Introduction and Review
Proverbs 21:30 (NLT) (repeat from the previous lesson)
30 No human wisdom or understanding or plan
can stand against the Lord.
Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
- Following the desires of your sinful nature results in destructive consequences.
Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT)
Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
- Following the path that God has set before you results in blessings and prosperity.
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) (repeat from the previous lesson)
You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
- The Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Luke 11:28 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
New Lesson
Isaac Getting Back on Track
Genesis 28:1-9 (NLT)
1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 28:1-9 (NLT)
1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him,
Isaac called for Jacob.
Isaac initiated this blessing.
- Isaac chose to bless Jacob
and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women.
Abraham’s instruction for Isaac.
Genesis 24:3 (NLT)
Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
Now Isaac’s instruction for Jacob.
Later when the Israelites were moving into the Promised Land.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (NLT)
3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, 4 for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.
Isaac understood the consequences of marrying Canaanite women.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NLT)
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.
18 And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
- Come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
- Isaac was now looking out for Jacob’s welfare.
2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters.
This is just like Abraham’s instructions for Isaac.
Genesis 24:4 (NLT)
Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”
Isaac was passing on the blessing God had given to Abraham and Isaac.
Genesis 22:17 (NLT)
I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
Genesis 17:8 (NLT)
And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
- Isaac blessed Jacob with a blessing similar to the blessing he and his father had received from God.
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
- Isaac was getting back on track God had set before him.
6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters,
Partial obedience.
Esau’s new wife was not a Canaanite.
Esau kept the marriage in the family, just not the right part of the family.
Ishmael was born to Abraham and Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar (Genesis 16:3).
- Partial obedience is disobedience.
in addition to the wives he already had.
Genesis 26:34-35 (NLT)
34 At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. 35 But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.
Who were the Hittites according to the Bible?
The Hittites play a prominent role at key places in the Hebrew Bible:
Ephron the Hittite sells Abraham the family burial ground (Genesis 23);
Esau married Hittite women, and Rebecca despised them (Genesis 26:34);
Frequently they are listed as one of the inhabitants of Canaan (e.g., Exodus 13:5; Numbers 13:29; Joshua 11:3);
King David had Uriah the Hittite killed in order to acquire Uriah’s wife (2 Samuel 11);
King Solomon had Hittites among his many wives (1 Kings 10:29–11:2; 2 Chronicles 1:17)
Descendants of Canaan, (Genesis 10: 1-6)
Adversaries of the Israelites
Joshua 9:1-2 (NLT)
1 Now all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains. 2 These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites.
His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
- The Edomites were the descendants of Esau.
- The Israelites and Edomites became enemies.
Numbers 20:18-21 (NLT)
18 But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”
19 The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.”
20 But the king of Edom replied, “Stay out! You may not pass through our land.” With that he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force. 21 Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around.
1 Samuel 14:47 (NLT)
Saul’s Military Successes
47 Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel’s throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction—against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious.
1 Kings 11:15-16 (NLT)
15 Years before, David had defeated Edom. Joab, his army commander, had stayed to bury some of the Israelite soldiers who had died in battle. While there, they killed every male in Edom. 16 Joab and the army of Israel had stayed there for six months, killing them.
Do you want to do it God’s way, or do you want to do it your way?
