Christian Churches of God
No.
212B
Descendants
of Abraham
Part
II:
(Edition 1.1
20070220-20070220-20070416)
The blessings conferred on Abraham also extended to the children of Lot and the sons of Isaac. They will be united under Messiah for the millennial system.
Christian Churches of God
PO Box 369,
WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA
Email: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright ã 2007 Wade Cox)
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Lot, Moab, Ammon and Esau
Lot, from the Hebrew word pronounced lote, (SHD 3875: a veil or covering), was the son of Haran, grandson of Terah, and nephew of Abraham (Gen. 11:27,31-32).
Lot was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and after the death of his father there, his grandfather (Terah) took Abraham, Sarai and Lot to Haran. At the age of 205 Terah died there in Haran (Gen. 11:27-32). Sarai’s childlessness and Haran’s death may be the reason Lot continued with Abraham instead of staying with Nahor. Perhaps there was no formal adoption but Lot was a likely candidate to become Abraham’s heir.
So when God commanded Abraham to leave Haran we find Lot accompanies Abraham on his journeys from Mesopotamia to Canaan, through Canaan to Egypt, and back again to Beth-el (Gen. 12; 13:1-3).
By this time both Abraham and Lot had accumulated great wealth. Abraham was obviously the head of the family and Lot the subordinate but Abraham had allowed Lot to have his own flocks and herds and tents (Gen. 13:5). No doubt because Abraham was blessed Lot was also blessed. But because “their substance was great” they could no longer dwell together. There were quarrels between the herdsmen on both sides because the land’s resources were obviously not enough for all the herds and cattle. Also the Canaanites and Perizzites dwelt there in the land (Gen. 13:6-7).
So Abraham offered Lot the choice of the
land and Lot chose what he
thought was the better part, which was all the plain of the Jordan near the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, since the land there was well watered. So Abraham
dwelled in the land of Canaan and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and
pitched his tent towards Sodom (Gen.
13:10-12).
Some years after this separation,
Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked the kings of Sodom and the neighbouring
cities. Lot was among the many captives taken and he lost all of his
possessions. When Abraham heard
about this he armed his 318 trained servants, and pursued the retreating
victorious kings as far as Dan. He recovered all the spoils they had taken and
brought back Lot with the other captives. Abraham was offered a reward by the
King of Sodom, but refused to take anything.
We next hear of Lot in Genesis 19 when God sent angels to rescue Lot and his family before the cities of the plain were destroyed. The wickedness of the people there had called down God’s wrath but Abraham had pleaded for Lot’s safety and protection.
We note that Lot was sitting at the gate when the angels arrived at Sodom. So, Lot had seemingly become a member of Sodom’s ruling council, as the city gate was where legal matters were discussed and prosecuted. Bullinger says in his notes to Genesis 19:1 that the gate was the seat of judgment, showing that Lot was a real citizen.
It is also interesting to note that while Lot is often portrayed in a bad light from the events of the OT text, he was indeed a righteous man as we see from 2Peter 2:4-9 (esp. vv. 6-9).
… 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor'rah to ashes he [God] condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked 8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment (RSV used throughout)
Continuing with Lot, we see a number of events ensued during that night before the destruction of Sodom, but at dawn the angels took Lot, his wife and two of his daughters and led them safely out of the city. They were told to flee into the mountains and warned not to look back at the doomed city. Lot entreated the angels, who consented that he might retire to Zoar, which was one of the five doomed cities. However, Lot's wife, disregarding the warning of the angels, looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt (v. 24).
Sodom was destroyed and Lot and his family were saved from the destruction by the Angel of Yahovah (see the paper The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)).
Lot left Zoar and retired with his two daughters to a cave in an adjacent mountain. Lot's daughters incorrectly believed they were the only females to have survived the devastation. They assumed it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of the human race. On two subsequent nights they got their father drunk enough to have sexual intercourse with them. By him each became pregnant.
The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; the younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi (Gen. 19:30-38).
Genesis 19:37 The first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Moab (SHD 4124, from the father). He was the patriarch of the nation known as Moab. Moab also a territory, means beautiful land.
Ammon (SHD 5983) from (SHD 5971): tribal, i.e. inbred; or Ben-Ammi (Heb.) Son of Ammi = “god of Am” – Bullinger. He became the patriarch of the nation of Ammon.
Moab was to take part in the lineage of Messiah through Ruth (a Moabitess), wife of Boaz, the mother of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David (see Ruth 4:16-22).
Inheritance altered by Israel and Gilead
Ammon had no authority to possess Gilead or take it from Israel.
Yet both nations would be extended salvation under Messiah in the Last Days.
Moab is the
historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan. It
extends along the eastern shore of the Salt Sea (called the Dead Sea). The land
of Moab was occupied by the tribe of Moab in ancient times which is
demonstrated by numerous archeological findings. Their capital was Dibon, located
next to the modern Jordanian town of Dhiban.
History: from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
We know scarcely anything of the history of the Moabites after the account of their origin in Genesis 19 until the time of the exodus. It would seem, however, that they had suffered from the invasions of the Amorites, who, under their king Sihon, had subdued the northern part of Moab as far as the Arnon (Num. 21:21-31). Here the Israelites found them as they approached the Promised Land. They did not at first disturb the Moabites in the South, but passed around on the eastern border (Deut. 2:8,9) and came into conflict with the Amorites in the North (Num. 21:21-26), defeating them and occupying the territory (Num. 21:31-32). But when Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, saw what a powerful people was settling on his border, he made alliance with the Midianites against them and called in the aid of Balaam [see the paper The Doctrine of Balaam and Balaam’s Prophecy (No. 208)] but as he could not induce Balaam to curse them he refrained from attacking the Israelites (Num. 22; 24). The Israelites, however, suffered disaster when the Lord’s anger burned against them because of their sins (Num. 25). Some time before the establishment of the kingdom in Israel the Midianites overran Moab, as would appear from the passage in Genesis 36:35, but the conquest was not permanent, for Moab recovered its lost territory and became strong enough to encroach upon Israel across the Jordan. Eglon of Moab oppressed Israel with the aid of Ammon and Amalek (Jdg. 3:13-14), but Eglon was assassinated by Ehud, and the Moabite yoke was cast off after 18 years. Saul smote Moab, but did not subdue it (1Sam.l 14:47), for we find David putting his father and mother under the protection of the king of Moab when persecuted by Saul (1Sam. 22:3,4). But this friendship between David and Moab did not continue. When David became king he made war upon Moab and completely subjugated it (2Sam. 8:2). On the division of the kingdom between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the latter probably obtained possession of Moab (1Kgs. 12:20), but it revolted and Omri had to reconquer it (M S), and it was tributary to Ahab (2Kgs. 1:1). It revolted again in the reign of Ahaziah (2Kgs. 1:1; 3:5), and Moab and Ammon made war on Jehoshaphat and Mt. Seir and destroyed the latter, but they afterward fell out among themselves and destroyed each other (2Chr. 20). Jehoshaphat and Jehoram together made an expedition into Moab and defeated the Moabites with great slaughter (2Kgs. 3). But Mesha, king of Moab, was not subdued (2Kgs. 3:27), and afterward completely freed his land from the dominion of Israel (M S). This was probably at the time when Israel and Judah were at war with Hazael of Damascus (2Kgs. 8:28,29). Bands of Moabites ventured to raid the land of Israel when weakened by the conflict with Hazael (2Kgs. 13:20), but Moab was probably subdued again by Jeroboam II (2Kgs. 14:25), which may be the disaster to Moab recounted in Isaiah 15.
At a later date Moab was overrun by the Nabathean Arabs who ruled in Petra and extended their authority on the east side of Jordan even as far as Damascus (Josephus, Ant. J., XIII, xv, 1,2). The Moabites lost their identity as a nation and were afterward confounded with the Arabs, as we see in the statement of Josephus (XIII, xiii, 5), where he says that Alexander (Janneus) overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and the Gileadites.
http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T6108
The Bible tells us the land of Moab is located east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon (Num. 21:10-15). Today, Moab is within the Kingdom of Jordan. See the territorial map at Appendix A.
Deuteronomy 2:8-9 So we went on, away from our brethren the sons of Esau who live in Se'ir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and E'zion-ge'ber. "And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the LORD said to me, `Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession.'
Deuteronomy 34:5-6 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe'or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day.
When Israel lapsed into idolatry then God used the idolatrous nations around them to punish them, even though they were worshipping the gods of these nations. Thus, because they allowed themselves to be corrupted by these false gods, Israel was allowed to be ruled under their laws and unjust systems.
Judges 3:12-14 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amal'ekites, and went and defeated Israel; and they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
When Israel repented and turned to God they were restored and given rest. It was always the same. When they were idolatrous they were ruled by others; when they were faithful they ruled over them or were free of their systems.
Judges 3:28-30 And he said to them, "Follow after me; for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and allowed not a man to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about ten thousand of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Often the idolatry was brought in by the rulers of Israel themselves.
1Kings 11:1-2 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, and Moabite, Ammonite, E'domite, Sido'nian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods"; Solomon clung to these in love.
The restrictions on marriage were because of idolatry and not for racist consideration.
When Israel
was given rest under David the surrounding nations were subjugated. This action
points towards the restoration under Messiah, as all nations there will be
brought into the inheritance of Messiah.
1Chronicles 18:2 And he defeated Moab, and the Mo'abites became servants to David and brought tribute.
Ezra 9:1-2 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Jeb'usites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons; so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost."
This intermarriage was due to idolatry and that was the faithlessness spoken of by God.
The extension of the kingdom under Messiah as the Kingdom of David is already given in prophecy.
Psalm 60:7-9 Gilead is mine; Manas'seh is mine; E'phraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. 8 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
The person implied here in the question “who” it is that will lead them to Moab was Judah, as fulfilled in part under the Macabbees and John Hyrcanus but all of which pointed towards Messiah.
Edom and Ishmael will all be dealt with in the Last Days.
Psalm 83:1-8
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! 2 For
lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. 3
They lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy
protected ones. 4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a
nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!" 5 Yea,
they conspire with one accord; against thee they make a covenant – 6
the tents of Edom and the
Ish'maelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon and Am'alek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined
them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. [Selah]
This alliance in the Last Days is a union aimed at the destruction of Israel and it will not succeed but rather bring about the unification of the children of Abraham and the destruction of those who oppose the people of God.
Psalm 108:8-10 Gilead is mine; Manas'seh is mine; E'phraim is my helmet; Judah my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
They will be joined to Israel as allied nations under Messiah. The nation of Jordan will become a part of Israel in its entirety by 2027.
Isaiah 11:10-16 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12 He will raise an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The jealousy of E'phraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; E'phraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass E'phraim. 14 But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them. 15 And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching wind, and smite it into seven channels that men may cross dryshod. 16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant which is left of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
The entire people of Israel will be returned to the Holy Land. And the surrounding nations will assist them and be in alliance with them.
Prophecy against Moab: They say they are
circumcised but are not
The punishment for claiming to be of the circumcision of the sons of Abraham, but in fact not being true to the Faith and circumcised in heart, provides punishment in the Last Days and over time. This punishment extended also to the Jews, that is, to those who say they are Jews but are not but are of the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). They will be made to prostrate themselves in adoration before the true Church of God.
Jeremiah 9:25-26 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised -- 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."
Judah does not escape this punishment and will be cleansed of these mystics and traditions.
(see Bullinger’s notes on Isa. 15:1)
Isaiah 15:1-9 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone; because Kir is laid waste in a night Moab is undone. 2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Med'eba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn; 3 in the streets they gird on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares every one wails and melts in tears. 4 Heshbon and Ele-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles. 5 My heart cries out for Moab; his fugitives flee to Zo'ar, to Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horona'im they raise a cry of destruction; 6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the new growth fails, the verdure is no more. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows. 8 For a cry has gone round the land of Moab; the wailing reaches to Egla'im, the wailing reaches to Beer-e'lim. 9 For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; yet I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.
This text refers to the conversion of Moab and the people of what is now Jordan. They are taken from a land under siege but they are protected and set aside for the Messiah. Israel is to be a refuge to the outcasts of Moab. They escape out of the hands of the King of the North in the occupation but they are all persecuted for the Faith.
Isaiah 16:1-14 They have sent lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 "Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, betray not the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples under foot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness." 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, how proud he was; of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence -- his boasts are false. 7 Therefore let Moab wail, let every one wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin-cakes of Kir-har'eseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. 9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Ele-a'leh; for upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen. 10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no shouts are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; the vintage shout is hushed. 11 Therefore my soul moans like a lyre for Moab, and my heart for Kir-he'res. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word which the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD says, "In three years, like the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble."
Isaiah 25:10-12 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit. 11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim; but the LORD will lay low his pride together with the skill of his hands. 12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.
Moab and Ammon given to the people from the East – Ishmaelites/Arabs
The sequence was to reduce Moab and Ammon and then bring them into subjugation to the Eastern tribes until the times of the end.
Ezekiel 25:8-11 "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations, 9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jesh'imoth, Ba'al-me'on, and Kiriatha'im. 10 I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that it may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
In that subjugation their identity as nations would be blurred.
Amos 2:1-3 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. 2 So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ker'ioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will slay all its princes with him," says the LORD.
Zephaniah 2:1-3, 8-11 Come together and hold assembly, O shameless nation, 2 before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the wrath of the LORD. 3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
God warns them and then states what He will do with them.
8 "I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I live," says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomor'rah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste for ever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them." 10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be terrible against them; yea, he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
This subjugation before Messiah in the Last Days is complete.
Divine Judgment of the Last Days
Jeremiah 25:15-29 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword which I am sending among them." 17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and princes, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, all his people, 20 and all the foreign folk among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ash'kelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes that dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink. 27 "Then you shall say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I am sending among you.' 28 "And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! 29 For behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of hosts.'
This prophecy covers from Egypt to Arabia and the end of the Persian Empire. The entire Kings of the North are to be summoned against Jerusalem. This was first done when Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians. However, it does not refer to that as we see here. Babylon was conquered but here it is still the dominant factor. We are speaking of a religious and administrative system in the Last Days being brought into subjection and destroyed, as foretold in Daniel Chapter 2.
Order of Captivity: Babylon and then through
the nations
Jeremiah 27:1-11 In the beginning of the reign of Zedeki'ah the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. 2 Thus the LORD said to me: "Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedeki'ah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: `Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 "It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnez'zar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. 8 "`"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, `You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' 10 For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the LORD."'"
God decreed that this system would rule until the end of days and be replaced by the Messiah. From the head of gold, which was Babylon, we saw a sequence of kingdoms degenerating in the purity of their systems through Medes and Persians to Greco-Macedonian, to Hellenised systems, to the Romans, and to the Holy Roman or Trinitarian Empire ruling from Europe, which is finally smashed by the stone uncut by human hands which falls from Heaven and strikes this empire of the feet of iron and clay, which is the last empire of the Last Days.
From then Messiah reigns and hands the Kingdom back to God and God becomes all in all.
Message about Moab
God revealed through Jeremiah a number if things that would happen concerning Moab.
Jeremiah 48:1-47 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriatha'im is put to shame, it is taken; the fortress is put to shame and broken down; 2 the renown of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they planned evil against her: `Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!' You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you. 3 "Hark! a cry from Horona'im, `Desolation and great destruction!' 4 Moab is destroyed; a cry is heard as far as Zo'ar. 5 For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; for at the descent of Horona'im they have heard the cry of destruction. 6 Flee! Save yourselves! Be like a wild ass in the desert! 7 For, because you trusted in your strongholds and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into exile, with his priests and his princes. 8 The destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD has spoken. 9 "Give wings to Moab, for she would fly away; her cities shall become a desolation, with no inhabitant in them. 10 "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. 11 "Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his lees; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.
The real reason that God dealt with Moab was idolatry and the horrors of Chemosh. But their corruption in adopting Hadithic Islam has not helped them either. They are still corrupt.
12 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I
shall send to him tilters who will tilt him, and empty his vessels, and break
his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the
house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14 "How
do you say, `We are heroes and mighty men of war'? 15 The destroyer
of Moab and his cities has come up, and the choicest of his young men have gone
down to slaughter, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16
The calamity of Moab is near at hand and his affliction hastens apace.
17 Bemoan him, all you who are round about him, and all who know his
name; say, `How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff.' 18 "Come
down from your glory, and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant of Dibon! For
the destroyer of Moab has come up against you; he has destroyed your
strongholds. 19 Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of
Aro'er! Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, `What has happened?' 20
Moab is put to shame, for it is broken; wail and cry! Tell it by the Arnon,
that Moab is laid waste. 21 "Judgment has come upon the
tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Meph'a-ath, 22 and Dibon, and
Nebo, and Beth-diblatha'im, 23 and Kiriatha'im, and Beth-ga'mul, and
Beth-me'on, 24 and Ker'i-oth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the
land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his
arm is broken, says the LORD. 26 "Make him drunk, because he
magnified himself against the LORD; so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and
he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to
you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your
head? 28 "Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O
inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a
gorge. 29 We have heard of the pride of Moab -- he is very proud --
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his
heart. 30 I know his insolence, says the LORD; his boasts are false,
his deeds are false. 31 Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all
Moab; for the men of Kir-he'res I mourn. 32 More than for Jazer I
weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached as
far as Jazer; upon your summer fruits and your vintage the destroyer has
fallen. 33 Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful
land of Moab; I have made the wine cease from the wine presses; no one treads
them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy. 34 "Heshbon
and Ele-a'leh cry out; as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zo'ar to
Horona'im and Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become
desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the LORD, him
who offers sacrifice in the high place and burns incense to his god. 36
Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute
for the men of Kir-he'res; therefore the riches they gained have perished. 37
"For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; upon all the hands are
gashes, and on the loins is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab
and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation; for I have broken Moab
like a vessel for which no one cares, says the LORD. 39 How it is
broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has
become a derision and a horror to all that are round about him." 40 For
thus says the LORD: "Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle, and
spread his wings against Moab; 41 the cities shall be taken and the
strongholds seized. The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day like
the heart of a woman in her pangs; 42 Moab shall be destroyed and
be no longer a people, because he magnified himself against the LORD. 43
Terror, pit, and snare are before you, O inhabitant of Moab! says the
LORD. 44 He who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and
he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For I will bring
these things upon Moab in the year of their punishment, says the LORD. 45
"In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stop without strength; for a fire has
gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the house of Sihon; it has destroyed the
forehead of Moab, the crown of the sons of tumult. 46 Woe to
you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for your sons have been taken
captive, and your daughters into captivity. 47 Yet I will restore
the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, says the LORD." Thus far is the
judgment on Moab.
So we see that in order to rid the lands and the sons of Lot and Edom from idolatry they had to be sent into captivity. They were given into the hands of the tribes of the East to rid themselves of Chemosh and of Milcom in Ammon, yet God makes a promise of Restoration in the Last Days. They will be delivered from Hadithic Islam as they were delivered from Chemosh.
Jordan is to be restored in the latter days. This will be the end result for Moab, Ammon and Edom.
Daniel 11:40-45 "At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him; but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train. 44 But tidings from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate and utterly destroy many. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.
From their
original territory, the Ammonites are supposed to have been expelled by Sihon,
king of the Amorites. Sihon was said to have been found by the Israelites,
after their deliverance from Egypt, in possession of Gilead, that is, the whole
country on the left bank of the Jordan, to the north of the Arnon. By this
invasion, the Ammonites were driven out of Gilead across the upper waters of
the Jabbok, where it flows from south to north, which continued to be their
western boundary. On the south, it probably adjoined the land of Moab; on the
north, it may have met that of the king of Geshur; and on the east it may have
melted away into the desert peopled by Kedarites and other nomadic tribes.
[For Kedar see
also the paper Descendants
of Abraham Part III: Ishmael (No. 212C)]
The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, i.e. the metropolis of the Ammonites, called Rabbathammana by the later Greeks. Ptolemy Philadelphus changed its name to Philadelphia, and made it a large and strong city with an acropolis, situated on both sides of a branch of the Jabbok, today known as Nahr `Amman, the river of Ammon -- whence the designation "city of waters" The city of Amman, Jordan is located on roughly the same site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammon
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states:
We know from the records of Egypt, especially Tell el-Amarna Letters, the approximate date of the Amorite invasion (14th and 13th centuries, BC). They were pressed on the north by the Hittites who forced them upon the tribes of the south, and some of them settled east of the Jordan. Thus, Israel helped Ammonites by destroying their old enemies, and this makes their conduct at a later period the more reprehensible. In the days of Jephthah they oppressed the Israelites east of the Jordan, claiming that the latter had deprived them of their territory when they came from Egypt, whereas it was the possessions of the Amorites they took (Jdg. 11:1-28). They were defeated, but their hostility did not cease, and their conduct toward the Israelites was particularly shameful, as in the days of Saul (1Sam. 11) and of David (2Sam. 10). This may account for the cruel treatment meted out to them in the war that followed (2Sam. 12:26-31).
They seem to have been completely subdued by David and their capital was taken, and we find a better spirit manifested afterward, for Nahash of Rabbah showed kindness to him when a fugitive (2Sam. 17:27-29). Their country came into the possession of Jeroboam, on the division of the kingdom, and when the Syrians of Damascus deprived the kingdom of Israel of their possessions east of the Jordan, the Ammonites became subjects of Benhadad. Their hostility to both kingdoms, Judah and Israel, was often manifested. In the days of Jehoshaphat they joined with the Moabites in an attack upon him, but met with disaster (2 Chronicles 20). They paid tribute to Jotham (2 Chronicles 27:5).
Their cruelty is denounced by the prophet Amos 1:13, and their destruction by Jeremiah 49:1-6; Ezekiel 21:28-32; Zechariah 2:8,9. Their murder of Gedaliah (2Kgs. 25:22-26; Jeremiah 40:14) was a dastardly act. Tobiah the Ammonites united with Sanballat to oppose Ne (Neh. 4), and their opposition to the Jews did not cease with the establishment of the latter in Judea.
http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T475
David defeats the Ammonites
2Samuel 10:1-19 After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3 But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" 4 So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off half the beard of each, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. 5 When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." 6 When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-re'hob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Ma'acah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Jo'ab and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Ma'acah, were by themselves in the open country. 9 When Jo'ab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Syrians; 10 the rest of his men he put in the charge of Abi'shai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11 And he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what seems good to him." 13 So Jo'ab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him. 14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abi'shai, and entered the city. Then Jo'ab returned from fighting against the Ammonites, and came to Jerusalem. 15 But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadade'zer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphra'tes; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadade'zer at their head. 17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians arrayed themselves against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. 19 And when all the kings who were servants of Hadade'zer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel, and became subject to them. So the Syrians feared to help the Ammonites any more.
(cf. also 1Chr.19:1-19)
The Bible set the sequence of conquest from David but that was to point forwards to the times of the end in the Last Days and to the coming of the Messiah.
Prophecy – Exclusion from the assembly
The exclusion of Moab and Ammon from the congregation was because of their idolatry. They had to be sent into captivity for centuries to deal with that idolatry. Only at the return of the Messiah will they be truly healed and free of their idolatry, which is what Islam has become through the corruption by the Hadith.
Deuteronomy 23:3-6 "No Ammonite or
Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none
belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the LORD for ever; 4
because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when
you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son
of Be'or from Pethor of Mesopota'mia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless
the LORD your God would not hearken to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the
curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. 6 You
shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days for ever.
Lot’s sons went after strange gods they developed in the land.
The god of Ammon was Milcom, as we saw the God of Moab was Chemosh. They were a horrific version of the Baal sacrifices where children were sacrificed and then immolated in order to appease the gods of the grain, oil and wine. The ancient gods of the Middle East were carried in with the tribes to Europe. In names such as Malcom, James/Shamus/Saun (for Shams the sun god/goddess). It was for this reason that a Moabite man could not enter the congregation of the Lord God of Israel. The Phoenicians were also followers of this form of god of the sacrifices and they joined with the sons of Esau in this practice (cf. 1Kgs. 11:7).
Milcom and Chemosh are to be destroyed.
Jeremiah 49:1-6 Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: "Has Israel no
sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people
settled in its cities? 2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
says the LORD, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of
the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be
burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says
the LORD. 3 "Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, O
daughters of Rabbah! Gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro
among the hedges! For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his
princes. 4 Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying, `Who will come against me?' 5 Behold,
I will bring terror upon you, says the Lord GOD of hosts, from all who are
round about you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives. 6: But afterward I will restore the
fortunes of the Ammonites, says the LORD."
Deuteronomy 2:16-22 "So when all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the LORD said to me, 18 `This day you are to pass over the boundary of Moab at Ar; 19 and when you approach the frontier of the sons of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.' 20 (That also is known as a land of Reph'aim; Reph'aim formerly lived there, but the Ammonites call them Zamzum'mim, 21 a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead; 22 as he did for the sons of Esau, who live in Se'ir, when he destroyed the Horites before them, and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead even to this day.
Israel forbidden to disturb the inheritance
of Lot
In spite of the punishment of the sons of Lot, Israel was expressly forbidden to disturb their inheritance.
Deuteronomy 2:19, 37 and when you approach the frontier of the sons of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.'
Thus they are to become part of Israel
under Messiah but they are to retain their lands as part of that final
alliance. That was the blessing of God to Abraham; and Lot was both his nephew
and his adopted son. Abraham honoured Lot’s choice of lands.
37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the LORD our God forbade us.
As with Moab, Ammon is also to be restored. Rabbah and Ammon are to be reconciled.
Ezekiel 21:20, 28-32 mark a way for the
sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah and to Jerusalem the
fortified. 28 "And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus
says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say,
A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is polished to glitter and to
flash like lightning -- 29 while they see for you
false visions, while they divine lies for you -- to be laid on the necks of the
unhallowed wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. 30
Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land
of your origin, I will judge you. 31 And I will pour out my
indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath; and I
will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst
of the land; you shall be no more remembered; for I the LORD have spoken."
Ezekiel 25:1-11 The word of the LORD came to
me:
2 "Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites, and prophesy
against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD:
Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, `Aha!' over my sanctuary when it was
profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the
house of Judah when it went into exile; 4 therefore I am handing
you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their
encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst; they shall eat
your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.
These are the Arabs, of Ishmael and Amalek and others, as we see above. Remember Amalek is also a descendant of Abraham. Together with Edom and the Midianites they made up the Shepherd Kings of the Hyksos in Egypt.
5 I will
make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the cities of the Ammonites a fold for
flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 6 For thus says the
Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and
rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel, 7 therefore,
behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as
spoil to the nations; and I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you
perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am
the LORD. 8 "Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because Moab said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,
9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities
on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jesh'imoth, Ba'al-me'on, and
Kiriatha'im. 10 I will give it along with the Ammonites to the
people of the East as a possession, that it may be remembered no more among the
nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will
know that I am the LORD.
Moab was no longer to be named, and it was given with Ammon to the Arab nation and was joined with Ammon. The remembrance is only of Ammon, the younger, in the name of Amman, which is the capital of Jordan; but Moab carries no remembrance. It is under the Kingdom of Jordan, which will be placed under Messiah as King in the near future.
This royal family extended from Damascus to Iraq after WWII and was replaced by the republic there under the Baath party and Saddam Hussein.
Prophecy says that Ammon and Moab and the main part of the Amorites shall escape out of the hand of the King of the North.
Daniel 11:41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.
Amos 1:13-15 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have ripped up women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. 14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; 15 and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together," says the LORD.
Their king in the Last Days will be the Messiah who comes.
Zephaniah 2:8-11 "I have heard the
taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my
people and made boasts against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I
live," says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become
like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomor'rah, a land possessed by nettles and
salt pits, and a waste for ever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them." 10 This
shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted
against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be
terrible against them; yea, he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to
him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
From The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The boundaries of Edom may be traced with some approach to accuracy. On the East of the `Arabah the northern border ran from the Dead Sea, and was marked by Wady el-Kurachi, or Wady el-Chasa. On the East it marched with the desert. The southern border ran by Elath and Ezion-geber (Deut. 2:8). On the West of the `Arabah the north boundary of Edom is determined by the south border of Israel, as indicated in Numbers 34:3 f: a line running from the Salt Sea southward of the Ascent of Akrabbim to Zin and Kadesh-barnea. This last, we are told, lay in the "uttermost" of the border of Edom (Num. 20:16). The line may be generally indicated by the course of Wady el-Fiqrah. How much of the uplands West of the `Arabah southward to the Gulf of `Aqaba was included in Edom it is impossible to say.
We first hear of war between Israel and Edom under Saul (1Sam. 14:47). David prosecuted the war with terrific energy, slaying 18,000 Edomites (so read instead of "Syrians") in the Valley of Salt (2Sam. 8:13); Joab remaining for six months in the country, which was garrisoned by Israelites, "until he had cut off every male in Edom" (1Kgs. 11:15). Hadad of the blood royal of Edom escaped to Egypt, and later became a source of trouble to Solomon (1Kgs. 11:14,25). Under Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, Edom revolted. Jehoram defeated them at Zair, but was unable to quell the rebellion (2Kgs. 8:20). Amaziah invaded the country, slew 10,000 in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela which he named Joktheel (2Kgs. 14:7). Uzziah restored the Edomite port of Elath (2Kgs. 14:22). They gave what help they could to Nebuchadnezzar, and exulted in the destruction of Jerusalem, stirring the bitterest indignation in the hearts of the Jews (Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 25:12; 35:3; Obad. 1:10). The Edomites pressed into the now empty lands in the South of Judah. In 300 BC Mt. Seir with its capital Petra fell into the hands of the Nabateans.
West of the `Arabah the country they occupied came to be known by the Greek name Idumaea, and the people as Idumeans. Hebron, their chief city, was taken by Judas Maccabees in 165 BC (1 Macc 4:29,61; 5:65). In 126 BC the country was subdued by John Hyrcanus, who compelled the people to become Jews and to submit to circumcision. Antipater, governor of Idumaea, was made procurator of Judea, Samaria and Galilee by Julius Caesar. He paved the way to the throne for his son Herod the Great. With the fall of Judah under the Romans, Idumaea disappears from history.
http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2891
Esau was the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the twin brother of Jacob.
The root of the
name in Hebrew is derived from the word asuy denoting
"completion", made and complete, since Esau was born
hairy and very strong, being "completed" and not infantile.
Before Esau's birth, the Lord told Rebekah
that her older son would serve the younger son.
Genesis 23:21-23 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife,
because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife
conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she
said, "If it is thus, why do I live?" So she went to inquire of the
LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your
womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger
than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."
Esau departed from the city of Hebron, and left it to his brother and dwelt in Seir, and called the country after his own name, Edom (Gen. 36:16). Adom/Edom in Hebrew means red but the Greeks named it Idumea (Isa. 34:5-6; Ezek. 35:15). It was also known as "the field of Edom" (Gen. 32:3). Because the region was part mountainous, it was also known as "the mountains of Esau" or "the mountain of Seir" (Obad. 1:8,9,19,21). The southern part of Edom was known as Teman.
The Temani
extended east also as did the other tribes into other nations. They are
mentioned in conjunction with Dedan in the south of Edom. The ISBE has this to
say about them.
TEMAN [ISBE]
TEMAN - te'-man (teman, "on the right,"
i.e. "south"; Thaiman): The name of a district and town in the land
of Edom, named after Teman the grandson of Esau, the son of his firstborn,
Eliphaz (Gen 36:11; 1 Ch 1:36). A duke Teman is named among the chiefs or clans
of Edom (Gen 36:42; 1 Ch 1:53). He does not however appear first, in the place
of the firstborn. Husham of the land of the Temanites was one of the ancient
kings of Edom (Gen 36:34; 1 Ch 1:45). From Obad 1:9 we gather that Teman was in
the land of Esau (Edom). In Am 1:12 it is named along with Bozrah, the capital
of Edom. In Ezek 25:13 desolation is denounced upon Edom: "From Teman even
unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword." Dedan being in the South, Teman
must be sought in the North Eusebius, Onomasticon knows a district in the
Gebalene region called Theman, and also a town with the same name, occupied by
a Roman garrison, 15 miles from Petra. Unfortunately no indication of direction
is given. No trace of the name has yet been found. It may have been on the road
from Elath to Bozrah.
The inhabitants of
Teman seem to have been famous for their wisdom (Jer 49:7; Obad 1:8 f). Eliphaz
the Temanite was chief of the comforters of Job (2:11, etc.). The manner in
which the city is mentioned by the prophets, now by itself, and again as
standing for Edom, shows how important it must have been in their time.
W. Ewing
Whilst
Teman was in the North near Petra, it was also in the east and separated from
the hills of Paran by the Arabah, thus extending around Edom to Dedan.
Genesis 27:34-41 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with guile, and he has taken away your blessing." 36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck." 41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
This prophecy was to be fulfilled when the Edomites were conquered by Judah under John Hyrcanus in the Second Century BCE, and they were absorbed into Judah in Judea as opposed to Judah in Galilee. Herod was an Edomite of the Hasmoneans. The Edomites also mingled with the Phoenicians. We will see more of this later (see also the paper War with Rome and the Fall of the Temple (No. 298)).
Esau
married three wives: Adah, Oholibamah and Basemath. These woman were also known
by a second name: Adah/Bashemath, Oholibamah/Judith and Basemath/Mahalath.
These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholiba'mah the daughter of Anah the son of Zib'eon the Hivite, 3 and Bas'emath, Ish'mael's daughter, the sister of Neba'ioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, El'iphaz; Bas'emath bore Reu'el; 5 and Oholiba'mah bore Je'ush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his beasts, and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land of their sojournings could not support them because of their cattle. 8 So Esau dwelt in the hill country of Se'ir; Esau is Edom. 9 These are the descendants of Esau the father of the E'domites in the hill country of Se'ir.
Seir is another name for Edom. It appears Esau’s clan must have driven away the original Horite inhabitants of Seir (Gen. 14:6; Deut. 2:12).
Esau had five sons from his three wives.
Adah
(1) Eliphaz: firstborn son (SHD 646) means god of gold.
Bashemath (Ishmael’s daughter)
(1) Reuel (SHD 7467) means friend of God
Oholibamah
(1) Jeu