seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 2:1 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[a] as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.
2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”
7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”
7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
a. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds
Remember Esau? Esau was Jacob's older brother. It was Esau who was to inherit everything from Isaac [Abraham's Son] but he traded it away for a bowl of soup. Then when Isaac was dying, Esau's own mother, Rebekah, put Jacob at his father's bedside so that Isaac would bless him instead of his older brother.
I got this quote from gotquestions.org.
Both Jacob and Esau were fathers of nations. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Genesis 32:28), and he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites (Genesis 36). Edom was a nation that plagued Israel in later years and was finally judged by God (Obadiah 1:1-21).
I went back to the easy English site.
God ordered the Israelites to travel on. The people in Edom did not allow them to go through Seir. (See Numbers 20:14-21.) The people in Edom were afraid of the Israelites. God told the Israelites not to attack the people in Edom or to take their country. God had given that country to the family of Esau. Moses reminded the people that God had provided for them during their long journey. He had given to them everything that they needed in the desert. They should not desire areas of country that they did not need.
I'm glad I got the opportunity once again to read about and remember the dysfunctional family drama and sibling rivalry that made up the lives of Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob. It's good to remember that God made arrangements for Esau and He was standing by them. it's also good to remember that Esau and Jacob made peace all those years before.
I'm so sorry that Esau's family doesn't get along with Jacob's family after all these decades. These people can sure carry a grudge, can't they?
Jacob's family [Israel's family] was just passing by. There was no reason to bring any hardship to Esau's family. It was good that they were instructed to pay for whatever food or water they consumed on the way through. There were, after all, 2+ million of people when they began that journey out of Egypt. That would put quite a burden on Esau's family.
