Covenant Blessing to both Jacob and Esau (Gen ) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella August 16, 2015

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1 Covenant Blessing to both Jacob and Esau (Gen ) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella August 16, 2015 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl for my wife." 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it." 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife." 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you-- that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone." 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 "These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people-- when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us." 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household." 31 But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" (Gen. 34:1-31 ESV) God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. 5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth. 9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you." 13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and

2 !2 poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. 16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son." 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. 27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. (Gen. 35:1-29 ESV) These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 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. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 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. (Gen. 36:1-43 ESV) Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. (Gen. 37:1 ESV) Introduction After our text in Genesis 37.2, the final toledoth of the book, is introduced. Note where

3 !3 our text ( ) fits into the toledoth structure of the book of Genesis. 1 It covers the end of the generations of Isaac and includes the transitional toledoth of Esau. The older brother s toledoth has two parts (36.1f & 36.9f) and it leads to the final section, the generations of Jacob, that concentrates on the life of Joseph. This summary raises the question: what is the nature of the transition in the narrative that we have here in chapters along with 37.1? A survey of the content of our text (that we read earlier) reveals it to be a collage of reports that seem mixed together in a hurried closure to the generations of Isaac (running haphazardly to the point of his death). Thus, we have a series of events that appear as a hodgepodge. The events occur in five locations and what is said about them varies significantly. It turns out that the locations provide us with the best way to outline the text: at Shechem: massacre, at Bethel: worship, death, and covenant renewal, near Ephrath: birth and death, near Migdal Eder: incest, and at Hebron: death and offspring. We might think that death is the theme, but it isn t. The theme that brings order to the apparent confusion is the covenant blessing of both Esau and Jacob. This paves the way for the fading of Jacob from center stage in the narrative. I. We begin at Shechem with the parlaying account of rape and massacre The daughter of Leah, Dinah, spends some apparently unchaperoned time with the women of the land (34.1). The city of interest has the name of a key figure in the rape of this young woman of about sixteen, slightly younger than her brother Joseph (at seventeen, 37.2). It is the city of Shechem. Note : Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated [or shamed] her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. As Wenham puts it, Shechem is not a typically callous anonymous rapist (Genesis II, 317); indeed, he spoke tenderly and reassuringly to his conquest. Nothing of Dinah s response is recorded. The prince may be affectionate but he appears to be quite demanding, first of the young girl and then in the words of command to his father: Get me this girl for my wife (34.4). It is inevitable that there will be a meeting between the fathers but before that happens the narrator draws our attention to the responses of Jacob and Dinah s brothers: Now Jacob heard that he [Shechem] had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came (34.5). He held his peace when Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak to him (v. 6). Before the conversation gets down to brass tacks, the brothers come in from the field seething with anger for when they heard of the rape, they were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done (v. 7). At this point, with the depth of their anger concealed, Hamor now speaks with all the brothers, presents them with affirmations of his son s love for Dinah, and proposes that she be given to Shechem in marriage with the idea of intermarrying between clans, along with exchanges of trade and property ownership ( ). Shechem also speaks up and offers to give 1 Genesis within the Toledoth Structure of Genesis Generations of (Toledoth) Content 2.4 Heavens and earth Adam and Eve, the fall, and promise of restoration, Adam Descendants to Noah and the escalation of sin, Noah The Flood judgment and the remnant by grace, Shem, Ham, Japeth Descendants of the sons of Noah; distribution of the nations, Shem Descendants to the birth of Terah and his son: Abraham, Terah Life of Abraham to his death, Ishmael Descendants; transitional contrast in covenant fulfillment, Isaac Life of Jacob to the death of Isaac, ,9 Esau Descendants; transitional contrast in covenant fulfillment, Jacob Life of Joseph to the death of Jacob and Joseph,

4 !4 a bride present to them of whatever they stipulate (as you will only give me the young woman to be my wife, ). With rage hidden within their hearts, the sons of Jacob answered them deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah (34.13). Jacob seems improperly passive in all this, but he is not a man of war, as was Abraham, his grandfather. He thus leaves things to his sons for resolution that might only occur by a forceful rescue. So, the sons negotiate and claim that only on the condition that all the males of the city be circumcised will they give Dinah in marriage ( ). This pleased Hamor and Shechem not only because Shechem will have Dinah s hand in marriage, but also because the intermarriage proposal means, as they say in 34.23, their livestock, their property and all their beasts [will] be ours. So, they convinced the men of the city to comply and all were circumcised ( ). After a period of waiting, the wrath hidden behind faces of friendly negotiations poured out on the unsuspecting city: On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers [by Leah], took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away ( ). Killing and then plundering, they go way beyond a justifiable rescue of Dinah to merciless revenge in violation of the lex talionis, the retribution principle of an eye for an eye (the law of making the punishment fit the crime). So, their action runs the risk of retaliation from the surrounding Canaanites who significantly out number Jacob s small company and household (34.30). When reminded of these things by Jacob, the sons dodge the wrong of their ruthless aggression by appealing to the need that wrongs be righted: Should he treat our sister like a prostitute? (34.31). Jacob correctly perceives the danger, saying in effect: You have put all of us in danger of aggressive action of a kind similar to your brutality. Their reply to him is morally inconsistent. They dodge the issue of their wrong-doing by emphasizing the wrong-doing of others; they claim the need for a just response to wrong-doing, which, of course, they do not want regarding their own wrong-doing. Their response is evasive and selfcondemning. Of course, the danger is very real, but God intervenes with a command to return to Bethel to worship the One who appeared to Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau (35.1). Jacob calls his family to put away the idols they possess (perhaps from the plunder of Shechem), to purify themselves (surely from their callous revenge), and then to rise up and go to Bethel. They comply to his demands and strike out for Bethel with the protection of God for as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that hey did not pursue the sons of Jacob (35.3). They showed no mercy, and yet they received mercy. We may well wonder how this can be? II. At Bethel Three things happen at Bethel A. First is worship As soon as Jacob arrives at Bethel, he builds an altar and worships God by the name he calls the place: El-Bethel (35.7) which means God of Bethel and therefore, God of this house of God (of this place of the presence of God by mediation between earth and heaven). Undeserved, the sons of Jacob have experienced the mercy of the God who bridges the gulf between Himself and sinners. B. The second event at Bethel is the death of Deborah And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth [oak of weeping] (35.8). What is so surprising is that the mention of Jacob s flight from his brother in 35.7 causes the reader to expect some mention of the death of Rebekah rather than her nurse (and if her nurse is cited then surely she will be cited as well). Instead, the narrator has gapped her death, leaving the audience to surmise that he omitted her obituary in order not

5 !5 to honor her after she had deceive her husband (Waltke, 471). You will recall that Rebekah encouraged Jacob in the deception saying, Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice (Gen. 27:13) C. Third, the Lord renews the Bethel covenant with Jacob In the preface to this renewal, Jacob s new name is confirmed (35.10) and the Lord grounds this renewal in His identity as God Almighty. The language of blessing (35.9, he blessed him) is bonded to the imperatives: be fruitful and multiply. This refers to the fundamental duty of procreation that has God s blessing attached to it from the beginning (Gen 1.28) so that the promise that a nation, a company of nations, and kings shall come from the very body of Jacob is guaranteed. The Almighty commands it and will see to its fulfillment. Furthermore, this also means that the land given to Abraham and Isaac is given to Jacob and to his offspring. Thus, when the Lord left him, Jacob set up a pillar of stone as a memorial in worship calling the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel, the place of God, the house of God, the dwelling place of God ( ). III. Near Ephrath: birth and death, the birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son." 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Benoni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day ( ). The birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel in childbirth signal the end of the struggle of Jacob s wives to produce offspring. This struggle dominates the story of Rachel s life and also accounts for her death. Because of serious complications, Rachel dies while giving birth, but the child survives (McKeown). IV. Near Eder: Reuben s incest and the listing of the completed band of twelve 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddanaram ( ). The very juxtaposition of Reuben s incest and the list of the twelve is a testimony to God s grace to this band of sinners that are chosen to father the twelve tribes of the emerging nation of Israel. V. At Hebron: the death and burial of Isaac, the Esau toledoth, and the contrast with Jacob A. The death and burial of Isaac is in And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. The final tidbit about the united action of Esau and Jacob leads to the Esau toledoth and a contrast with Jacob. B. The Esau toledoth takes up chapter 36 It has two parts: the offspring of Esau: wives and sons born in Canaan (36.1-8) and these offspring of Esau active in Edom as chiefs, along with other sons, chiefs, and kings born in Edom ( ). Repeat of the section marker (these are the generations of Esau, 1, 9) highlights the significant shift from the land of Canaan to the land of Edom. According to , in Edom, Esau s sons became chiefs. For example, his sons by Oholibamah born in Canaan and cited in

6 !6 verse 5 (Jeush, Jalam, and Korah) are listed as chiefs in verse 18. Therefore, in verse 19, Esau is Edom because his sons are the chiefs of Edom. The sons and chiefs of the Horites mentioned in refers to Edomite clans subjugated by Esau and His descendants. Then in , we are told that Edom had eight kings before Israel has its first king. Having kings indicates a larger political structure than tribes or clans with kings ruling the tribes. Finally, in , we are given a summary listing that appears to indicate the regions under the rule of chiefs that were ruled by the kings. The identification of the chiefs according to their clans, dwelling places, [and] by their names (36.40; chiefs and districts are named after ancestors such as Oholibamah) is restated with emphasis on the ordering according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession (36.43). Emphasis is on the regions and there is overlap between personal names and regional names; much is practically impossible to untangle, but that level of specificity is not important to the narrator. There is sufficient detail to lock the audience of Moses into the nature of the kingdom of Edom located outside of Canaan to the south of the Dead Sea. Over all, there is steady progress generation by generation. In the big picture, Esau has many wives from among the Canaanites and his offspring multiply. Then, he leaves Canaan (departing from the promised land with no commitment to the things promised or to the one who promises). Hence, the second aspect of the toledoth, stresses the hill country of Seir (36.9). What unfolds for him in Seir? His sons (9-14) become chiefs (15-19). His descendants subjugate the sons and grandsons of Seir the Horite [hence the name of this hill country] who became chiefs or heads of clans (36.20) but the fact is that they are intertwined with the wives, sons, and daughters of Esau shows that the country becomes Esau-Edom by both the sword and by marriage. Eventually, a succession of kings reigned in the land of Edom (36.31); eight are listed (31-39); thus Esau s descendants ruled as kings over a country that by the time of Moses had eleven regions (40-43). In other words, the fact that Esau is Edom (36.8) and the fact that the chiefs of Edom are really chiefs of Esau (Edom, that is Esau, the father of Edom, 36.43) indicates the fulfillment of God s word about Esau that he would become a nation (25.23) and that by your sword you shall live (27.40). This is genealogical testimony to covenant fulfillment, interestingly, regarding the nonelect son of Rebekah, Esau. It is a remarkable fact that a kingdom emerged in the ancestry of a single man, Esau. We can t say that of David or Solomon; nor of any president of the US. In the end, Esau s death is not recorded; he has no burial in the cave at Machpelah; he has no attachment to the promises buried there in Sarah s grave. C. The contrast with Jacob is in 37.1 Clearly, 37.1 is part of the transitional material about Esau because 37.2 introduces the final section of Genesis. It functions to seal the fact that Esau despised the covenant of redemption by his departure from the land along with his marriages to Canaanite women. By contrast, Jacob s adherence to the covenant of redemption is manifested in his attachment to the land of promise: Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. Concluding applications As a preface to some concluding applications, of course, we do not want them to be a hodgepodge (a confused mixture of ideas); we simply have many directions for reflection. 1) Holiness We learn about holiness and are summoned to it by inferring the opposite of the sins on record: rape, deceit using the covenant sign (degrading it; using God s name, word, works in a light way), revenge (versus true pursuit of justice; per Christ, do not retaliate in thought, word or deed; distance yourself from reacting to wrongs in the wrong way), hypocrisy (it turns out that

7 !7 we do the same things that we judge harshly in others as Reuben did regarding what ought not to be done in Israel, and the violation of the institution of marriage and marital intimacy not only by the Canaanite, Shechem, but also by the Israelite, Reuben. You can therefore go back through the collage of events to work on various aspects of your walk with God in holiness. That is a good way to make miles out of this sermon on this challenging text with many simple and practical elements to it. 2) Grace All of these contradictions of holiness reveal the grace of covenant fulfillment. God is holy and He calls Abraham to holiness and holiness is inseparably attached to the promises, even to the point that the language is so strong that it seems (on the surface) that everything depends on Abraham and his descendants keeping the condition of holiness. In this emphasis on holiness that we do not want to miss, the biggest obstacle to covenant fulfillment is human depravity. Just look at the emerging twelve tribes in the conduct of Simeon and Levi in their excessive bloodthirsty revenge on the Shechemites, and all the brothers in their degrading of the covenant sign as part of their cruel deception. Consider the hypocrisy of the firstborn of Jacob and thus the man in line for headship among the twelve tribes in God s blessing of marriage and offspring that contradicts it all by incest. Jacob seems passive and complicit. Deborah s death is signaled out in a context that powerfully reminds us that the matriarch of Israel, Rebekah, deceived her husband. Rachel, another matriarch, dies in childbirth at the end of a quest that revealed impatience before the covenant Lord by engagement in sexual bargaining. However, marvelously, there is covenant fulfillment despite: massacre, degrading of covenant sign, moral inconsistency, incest and hypocrisy. You have to fall down before the God of Bethel, the God of the house of God, the God of redemptive mediation that He provides to sinners such as you and me. Of course, praise and worship belong to the Lamb who is Jacob s ladder and who by His death and resurrection bring us into fellowship with God in heaven as we make our journey in His presence with us on earth. El-Bethel will be with you to accomplish all that He intends for you as your days unfold from here to eternity. 3) Encouragement It is encouraging to learn of covenant fulfillment to both Esau and Jacob. The list of twelve (including Reuben, Simeon and Levi) is a reminder that the covenant is being fulfilled: you will become multitudes and a nation with kings. But Edom has a list of kings before any king reigned over the Israelites (36.31). This fact does not weaken the promise; it actually intensifies it a fortiori: for if the Lord God fulfills His promises so fully to the non-elect, how much more will He fulfill His promises to His elect sons and daughters. Notably, the fulfillment of God s covenant to Israel in contrast to Esau contains within it the promise of blessing to the nations and that includes Esau-Edom. For the Lord says that in the day of Christ Israel will possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this (Amos 9.12). Hence the command, do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother (Deut 23.7) and the wonderful prospect of Revelation : After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."