[0:00] Welcome back to this, the 26th in my series on the story of the family of Abraham. Today we're looking at chapter 36 of the book of Genesis, which is a complicated and a difficult passage.
[0:11] You've probably been tempted to skip over this passage completely. It's filled with details of Horite and Edomite kings and chiefs, and of the genealogy of the house of Esau.
[0:24] And these genealogical details, the more closely you look at them, the more complicated they become. And there are odd bits here and there within the narrative that seem apropos of nothing in particular.
[0:35] And what we are to make of it all is not entirely clear. There are also textual questions that we must ask. It seems that verses 9 to 43 are most naturally understood as a later insertion within the text.
[0:50] This doesn't mean that they're uninspired. It just means that they were added at a later point in the history of the book of Genesis, in its textual history. If you look at verses 1 to 8 and then compare those with the verses that begin chapter 37, it would be a very smooth transition.
[1:09] You read about Esau separating, going into the land of Edom and dwelling in Mount Seah. And then you read of Jacob settling in the land of Canaan. It's a very natural connection.
[1:22] And yet you have verses 9 to 43. And verses 9 to 43 seem to repeat some of the material that we've had in verses 1 to 8. There's a number of areas of repetition.
[1:33] For instance, we're told that Esau is Edom on five occasions, I think, in verses 1, 8, 9, 19 and 43.
[1:45] It seems a bit superfluous. And so there are questions about why these details are there. The other thing that you might notice is that there are different names for the wives.
[1:55] If you look at the wives of Esau earlier on in the narrative in verse 34 of chapter 26 and verse 9 of chapter 28, you'll see that there are three wives mentioned.
[2:09] The wives mentioned are Judith, meaning praise, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite, Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael.
[2:20] So three wives, Judith, Basemath and Mahalath. Now, if you get to this passage, you'll see that there are three wives mentioned again, but they have different names.
[2:32] You have Aholabama, daughter of Anna, the Hivite, Ada, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael. Now, that's strange because Basemath in the first list is the daughter of Elon the Hittite, not the daughter of Ishmael.
[2:48] And the daughter of Elon the Hittite is called Basemath in the first list, Ada in the second. In the second one, you have the daughter of Ishmael being called Basemath.
[3:00] And in the first one, you have Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. So maybe their names were changed. Maybe this was a name that was a name given as an affectionate name to a wife.
[3:13] I don't know. I'm really not sure what to make of this. But one way or another, it seems that there are different traditions brought together. It doesn't mean that they're in conflict. It just means that there are different traditions.
[3:25] Basemath means fragrance. Could these people be the same people if you think about Judith and Aholabama? Judith, daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and Aholabama, daughter of Anna, the Hivite.
[3:40] These figures, I mean, that wife seems to be the odd one out in both cases, the one that doesn't match so easily. Judith means praise. Aholabama means tent of the high place.
[3:51] There's some connection there. And she's the daughter of Anna, the Hivite. Anna meaning singer. But later on in the passage, we read that Anna is the one who found water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father, Zibion.
[4:08] Now, perhaps, and he's the father of Paul Abama, if he's that Anna, then he's the one that found a well.
[4:18] He's water in the wilderness, presumably made a well. And that would associate him with a well. But Beeri, who's the father of Judith, Beeri means my well.
[4:30] So maybe there's a connection there. I don't know. I'm not sure what to make of those particular details, and nor are many of the other commentators. When we read this chapter, we will also see there are a number of different lists that are given, that seem to overlap in certain points, that seem to contrast in various details.
[4:48] It's worth bearing in mind that these are probably different realms that the genealogies are given for. So they relate to different things. And so they're not necessarily in conflict.
[4:59] They're given for different purposes. So they function in different spheres. You have other things that you should notice about this. If you read through the text to this point, you'll see that this comes immediately after the death of Isaac.
[5:14] Previously in the text, you've seen the death of Abraham, followed by the genealogy of Ishmael, then the genealogy of Isaac. And so it's a general pattern in the text. You have the death of the father, then the genealogy of the firstborn son, who goes a different direction.
[5:31] And then the covenant heir, who has the long list or the long textual treatment that follows. And so there is a pattern there.
[5:42] Other things to notice that there are, within verses 9 to 43, there are three lists of sons or kings. The last one is a list of kings, followed by a list of chiefs.
[5:55] So there's a list of sons, then a list of chiefs. A list of sons, a list of chiefs. And then a list of kings, a list of chiefs. And so there are patterns to observe. This is a, it is a literally, it is a literarily structured text.
[6:10] It's not just a whole mass of unordered material thrown in here in an irrelevant and unordered manner.
[6:21] If you look at this as well, it's probably added some time later in history. Probably during, most likely, during the reign of David or later, David conquers the land of Edom.
[6:34] We see that at the end of 2 Samuel chapter 8. So maybe they got court records and other things like that. And they included them within the narrative at this point. It's quite possible. Reading the first few verses, you'll also hopefully recognize some parallels with things that we've read before.
[6:52] Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.
[7:04] Now if you look back a few chapters to chapter 31 verse 18, you read, Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels, and he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padamaram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
[7:25] So there are similarities there. In both cases you see that there's a departure from a land and are going into the land that they will ultimately inherit. The land now is going to be for Jacob.
[7:39] So the land of Canaan is left for Jacob, and Edom or Esau goes towards the southeast, down to the land of Seah. Other things that you can see a connection with, if you look in chapter 13 verse 6, Lot also who went with Abram had flocks and herds and tents.
[8:00] Now the land was not able to support them that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And then in chapter 36, we read, For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.
[8:20] So similarities again. There's a similarity with Jacob leaving the land of Laban, where he had gained much wealth, and then going towards the land of Canaan, where he would ultimately inherit. And then Esau leaves the land of Canaan, so that Jacob might settle there.
[8:34] And it's a parallel also with Abram and Lot separating, as Lot goes towards the east. And so Lot, his people go towards the east, and the sons, Edom and his sons, Esau and his family, go towards the southeast, towards the land of Edom.
[8:53] So there's a parting of the ways. Esau acquires in the land of promise and then leaves. Jacob acquires in a foreign land and then brings it into the promised land. So there's a parting of the ways, much as Lot and Abram parted, and then as Laban and Jacob parted.
[9:12] The relationship between Jacob and Esau is an important one to consider. Edom, or Esau, is the twin rival. And it's slightly different from Moab or Ammon, the descendants of Lot.
[9:24] They are on the east, and they have a sort of opposition to Israel at various points. But the relationship between Edom and Israel is closer.
[9:37] At points, they could be mistaken for each other. And there are very similar story patterns that we see surrounding them at various points. And we'll get to that in a moment. He lives in hill country.
[9:49] Perhaps this insinuates some sort of false religion. Maybe, maybe not. The genealogy that is given in the verses that follow probably go quite far into the future.
[10:02] And I've suggested it's likely that it comes from the time of David or just a bit later than that. The names that we see here are interesting names. We have the sons of Eliphaz, where Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatham, Kenaz.
[10:18] You recognize some of those names. Eliphaz, the Temanite, that we find within the story of Job. Job's story would seem to be established in that sort of region.
[10:30] Elsewhere, in the Book of Lamentations, we see that the land of Uz is associated with the land of Edom. If you look in Lamentations chapter 4, verse 21, Job lives in the land of Uz, so presumably he's an Edomite.
[10:52] And the people around him would suggest as much. Eliphaz, the Temanite, Eliphaz is a name that comes from Esau's family. And the Temanites are people associated with Esau's descendants.
[11:04] So once again, we're seeing something that gives us a context within which we might see Job having his place. And we'll get into the character of Job a bit more as we go through this.
[11:18] Kenaz, presumably the father of the Kenazites. And we see the character of Caleb. Caleb, the Kenazite, Kenazite, who joins himself to Israel.
[11:30] And we have a number of characters like that who are joined to Israel from other groups of people. There is a mixed multitude and they are assimilated into the nation of Israel, becoming part of its people.
[11:41] So Caleb becomes part of the tribe of Judah. But originally, presumably, he's a descendant of Esau and his family. What we're seeing here then is a group of people that is being formed that has some familiarities.
[11:57] We are to recognize a few of these names. There is another name that's very significant here, which is introduced in verse 12.
[12:08] Now, Timnah was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Esau's wife. Amalek is a character that we see a lot more in history.
[12:22] The grandson of Esau, through his son Eliphaz, and the concubine Timnah. We'll get to the character of Timnah again in a moment. Timnah is not a full wife.
[12:35] So maybe there's some sort of dissociation between, a degree of distance between the characters here. But Eliphaz and his son, or the son Amalek, is this great rival with Israel.
[12:49] The one that treats them really badly, and then they're told to wipe out Amalek. The Amalekites are a particular people that cause trouble at key moments.
[13:01] And so we'll see war against the Amalekites at key stages in Israel's history, and failure or success. The story of Saul.
[13:11] Saul fails to wipe out the Amalekites. He does not kill Agag. Later on, we'll see the Amalekites appearing again, perhaps, in the character of Haman, the Agagite, a descendant, presumably, of Agag, the descendant of Amalek.
[13:28] So these families are familiar families. These families help us to see rivalries that exist. Elsewhere in scripture, we'll see other important characters from Edom.
[13:41] The Idumeans, someone like Herod. Herod comes from that region. He's an Idumean. And the rivalries that we have, the oppositions that we have, are very much the oppositions that go back, all the way back, to Esau and Jacob.
[13:57] And that rivalry is resolved, but some fragment of it remains. And that fragment erupts at certain points in history. And it's particularly associated with this one grandson.
[14:08] It's not the whole family. It's just the one particular character within Esau's family that particularly upholds and continues this rivalry. There are 13 plans of Edom mentioned in these verses from 9 following.
[14:25] But these clans, when you see the chiefs in the verses that follow, there are 14. Korah, the son of Eliphaz, is added in the second list, possibly a grandson. What we see is a mixture of the grandsons through Adah and Eliphaz and Basimath, for rule, and the sons through Aholabama.
[14:46] So these are two, a group of people that are not all of the same generation. There are some grandsons and then there are also some sons.
[14:57] And these become the chiefs, the main families of the Edomites. The chiefs that are mentioned also suggest some sort of political organization that's more advanced than that of Israel.
[15:11] that they have a higher form of political organization, so they have tribal chiefs. Israel hasn't yet quite reached that point. They have heads of household, perhaps, the families of Jacob.
[15:27] They're all representing the head of a household. But there's something they haven't yet attained to the level of some sort of chiefdom. Whereas Esau's descendants have.
[15:37] And this is something I think you see more generally within this chapter that Esau attains to a level of rule and authority, a political organization in advance of his brother Jacob.
[15:50] Before his brother Jacob, he has advanced to some sort of political status, to having a land of his own, to having rule. There is a connection, perhaps, with the number of the tribes of Israel.
[16:04] When you think about Manasseh divides into two tribes, one on the Transjordan and then the other on the other side of the Jordan. And then you have Ephraim as well.
[16:16] So Joseph is divided into three, perhaps. So maybe you have 14. Maybe that's a connection with Edom. I'm not sure. Perhaps. Esau conquers the land of Seir and he intermarries with the Horites.
[16:30] So you have a list of the sons of Seir here. And this list of the sons of Seir suggests this merging of two peoples. You have the Horites and the sons of Seir and you have the Edomites from Esau.
[16:44] And so these two peoples intermarry. And this is something that was already a cause of grief to the parents of Esau, to Isaac and Rebekah, who were distressed by his Canaanite wives.
[16:59] And now you see him marrying more fully into the Canaanite line. And this people, the Seirites, or the people of Seir, the Horites, become one sort of people with the Edomites in time.
[17:15] Note the presence of Anna and Zibion, fathers of the two Canaanite wives of Esau. These are significant figures that are mentioned at this point.
[17:26] and they fit into a larger group of people that Esau has dealings with and then finally would seem to have conquered. You read the character of Timnah.
[17:38] Timnah is the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son. But Timnah here is mentioned as the sister of Lotan, who's an important inhabitant of the land.
[17:54] Now, for her to become a concubine would suggest that they've been conquered. They've been subdued and so she's reduced in status. And Esau's son Eliphaz takes one of the former ruling family of that region as a concubine.
[18:10] Again, that suggests that there is some lowering of the status that Esau has conquered the land of Seir while Jacob is in the land of Padam Aram.
[18:21] There's another Anna mentioned, the sons of Zivian finds water in the wilderness while he's searching for his father's donkeys. Again, this is an odd detail to mention.
[18:33] Finding water in the wilderness, I've already suggested, is there possibly a connection with the character and Beery, my well, and that Anna is the same person as Beery?
[18:46] Perhaps, maybe, maybe not. And while searching for his father's donkeys, that's just an odd detail. And it may make us think about the story of Saul, who, that whole story of the kingdom begins with Saul searching for his father's donkeys.
[19:02] There is something that is an interesting connection there. And bear that in mind because as we read on, there are other things about Saul that might come to our attention.
[19:14] In verse 31 onwards, we read a list of kings. And this list of kings is almost certainly added later, refers to a later period of time. And the important thing that's mentioned is they reign in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel.
[19:30] That Edom is already a kingdom. But Edom's kingdom seems to be one based upon appointed kings, not necessarily a dynastic kingdom.
[19:42] You read here of kings who are associated with particular cities or places. You don't read about fathers and sons. So it's not a dynastic line of kings.
[19:54] It's a line of kings that is associated with appointment. So you have Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom and the name of his king was Dinhabar.
[20:05] And then you have Jobab, son of Zerah, Basra, reigning in his place, etc. These are lists of kings that suggest that it's a different sort of kingdom than Israel will finally become.
[20:17] Israel will become a dynastic kingdom. Although Edom seems to have dynastic features later on where you see Hadad is the son of the king of Edom. And that suggests that there is some sort of dynasty at least developing, if not underneath the surface.
[20:35] Bela, the son of Beor, some have speculated that this might be the same person as Balaam, the son of Beor. These are perhaps the same people and that would place that at the time of the Exodus, that they have kings at this point and there is the character of Balaam or Bela is introduced.
[20:57] Maybe, maybe not. Jobab has often been identified with Job and as we read the story of Job, I've already mentioned that it's within the land of Uz, which seems to be the land of Edom.
[21:09] You have names that are familiar names, Eliphaz, the Temanite. Again, this places him within that context, within that particular world.
[21:23] Jobab, Job also seems to be a king. When you read the story of Job, he's chief among the men of the east. He's someone who has a great amount of wealth around him.
[21:35] He's someone who has friends who gather around him who seem to be ruling figures as well. He's not just this small guy with his own family. He's someone who's a big head honcho of this large group of people.
[21:50] And so what happens to Job is a crisis, a political crisis, for the entire people. You need to remember that many of the people we're reading about in these stories are not just one small family, nuclear family, going around in tents, moving from place to place in an itinerant fashion.
[22:09] They are huge companies of people. We've read about the story of Abraham when he has 318 fighting men. It's a huge quantity of people. Esau comes with 400 men.
[22:21] Now presumably that's not all the men that he has. Presumably he has a larger company of men back in Seir. So these are powerful groups of people, many thousands involved.
[22:34] And you read the fact that Esau and Jacob had to part ways because the land just wasn't sufficient to support them both. Large companies of people, a lot of power associated with these figures.
[22:47] And so they're not just individuals who have their own family, domestic dealings. They are leaders of nations. And so when you're reading the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bear this in mind.
[22:59] It's focusing upon the key family at the heart of this group of people. But there is a large company of people gathered around them, many thousands. Probably by this point you're talking upwards of 5,000 people gathered in this group of people over time that they become very powerful.
[23:22] Within the land of Uz, then, you might suggest that this Job Ab is the king Job. You have Husham of the land of the Temanites and then a number of other people listed.
[23:37] Until Samla dies and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigns in his place. When Saul died, Baal-Hanan, the son of Aqbal, reigned in his place. And when Baal-Hanan, the son of Aqbal, died, Hedar reigned in his place.
[23:52] And the name of his city was Pow. And his wife's name was Mehatabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
[24:03] A few things to notice about that and some very interesting details. First of all, you have a Saul within the land of Edom as a king. And the fact that this Saul occurs when he does suggests that maybe there was a Saul over the land of Edom at the same time as there was a Saul as king over the land of Israel.
[24:24] If you look through 1 Chronicles you'll see in 1 Chronicles chapter 1 it says that Baal-Hanan died, Hedad reigned in his place and goes on describes him.
[24:44] So Hedad and Hedar seem to be the same person. Elsewhere in 1 Kings chapter 11 we read about this character of Hedad. Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon Hedad the Edomite he was a descendant of the king in Edom for it happened when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain after he had killed every male in Edom because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel until he had cut down every male in Edom that Hedad fled to go to Egypt he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him Hedad was still a little child then they arose from Midian and came to Paran and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt who gave him a house a portioned food for him and gave him land and Hedad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife and you read on but that would suggest that this Hedad exists at the same time as
[25:46] Solomon step back a generation Baal-Hanan seems to be the one who was defeated by David in 2 Samuel chapter 8 which would leave Saul as the king of Edom at the same time as Saul the king of Israel if this is in fact the same person the other thing to notice about Hedad or Hedar as he's called within Genesis chapter 36 is that he undergoes a very similar set of experiences to that of Israel that he has to there's an attempt to kill all the baby boys the young males and then he has to flee he flees to Egypt and then eventually when the people who sought his life have died he returns there is a connection with Midian here as well it connects with the story of Moses the deliverer of his people and this story of Egypt spending a time in Egypt spending a time in Midian of trying to be killed as a baby boy all these things connect us with that story so there are twins
[26:53] Edom and Israel are twins and their stories have surprising resemblances and the way that they play off against each other we're supposed to see a twin rivalry and things that happen to one can happen to the other in a way that provides an illuminating mirror to help us to read that history mention the character of Saul if there is a Saul in Edom at the same time as there is a Saul in Israel maybe we need to think a bit more about the connections there we've already mentioned that there is a character who in the line of Edom finds water in the wilderness while searching for his father's donkeys of course Saul the son of Kish becomes king in a story that begins with him searching for his father's donkeys what else is going on with this context at the very beginning of this before the story begins we have the story of the birth of Benjamin and before the birth of Benjamin we have the promise that there will be kings arising from
[27:58] Jacob so there's that promise then there is the birth of Benjamin who is the source of the first king king Saul then you have the story of the Edomites and the fact that they had kings before Israel and then you have details in that story that remind you of Saul so maybe when we're reading about the people's calling for a king like the nations round about them the fact that they get a king called Saul who has many resemblances with characters from the Edomites maybe that helps us to read the character of Saul and indeed as we read through the story what we'll see is his failures are very much associated with the Edomites he's someone who fails to root out the Amalekites again it's a sin with the Edomites he's someone who is characterized by Esau's futile remorse for what he has done he gives up his birthright and he's someone who plays out the story of Esau and Jacob and Isaac on a few occasions so for instance he plays out the character of Isaac is that your voice David my son in the darkness and then the answer of David and he lifts up his voice and weeps that's what
[29:18] Esau does when he loses his blessing so maybe we're supposed to see Saul as an Edomite type figure Esau perhaps that this resemblance between him and the Edomites is within that context something that we're supposed to notice the story of Edom comes immediately after the story of Benjamin and the story of Benjamin is a tragic one in many ways but it's the source of the first king and so the story of the kings being read alongside the story of Edom and its kings is illuminating Peter Lightheart has talked about the way that Israel occasionally has a mirror of itself and Christendom often had that within he talks about Islam as a mirror of Christendom as Christendom looked at Islam it would learn things about itself it would see itself reflected in distorted and in ways that revealed its own sin its own problems but also see ways in which its own failings were exposed by what the other party did perhaps
[30:31] Edom is supposed to be read in a similar way I've suggested as much in the context of the story of Hadad in 1st Kings chapter 11 but reading this story here in Genesis you see these resemblances you see these certain points and well what do you know Edom is our twin and in this twin we can see ourselves we can see things about ourselves that are maybe not too flattering we can see ways in which we need to improve ways in which we've followed this particular party and become more like Edom than we've become like the god we're supposed to image within the world maybe these are things we're supposed to the wife of Hadad is mentioned we don't usually have the wives of the kings mentioned we have their cities mentioned but not their wives the mention of wives maybe suggests a movement to a more dynastic kingdom it also maybe suggests the maturing of that kingdom in the same way as we see the wives of the kings of
[31:32] Judah really will often see them mentioned maybe that's something there the fact that in verse 39 we have the reign of Hadar or Hadad maybe this is supposed to alert the reader to the fulfillment some initial fulfillment of chapter 27 verse 40 the fact that Esau is under the yoke of Israel but strives to throw it off and eventually will be free in 2 kings chapter 8 we see that during the reign of king Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat in Judah Edom rebels against Judah and has been in rebellion against Judah ever since this would seem to be the fulfillment of chapter 27 verse 40 where Isaac declares over Esau that he will in time throw off the yoke of Jacob so he will serve
[32:33] Jacob at a certain! point that yoke will be thrown off we see an initial hint of that in Hadad who rebels against Solomon but that's fulfilled later on in the reign of King Jehoram what can we learn from this passage it's a difficult passage it's a confusing passage and there are a number of details within it that seem strange I think there are a number of things that we can learn though as we look through the story of Genesis what we'll notice is often the people that have not been chosen come to blessings before Israel does before the chosen people does Nahor and Ishmael have 12 sons descending from them before Jacob and his 12 sons so they become a mature family far quicker clan whereas Israel is still hanging around at the starting line with just a few children you just have Isaac alone the one promised child and then you have two children with
[33:38] Esau and Jacob and only after that do you have the 12 tribes born so it seems that they're at a very arrested stage of their development as a people they're not really moving forward whereas all these surrounding and related people are moving forward at a fair clip and they're developing these political structures they're getting kings before Israel it's particularly noticeable it's something that is highlighted for us that Edom has kings before Israel has any kings and Israel could look at Edom and say they're twins and look they're so much more advanced than us as a society they have kings they have a settled structure of rule and we're just dealing with tribal judges and being ravaged by these surrounding nations the Philistines the Midianites and other people and so it would seem that God's people come to everything second or some way down the line if we read through the story of
[34:45] Genesis earlier on we see this too the line of Cain develops all these technological things and the line of Seth doesn't seem to be as advanced the Hamites the ones and the ones descended from Canaan have all these great technological and civilizational gains we see the development of Babel and Nimrod and his empire that he establishes and all these things that he's doing and this development of brick making and all these different arts and technologies and Israel is just a wandering nomadic group of people under Abraham it would seem that God's people are some way behind in the civilizational race but yet God calls them to be patient and to wait for his good time and this is maybe a lesson!
[35:36] that we can learn from other things to notice here I've already mentioned that Israel has a mirror Israel is related to these surrounding nations we've seen nations that are alluded to in various ways the Laban the Syrian or Laban perhaps associated with Lebanon we see the Moabites and the Ammonites these people towards the east we see other nations that are associated with Keturah the Midianites we see characters like the descendants of Ishmael all these different groups of people that are part of the larger family of Abraham and Terah ultimately and these peoples have significant relationships with Israel and Israel can see some resemblances some resemblances some ways in which they are connected but
[36:36] Edom has the closest relationship of all Edom is their twin and as we look at the history of Edom we'll see that in many periods in Israel's history that twinning relationship is one that reveals some ugly truths about Israel Israel should be able to see themselves in their twin and learn things about themselves learn ways in which they have failed ways in which their unfaithfulness is exposed by their twin so I gave the example of Hadad who flees from Edom and spends time in Midian and then goes to Egypt and then eventually comes back from Egypt when the people who seek his life are dead that reminds you very closely of the story of Moses and of the Exodus these characters are characters that are twins and as they look in these characters they will see things that they recognize resemblances that teach them things about themselves and about their own failures about their own sins and in that case they see that the house of
[37:45] David has become pharaonic it's become like the oppressive Egyptians and now you have a person who takes on the characteristics of Moses now in many respects he is not a positive character but Israel should be able to recognize the resemblance and see its sin the character of Edom then is a mirror the nation of Edom then is a mirror for Israel and we see this maybe especially within the reign of Saul Saul has all these Edomite figures features he's the one who discovers the kingdom who comes to the kingdom when he's looking for his father's donkeys and that's associated with this encounter at the!
[38:28] that's where he first goes other things about him that are significant his failure to wipe out the Amalekites the fact that he's the one characterised by this futile remorse he's the one who gives up the birthright much as Esau does and his juxtaposition with David who's constantly or very often represented as a Jacob character again would highlight that that here we're playing out Israel's identity and it's constant wrestling with this twin and how will it relate to its twin will it become like its twin in its negative respects will it gain the strengths of its twin and grow into maturity and so reading this passage immediately after the birth of Benjamin immediately after the declaration that Israel will have kings coming from his body and in the context of a chapter that has all these allusions to
[39:30] Saul and seeming connections with Saul maybe there's something we can learn from that I don't know there's a lot of things going on in this passage that I just don't understand and conundrums that I haven't solved but if you have any thoughts I'd love to hear them in the comments thank you very much for listening Lord willing I'll be back again tomorrow I missed yesterday but hopefully I'll be back tomorrow if you like it please do so using my PayPal or Patreon accounts thank you very much for listening God bless