“But you are not to detest an Edomi, because he is your brother; and you are not to detest an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land. The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of Adonai.”-Deuteronomy 23:8-9
From verse 8 of Deuteronomy Chapter 23, we’re told something really interesting.
Whereas Ammon and Moab has been excluded from entering Israel, we’re told that Edom and Egypt shall be included!
For their offenses against Israel, Edom and Egypt were forced to suffer a temporary exclusion of three generations but after that, the restriction was removed.
When the Israelites of Moses’ time heard this, I’m sure many of them were quite taken aback.
First, why did God allow Edom to be one of the nations that could enter the assembly of Israel?
The reason given is because Edom “is your brother”.
How exactly is Edom Israel’s brother?
Well, recall that EDOM is just another name for ESAU.
How so?
Well, in Hebrew “Edom” literally means “the red one”.
This was the nickname given to Esau (the son of Isaac) because of his ruddy complexion and reddish hair.
Interestingly, the great King David also had similar physical features.
Now do you recall who Esau’s twin brother was?
If you said “Jacob”, you’re right on the money and…
…recall it was Jacob whose name was later changed to Israel.
So Edom and Israel are brothers and God had every intention of honoring this relationship.
The story of Esau’s relationship with Jacob reflects just how precise the Lord is in handing out or holding back blessings based on how His chosen nation Israel is treated.
When most folks think of Esau and Jacob, they think about how Jacob deceived Esau by taking his birthright, and then how Esau intended to kill Jacob for being deceived.
However, what a lot of people tend to overlook is that when Jacob returned to the land of Canaan with his two wives, children and a number of servants, the two brothers actually reconciled with each other.
In addition, God had promised Isaac that He would also bless Esau.
Because of this, Edom was to be forgiven for doing basically the same thing to Israel that Ammon and Moab did, namely refusing to let Israel pass through their land and instead forcing them to march all the way around Edom on their way to Canaan.
Leave a Reply