upgraded January 19, 2012
Question: Esau was improperly maligned in the Bible, as his act of marriage to Mahalath was an attempt to reconcile with his parents reflecting his penitent nature. Why were Esau and Jacob treated differently by God?
Response: To understand why Esau was not improperly maligned, we must analyze the physical and spiritual ancestry of the women he married.
Genesis 26:34-35 (NIV) When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 27:46 (NIV) Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
Genesis 28:6-9 (NIV) Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
We begin by addressing a copy error in the Holy Word of God. Although it is clear that Esau had only three wives, there are actually six women mentioned in some of the early Hebrew scrolls. The incongruence of some of the early Hebrew scrolls is indicative of copy errors from the singular original Hebrew scroll that was plenarily inspired by the Holy Spirit of God and written by Moses. As no one can effectively defense the position that the Holy Scriptures are exempt from translation errors, so YOU must also know that the Holy Scriptures are not exempt from copy errors. This fact does not negate the complete accuracy of the Holy Spirit of God inspired singular original scroll.
1. Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite - Genesis 26:34 - printed below
2. Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite - Genesis 26:34 - printed below
3. Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham - Genesis 28:9 - printed below
4. Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite - Genesis 36:2 - printed below
5. Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite - Genesis 36:2 - printed below
6. Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth - Genesis 36:3 - printed below
Esau's first two wives were clearly blood-line Canaanite women.
Genesis 26:34-35 (NIV) When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 10:15-17 (NIV) Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
Esau's third wife, Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael is not referenced as a blood-line Canaanite in the NIV translation.
Genesis 28:8-9 (NIV) Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
Genesis 36:2-3 (NIV) Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite-- 3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
Genesis 36:2-3 in the NIV version referenced above, appears to separate Esau's wives as two from Canaan, - also Basemath. In the original Hebrew text, they are all grouped together as Canaanite women.
Genesis 36:2 (HEB) 'esav:H6215 laqach:H3947 . 'ishshah:H802 . . bath:H1323 . kena'an:H3667 'adah:H5711 . bath:H1323 . 'eylown:H356 . chittiy:H2850 . 'oholiybamah:H173 . bath:H1323 . 'anah:H6034 . bath:H1323 . tsib'own:H6649 . chivviy:H2340
Genesis 36:3 (HEB) . bosmath:H1315 yishma'e'l:H3458 bath:H1323 'achowth:H269 . nebayowth:H5032
Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
The Canaanites came from Canaan. Canaan was a descendant of Ham, the youngest son of Noah.
Shem was the middle son of Noah. Abram was a descendant of Shem. Abram was the father of Ishmael. Ishmael was Mahalath's father. The Ishmaelites came from Ishmael.
Clearly we see that Mahalath, descendant of Ishmael, descendant of Shem, son of Noah was not a blood-line, physical Canaanite.
Spiritual clarification begins when we recognize that Mahalath's father Ishmael was a physical and spiritual descendant of Abram, not Abraham.
Genesis 16:16 (NIV) Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Although Mahalath was not a blood-line Canaanite, the Holy Word of God sometimes reflects the spiritual descendancy of people rather than their physical descendancy as in the case of Abram/Abraham. The perception of the world was that Abram and Abraham were the same physical man, but God reflects that they were two different spiritual men. Abram was a different spiritual man than Abraham and produced different spiritual descendants.
Genesis 21:5 (NIV) Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Many years after Ishmael was born to Abram, God revealed that Abram and Abraham were different spiritual men when God recognized only one son of Abraham.
Genesis 22:1-2 (NIV) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
God did not recognize Ishmael as a descendant of Abraham. God recognized Ishmael as a descendant of Abram. God viewed the descendancy of Isaac different than the descendancy of Ishmael. God was viewing them from their spiritual descendancy.
Romans 9:6-9 (NIV) It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
Ishmael was a hostile, ass of a man, and all of his descendants have also been.
Genesis 16:11-12 (NIV) The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
Genesis 25:18 (NIV) His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
The Edomites (descendants of Esau) closely allied themselves with the Ishmaelites and Canaanites against Israel. Clearly the Ishmaelites and Canaanites were of the same spiritual family.
Psalms 83:1-18 (NIV) A song. A psalm of Asaph. O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. 2 See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. 3 With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. 4 "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more." 5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you-- 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. Selah 9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, "Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God." 13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. 16 Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD. 17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. 18 Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD-- that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
It is also interesting to follow the physical and spiritual descendancy of Esau to the Amalekites, the most Godless and wicked humans in the Bible. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. The Amalekites are a synonymous type of Sin.
Genesis 36:12 (NIV) Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.
Exodus 17:14-17 (NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Deuteronomy 25:19 (NIV) When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
1 Samuel 15:1-3 (NIV) Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"
1 Samuel 15:13-19 (NIV) When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" 15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest." 16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied. 17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?"
2 Samuel 1:1-16 (NIV) After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor. 3 "Where have you come from?" David asked him. He answered, "I have escaped from the Israelite camp." 4 "What happened?" David asked. "Tell me." He said, "The men fled from the battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead." 5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?" 6 "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, 'What can I do?' 8 "He asked me, 'Who are you?' "'An Amalekite,' I answered. 9 "Then he said to me, 'Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I'm still alive.' 10 "So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord." 11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, "Where are you from?" "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite," he answered. 14 David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" 15 Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the Lord's anointed.'"
Esau married Mahalath because his parents were grieved about his previous marriages (Genesis 28:8-9 referenced above). The Holy Scriptures do not state that Esau married Mahalath because he loved her, or because he wanted her as his wife. Esau married Mahalath because his parents were displeased about his previous marriages. Logic would quickly bring us to the conclusion that if Esau married Mahalath in reaction to his parent's displeasure, Esau was attempting to extract some kind of subsequent emotion from them. We have only two options for the emotion that Esau was trying to extract. Esau was either trying to appease his parents, or he was trying to further irritate his parents.
In accordance with Genesis 16:11-12, and Genesis 25:18 printed above, the descendant daughter of the hostile ass Ishmael, was also a hostile ass. In view of everything that we know about Esau, and everything we know about the descendants of Ishmael, it would be unfounded and naïve to believe anything but that Esau was trying to further irritate his parents.
The position that Esau took a wife from the Ishmaelites in order to please his father and mother in considering what we know about the Ishmaelites is patently absurd. Esau found that the Canaanite women were displeasing to his parents, so because of his rebellious self-will, he went and married a descendant of the hostile ass Ishmael, who was a descendant of Abram. Mahalath was from Esau's own family tree, in that she was a physical descendant of Abram, but clearly she was a spiritual descendant of Canaan.
It is as though Esau thought, "I will go to the lowest level of Abram's descendants and rub my parent's faces in their law." "I have not married a Canaanite, consequently I have complied with the letter of the law of their requirements. How do they like Mahalath, descendant of the hostile ass Ishmael, as a daughter in law?" While complying with the letter of their desires, Esau had purposely and rebelliously crossed the spirit of their desires.
Throughout time, godless sinful people do the same thing in attempting to comply with the letter of God's requirements or Law, while purposely and rebelliously violating the spirit of God's requirements or Law! Judaism and Judeo-Christian Organized Religion have fallen into the same position of attempting to give the appearance of compliance with God's Law while purposely and rebelliously violating the spirit of God's Law.
The questioner of this FAQ #8 has stated that Esau was judged unfairly in the Holy Scriptures. The question that immediately comes forth is: Who is the Judge in the Holy Scriptures? The answer is GOD. As God is the Judge, to state that Esau was judged unfairly is to state that you know that God made a mistake. It is to imply that your judgment is superior to God's judgment. That is obvious blasphemy, as well as blatant ignorance. Where is the questioner's alliance? What is the questioner's motivation? We relate to, and consequently ally and defense those people that we perceive as being like ourselves in some way. This is categorical, all inclusive, and covers the area of politics, race, economics, regional, education and any other parameter possible. The questioner is attempting to defense Esau because the questioner perceives of himself as being like Esau. The questioner recognizes, that like the Canaanites, the questioner is a spiritual brother of Esau. We saw the same justification for lawlessness used by a large number of people in the O. J. Simpson trial because of racial identification. We saw the justification for lawlessness used again in the defense and acceptance of the wickedness of President Bill Clinton, because of a conscious or subconscious moral identification. We saw the justification for lawlessness used by many Republicans in the defense and acceptance of the wickedness of both George Bush's, because of the Republican's political identification. The attempt to justify Esau is an attempt on the part of the questioner to justify the lawlessness of the questioner. It is not only Esau, but primarily and more importantly at this time, the person who is questioning God's judgment concerning Esau who is Godless.
God is a God of perfect order.
1 Corinthians 14:33 (NIV) For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
When God created the universe, God imposed order on chaos. God set a standard of physical laws in place that are still in effect. The "light" created by God on the first day, referenced in Genesis 1:3-5 printed below, was not the luminaries; as the luminaries were created by God on the fourth day, referenced in Genesis 1:14-19 printed below.
Genesis 1:3-5 (NIV) And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
Genesis 1:14-19 (NIV) And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
"God is light" When God said "Let there be light," on the first day, God imposed Himself, or God's order on the creation.
1 John 1:5 (NIV) This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
The creation is perfect order, and a perfect reflection of God. All physical laws, whether understood or not, are perfect and consistent. Physical laws never change. God is omnipotent, which means God is all power. God is omnipresent, which means God is everywhere. God is everywhere because God is the order, structure and power of the universe. God's perfect order imposes perfect cause-and-effect into infinity. Perfect cause-and-effect exists in everything within the entire universe, from the sub-atomic level of the smallest atom, to the entire universe as a whole, from the micro to the macro. For every action there is an opposite and exact reaction. Every action will create a reaction because of God's established order of cause-and-effect.
"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts." - Sir Issac Newton 1642-1727
"E=mc2" - Albert Einstein 1879-1955
"The theory of probabilities is at bottom nothing but common sense reduced to calculus." - Pierre Simon de Laplace 1749-1827
Sir Isaac Newton's observations, Albert Einstein's formula, and Pierre Simon de Laplaces' philosophy is still correct, because they all reflect the perfect order of God.
“Nature is but a name for an effect, Whose cause is God.” - William Cowper 1731-1800
In mathematics, physics, and all other sciences, YOU can begin to see the perfect consistency of God's order. That cause-and-effect order is perfect from before the first moment of time until after time is no more. All science is the study of cause-and-effect in God's universe. If the universe were chaotic, where cause created inconsistent effect, no one could know or understand anything.
Because God is a God of perfect order, God also set spiritual laws in place to bring order to YOUR spirit. Like physical laws, spiritual laws also never change.
Exodus 20:1-17 (NIV) And God spoke all these words: 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
God's universe of law and order is set up to bless the lawful, those people who comply with God's law and order. God's universe of law and order is set up to curse the lawless, those people who do not comply with God's law and order. The blessing of the righteous people is to understand God's laws and apply them to their lives. The righteous people receive great blessings from their righteousness. The curse of sinful people is that they do not accept God's spiritual laws and live by them. Consequently, sinful people pay great prices for their sin.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV) Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans, referenced in Romans 9:11-18 printed below appears to be inconsistent with the entire Holy Word of God.
Romans 9:11-18 (NIV) Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls--she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
The entire Holy Word of God is the message of God's love.
1 John 4:8 (NIV) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Psalm 145:9 (KJV) "The Lord is loving unto every man; and his mercy is over all his works."
God is perfectly consistent and does not show favoritism.
Romans 2:11 (NIV) For God does not show favoritism.
Acts 10:34,35 (NIV) Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."
1 Peter 1:17 (NIV) Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
The entire Holy Word of God, perfectly and consistently throughout declares man through grace, to have the free-will to choose to worship God, or to choose to commit sin. The ninth chapter of The Book of Romans appears to rob Jacob and Esau, Pharaoh, and all mankind of their free-will through grace to choose to worship God, or to choose to commit sin
Romans 9:12d printed above states: "The older will serve the younger." Esau was the older, Jacob was the younger of Isaac's sons. Esau the physical man never personally served Jacob the physical man. The older Esau never personally, nor physically served the younger Jacob. Because Romans 9:11-18 printed above was not fulfilled personally, in the physical realm, YOU must look to the spiritual realm for clarification. Esau was godless, rebellious, and lawless, because he was a spiritual descendant of the devil. Esau did not train his family to obey God's or man's laws. His family was cursed because of it.
Malachi 1:2-5 (NIV) "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." 4 Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD--even beyond the borders of Israel!'
Hebrews 12:16-17 (NIV) See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
Genesis 26:34-35 (NIV) When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 27:46 (NIV) Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
Genesis 28:6-9 (NIV) Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
In contrast to the rebellious, wicked Esau, Jacob had a heart for God. Jacob's name means "he grasps," and Jacob truly lived up to his name in grasping everything about God that he could. Genesis chapter 27 reveals that Jacob wanted the birthright even if he had to lie and steal to get it. The end justified the means in Jacob's mind. Jacob did not have the knowledge of God's Law that YOU have today, and so Jacob's actions will not be judged in the same light that YOUR actions will be judged. Because of Jacob's heart for God, Jacob taught his family to serve God, and comply with God's Law to the extent that Jacob understood God's Law. Jacob's family was blessed because of Jacob's teaching, and because of their attempted compliance with the Law of God.
Jacob vowed to make the Lord his God.
Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV) Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Jacob fought for God's blessing.
Genesis 32:22-32 (NIV) That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. 28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." 29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.
Jacob taught his family to respect, obey, and fear God.
Genesis 35:1-7 (NIV) Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
In Romans 9:11-18 the name Esau is used as a synonym for those people who have the same sinful spirit as the devil, and is a direct contrast to the name Jacob that is used as a synonym for those people who are filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
Esau the elder, lawless one; will serve Jacob, the younger lawful one. The lawless will serve the law abiding. The law makers will always be superior sociologically to those that the law controls. Sociologically, disorder will ultimately always subordinate to another form of order. When the leaders of a society do not require that their laws be adhered to, that society disintegrates to the point of non-function, and is then replaced by a new society with new leaders who will force adherence to their new laws. The lawless need the iron scepter of law for control. The lawless must be controlled like brute beasts, because any person who is spiritually dead can only function in the physical realm, which is exactly like a brute beast functions.
"Laws control the lesser man - right conduct controls the greater." - Mark Twain 1835-1910
Throughout history, Esau's spiritual descendants have frequently been in subjection to Jacob's spiritual descendants. The lawless, sinful people will ultimately serve the Righteous, Holy people.
Proverbs 12:24 (NIV) Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.
Proverbs 11:29 (NIV) He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.
The lawless people will always need to be subjected to the law. All lawless, sinful people are spiritual descendants of the devil, like Esau was, and will incur God's hatred and wrath, through the order that God has established in God's universe. All Righteous, Holy people are spiritual descendants of God, like Jacob is, and will enjoy God's love and support, through complying with the order that God has established in God's universe.
It is the teaching of the devil through what is credited to John Calvin that the sovereignty of God does not allow a person to have a free-will. Proof of our free-will is found throughout the Holy Word of God.
Joshua 24:15 (NIV) "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Cain and Able were in the same household with the same genetics and training, but Able attempted to comply with God's Law, while Cain rebelled against God's Law. Moses and Pharaoh were in the same household with the same training, but Moses chose to obey God's Law, while Pharaoh chose to rebel against God's Law. The fact that Pharaoh initially had a free-will is clarified in the document: "The Mercy Of God Has A Deadline." Esau and Jacob were in the same household with the same genetics and training, yet Jacob attempted to obey God's Law, while Esau chose to rebel against God's Law.
Romans 9:13 printed above states: "Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." In what respect does God hate Esau?
AS THE ELDER INDIVIDUAL MAN NAMED ESAU DID NOT PERSONALLY SERVE THE YOUNGER INDIVIDUAL MAN NAMED JACOB; SO GOD DID NOT PERSONALLY HATE THE INDIVIDUAL MAN NAMED ESAU, WHILE GOD PERSONALLY LOVED THE INDIVIDUAL MAN NAMED JACOB.
God (God's order) loves those "Jacob's" who love God (God's order). God (God's order) hates (God's order does not aid, God's order is not set up to support the existence of, God's order will effect the destruction of) those "Esau's" who do not comply with God's order.
In the original Greek language, Paul's verbiage in The Book of Romans more clearly reflects the fact that God has the right to choose God's own standard by which God will judge everyone. God is Righteous, Holy, and Perfect. Because God is a Righteous, Holy and Perfect God, God is forced by His Righteousness, Holiness, and Perfection to set a standard of Righteousness, Holiness, and Perfection. God's order is forced by God's Justice to reserve God's mercy and compassion for those "Jacob's" who comply with God's standard of Righteousness, Holiness, and Perfection. God's order loves those "Jacob's" who attempt to comply with God's Law. God's order is forced by God's Justice to reserve God's curses and wrath for those "Esau's" who refuse to comply with God's standard of Righteousness, Holiness, and Perfection. God's order hates those "Esau's" who choose their own lawless self-will over God's Righteous, Holy, and Perfect-Will.
The Holy Spirit of God through the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:11-18 printed above, is first addressing the Jew/Gentile issue, and not a personal salvation issue, and in the original Greek, is addressing the standard by which God will judge everyone. Paul concludes the Jew/Gentile issue in Galatians 3:26-29.
Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
In Galatians 3:26-29 printed above, the Apostle Paul is simply stating that the only important issue is whether YOU are a spiritual descendant of Jesus Christ. He is not stating that YOU physically cease to be "Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female". Although YOU may be spiritually in Jesus Christ, YOU physically remain what YOU are. If Paul was stating that when YOU are spiritually in Jesus Christ, YOU physically cease to be, "Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female", then homosexuality would not be a sin, because if YOU are neither "male nor female", then it would not matter if YOU, a male, married a male, or if YOU, a female married a female. It does matter, as YOU physically remain what YOU are in the physical world. 1 Timothy 2:8-14 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 concerning women speaking in the church is still the Holy Word of God and applicable, and the practice of homosexuality is still a sin. (The practice of homosexuality can only be a sin if people who choose to practice homosexuality have a free-will that allows them to choose to practice homosexuality, or to choose to not practice homosexuality.)
Leviticus 18:22 (NIV) "'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."
Leviticus 20:13 (NIV) "'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV) Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Jude 1:5-7 (NIV) Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Isaiah 3:9 (NIV) The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
All people who comply with God's Law of Matthew 22:37-40 are not only descendants of Abraham and brothers of Jacob; they have become brothers to Jesus Christ.
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied:"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
We must not add to God's Law as Eve did. God did not say "You must not touch it." The Jewish Midrash visualizes that after she added to the Law, and then touched the fruit in violation of her addition to the Law and sustained no penalty; she was emboldened to eat the fruit in violation of God's Law.
Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV) And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Genesis 3:3 (NIV) but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
Like Eve, the Jews added to what God said through their oral tradition known as the "Mishna." When people disprove, disbelieve or violate what the Mishna says, they are emboldened to violate what God has said in His Holy Word.
We must not take away from the law.
Revelation 22:18-19 (NIV) I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
God's laws are superior to man's laws. Yet we are even directed by God to obey man's laws unless they conflict with God's laws. YOU will pay a penalty if YOU are caught violating man's laws. God directed His children to comply if possible with man's laws so that His children do not have to pay that penalty.
Romans 13:1-10 (NIV) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
How are YOU under grace and not under law? Because YOU are under grace and not under law, are YOU then allowed to have other god's before Adonai Elohim? Are YOU allowed to engage in idolatry? Are YOU allowed to blaspheme the Name of God? Are YOU allowed to commit murder, adultery, or steal? The answer is obviously no. And yet there are those that believe that under God's grace, YOU are allowed to violate any and all of God's spiritual laws without penalty. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for YOUR violation of God's Law. It does not give YOU a license to continue in violation of God's Law.
Jude 1:4 (NIV) For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
People who teach that YOU can violate God's Law without penalty are clearly exposing the irrefutable fact that they are a brother of Esau and the Amalekites! They are a spiritual child of the devil! The Antichrist, or Man of Sin, is the Man of Lawlessness. Sin is Lawlessness 1 John 3:4 (NIV). The Antichrist is a man of chaos. The Man of Lawlessness will not accept God's Law. The Man of Lawlessness is a rebellious direct contrast to God who is perfect in His Law.
If God's spiritual laws are no longer in effect then His physical laws have also been judged null and void. If YOU believe that God's physical laws are inconsistent and no longer in effect, attempt to defy the law of gravity. YOU can't fly because God's physical laws are still in effect. God's laws never change - as light comes, we understand them better. Jesus Christ NEVER denounced or minimized God's Law. Jesus Christ consistently criticized the Pharisee's interpretation of God's Law. Jesus Christ also criticized the traditions that the Pharisees considered to be superior to God's Law, or that the Pharisees used to negate God's Law.
Matthew 5:17-19 (NIV) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
John 7:19-24 (NIV) "Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?" "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?" Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
Paul complied with God's Law.
Acts 21:20-26 (NIV) When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality." 26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Acts 23:3-5 (NIV) Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!" 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, "You dare to insult God's high priest?" 5 Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"
Compliance with the Levitical law cannot effect communion with God, so the Levitical law or ceremonial law was nailed to the cross, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:9-17 (NIV) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
It is not through obedience to spiritual laws that YOU are saved, as the law can never give life. YOUR compliance with spiritual laws do not guarantee YOU communion with Jesus Christ any more than YOUR compliance with health laws guarantee YOU good health, or YOUR compliance with financial laws will make YOU rich. YOUR violation of health laws will guarantee ruining YOUR health just as YOUR violation of financial laws will ruin YOU financially, and YOUR violation of spiritual laws will ruin YOU spiritually.
Galatians 2:15-16 (NIV) "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:21-3:14 (NIV) I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? 6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Obedience to the Law is required but it does not and cannot save YOU. Only Jesus Christ can save YOU. However, faith in Jesus Christ does allow YOU to fully obey to the Law of God.
Romans 1:5 (NIV) Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
Romans 1:17 (NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Romans 2:13-15 (NIV) For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
Romans 3:21-31 (NIV) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Romans 10:4 (NIV) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 11:6-7 (NIV) And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
Acts 13:39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
The Pharisees had a level of righteousness. Levels of righteousness are based on levels of the law.
Matthew 5:20 (NIV) "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
The stated laws of the Old Testament are embryonic. The Pharisees were in partial compliance with the Intuitive, Noahatic and Mosaic law, but they were not in compliance with the Law of Love. For YOU to love God, love YOUR fellowman, and love YOURSELF covers all spiritual laws.
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Romans 14:5-6 (NIV) One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Compliance with God's Law leads YOU to Holiness.
Romans 6:19 (NIV) I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Jesus Christ was the first from the dead and was able to conquer death because Jesus Christ had no sin. Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4 NIV). Sin will give death a handle on YOU so that death may hold YOU.
Acts 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
YOU have sinned.
Romans 3:23 (NIV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
If the Blood of Jesus Christ does not cover YOUR sin, death can and will hold YOU in Hell. Through faith in the Blood-Substitution Sacrifice of Jesus Christ YOU must live without sin so that when YOU die, YOU will also be able to conquer death.