A Tale of Two Brothers: the fate of Esau

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When Abraham’s son Isaac becomes a father, it is over twin boys. The older boy is named Esau, who was a skilled hunter and outdoorsman. Jacob, the younger boy, was a herdsman. 1 These two sons would not only be very different in their temperaments and skillsets but also in the roles they would play within the story of the nation of Israel. A story that is told throughout the books of the Old Testament.

Jacob, who will later be given the name Israel, is the one through whom God often identifies Himself.

The Lord [is] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob2

It is through the line of Jacob that the nation of Israel would be established and the physical lineage of the Messiah would be traced.3

But what happened to Esau? Did the man who traded away his birthright, was cheated out of his blessing and founded the nation of Edom also end up unrepentant and eternally lost as many suppose? After all we find God telling us it was “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.” 4

To answer that question we must start at the beginning. Isaac’s wife Rebekah is pregnant. And before the twins were born God tells her that:

Giovanni Maria Bottala: Meeting between Esau and Jacob

Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger5

This is widely understood as God informing Rebekah about the larger destinies of her two children and the nations that they will found.

Part of this prophetic word encompasses the promise God made to Abraham telling him that he would be “the father of a multitude of nations.” 6 This promise would primarily be centered on the nation of Israel though the line of Jacob 7. But it also includes the nation(s) founded by Ishmael, his older son through Hagar, and the nation of Edom founded by Esau, the older son of Isaac.8

Not only is God telling Rebekah that each of her sons will found a separate nation. It is also commonly understood that the Lord is also disclosing to her that it is through Jacob, not Esau, that He will fulfill the promises made to Abraham.9 It is the nation of Israel that will be the “apple of his eye” and His special possession. 10 Paul reminds us that this decision was made “before they were born or had done anything good or bad.”11

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The Cult of Divine Sovereignty (Satire)

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Here at Sola Radio, we hope you enjoyed that hit inspired by Esau from Puddle of Mudd. The next song in our countdown has an infectious riff that has stood the test of time. The band claims the song was written in just one rehearsal session. Here we are with Living Colour rocking out with new lyrics to their popular song Cult of Personality?

This one goes out to all the TheoBros out there…

And during the few moments that we have left
We want to talk right down to earth
In a language that nobody else here can easily understand

Thou you have eyes
You can not see
The cult of divine sovereignty

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A Machete Order Reading of the Bible (OT): The Story of Israel

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Many people make it an annual goal to read the Bible all the way through. Most who attempt this do so literally, starting at page one and reading the books in the order they appear in the table of contents. There is nothing wrong with that approach but is it the best way to read it?

Reading the Bible, regardless of the order, is better than not reading it. Still, there is nothing wrong with exploring different approaches to how we read Scripture, especially if those approaches might help us better understand what we are reading.

Many years ago, I put together a New Testament “machete” reading order, inspired by the suggestion on the best way to watch the Star Wars movies. You can find this NT reading plan at this link. Putting that reading plan together was fairly straightforward. The NT is a small corpus that covers a short period of history.

Attempting something similar with the Old Testament has always been a bit more daunting. It has been over a decade and I am just getting to it now. What makes it a more difficult project? There are a few things. For starters, the story of Israel occurs over a span of at least two millennia stretching across the Bronze and Iron Ages. Since the order of books are not arranged chronologically it can be difficult for a reader to follow Israel’s story as it moves from Abraham to Malachi. Long genealogies and extended sections of legal material can also make it hard for the reader to follow the story as they interrupt the narrative flow.

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