Gracefull Keeping

Because I believe the Bible when it says every scripture in the Bible is useful for correction and instruction (2 Timothy 3:16), I force myself to pause even on the "loose ends" scriptures to see what they reveal about God's character.

For me, the latest example of these kinds of verses is those dealing with the lives of the brothers God didn't select for his promise. God chose Isaac and not Ishmael, Jacob and not Esau, but he is still good to these men. God's nature never changes, so out of God's goodness they received what God promised. Whether they and their progeny acknowledged him as God or not, God remains the Keeper of His Promises.

The scriptures tying up "loose ends" in Genesis prove the goodness of God, even to those who are not the chosen channel of his blessing of salvation to this earth. He does not just keep his promises to the chosen ones, he keeps all his promises.

Consider the final account of Ishmael's family in Genesis 25:12-18:

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.

Now consider the promises of God to both Hagar and Abraham, concerning Ishmael. I've bolded the connective phrases:

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” - Genesis 16:7-13

NASB version: "And he will live to the east of all his brothers."

English Revised Version: "...and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. - Genesis 17:20

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

My heart is tenderly grateful to God on behalf of this son who is not the chosen one, but still receives God's blessing. We see the goodness of God placing the loner in families (Psalm 68:6), specifically 12 sons and a daughter who dwell together. When he dies, he's surrounded by his people. God is with him. He becomes a large nation, fruitful in every way. They settle in the east, just as God says. They even live in hostility, which isn't God's desire, but it still fulfills what God said would happen—probably because of Ishmael's nature. God oversaw Ishmael's life and descendants, whether they rejected him or not, whether they chose his ways or another.

Let's look at Esau next. I've again bolded the connective phrases. As you read, note the names of the people who later become enemies of Israel:

These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)

These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. Shaul died, and Baal-hanan* the son of Achbor reigned in his place. Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

Now for the prophetic verse that these fulfill:

And the Lord said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger. - Genesis 25:23

It's a lot of reading, which I don't usually include in my blogs, but I've included them this time because these verses are the kind we usually skip over, thinking they are not important to the overarching story of God's salvation for the world through Israel.

This is more than just tying up loose ends. These scriptures were included in the Bible to reveal something about God's nature.

First, I believe it shows God graciously concerning himself with humanity. It shows his goodness in causing people to be "fruitful and multiply" and the blessing of family that God has given to us. It shows the faithfulness of God in making and keeping his promises. It shows that even though these tribes, kings, and kingdoms reject him, he kept his promise.

*Note that by the second and third generation, the names of the people began showing signs of Baal worship, such as Baal-Hanan, which means "Baal is gracious." By the time Israel leaves Egypt, 400+ years later, the cup of iniquity is full (see the concept in Genesis 15:16) for these tribes who rejected the God of Abraham, so God uses Israel to bring the consequences of idolatry.

Second, it shows that God kept the descendants of the chosen son small and safe for an incredibly long time, preventing them from following in the footsteps of their stronger brothers quite as fast. I see this as a key part in keeping Israel for himself to bring about the events that had to happen for the gospel of Jesus Christ to take hold worldwide, namely the relative freedom to practice religion and relative peace a large part of the world had under pax Romana and the Roman road system.

In the contrast statement above, "these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel," we see Israel remains a small, nomadic family until they enter Egypt. When they join up with Joseph in Egypt, they are likely only about 36 men, 70 if you include wives. When they leave, 430 years later, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:13, they likely number in the millions! The 600,000 men who left Egypt with Moses (Exodus 12:37) had been forced to labor but—as is often the case with persecuted people groups—the very slavery they endured kept their unique or "separateness" intact.

When they finally enter the Promised Land, it takes them only about 300 years to fully rebel against God, forsaking him for the idols of the nearby people. Exile after exile, remnant after remnant holds on to the promise that God would save them.

And he does. Approximately 1400-1500 years later, God sent Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus came to save not only the Jews, but also the rest of the world, just as God promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3:

"...and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."