Genesis 36:9-43 – The tragic end of uncontrolled passion

One of the greatest setbacks for the way Esau had chosen to lead his life was the fact that he and his people were assimilated into a foreign culture insidiously. Esau after all was still Isaac’s son and Abraham’s grandson. Didn’t God tell Abraham that through him would come a nation with a wonderful destiny? We feel sorry for the hurt Esau felt by his brother’s underhanded ways of stealing his birthright and the blessing that was due him as the firstborn of Isaac. But he had himself to blame for being so careless and frivolous. The way he lived his life so irresponsibly had left us an example of how we ought not to live ours. We must set our hearts and minds on things above so as to cultivate a heavenly mindedness.   

In these verses we see the expanding family of Esau. In the ensuing years he had prospered. We even see a succession of kings coming forth from his genealogy. For all his expanding family, we see one bucking trend. They became increasingly integrated into a culture that would push them further and further from one that pleases God. We see how intermarriage with pagans progressively became more and more an accepted norm.  When we come to verses 20-30 we see that marriages even included chiefs and leading figures of the foreign community. By the time we reach verses 31-39 we see the genealogy including eight kings. For all the expansion of Esau’s descendants, we however would see in the history of Israel that they would tragically become the chronic enemies of God’s chosen people.

Esau dreadfully was a person devoid of vision but full of unholy passion. He had no spiritual mind nor eye for the things of God. He could neither be bothered with heaven nor with hell. His was a nonchalant life. Pleasure was all he was looking for and was at his deck and call. If anything he felt pleases him, he would go for it. What truly mattered to him was his regular hunting trips and plenty of women. His carefree, unthinking attitude toward life had led him down the catastrophic appalling route of his life.

The downward spiral of Esau’s life leaves us with a lesson that there are certainly more to life than just having a good time. Life indulgences will constantly shout out enticingly to us to have a game or two. It is okay they echo. This is what life is all about. But is it? In the persistent beckoning of the world, let’s not be numbed to the Lord’s call to, “…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” We must spend time to insulate our life by building a fortitude of mind that will carry us forward with God. We must not follow the example of Esau who despised his privilege, despite being so blessed to have Abraham as a grandfather. We must never sell out our glorious future for a cheap, monetary thrill offered by the world. John in his letter said, “Love not the world neither the things of this world such as: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life.” Else, we will have to pay dearly!