Bloodlines and feuds
One of the things people generally find rather boring in the Bible is the lists upon lists of genealogies. But there's actually some points about the bloodlines that is worth noting. The first point I'd like to mention is that several bloodlines ended up breaking into family feuds; one family causing endless amounts of trouble for the other.
Even worse, many of these long lasting fights began as a squabble between brothers. The children of one brother would continue to fight the children of the other down though generations until you had nations fighting nations!
One example was Jacob and his brother Esau. When Jacob got the family blessing through trickery, Esau was enraged and the fight began. Jacob's family eventually became Israel, while Esau's family became Edom. Throughout the old testament Edom hounded and attacked Israel, even aiding other factions in their wars against Israel. In short, the fight between Jacob and Esau led to nations killing one another.
But Edom's story doesn't quite end there. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, King Herod had all of the male toddlers and babies in Bethlehem slain. This infanticide was ordered because one of the children was supposed to be the King of the Jews, and that title was one Herod refused to give up. Politics alone provided all the motive that one needs to explain Herod's action, but there's one other detail.
By blood, Jesus was a descendant of Jacob. King Herod the Great was an Idumaean: a descendant of Esau. The old feud continued.
Another example comes from earlier on in the old testament. Abraham ended up getting tired of waiting for God to give him and his wife the son He'd promised, and so Abraham took matters into his own hands and impregnated his servant Hagar. But, when Abraham's wife Sarah became pregnant with Issac as God promised, Abraham all but abandoned Hagar and her son. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away with no part of the blessing or inheritance!
Issac went on to father Jacob and thus the nation of Israel.
Ishmael never really forgot about being the have-not, and his children, the Arab nations, have been an enemy of the Jews ever since.
Even worse, many of these long lasting fights began as a squabble between brothers. The children of one brother would continue to fight the children of the other down though generations until you had nations fighting nations!
One example was Jacob and his brother Esau. When Jacob got the family blessing through trickery, Esau was enraged and the fight began. Jacob's family eventually became Israel, while Esau's family became Edom. Throughout the old testament Edom hounded and attacked Israel, even aiding other factions in their wars against Israel. In short, the fight between Jacob and Esau led to nations killing one another.
But Edom's story doesn't quite end there. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, King Herod had all of the male toddlers and babies in Bethlehem slain. This infanticide was ordered because one of the children was supposed to be the King of the Jews, and that title was one Herod refused to give up. Politics alone provided all the motive that one needs to explain Herod's action, but there's one other detail.
By blood, Jesus was a descendant of Jacob. King Herod the Great was an Idumaean: a descendant of Esau. The old feud continued.
Another example comes from earlier on in the old testament. Abraham ended up getting tired of waiting for God to give him and his wife the son He'd promised, and so Abraham took matters into his own hands and impregnated his servant Hagar. But, when Abraham's wife Sarah became pregnant with Issac as God promised, Abraham all but abandoned Hagar and her son. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away with no part of the blessing or inheritance!
Issac went on to father Jacob and thus the nation of Israel.
Ishmael never really forgot about being the have-not, and his children, the Arab nations, have been an enemy of the Jews ever since.