Descendants of Abraham
28 The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. 29 These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah; these were the sons of Ishmael. 32 The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, whom she bore, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan. 33 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
34 Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. 35 The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah. 36 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, [g]Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna and Amalek. 37 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. 38 The sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. 39 The sons of Lotan were Hori and [h]Homam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 40 The sons of Shobal were [i]Alian, Manahath, Ebal, [j]Shephi and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. 41 The [k]son of Anah was Dishon. And the sons of Dishon were [l]Hamran, Eshban, Ithran and Cheran. 42 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan and [m]Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.
43 Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king of the sons of Israel reigned. Bela was the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. 45 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. 46 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who [n]defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. 47 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. 48 When Samlah died, Shaul of Rehoboth by the River became king in his place. 49 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. 50 When Baal-hanan died, [o]Hadad became king in his place; and the name of his city was [p]Pai, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. 51 Then Hadad died.
Now the chiefs of Edom were: chief Timna, chief [q]Aliah, chief Jetheth, 52 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 53 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 54 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.
We often think of Abraham as just being the father of Israel (both Jacob, and the nation to follow), but when you consider he had 7 other sons, and you see their long line of descendants, you see the beginnings of many of the tribes/nations that would inhabit the middle east and even surrounding areas.
Now, we can’t say that any of the blessings promised by God applied to these other sons, but they were certainly fruitful and filled the land, especially the Edomites and Midianites come up later, and one of Esau’s descendants was Amalek, possibly the father of the Amalekites who are notorious for their harassment of Israel.
But it seems some Israelites forgot what the promise of God really was about. It was that the descendants of Abraham would be a blessing to the whole world. By the time Jesus came to fulfill that promise, they had become so protective of their religion that it came as a bit of a shock to many Jews that the good news of the gospel was for all people, Jew and gentile alike.
And so it was intended for all Abraham’s children, not just Israel. As their blessing was intended to spill over onto everyone they came in contact with, so it should be with us. The blessings of God are not for hoarding or collecting, but for sharing and spreading. Especially during the Christmas season, let us remember to share the blessings of God, that we may be a blessing to the whole world.