The Kingdoms of Men and the Kingdom of God Text: Genesis 36:40-43
Introduction: Two Brothers, Two Nations
The book of Genesis is a book of genealogies. It is the book of the generations of the heavens and the earth, the generations of Adam, of Noah, of Abraham, and now, as we have seen in this chapter, the generations of Esau. Many modern readers, accustomed to a diet of spiritual junk food, find their eyes glazing over when they come to a chapter like this one. It seems like a dusty old phone book, full of unpronounceable names and irrelevant details. But to do this is to miss the entire point. The Bible does nothing by accident. God does not waste ink.
These genealogies are crucial because God made a promise in the garden, a promise of a Seed who would crush the serpent's head. And so, from that moment on, the central drama of all human history is the story of two lines, two seeds, two cities, two posterities. There is the seed of the woman, and there is the seed of the serpent. And God's people, from the very beginning, were watching the genealogies with eagle-eyed intensity, tracing the line of promise. This is why Matthew and Luke begin their gospels with genealogies. They are shouting from the rooftops, "He's here! The one we've been waiting for has come!"
But Genesis 36 is a different kind of list. It is not the line of promise. It is the line of the one who was rejected. It is the line of Esau, whom God did not choose. And this is not an incidental detail. The Holy Spirit dedicates an entire chapter to the impressive, worldly success of the line that was passed over. Before Jacob has even consolidated his twelve sons into a nation, before they have a single square inch of land to call their own, Esau's descendants have already established a mighty kingdom, complete with kings and chiefs and territories. Edom is a settled, powerful, organized nation while Israel is still a dysfunctional family of nomads.
This chapter is a profound theological lesson, a tale of two brothers that becomes a tale of two cities. It sets before us the stark contrast between the kingdom of men and the kingdom of God. The kingdom of men, represented by Edom, is built by human strength, worldly wisdom, and carnal ambition. It rises fast, it looks impressive, and it is built on sand. The kingdom of God, represented by Jacob, is built by divine promise, sovereign grace, and covenant faithfulness. It grows slowly, often looks weak and foolish to the world, but its foundations are in the heavens, and it will endure forever.
The Text
Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their places of habitation in the land of their possession.
(Genesis 36:40-43 LSB)
The Tally of Earthly Power (v. 40-43)
This concluding section of the chapter summarizes the establishment of Esau's posterity. It is a roll call of worldly accomplishment.
"Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram." (Genesis 36:40-42)
Notice the emphasis here. The text carefully records the structure of their society. They are organized "according to their families," "according to their places," and "by their names." This is a picture of a well-ordered, established, and powerful civilization. These are not wandering shepherds. These are chiefs, rulers of clans and territories. The names themselves, like Teman, would become famous in the ancient world for their wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7). Edom was no backwater. It was a significant regional power, controlling important trade routes.
This is the way of the flesh. Esau was a man of the immediate. He sold his birthright for a bowl of red stew because his stomach was rumbling right now. He could not wait for a distant, spiritual promise. He wanted satisfaction, and he wanted it now. And his descendants inherited his character. They built their kingdom quickly. They secured their land. They established their chiefs. From a worldly perspective, Esau's line was a roaring success story. They got the land, the power, and the prestige, all while Jacob's family was about to head down into Egypt for centuries of bondage.
If you were a betting man in that day, you would have put all your money on Edom. They had the tangible assets. They had the political structure. They had the land. Jacob had a promise. That's it. A promise from God. And this is the central conflict of the Bible. Will we live by sight, or will we live by faith? Will we trust in the tangible power of Edom, or in the unseen promise given to Jacob?
The world always builds its Edomite kingdoms. It erects its Babels and its Romes. It boasts of its chiefs and its armies and its economic might. And the church, the true Israel of God, often looks like a ragtag bunch of pilgrims, armed with nothing but a promise. But we must remember what the apostle Paul said: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25).
The Father of a Nation (v. 43)
The passage concludes with a final, definitive statement about Esau's legacy.
"These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their places of habitation in the land of their possession." (Genesis 36:43 LSB)
The text makes it clear: Esau got what he wanted. He is "the father of the Edomites." He has a "land of their possession." He traded his heavenly birthright for an earthly inheritance, and the deal went through. God gave him Mount Seir. In Deuteronomy, God explicitly tells Israel not to harass the descendants of Esau, "for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession" (Deuteronomy 2:5). God is not unjust. He let Esau have the consolation prize.
But that is all it was. A consolation prize. Esau became the father of a nation, but Jacob became the father of the nation through whom the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would come. Esau possessed a piece of land, but Jacob's descendants were promised the whole earth as their inheritance (Psalm 37:11, Matthew 5:5). Esau had chiefs and kings, but from Jacob came the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This is why the Bible includes this chapter. It is a warning and an encouragement. It is a warning not to envy the success of the wicked. It is a warning not to trade the eternal promises of God for the temporary comforts of this world, for a bowl of red stew. The kingdom of Edom, for all its initial glory, is now nothing but dust and ruins. Archaeologists can dig up its fortresses, but its people have vanished from history, precisely as the prophets foretold (Obadiah 1:18). They built for time, and time swallowed them whole.
But the line of Jacob, the line of promise, endured slavery in Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, conquest, exile, and persecution. And from that line, in the fullness of time, came Jesus Christ. The kingdom that began with a pilgrim who owned nothing but a promise has now filled the whole earth. This is the central lesson of Genesis 36. Do not be impressed by the chiefs of Edom. Do not be dismayed when the world seems strong and the church seems weak. The kingdoms of this world are temporary. They rise and they fall. But the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, that kingdom will endure forever.
Conclusion: Whose Genealogy Are You In?
This chapter forces a question upon every one of us. We are all descended from one of two spiritual fathers. We are either in Adam or we are in Christ. We are either building for the city of man or we are citizens of the city of God. We are either children of Esau or we are children of Jacob by faith.
To be a child of Esau is to live for the here and now. It is to value what you can see, taste, and touch above all else. It is to build your life on your own strength, to seek your own glory, and to secure your own little patch of earth. This is the default religion of fallen mankind. And for a time, it can seem very successful. You might get the promotion, the house, the reputation. You might become a "chief" in your own little Edom. But your foundation is sand, and your inheritance is dust.
To be a child of Jacob, by faith in his descendant Jesus Christ, is to be a pilgrim. It is to live for a promise you have not yet fully received. It is to value the unseen and eternal realities over the seen and temporary ones. It is to know that your true citizenship is in heaven, and your true inheritance is Christ Himself. It often means being overlooked, despised, and considered foolish by the world. It means your kingdom is not of this world.
The list of the chiefs of Edom is in the Bible to show us the glory of the world, and to show us how utterly it pales in comparison to the glory of the promise. Esau got his stew, and he got his kingdom. But in the end, he lost everything. Jacob wrestled with God, clung to the promise, and through his seed, the whole world has been blessed. Let us not, therefore, sell our birthright. Let us not envy the Edomites. Let us cling to the promise, which is Christ Himself, in whom all the genealogies find their meaning and their end.