom, and then later the land of Edomia, that land is known by the red sandstone cliffs that outlie that country. And so Esau is Edom, Esau is Red. And Edom was a constant thorn to Israel. I mean, I'm sure you know just from kind of reading your Old Testaments casually, you always come across Edom, the Edomites, and it's never really favorable. Beginning with, the first time they show up is in Numbers chapter 20. And there, what you have is Moses leading Israel out of bondage in Egypt. It's the exodus. They're going through the wilderness into the land of Cain and the land which he promised. And square in their path is the land of Edom. And so Moses, he sends messengers ahead and asks the king of Edom if they would allow them to pass through. He says, you know, we won't go through your vineyards, we won't go through your fields, we won't even take a sip of water from any of your wells. It's just, you know, it's kind of the straightest line to where we need to go. And the king of Edom said, you take one step onto this land and I'll meet you with swords. And that really was put Israel in a terrible spot because immediately after that, if you read in the book of Numbers, you find that they, you know, they find themselves circling back around. And right after that happens, they begin to grumble. They begin to really get irritated with this whole wilderness thing. And the Lord sends the fiery serpents. And so right from the beginning, there is this, this tension, we see this animosity taking place between Esau and Jacob, between the Edomites and the Israelites. and that relationship would continue to grow tenser and tenser. As a matter of fact, even when we get into the New Testament, you guys know of Herod, or the Herods. Well, we're told that they're from Edomia, and Edomia was Edom. So Herod himself came from this place, and here he is, one of the kings arising from Edom that is now ruling over and lording over Israel. And so these people would stay really entwined with Israel for centuries. And yet, in spite of all of that, in spite of the threat that they made to them in the exodus, in spite of all of the tension that existed between them, God tells Israel and Deuteronomy that they are not to contend with them. Not to contend with them. Because Esau is their brother. Not just any brother, this is their twin. And so you don't contend with them. Moreover, don't try and take any of their land because I gave them that land as their possession. I gave them that land as their possession. Now. That would eventually change in the days of the prophets as Edom became more and more reprobate and acted more and more violently and aggressively and godlessly. And the prophets spoke much against Edom and Edom ended up being judged. But nevertheless, they were Israel's closest neighbor and they were their brothers. And so, first and foremost, the reason for this genealogy is historical. Just good old history in order to let Israel know who these neighbors are, their relationship with them, and to teach them and guide them in proper conduct with them. With that being said, there are also a few very practical reasons why this genealogy would be included. For starters, as has been the case with previous genealogies in the book of Genesis, It shows us again God's faithfulness and the truthfulness of his word. That what he says he will do, he will do. And that what he says will happen, will happen. And what he said of Esau is that Esau would become a nation. He said that way back when he was in the womb. There's two nations in your womb. This is what he said. Now imagine that, because that's a very, very, you know, big sort of prediction to make. It's not like saying it's going to rain tomorrow. To say that somebody who is unborn, has no possessions to speak of at the time, that this guy is going to become his own nation. But that's what God says of Esau. He says that he would become a nation And that's precisely what happens. And we see this throughout Chapter 36, as chiefs and kings and rulers arise from them and they take possession of this entire land of Seir. So we see that what God spoke actually came to fruition. And yet the thing that's significant about it is that this statement, this word of promise wasn't spoken to somebody who's in the covenant line. I mean, it's one thing if this promise is spoken to Jacob, we say, of course, well, God's continuing to just work out his plan of salvation and just just chart out this course that redemption would take. And and that's going to go through Jacob. So, of course, he's going to be faithful to him. This is somebody on the outside of that covenant line. Somebody who is marked as reprobate, and yet God's word remains true to him. It's still true. What that does is show us the reality of common grace. Common grace. That God gives good things to all kinds of people. That you don't have to be a Christian in order to be blessed materially. That you don't have to be a Christian in order to receive good things, but all good things come from God and they're dispersed to all kinds of people, whether they are believers or unbelievers. And this is something, of course, Jesus himself taught when in the Sermon on the Mount, he tells us that his father makes his son to rise on the evil and on the good. And that the rain is sent to the just and the unjust. Meaning God doesn't withhold good from unbelievers, but he bestows many common blessings Blessings that are not redemptive or salvific but common blessings that have to do with this life and this world He sends those upon all kinds of people And that's something that we see clearly here with Esau and his descendants we see just blessings being bestowed upon him and I mean, so great were the blessings that in verse seven, we're told that he couldn't even dwell in the same land as Jacob. He had too many possessions. He had too much stuff, too many herds, too big a flock. So he had to move. He had to find somewhere else to go. And once he goes there, we see that that he has so much strength and so much force with him that he's able to to to to dispossess the people who are there already. So this is a guy whom whom God had blessed tremendously. with material wealth and physical strength and military might. This was someone who who had so much given to him. And this didn't stop with just him. But we see that this extended throughout this genealogy to his descendants from his descendants were kings and chiefs and rulers. I mean, people of wealth and people of power. And so, common grace blessings abounded over him. And yet, in the abundance of common grace, what we find is there was a very clear void of saving grace. And that's something else we see here by its absence. See, what we don't find here is any sign of spiritual blessing. What we don't find here is any hint of a desire for the things of God. But the emphasis throughout this genealogy is on the physical and on the material. That's really what Esau wanted. We know that from his character as previously marked out. This was someone who was based. This was someone who was carnal. And what he wanted was wealth and land and power and authority and status and influence. This is what he wanted. He wanted earthly blessings. That's what he valued. And we see this even in the names that are listed here, if time allowed us, we could go through and look at these names. But what you find when you look at these names is almost every single one of them are speaking of earthly things, things of vanity, ornaments, areas of sensuality. I mean, within the name, there is nothing that is pointing in any way towards God. And we know in the ancient Near East, the name, you know, back then, now we just kind of say, hey, how does that sound? You know, that name together with Langer? Oh, yeah, that's a good name. You know, we kind of think that way. They didn't think that way then. Names had meaning. And you chose names based upon the things you valued or character that you saw or cherished. That's what names were chosen by. And so if you're naming your children and your descendants keep being named after earthly ornaments and things that pertain to sensuality and carnality, that's saying these are the things we value that our inheritance are our treasure. What's important to us are the things of earth. That's precisely what we find here with Esau and his descendants. These names tell us a lot about him and his children. There was no connection to God whatsoever. You know, that's something that's worth reflecting on for a moment. Because again, you know, step back and think about, you know, who this guy Esau was. This is Abraham's grandson. This is Isaac's son, Isaac and Rebecca. I mean, he grew up hearing about God and God's works and all of these amazing things. But nothing stuck. I mean, none of this translated into his life and and that's something that to me, I think is. You know, it serves as kind of a a warning and a reminder. That as parents, just because we are trusting in Christ, just because we can share the stories of scripture and the testimony of our own life, that nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is guaranteed to our children. And realizing that, I think what it does is it is it drives us more away from just thinking about, you know, everything I need to do and being more dependent upon God to do those things. To be more prayerful, pleading more with God, to have mercy, to pour out His Spirit, to give grace, so that all of these things that we are sharing with our children and teaching with our children, and we should be doing it Every opportunity we have that those things would actually fall upon soft and receptive hearts, and they would be driven deep by the Holy Spirit. So there they would break forth into life and bring forth fruit. When we see that, I mean, we see someone, I mean, so closely, I mean, just I mean, right there in the covenant line, I mean, it's like, man, second generation, you know, just It again tells us how humbled we need to be before God as we plead for his mercy upon our families, upon our children. And so we see then from this genealogy that a lot of grace was bestowed upon Esau, a whole lot of grace, but none of it was saving grace. It's just common grace. And the thing we need to recognize is that This was all in accord with God's word. This was all in accord with God's word, because from the beginning, God made it clear that Jacob would be the one through whom he would advance his plan of redemption. And this is what it meant when God said back in chapter 25, when the two of them were in the womb, that the older would serve the younger. This wasn't just, you know, God saying that, you know, Jacob's going to be bigger and stronger. He's going to be tougher or he's going to be his boss or something like that. But what this is saying is that Jacob is the one I'm choosing. And Esau is the one I'm rejecting. I'm choosing Jacob to be the one through whom my plan of redemption would be carried out. And that's precisely what happened. And that's radical. Because what that does and what this genealogy further does is highlight God's sovereign grace in election. Highlights the fact that God chooses whom he wills to choose. And this is the way that Jacob and Esau's legacy is portrayed throughout scripture. I mean, you look at somewhere like Malachi 1 or Romans 9, where we're told in such a blunt and direct way of this reality is we're told. Jacob, I loved and Esau, I hated. And this isn't a statement of emotion, this is a statement that is speaking of election. One I have chosen, one I have rejected. And yet, within that context, what we find is that in Malachi, it's really set forth that way in order to display the greatness of God's love for His people. Whereas in Romans 9, it's set forth in order to display the greatness of His sovereign grace in choosing His people. But both of them, you see within their story, their legacy, this is the way that it's displayed, it's portraying this reality that God chooses whom he wills to choose. And that's something that we've looked at a number of times. We looked at it in length back in chapter 25. It's something, if you've been with us a really long time, we looked at back in Romans chapter 9 itself. So it's not something I want to spend a lot of time on, but rather, let me just say that rather than fighting against it, It's something that we should be humbled by and it's something that intends to inspire allegiance and worship. As within God's sovereign work of election he is displaying mercy upon a people who otherwise would never ever have any hope or any chance of eternal life. So what you have to remember, we always have to remember about the reality of election is that it comes within a context of a depraved people. People of whom we are told not one seeks God. No one seeks after him. All of us have turned astray. Every one of us has gone our own way. It's in that context that election is spoken because election is, apart from election, there is nobody who would choose God. And thus, this displays his mercy upon a people as he sets his love upon them in order to rescue them from their sins. And so then through this genealogy, we see common grace blessings, but not spiritual blessings bestowed upon Esau, and that shows us the faithfulness and truthfulness of God's word, as this is precisely the way he said it would be for Esau. He would be blessed on earth. But that's where the blessings would end. But then along with that, this genealogy also serves one more purpose. And that is to force Jacob and his descendants to look in faith to the promise rather than to their circumstances. Now you might ask, you know, how in the world does it do that? Well, think about what Jacob has been promised. Think about what he's been promised. And then think about what he's actually possessed. Jacob, we saw just in the last chapter, as a matter of fact, has been promised that a nation and a company of nations would descend from him. Have they? He's got a nice family, you know, large household, but not a nation and certainly not a company of nations. He's also been promised a land, and does he have a land? No. He's got a burial site, you know, the cave at Machphala where Abraham purchased in order to bury his wife and, you know, kind of the field surrounding that. And he's got this little chunk of ground that he bought on his way back into the promised land there at Shechem. But that's all he's got. He doesn't have a land. He's been promised that kings would come from him. But have they? Not even one. And meanwhile, look at what we read of in verse 31. These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. So blessings are coming to Esau and his descendants at a far greater clip than they're coming to Jacob and his descendants. I mean, chiefs and kings and rulers and leaders are rolling out of his lines, while at the same time, what's going on with Jacob and his descendants? They're enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. Then they're wandering in the wilderness for another 40 years. I mean, here, blessings are just coming, I mean, all of these things that God said to Esau, the unloved one, the one that was passed over, the reprobate one, blessings are just flowing into his life. But here's Jacob and his descendants who have all of these promises. And what are they realizing? What are they experiencing? captivity and wilderness wandering. That's what they are experiencing. Now, if you are them and you know the covenant promises, you know what's been spoken to you and you're not realizing the fulfillment of any of it, that's a great challenge to your faith. It's a very great challenge to your faith. And you can do one of two things at that point. You can say, well, God's not true and God's word is no good, so I'm out of here. I'm done. He makes these promises and he doesn't keep them. I've been holding onto this, hanging onto this, and it hasn't happened yet, so God's word is no good and I'm done, I'm out of here. Or you can say, fulfillment to these promises must be yet to come. And by faith, I believe that. That was the challenge. And beloved, that's our challenge as well. It's the challenge of believing God when all of our senses and all of our circumstances would tell us that it's absolutely crazy to believe him. But the things he's promised just haven't been realized. They haven't come true. And I'm exhausted because of it. I just feel like I've been hanging on and holding on for so long. And it's just not happening. That's a challenge. that every one of us has faced or will face. Probably multiple times. We were grappling with this reality. God has promised all these things. But my life isn't experiencing the fulfillment of them, these blessings, these good things. And that will put us in a very difficult spot. A spot that, again, I would say probably just about every believer comes to. But they come there for a reason. See, in seeking to grow our faith, God has to test our faith. He has to say, OK, I know it looks like there is no way this could happen. But are you gonna walk by faith, believing me and my word, or are you gonna walk by sight and believe your circumstances and your feelings and the things you see? And that's like a pivotal point I think we all come to, again, not just once in our lives, but at a number of points in our lives. Where we say, which am I going to believe, and thus, which am I going to follow? And it's important that we go there because as God seeks to grow us in the faith, these are the events he uses. 1 Peter 1 tells us that this is how our faith is purified. It really is. So God brings us into circumstances where we're forced to grapple and forced to wrestle with his promises. And that's precisely what he did with Israel. I mean, Israel's history was one of constant promise and very little fulfillment. I mean, and doesn't the writer to the Hebrews say that? Of all the patriarchs, of all these great saints that have gone, I mean, they didn't yet take a hold of these things while they were here on earth. God continued to drag things out. I mean, their captivity in Egypt, 400 years. I mean, that's not just like a two-week trial. 400 years. Their wilderness wandering, 40 more years. I just turned 45. That's like my life. Their conquest of the land. I had to continue to fight and fight and fight and fight with all of these just, you know, just strongholds in the land. I mean, the Babylonian exile again, 70 more years. The reestablishment in the land, I mean, you read those post-exilic prophets, it's just more and more and more waiting, more and more disillusionment. God, you promised, God, you said, why isn't it happening? Why isn't it happening? Why isn't it happening? And even the coming of the Messiah. How long did God promise the Messiah for before the Messiah actually came? Thousands and thousands and thousands of years. See, nothing ever came quickly because ultimately God was teaching them to look in faith to the future. God was teaching them to look to their reward, And friends, it's the same thing he does with us. He doesn't just give us things right away and fulfill promises immediately. But instead, what God is doing is wanting to teach us to look not to what is seen. But to what is unseen. He wants us to look to Christ. And in him find our rest. And our satisfaction. And in looking to him to look with great contentment upon the inheritance that we have because of him. So that even as we continue to wait and wait and wait. We don't grow weary in well doing. But we continue to believe, continue to trust. As our eyes are not fixed upon the fact that, you know, We're gonna have a great this or a great that or a blessed this or a blessed that or one day I'm gonna wake up and my health's gonna be better or whatever it is, whatever it is, you know. But ultimately, our hope, our hope and the things that we are looking to extend far beyond that. Ultimately, it extends to what we know awaits us in heaven. And that's always what God is wanting to do. Always wanting us to do that. To look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. To look to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising its shame. He wants us to focus on that. Fix yourselves on that, because that's where all that's promised is realized. That's where all that's promised is fulfilled. That's where consummation takes place. It takes place in glory. And we need to recognize that. So that in the meantime, we press on in this period of tension between the already the promise and and partial fulfillment of promise and the not yet having everything in its fullness. Having all of that. To do so. in such a way so as to not grow weary in well-doing. And that's the way Jacob and Israel were forced to live. They were forced to live by faith in the promises, even as Esau and his descendants, you know, it's like they had their nice house, they had their nice land, they had their kings, they had, I mean, their power, their might. It's kind of like, you know, for us, we see someone that has everything and we're like, God, I'm still just struggling along, struggling along, struggling along. That's how Israel was. Edom, the reprobates had everything and they had nothing. They had kings and they had not yet kings, they had a land they had not yet a land. And it forced them. To look in faith to the future. And hope in the land. That city. Is builder and maker is God. That city which has foundations. That city in heaven. And so with that, we have the final word in Genesis, at least on Esau. And with it, the stage is set for us now to continue down the redemptive line of Jacob into the life of Joseph in what is really one of the most just entertaining and engaging stories I think we find anywhere in scripture, the story of Joseph. And so that's what awaits us. And may God be gracious to us until that time. Let's pray. Our God and Father, we thank you for The grace you give to us, we thank you that the grace you give to us isn't merely common, but it's saving. That you have opened our eyes, you've flooded our hearts with your spirit and enabled us to see and understand and believe. We thank you for this, God. And we thank you, Father, that as we live in this time of tension that, Lord, we have a sure hope. Thank you and please, Father, help us to be ever fixed upon that hope. So that it would encourage us forward even as we find ourselves frustrated by a lack of fulfillment in the here and now. We find ourselves wrestling and struggling. But this would always be held out in front of us this great hope of glory that awaits us and that in having it set in front of us we would not grow weary in well doing. We would honor you. And we would seek to glorify you. Father please. take what is here and bind it to our hearts in a way that it would bear fruit so that ultimately the Lord Jesus would be glorified. And we ask it in his name. Amen.