Gen 36:6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

Genesis 36 is a detail account of the descendants of Esau. It is not an interesting chapter. The only words familiar in this chapter are perhaps Esau and Edom. Esau is Edom (v.8). What lessons are there for us in this chapter? 1. It informs us where the Edomites came from.  Esau is the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir (v.9). We will never know who the Edomites were if we don’t have the generations of Edom recorded here. 2. God is faithful in keeping to His promises. We see the promises of God concerning Esau fulfilled. In giving Esau the leftovers, Isaac said: “Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother” (Genesis 27:39, 40). Esau was promised great earthly prosperity. This chapter shows us how completely it was fulfilled: “For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle” (v.7). God is faithful. 3. We see the unbelievers tend to be more successful in this world. Moses wrote here: “And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel” (v.31). The Edomites were a great nation. They grew and prospered long before Israel became a nation. They had kings long before Israel appointed its first king. If you envy the unbelievers who are rich and ask why we Christians are not as them, fret not, for David said: “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light” (Psalm 49:16-19). They trust in riches that will corrupt. They shall bring nothing yonder and they shall not see light. 4. Be patient with God’s promises. Jacob had the promises. If he were to compare his family with Esau then, he would be asking God if He had made a mistake and blessed the wrong people. And, this is where faith comes in: Faith caused him to wait on God. Faith should cause us to wait on God’s promises to be fulfilled in us. God’s delay serves for the trial and strengthening of faith: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:3). Faith grows by enduring trial. 5. Esau left Canaan (v.6). Esau and Jacob parted ways and Esau went to mount Seir. Canaan was the Promised Land. Esau would have heard from his father about God’s promise to give this land to his ancestor Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 13:14, 15). But Esau chose to leave Canaan’s land. Are we on the road to Canaan? I like the hymn, To Canaan’s land I’m on my way. Christ has promised us a mansion in heaven (John 14:1-3). Unfortunately, some have decided they are not going to collect the keys to that mansion. How about you? Is your mansion up there?

Gen 35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.

Genesis 35 is about Jacob’s journey to Bethel. Jacob’s family was in a mess. His daughter was raped and his sons had killed all the men of the city because of what Shechem had done to their sister (Genesis 34). The crime of his sons had made him a public enemy to all who dwelled in Canaan. Jacob was considered a foreigner. How could a foreigner do such a thing to the natives? Hence, it was necessary that Jacob should leave Shechem. God commanded Jacob to pack up and go to Bethel. Bethel means “house of God”. It was the place that God first appeared to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother (Genesis 28:10-22). Upon God’s instruction, Jacob prepared his family to set out for Bethel. His first instruction to his family is this: “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments” (v.2). Put away the strange gods – Rachel had stolen an idol from her father (Genesis 31:32). While dwelling in Shechem, Jacob had tolerated the possession of foreign gods. But today, he made a resolution to return to Bethel. To return to Bethel, he must first remove all the idols in his home. The first thing when we come to Bethel is to remove any idol in our hearts. An idol is anything that comes in between our devotion to God. It can be job, money, family, or pleasure. Some are too busy with work and making money that they have no time for God. Some may leave God because of family. Others left because of pleasures of this life – they love their hobbies and vacations. Coming to Bethel means removing the distractions in our lives and putting God first: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Be clean – This refers to the heart. David asked: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). He answered: “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4). The second thing when we come to Bethel is to remove sins in our lives. God is holy and so He expects us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15). Hebrews 12:14 says without holiness no one shall see the Lord. Do we have clean hands and pure hearts? Change your garments – Throughout the Scripture, garments/clothes often symbolize character. Paul told the saints at Ephesus and Colossae to “put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:24’ Colossians 3:10). Here Jacob’s family were told to change the clothes that had been polluted in Shechem and put on new clothes associated with character. The third thing when we come to Bethel is a changed life. It is not a small change but a thorough overhaul; a transformation like a caterpillar to a butterfly. Paul explains it: “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:12-14). Jacob was in trouble. God called him to go to Bethel. Likewise, when we are in trouble, go to Bethel.