Genesis 36:6–8
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We come now to one of those chapters in the Bible that many modern readers, in their haste, are tempted to skim. It is a genealogy, a long list of names, the descendants of Esau. It seems like a dusty appendix to the main story, a diversion from the high drama of Jacob's life. But in the economy of God, there are no throwaway lines, and there are certainly no throwaway chapters. It is the formal closing of one line and the definitive clearing of the stage for the line of promise. This chapter is the record of a worldly success story, and we must learn to read it with sanctified eyes. The world measures success in a straightforward way: wealth, power, influence, and progeny. By every one of these metrics, Esau was a staggering success. He has wives, sons, daughters, a massive household, immense herds of livestock, and he becomes the progenitor of dukes and kings.