This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy. It’s been over 30 years since the last chapter. What’s up with Edom? Wow. Hate much?
I know we were just settling in for 39 more years of stories from the desert, but all of that is skipped over and we are on year 39 of the 40 years that Israel spent wandering. Wow, that went fast. You know how you drive the same road so often that you arrive and can’t remember exactly how you got there? Maybe it’s like that. Actually, it seems like most of what is written about the desert wanderings is focused on the first year and the last year. Some of these accounts can’t be identified by what year they happened, but there aren’t enough to fill 40 years.
I know that there are several key teachings here that really should be addressed, such as the importance of the tithe and how it supports the worker in the temple. And let’s not forget the terrible error that Edom made (these are the relatives of Esau…Jacob’s brother) when they refused to allow the Hebrews to pass through their land. In fact, I did some quick research the conflict between Edom and Israel and discovered that this is a battle for the ages. It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys, but we don’t understand that because the names aren’t familiar to us. For instance:
Remember when Israel first began their wandering? They had to fight the Amalekites (Aaron and Hur held Moses’ arms up). Genesis 36 Amalek is the grandson of Esau. That was a blood feud. Then in Exodus 17 the Lord tells Moses he will wipe them out completely.
Saul, the first king of Israel is told to wipe them out in 1 Samuel 15, but he allows their king to live (Agag). If you read 1 Sam 15:2 you see that this battle is instigated by God because of what the Edomites did in this chapter.
Where were we? Oh yes, Agag. From that family line comes Haman, the Agagite (ie: from Agag) the man who hated Jews and wanted a day to “kill Jews without penalty”. You find his story in the book of Esther. Finally we hear of an man from the Idumean tribe, also descended from Edom…His name was Herod. Herod is the last time we hear of the Amalekites.
I wasn’t planning to jot anything about this today, but … Have you noticed that there is a small part of us that doesn’t want to do what God has planned for our lives? It’s as if there is a blood feud going on inside us, between the child of God (our redeemed spirit represented by Jacob) and the child of man (our original nature represented by Esau). The Lord promises that the old nature will be wiped out completely, and there will be no trace…but we must aggressively pursue it and eradicate if from our lives! Don’t make the mistake of Saul, where he allowed something to live that God said had to die. Don’t permit evil to survive! As Christians we will have battles against the old nature, just remember that nature is on the way out….these are the last gasps of a nature that has one desire, to see us in hell. But with God as our Master and friend, we will see that nature die, and never be bothered by it again. (Jacob and Esau represent two competing natures…the one “born” first is the rebellious one that God hates) Malachi 1:1-4. Remember, Esau was born first, but was not chosen by God to be the one through who the promises were fulfilled. In the same way, our original nature will not be the one in which God fulfills His promises. We need the new nature, and the “second birth”.
Anyway, I really wanted to jot a couple of lines I found out about the red heifer…but I guess that will have to wait for a separate entry.
Faithfully,
PR