4. FAMILY TRIALS 34-35. The chapter ends on a negative note and a foreshadowing of problems to come. In one sentence, we have a summary of Esau’s adult life. Problem one: Esau is a polygamist. This goes against God’s original intent for marriage established at creation. Not one of the polygamist marriages of the Bible ever works out well. Problem two: Esau marries two Hittite women. He chooses to mix the line of Shem and the line of Canaan. He has married himself to women who are part of Ham’s curse. Not a good idea. Problem three: The Hittite women made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. We just saw all the ways that Isaac honored his father. Esau on the other hand dishonors his father in these marriages. He dishonors his grandfather who sent his faithful servant 450 miles to get a wife for Isaac because he could not have a wife from among the Canaanites. And here Esau marries two. No wonder that he is called sexually immoral and unholy in the book of Hebrews. Nothing is sacred to him. He married pagans, he trades his birthright for a bowl of soup. What a heartbreak this must have been for Isaac and Rebekah. Some of you know this heartache after your wayward children. Their spouses are a source of bitterness to your spirit. You love them but their actions have brought nothing but pain and trouble to you. Isaac and Rebekah knew what you are going through.