Two Boys, Two Nations - The Jews and the Gentiles, The Church and the World

Esau and Israel

(1 Chronicles 1:34-2:2, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 9, 2017)

[34] … The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.

Esau, Edom, Seir

One of the ways that the story of our lives is told in the Bible is through the unusual form of communication that I call selective genealogy. The writer that we refer to as the Chronicler doesn't include every name in the heritage of all humanity, only those that fit in with the storyline he is telling. Sometimes names show up not because we know much of anything about the individual people, but because they are part of a group of interest. That's why we heard about the tribes that came from the son of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael, as well as the groups that came from Abraham and his concubine Keturah, including the Midianites who show up here and there throughout the biblical account of the chosen people, the Jews.

The various groups that we have mentioned so far, except for one, are no longer particularly distinct, especially in the last two thousand years since the birth of Christ. Today we add the descendants of Esau to that list as well as the people of Seir. These two groups ended up living in the same land and were joined together over a number of generations. This mixing, sometimes occurring quickly and in other cases more slowly, is the normal way of the world. After a few centuries of close quarters it is extremely difficult for people to say what their people group is or especially where they came from. It would be most unusual for any group to resist this mixing forever.

In our pathway from the beginning of humanity to the coming of a special line of Israelite kings that culminates in the Savior of the world, we have gone from Adam to Isaac. Today we move forward one generation. This brings us to the fraternal twins born to Isaac and his wife, Rebekah. We have already mentioned Esau. He was the firstborn of the twins and the favorite of his father. Esau did not retain the right of the firstborn for at least three reasons. First he sold it to his brother for some food! Second his brother and his mother conspired to trick their father into giving the big blessing to his brother Jacob. But third and most important, before the twins were born and had ever done anything good or bad, God chose one above the other. He even told this to their mother saying, “The older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23), meaning that the second child would ultimately have a leading role in the promises of God.

Meanwhile, in the early generations that would follow, Esau would be very fruitful, and after some advantageous mixing with the people of Seir would become the nation of Edom. Yet despite this great success, the descendants of Esau the firstborn would be the symbolic representatives of what the Bible calls “the world” or the not-chosen ones. As one prophet would write in Malachi 1:2-5,

[2] “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob [3] but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” [4] If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’” [5] Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”

Jacob and Israel

What makes this such a perfect story is that these two people once shared the same uterus. Esau was not the elect one. He went on to have some remarkable success and to be the nation of Edom, which is now so mixed into so many other people groups as to be unrecognizable. What about his younger brother, Jacob? He was chosen by God to receive the covenant promises given to Abraham and Isaac. He was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel and the people group of the Jews. God gave his descendants precious promises, the Law that defined the nation as distinct from all the rest of the world, a system of worship that prepared us for a religion of grace, a mission of taking that message of grace to all the other people groups of the earth, written revelation that makes up ALL of the books of the Bible (not just the Old Testament), and especially a person, Jesus the Messiah, who would died for our sins as the Lamb of God and then do what no other lamb could ever have done—rise from the dead as the beginning of a new world without sin and death.

The Jews and the Nations

One womb—two people groups. The story of the Old Testament is the account of Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles ultimately mix. Their ethnic pride when it is combined with spiritual arrogance can be very dangerous to all concerned. Even the Jews sometimes had the very same problem when they forget that what set them apart from all the nations was the electing love of the God of heaven and earth. They were chosen by God.

The Church and the World

Eventually one Jew would be born who would change everything. He would keep the Law and then die a death for the elect of all the people groups of the earth as one who had not only a human nature but also a divine nature. The benefits of His death and resurrection would ultimately be known only by those who were chosen by God. Now the elect of God would not be only Israel, but a worldwide assembly (or church) of all who have faith in the one Savior and Lord of His people. One day their identity will be openly and perfectly displayed. We are assured that they will come from every tribe and tongue and nation. They are the chosen of God.

This important teaching of being chosen by God is clearly taught in Scripture (see Romans 9:6-13) and is essential if Christianity is to be a religion of grace where all the merit comes from Jesus. If our religion is first about our choice of God, then we deserve some spiritual credit based on our decision at that key moment that makes the distinction between a Jacob and an Esau. If it all begins with God's choice, then it is all His gift for which we should be eternally thankful.

One of the benefits of election is the clarity it brings to a confusing life. God chose you to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). If you are here for a restart, this is the one you want. (Hebrews 12:16-17)

God's electing purposes will certainly be accomplished. Regardless of our various ethnic backgrounds, our knowledge, our power, or our money, our only hope is in our strong grace connection with Jesus, the King of the Jews, and the King and Head of the church.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 9 – You have rebuked the nations

Gospel Reading—Matthew 6:22-24 – [22] The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, [23] but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [24] No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.