Genesis 36:1–2: “Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;”

October 21st, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

For those who will “mine” it, the Scripture is full of gold gems and precious jewels. Here, hidden in the genealogy of Esau, we find a clear picture and warning of carnality. Esau, Jacob’s elder twin brother, who sold his spiritual birthright for a bowl of beans, becomes the perfect illustration of a man who isn’t interested in spiritual things. Esau is our warning not to live our lives serving our own flesh. His family also shows us the consequences of what will happen to our own offspring if we ignore spiritual things. Edom became a symbol of the hardened unbelief and hostility of the world to the people of God, and his offspring made themselves deep-seated enemies of Israel. In this genealogy we can see 4 ways the flesh operates, and seeing them will help us to avoid making the same mistakes ourselves:

1) We see that the flesh is prolific. This is a great truth about our own flesh. It will in fact take over. If we feed it, it will grow.

2) We see that the flesh is prosperous for a season, meaning that short-term gains are pursued at the expense of eternal issues.

3) We see that the flesh is persistent. Over and over again the flesh rears its ugly head; therefore, we must keep on guard and never think, “That used to be a problem for me, but not anymore.” Just as soon as we relax in that old area of sin, it will come rushing back at us again.

4) We see that the flesh is proud and wants to be seen and lord over others. The children of Esau were the first to make kings on the earth, long before anyone else thought to.

“LORD, we need You to show us today when we even begin to think about giving in to some part of the flesh. Help us to lay down our lives today and serve others instead of ourselves.”