Bible Study on Matthew 1, verses 1 to 17, part 3, the genealogy of Jesus, cont.

 

Mention spelling in Early Modern English and the Holy Spirit. Numbers. Salathiel’s mention presents a problem for many. The differences between the genealogies have been handled very well by many commentators. I’m going to quote one directly.

 

One of the charges of contradiction brought by skeptics against the Bible is the surface appearance of contradiction between Matthew’s genealogical list (1:1-17) and the one provided by Luke (3:23-38). As is always the case, the charge of contradiction is premature and reflects an immature appraisal of the extant evidence. In every case of alleged contradiction, further investigation has yielded additional evidence that exonerates the Bible and further verifies its inerrancy. The alleged discrepancies pertaining to Matthew and Luke’s genealogies were explained and answered long ago (e.g., Haley, 1977, pp. 325-326; McGarvey, 1910, pp. 344-346; McGarvey, 1974, pp. 51-55; cf. Lyons, 2003).

When one places the two genealogical lists side by side, several factors become immediately apparent that combine to dispel the appearance of conflict.

First, Matthew reported the lineage of Christ only back to Abraham; Luke traced it all the way back to Adam. Second, Matthew used the expression “begat;” Luke used the expression “son of,” which results in his list being a complete reversal of Matthew’s. Third, the two genealogical lines parallel each other from Abraham to David. Fourth, beginning with David, Matthew traced the paternal line of descent through Solomon; Luke traced the maternal line through Solomon’s brother, Nathan.

A fifth factor that must be recognized is that the two lines (paternal and maternal) link together in the intermarriage of Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. But the linkage separates again in the two sons of Zerubbabel—Rhesa and Abiud. Sixth, the two lines come together once again for a final time in the marriage of Joseph and Mary. Joseph was the end of the paternal line, while Mary was the last of the maternal line as the daughter of Heli.

The reason Joseph is said to be the “son” of Heli (Mary’s father) brings forth a seventh consideration: the Jewish use of “son.” Hebrews used the word in at least five distinct senses: (1) in the sense used today of a one-generation offspring; (2) in the sense of a descendant, whether a grandson or a more remote descendant many generations previous, e.g., Matthew 1:1; 21:9; 22:42 (“begat” had this same flexibility in application); (3) as a son-in-law (the Jews had no word to express this concept and so just used “son”—e.g., 1 Samuel 24:16; 26:17); (4) in accordance with the Levirate marriage law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10; cf. Matthew 22:24-26), a deceased man would have a son through a surrogate father who legally married the deceased man’s widow (e.g., Ruth 2:20; 3:9,12; 4:3-5); and (5) in the sense of a step-son who took on the legal status of his step-father—the relationship sustained by Jesus to Joseph (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Luke 3:23; 4:22; John 6:42).

Notice carefully that Joseph was a direct-line, blood descendant of David and, therefore, of David’s throne. Here is the precise purpose of Matthew’s genealogy: it demonstrated Jesus’ legal right to inherit the throne of David—a necessary prerequisite to authenticating His Messianic claim. However, an equally critical credential was His blood/physical descent from David—a point that could not be established through Joseph since “after His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18, emp. added). This feature of Christ’s Messiahship was established through His mother Mary, who was also a blood descendant of David (Luke 1:30-32). Both the blood of David and the throne of David were necessary variables to qualify and authenticate Jesus as the Messiah.

Once again, the Bible’s intricate complexities shine forth to dispel the critic’s accusations, while simultaneously demonstrating its own infallible representations. The more one delves into its intricacies and plummets its intriguing depths, the more one is driven to the inescapable conclusion that the Bible is, indeed, the Book of books—the inspired Word of God.

REFERENCES

Haley, John W. (1977), Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Lyons, Eric (2003), The Anvil Rings (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

McGarvey, J.W. (1910), Biblical Criticism (Cincinnati, OH: Standard).

McGarvey, J.W. (1974 reprint), Evidences of Christianity (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate).[1]

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[1] Dave Miller, PhD, “The Genealogies of Matthew and Luke,” Apologetics Press, https://apologeticspress.org/the-genealogies-of-matthew-and-luke-932/ (December 31, 2002).

Bible Study on Genesis 27, verses 30 to 46, Esau receives his own blessing

 

Genesis 27:30 ¶  And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31  And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32  And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 33  And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34  And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35  And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36  And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 37  And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 38  And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39  And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40  And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

It doesn’t take long for Isaac to realize what has been done to him. He was suspicious but with Esau’s immediate entry after Jacob’s departure it was pretty obvious. Verse 33 shows that Isaac, even if deceived, was not going to revoke his blessing. Indeed, there is no indication that it was even possible to revoke a blessing already made. God had blessed Ham and Noah’s prophecy, after Ham’s behavior, was directed at Ham’s son, not Ham.

Genesis 9:1 ¶  And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…24 ¶  And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Esau begs for a blessing but Isaac acknowledges that Jacob came with subtilty, a trait we learned about Satan in chapter 3, a trait which will come back to haunt Jacob as he is tricked by his uncle shortly in a similar manner.

Verse 36 tells us Jacob’s name should mean supplanter, someone who replaces, who takes someone’s place, and Strong’s dictionary, although not the only authority and which should never be taken as equal to the Bible itself, agrees. Esau accuses Jacob of taking away his birthright when he willingly gave it to Jacob and here, in truth, he accuses Jacob of taking his blessing, which was the ultimate consequence of his surrendering his birthright.

Esau pleads for a blessing but Isaac tells him there is none left. He has made Jacob his heir. So, Isaac does bless him, in a manner of speaking, although Esau will hate Jacob for that blessing. He will take that blessing and make it his excuse for wanting to kill Jacob when his father dies.

Isaac does give Esau a blessing but it is the blessing for a person who must live off the land, living by the sword, until he frees himself from his brother’s yoke. This, too, is a prophecy for a future time, as we will see, although Esau takes it very personally and immediate.

2Kings 8:22  Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.

Genesis 27:41 ¶  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. 42  And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43  Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44  And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45  Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 46  And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

At this point Esau planned on killing Jacob once their father had died. Someone, perhaps a servant or even Esau himself, told Rebekah who told Jacob. She told him to run away to his Uncle Laban. A few days clearly just means a period of time until Esau’s heat of anger dies down. In fact, Esau will not be full of rage at Jacob when they meet again. God did not permit Esau’s wrath to fester and turn into a quest for revenge. Rebekah promises to call Jacob from his exile. And, she tells Isaac that she wants Jacob to leave lest he, too, take Hittite wives.

Proverbs 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Bible Study on Matthew 1, verses 1 to 17, part 2, the genealogy of Jesus continued

 

In verse 2 Judas is of a particular note because it is the transliteration of the Greek version of the Hebrew name, Judah. But Judas here refers to Judah, which we know by our knowledge of the genealogy presented in Genesis. It is just plain, common sense.

 

How does Luke have it? In Luke 3:33 it is written as Juda. I have noted in my comments on the Old Testament that the KJV translators were sensitive to variations in spelling in both Hebrew and Greek. I point you to, as an example, Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar. As each verse was reviewed by all of the committees after being included in each committee’s translating assignment it has been said that each verse of the Bible was reviewed a total of fourteen times at least. I am sure if they wanted to they could have made all spellings match but all of the committees agreed on these variations as being faithful to the documents they used.

 

Matthew 1:3 takes us back to Judah’s affair with his daughter-in-law thinking she was a prostitute. See Genesis 38. Then, we come to the characters discussed in the book of Ruth.

 

In verse 6 it goes through David to Solomon then in verse 7, Rehoboam, transliterated here as Roboam. Luke 3:31 going the other way has Christ’s lineage in human terms coming through Nathan not Solomon in Luke 3:31. The two lines of descent part here.

 

We know Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. Nathan, according to many commentators is another son of David and Bathsheba.

 

1Chronicles 3:5  And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel:

 

Bathshua is an alternate spelling of Bathsheba as Ammiel is an alternate spelling of Eliam, her father according to Strong’s dictionary.

 

2Samuel 11:3  And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

 

There are a lot of reasons given why these lines diverge and a lot of speculation from many different commentators with authority.

 

In verse 7 we have Abia and Asa. This Abia could not have been from whom Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father, came through because this Abia was not of the sons of Levi but from Judah, his brother.

 

Luke 1:5  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

 

This Abia is mentioned previously;

 

1Chronicles 3:10  And Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,

 

Jesus was not a Levite but came through Judah on both sides of his family, his physical mother and his stepfather.

 

You can read about King Asa in 1Kings 15. Ozias is a transliteration from the Greek for the Hebrew Uzziah who you can read about in 2Chronicles 26.

 

Joatham in verse 9 is Jotham, Uzziah’s son, as per 2Chronicles 26:23.  Achaz, Ezekias, and Manasses are Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh.

 

1Chronicles 3:13  Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,

Bible Study on Genesis 27, verses 6 to 29, Isaac is deceived by his wife and son

 

Genesis 27:6 ¶  And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7  Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8  Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9  Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10  And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11  And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12  My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13  And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14  And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15  And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16  And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17  And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Genesis 27:18 ¶  And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19  And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20  And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21  And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22  And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23  And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. 24  And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25  And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26  And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27  And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: 28  Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29  Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

As God’s plan of reconciling man to Himself unfolds in its particulars, the theme of the Bible, here we find the deception of a feeble old man by his wife and son. We have no evidence to say that Isaac knew what we know, that Esau had given up his birthright to Jacob for a meal. In fact, it is possible that may not have been legal from a cultural perspective anyway. The fact that Jacob felt justified, along with his mother who probably did know what Esau had been willing to do, is what matters here. It is the fulfillment of prophecy given to Rebekah, not to Isaac.

25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Isaac blesses Jacob, thinking he was blessing Esau, passing on authority over his siblings. He also repeated God’s blessing on Abraham to Jacob.

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Jacob’s blessing is bit more earthy and more immediate than Abraham’s though. Rather than promising that Jacob will be a blessing to all families of the earth, which Jehovah Himself will do later, he is told that nations will bow to him and he will rule over his own siblings. He is now given the birthright and we see the foundation laid for the fulfillment of the prophecy and curse against Canaan from earlier on. The nations of Canaan will bow down and those who curse his progeny will be cursed.

Genesis 9:25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26  And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27  God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

To curse the Hebrews was in the hearts of Balak, king of Moab, and the other kings of Canaan. It was the commission he wanted to give to Balaam, the heathen prophet.

Numbers 22:4b …And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5  He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6  Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

Although Balaam refused to outright curse the Hebrews he was willing to offer counsel to subvert them and make rotten their culture and standing with God from the inside.

Numbers 31:16  Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

But, this desire to curse the Hebrews, came back on them.

Numbers 31:8  And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

Jacob, posing as Esau, has deceived his father to gain the blessing that would have gone to Esau. But, we shall soon see that Jacob is to be sent away. He will not control his father’s wealth and he will have no opportunity to rule over his brethren. This prophecy is for future generations about to be revealed. We will see that Esau is not going to remain as unhappy as we will see him in the next passage, or as angry. Essentially Esau loses nothing but his place in God’s ministry of reconciliation, which matters little to a carnal man like himself as it does not matter to many Christians, who prefer a worldly kingdom to a heavenly one.

For centuries many countries in Europe and the United States of America viewed themselves as God’s chosen vessel. They tried to create in their minds God’s kingdom out of a temporal physical place. This Replacement Theology where an organization like the Catholic or Anglican churches or a country like Spain, Germany, England, France, Russia, or the United States declares that it is divinely inspired and God’s special country is the work of many carnal men. They failed and were judged by God and are being judged because man is an incorrigible sinner and the Christian’s home is in heaven and his capital is the New Jerusalem, not Madrid, Berlin, London, Paris, Moscow, or Washington D.C.

Bible Study on Matthew 1, verses 1 to 17, one genealogy of Jesus

 

Matthew 1:1 ¶  The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2  Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3  And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4  And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5  And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6  And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7  And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8  And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9  And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10  And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11  And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13  And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14  And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15  And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

 

Compare 1:1 with the following book of genealogy.

 

Genesis 5:1  This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

 

Now, look at Luke’s genealogy in chapter 3 of that gospel going backwards from Jesus through Joseph. It is commonly noted that Luke’s genealogy starts with Mary and Joseph, as the text says, was presumed to be Jesus father in the sense of the world. Her genealogy goes backwards all the way to Adam connecting Christ with Adam as the Saviour of all mankind. Matthew’s genealogy would then be Joseph’s genealogy, from Abraham, the first Hebrew, to Joseph connecting Jesus under the Law as the Saviour of the Jewish people specifically. Think of Joseph adopting Jesus as his son with full rights of being a legal heir which would give this perfect meaning. Both Joseph and Mary come from the line of David but through a different son of David; Mary through Nathan and Joseph through Solomon.

 

Jesus is called the son of David. The son of David denotes that Jesus, in the flesh, is a descendant of David and then it says son of Abraham as David and Jesus are also descendants of Abraham in the flesh. The lowercase “s” indicates a descendant.

Bible Study on Genesis 27, verses 1 to 5, that my soul may bless thee before I die

 

Genesis 27:1 ¶  And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2  And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3  Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4  And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5  And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

Isaac was growing blind as he grew old. His eyes were dim. Later, a prophet’s eyes will be said to be set because of age.

1Kings 14:4  And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

Here is an important point to consider. God’s people, even His chosen patriarchs and prophets, will suffer the pains of old age and the suffering that comes with it. They are not exempt from bodily decay and loss. Many conservative Christians seem to be shocked when they suffer the difficulties of old age, as if they should be exempt, as if they had made a bargain which wasn’t kept by the other party. They often live lives of excess with food, in particular, enjoying the sin of gluttony, no different than the unsaved drunk enjoying the excesses of alcohol, and when it is time to pay the bill for their incontinent lifestyle they find themselves flabbergasted at their distress.

Solomon commented on old age in very poetic terms.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 ¶  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2  While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3  In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4  And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6  Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Isaac feels his death is imminent and tells Esau to bring him some venison and then he will bless Esau. Esau has already expressed his willingness to give up his birthright for a bowl of soup. There is no reason to believe that Isaac is even aware of it or that such a thing would be legal and binding except as a justification for what Jacob and his mother are about to do. The blessing he wishes to give Esau is the blessing to the eldest son and the birthright and continuation of the lineage will flow from that. But, Esau’s surrender of his birthright to Jacob, even if not a legal and binding contract in that culture, certainly gave Jacob the justification he needed, along with his mother’s support and encouragement, to steal Esau’s blessing as well. If it was a legal and binding statement that guaranteed on its face that Esau lost his birthright Isaac would have been told. What matters is what the person giving the blessing wants. You, if you are born again, will have eternal life because of God’s free gift, His blessing on you, not because of your fidelity and worthiness after you trust Him and become His child.

Please read chapters 48 and 49 for Jacob’s blessings to his sons and grandsons. They took blessings very seriously and once bestowed a blessing could not be removed.

We find it odd and perhaps a little crazy that a man of honor would bind himself to an agreement that he made regardless of the fidelity of the other party or if he had been deceived in any way.

This is one aspect of a gentleman that is lost on today’s world. As God made an agreement with Himself regarding Abraham in chapter 15, so a gentleman honors any commitment he makes based on the truth of his own word and not the faithfulness of the other party. No doubt, no one teaches their children that sense of responsibility anymore. But a blessing was very important in this world as an expression of the giver’s mind towards the receiver and God’s will.

Rebekah was listening.

Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 34 and 35, Esau takes wives

 

Genesis 26:34 ¶  And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35  Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

When Isaac was a hundred years old (See 25:26) Esau married two Hittite girls, which upset Isaac and Rebekah terribly. Notice that I said previously in the comments on the passage that began in 10:15 that a Hittite was a descendant of Heth.

Genesis 23:10  And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

2Samuel 11:3  And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Heth was a son of Canaan, who had a curse or prophecy pronounced on him by his grandfather, Noah, after Canaan’s father’s, Ham’s, behavior after their family departed the Ark. Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, were steeped in the worship that permeated the ancient world. Esau will eventually take more wives of the daughters of Canaan (36:2). We have no record of how long his wives lived or if any of these wives were replacing deceased ones as Judith is not mentioned again. We also know he took a second daughter to wife of Elon and we do know he had two wives with the same name; Bashemath, here, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Bashemath, a daughter of Ishmael, later in 36:3. One would naturally assume that Elon’s Bashemath had died without leaving children as they are not mentioned but we cannot say with certainty. Just imagine, in a culture where multiple wives were not unusual, a man marrying during the course of his life two women with the same first name. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon cult in the United States, had many wives; with multiple wives named Sarah.

Esau, a carnal man, has married from the daughters of the heathen whose religious views and sympathies would not be in keeping with how he was raised. Many young Christian men and women in the last fifty years think nothing of marrying someone outside of their faith because their faith is so weak and their commitment to God is less than the allure of emotional impulse. But, we are told specifically;

2Corinthians 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

An unbelieving husband or wife will poison a Christian’s home and set a terrible example for children, who are your responsibility to raise with a knowledge of God.

Many a Christian parent has been much distressed by their child’s choice of an unbelieving spouse.