The genealogy of Esau clearly shows that his marriages were with strange wives (those outside the household of faith).  This is particularly brought home by the fact that Esau married a daughter of Ishmael (v.3).  Ishmael had been plainly rejected as a son of promise (Gen 21:10; Gal 4:22,23).  The line through Isaac represented the seed of the woman, and the line through Ishmael represented the seed of the serpent.  These separate lines continued through Jacob and Esau. The flesh has always been at war with the spirit, and so it was with the two nations which involved these brothers.  Esau founded Edom which subsequently proved trouble for Israel. Interestingly, the Herods, who were influential leaders in the land during our Lord's time on earth, were descended from Esau.  They were the ones responsible for trying to kill Jesus as a baby, and for beheading John Baptist.

36:8-9  repeating our comment from Genesis 13, the strife between Jacob and Esau –like the strife between Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen Gen 13:5-11 - , highlights a fundamental aspect of human nature. It is inherently divisive in the way it lives. If ‘brethren’ cannot get on with each other we must appreciate that strife and division is a consequence of our mortality. Of course this does not justify it. It simply explains why it is – it is a manifestation of the flesh and as such should be resisted.

Matt 23:11 - This ill defined definition of success could well apply to the Pharisses -

DEFINITION OF SUCCESS - "Buying something you don't need, with money you don't have, to impress people you don't like"

v:6-8  Although this would seem to indicate that the actual separation of the 2 brothers & their households took place after Jacob's return, in fact it would appear from Gen 32:3  that Esau had already moved before Jacob's return to the land. Perhaps he realised, from what he would have known about the promises to Abraham, that Jacob was to come back to the land of Canaan, the land of promise, & so he wanted to move away in advance of Jacob's return.

36:43           This genealogy lays out the generations of Esau marking the point that this section was written long after the days of Esau. The family tree is replicated in 1Chron 1:35 It is not simply a list of names. It provides the background for later Scriptural comments about the nation of Edom.

36:31  In saying that these are the dukes that reigned before there was a king feigning over Israel just makes the point that when Israel clamoured for a king they wanted to be like their ‘brother’ – the one who despised the birthright – Gen 25:34

Different records give different names for the same people. Contrast Aholibamah and her father Anah (v.2) with an earlier record that calls them Judith and Beeri (Gen 26:34).  Judith would be a personal name, while Aholibamah is the name of a district in the mountains of Edom.  Also, Bashemath (v.3) is called Mahalath (Gen 28:9).

36:33-39 The repeated use of ‘died’ when speaking of the dukes of Edom echoes the description of the fare of the son of Adam in Gen 5– as if the record here is forcing the reader to understand that the dukes of Edom were no more powerful than any other son of Adam – A powerful point to remember when we recall that previously Jacob was very afraid of him.

David suffered from physical sickness and mental anguish in his life.  Some of these problems were brought about by the poor choices he had made (e.g. his affair with Bathsheba).  We too can suffer for our own faults.  There is no glory in this.  But if we suffer for the Truth's sake, then the Lord is pleased (1Pet 2:20).

David confesses in this Psalm that he has sinned, and that he knows God is displeased with him. God's anger is harder for him to bear than anything else. He is sorry for his sin.

38:5     This Psalm was written consequent of David’s sin with Bathsheba. There were no physical ‘wounds’. David saw his behaviour as defiling himself. Taking the analogy of an animal sacrifice David saw himself as being unfit to be offered as he had ‘a blemish’ - see the way that ‘without blemish’ figures in the sacrifices in Leviticus.

38:4We need to get to the state of mind where we feel that our iniquities are too great for us. It is all too easy to think that by sheer effort we will be able to overcome our sins. This cannot be, thugh we should try. Jesus died for us because we cannot save ourselves.

38:12-14 David is saying that when his adversaries rose against him with accusations and criticisms he pretended he had not heard them. What a wonderful way to respond. We so often feel the need to defend ourselves against those who would find fault with us

V.11 Like a leper, David was rejected and isolated by friends and family.  Another man who had a similar experience was Job (Job 19:14-19).  Both David and Job were types of Christ.  They foreshadowed the rejection that Jesus would experience (Isa 53:3). 

38:3  David sees a direct correlation between is feelings of depression and God’s chastening hand. How often do we look for God’s hand at work in our lives?

38:4  There are several similarities between this Psalm and Isaiah 1.  The idea of sin being a burden conveyed in this verse, finds a parallel in Isa 1:4.  Additionally, the language used by David in verses 3, 5 and 7 links with Isa 1:5-6.  Some have suggested that David was indeed suffering from a physical illness (leprosy?) at the time of writing this Psalm.

v3 My sin, v4 my iniquities, v5 my wounds.  Again,  v17 my pain, v18 my iniquities, v18 my sin.  But then the Psalm ends on an optimistic note.  Despite his sin, despite his current state, David knows where to place his hope:  v20 my God, v21 my salvation.

There are several Messianic hints in this Psalm.  v2 - for arrows, read nails; v5 Jesus was scourged; v9 let not my will....; v11 Peter followed at a distance;  v12 could have been written of Jesus' life;  v13 = Isa 53:7 (see also Psa 39:2) and, of course, the last four words of the Psalm.

Jesus' Language in Matthew 23 - Matthew 23 was spoken just prior to Jesus leaving Jerusalem to go to the mount of Olives a couple of days before his death. However it was a distillation of what he had already said to the scribes and Pharisees on different occasions, commencing with the time of his baptism:

V.9 Catholic priests are called father contrary to the command of Christ.  Furthermore, they set themselves up as mediators between God and man.  Again, this is contrary to the scriptures (1Tim 2:5).

The Lord's condemnation of the Pharisees' swearing oaths (v.16-22) reminds us of our own stance in not taking oaths (James 5:12).

It is easy to shake one's head in disgust at Jesus' condemnation of the Pharisees, but we should be careful to examine our own behavior (Matt 5:20).  Doing things decently and in order
(1Cor 14:40) should not be an excuse to supplant faith with legalism.

The Lord Jesus showed His very tender side at the end of today’s chapter (Matt 23:37-39). He wanted to save and protect Jerusalem, but they wouldn’t respond to Him at all. He wanted to give them the blessings of forgiveness, but they didn’t realise they needed it. Within 40 years the city was destroyed. Their house was left desolate.

23:2 It is so easy to disregard the message when the person presenting it does not live up to the message being spoken. We must take care not to neglect Bible teaching simply because the person presenting it has weaknesses that we know about.

23:4    The heavy burdens that were grievous to be borne is a matter that is returned to – Acts 15:10 – when the apostles meet in Jerusalem to decide whether gentiles should keep the law or not.

23:8 Clearly the Jewish leaders had ‘lost their way’ in seeing their religion as a means whereby they could be elevated above their brethren – but it all had the appearance of Godliness. We are no different in our makeup than these leaders. It is equally easy for us to fall into the same trap – having respect of person.

minutia - a small or minor detail

So often we choose to major in minor things. We allow most of our focus to dwell on those things that don't really matter, the less weighty things, as Jesus puts it (v23-24). If this is so we ought to feel uncomfortable at the rebuke of Jesus "fools and blind!". But hopefully for us it hasn't come that far yet. Nevertheless, taking a good look at where our focus lies, and redressing any imbalance is advisable. Are we taking more time in matters regarding the building we meet in, than the spiritual / physical / emotional welfare of those who meet in it?

LONGING FOR JESUS

How much are we really longing for the return of Jesus?

Jesus has promised he will come back. With him he will bring huge changes to the world. Life as we know it will change completely. The capitalism we are used to in the western world will be replaced with an attitude of sharing and equality. Any pride we have will be brought low. Most of the things we place our trust in will be whipped away from under us. Our life of comfort and entertainment will be cut short and any religious facade will be stripped away. At the return of Christ there could be some very painful changes to have to face. At the same time there will also be some very positive changes.

Jesus said, "For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matt 23:39)

If life now is a little bit comfortable we may have difficulty in longing for the return of Jesus. After all, none of us likes change. What will it be that brings us to our knees and makes us desire the return of Christ more than anything else in the world? It will be true that the Jews will be forced into such a tight spot at the time of the end that they will litterally cry out, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." But unless we desire to be with Jesus with the same intensity, we too may miss out.

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

23:24 The tithing of small things has its counterpart in our ecclesial life. We can so easily focus on minor things and present them as ‘principles’ and yet miss the main point of an issue. For example we may be so concerned about the rights and wrongs of a situation such as divorce that we neglect to care for those who, whilst in that situation, wish t serve God faithfully. We are so busy arguing the rightness of our position that we do not notice the one in need of our care and support.