I wonder if Esau married a daughter of Ishmael's line to please his parents or to stick it to them...
God's promise to Jacob is that his "descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." (vs. 14) If God is speaking of the Jews here, they have been spread through the earth, though not by their own desires. But, I hope we are all blessed by them...
One thing perhaps to notice as you're reading through the Old Testament is to see how many times God promises to bless the world through his chosen people (the idea continues into the Psalms and prophets). It's especially tough to see God in the OT as loving when the Jews come into the promised land and start killing off everybody. But there is a big picture throughout of God forming a special covenant relationship with a particular people in order to bless the entire world.
ReplyDeleteI think that's cool.