BRAGADAYJAH 121

This would be a convenient time to pause and take stock of where we have reached with regard to God’s promises to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God promised to bless Abraham and his seed and promised to make him the father of many nations. God also promised that Abraham’s seed would possess the land to which he bought them; so then let us take stock. Abraham died leaving behind Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael goes off the radar and starts a family out of which many nations came; but he falls somewhat out of the narrative, and so the focus is on Isaac and his issue. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob concerning whom much of our story over the last several days was about. We are at the junction where Isaac is dead survived by his two sons Esau and Jacob. By the time of Isaac’s death, Jacob had twelve sons, and Esau had the same number. Both had two wives with whom they had sons and concubines also with whom they had sons. As it happened they were both in the land of the Canaanites and both were exceedingly rich in cattle and livestock so much so that after they buried their father they decided to split up because the land could not sustain them both On Esau’s side he had many Princes and Kings who occupied the land of Edom to which Esau sojourned and settled; hence Esau became known as Edom, that is to say, the Father of the Edomites, while Jacob, whose name God had changed to Israel, became the father of the Israelites. We may recall reading or hearing the words that God loved Jacob but hated Esau. It is not that God hates or is capable of hatred in its commonly used sense; but rather that God’s love for Jacob was so great that his love towards Esau by contrast looked like hatred. But why did God hate Esau? We read over and over again that Esau is Edom So was it then that it was Edom or rather the Edomites God hated? Let us find out tomorrow.