Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #8 in Genesis 36, and we will read Genesis 36:9-13:

And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.

I will stop reading there.  We read again of mount Seir in Genesis 36:9:

And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:

I mentioned last time that there is a connection between the word “Seir” and “Esau.”  The Hebrew word translated as “Seir” is Strong’s #8165, and it has the same consonants, so it is the same word as Strong’s #8163, a word that is translated as “devil,” or “goat,” or “hairy,” or “kid,” or “rough,” or “satyr.”  It is the same word as “Seir,” but it is translated in various ways.  Let us go to Leviticus 16.  I will not read all the times this word is used, but it is used fourteen times in Leviticus 16 where it is translated as “goat,” or “goats.”  It says in Leviticus 16:15-16:

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

The goat was slain, and his blood was brought within the vail.  This is telling us of various offerings that were to be carried out in the day of atonement.  This word was used fourteen times in this chapter.  It is also used in the next chapter, in Leviticus 17.  Although it is the same word, it is translated as “devils.”  It says in Leviticus 17:6-7:

And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of JEHOVAH at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto JEHOVAH. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

It is very odd that this is the same word that is translated as “goat” or “goats” fourteen times in the previous chapter, but here it is used in the sense of “devils.”  Yet it is the same word.  We find it also translated as “devils” in 2Chronicles.  It says in 2Chronicles 11:13:

And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.

That is, they were resorting to Rehoboam, king of Judah.  This was at the time when the Lord split Israel after King Solomon’s death, and the 10 tribes went to the North, and their king was Jeroboam, while the remainder of the tribes stayed with Rehoboam of Judah.  So the priests and Levites that were in the North resorted to Rehoboam out of all their coasts.  Then it says in 2Chronicles 11:14-15:

For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto JEHOVAH: And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

Remember that Jeroboam was greatly concerned, and he feared that the people of Israel would go back to Judah and come under the rule of King Rehoboam because that was the place of worship, and they had to go to Jerusalem three times a year on the important feast days.  So Jeroboam evilly and deceptively came up with the idea to make their own places of worships, and to have their own priests to do sacrifice in the new places of worship.  He was maybe the first man who thought to make religion “easy” for the people: “You do not have to travel all the way to Jerusalem.  It is right here in Bethel.  You can come here and make your sacrifice, and God will be pleased.”  It was very convenient, and maybe a precursor to such doctrines as the “free will” doctrine.  You cannot get anything more comfortable, easy, and convenient than having ready-to-order salvation at your command.  When you desire to have salvation, you can just “accept Christ.”  It is really similar in that it caters to men and their own desires.

Also, he was catering to them for his own personal reasons, and it had nothing to do with worshipping God, or serving God, or giving glory to God.  It had to do with his own worries, and with his desire to continue to rule and have power, so he sought to please the people, very much like the end-time apostate church today.

Again, it says in 2Chronicles 11:15:

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

He made his own priesthood.  And why not?  After all, he had made his own “house of God” to worship in, and he had made his own calves and “devils.”  And that is the same word translated as “goats,” and it could have been an image of a goat, but it is associated with this word “devils.” 

That also leads us to think about some things we read in the New Testament.  If you remember, in 1Corinthians 10, there is a reference made to “devils” in relationship to the Lord’s Supper.  It says in 1Corinthians 10:16-21:

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

The Gentiles sacrificed, and the things they sacrificed were sacrificed to devils, not to God.  The Greek word translated as “devils” in the New Testament does more identify with devils, demons, or fallen angels.  It is the same word we find in James 2:19:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

When we think that through, it must be a reference to the “fallen angels,” and they also believe in God.  And there is a record of that in the New Testament where devils acknowledged Jesus as God, and they feared Him.  So they believe, but they are identified with Satan, and Satan has the name of “Devil.”  The chief characteristic of Satan and the devils are “the lie.”  They speak falsehood.  They are the opposite of Christ.  God is the truth, but devils are identified with deceitfulness and the lie. 

And that is what Jeroboam did when he set up another house of worship, other gods, and other priests to offer sacrifices.  He worshipped in the high places, and he sacrificed to devils.  It was all a lie.  We would call it a “false gospel” today.  And it was the same thing with the Gentiles that sacrificed to devils.  Whatever was in their mind, and whatever understanding they have, and whatever religion it may be, it is not the true religion of the Bible.  It is not the true teachings of the Word of God.  It is not the true Gospel, so they are, ultimately, sacrificing to devils.

And that is why this word is translated as “goats” in Leviticus 16, not “devils,” because the offering there on the day of atonement was to offer up a goat, and it was all stipulated by God.  It was God’s commandment, and it is part of the truth of the Bible, and it teaches spiritual things relating to God’s salvation program through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So if this word applied to the true worship of God, and to true offering and sacrifice, then it is “goat,” but as soon as it has to do with false offerings and false sacrifice, it becomes a “devil.” 

And we can see how this is more than offering if we go to 1Timothy 4:1:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Here, it is the doctrines of devils, the lies that men teach and proclaim that are not true to the Bible.  They say it is the Word of God, and they say that their doctrine is what the Scripture teaches, but because it is a lie, it is a  the “doctrines of devils.”  Those who believe and follow those doctrines are, for all intents and purposes, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God.  That is the idea in 1Corinthians 10.

We also find this word “devils” used in the New Testament in Revelation 18, a verse that has become very familiar to us.  It says in Revelation 18:2:

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Babylon represents the kingdom of Satan of this world, which would include all the various religions, and the New Testament corporate, eternal church that God delivered over to the Devil at the time when judgment began at the house of God, and it became part of the kingdom of Satan.  But now it is fallen because May 21, 2011 was the beginning of  Judgment Day, the day of the Lord’s wrath, and from that point in time to the last day, the fallen world (Babylon) has become “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” 

I think we have a link with the Greek word translated in the New Testament with the word we are looking at, which is related to Seir.  Let us go to Isaiah 13, a chapter that begins by saying, “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.”  Then it describes the judgment of the world in the early verses, and then we read in Isaiah 13:19-21:

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

And our word is “satyrs.”  And the satyrs will dance in Babylon (the world) which is under the judgment of God.  God  has made it a similar way to when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  The wrath of God is upon it, and “devils” and owls (unclean birds) will be there. 

So this word is a very interesting word regarding the way it is used in the Bible.  But how does this word related to Esau?  We find that the same word that is translated as “goats,” “satyrs,” and “devils” is also used regarding Esau in Genesis 27:6-12:

And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,  Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before JEHOVAH before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

The word “goats” in verse 9 is not our word, but in verse 11 when Jacob told his mother, “Esau my brother is a hairy man,” it is the same word translated as “goat,” “devil,” and “satyr.”  Obviously, it is not meant to indicate that Esau is a devil.  It would be more related to the goat, which is why Rebekah took the skin of the goats and put the skins on Jacob, as it says in verse 16: “And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.”  And he went in to his father who had a lot of trouble seeing.  He could not see well at all, and it appears he was almost blind.  Isaac had sent Esau to get him savoury meat, but Rebekah made savoury meat.  And Isaac thought Esau had returned, but it was actually Jacob, and he had savoury meat, and he was wearing clothing that smelled like his brother Esau, and he had the goat hair on his hands and on the back of his neck.  However, Isaac was still suspicious, and it says in Genesis 27:21-23:

And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

Again, that word “hairy” is our word.  It convinced Isaac that it was Esau, and he presented the blessing of the firstborn that was meant for Esau, but Jacob, the second-born son, obtained the blessing.  Then Esau came in.  We know the story, but it is very curious that there is this tie-in.  Remember, the word “hairy” is the same word as “devils,” and “goats,” and it has the same consonants as the word “Seir.”   And Seir identifies with mount Sinai where the Law was given.  God used it a couple of times as almost synonymous, we could say, with mount Sinai.  He ties the two together, so Seir identifies with the giving of the Law.  So too does the offering of the goats.  It was according to God’s Law that the sin offering of the goat be offered for a sacrifice on the day of atonement to point to the sacrifice of Christ.  That all identifies with the Law of God.

One thing I think we can safely say is that Esau was a “hairy” man, a man of Seir, a man under the Law.  He and all he represents (all unsaved individuals) have relationship with God through the Law.  They are “married” to the Law, and they are bound to keep all the Law to obtain righteousness.  It is their only way.  So he was a “hairy” man, a man who completely identifies with the Law of God, the Bible.