Jacob, I have loved; Esau, I have hated - same God

Hello there,

I trust you have been doing great and basking in God's love as one who is accepted in Christ. If you are wondering what it means to be accepted in Christ, I strongly recommend listening to our teaching at the worship service last month here.

This week, we are addressing an important question from Romans 9:13:

“As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

The question is: how is the scripture above true about God, given our understanding of who He is? The next verse asks the question and answers it. Romans 9:14

“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!”

Let’s talk about it!!!

Let me start this way, 1 John 4:8 is still true when it says that ‘God is love.’ That is His nature. Never let go of that truth.

But the question remains, ‘How can a God who is love make such a statement?’ The first thing to note is that the Apostle was quoting an Old Testament scripture Malachi 1:2-3, but you may struggle to understand the context without going to the original story in Genesis where God speaks to Rebekah, the mother of both Esau and Jacob.

Genesis 25:23 - “But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

First, notice how God refers to the children in her womb? He calls them ‘two nations’ and ‘two peoples.’ God was not referring to the persons of Esau and Jacob in their individuality, but their nations – the Edomites and the Israelites (Malachi 1:2-3).

Second, God says, ‘the older will serve the younger’ – this is about service. When Isaac was about to die, and he blessed Jacob, it is important to remember that the children did not fight for material possessions but a blessing – a typology of salvation (Genesis 27). I should add here that it was Jacob’s name that was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:24-30), and the children of Israel were chosen by God as His special people (Deuteronomy 7:6).

Apostle Paul is now writing to the Israelites in Romans 9 to let them know that this blessing – the adoption, which is now fulfilled in Christ, is not ‘automatic’ simply because they were born into it. He tells them ‘…they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham… but the children of the promise are counted as the seed’ (Romans 9:6-8). He says this to let them know that there are people regarded as ‘the children of the promise’ and not all of them are Israelites.

He explains this concept using Isaac and Ishmael as examples (both children of Abraham) and how Isaac was chosen and not Ishmael. Maybe someone would think that was an easy choice for God because Ishmael was born according to the works of the flesh and outside of His plan since the promise was for Sarah to birth the child. Someone may think that the choice of Isaac could be because Ishmael was actually born to a slave woman and existed for at least 12 years before Isaac was born.

In response, the Apostle gives a second and stronger argument to eliminate the doubts – he uses Esau and Jacob as examples. They had the same parents (eliminating bloodline), they were not yet born and had done no good or evil (eliminating any good or bad works), but God chose Jacob and rejected Esau. The message is the same – let Esau not think that because he was born first, he is entitled to the promise, not considering the fact that he rejected his birthright and despised it (Genesis 25:29-34; Hebrews 12:15-17).

Looking back at the story of Esau and Jacob, we can see how Esau is a picture of the dispensation of the law that comes first and is older but will serve Jacob, who would come after, be the younger, and be a type of the dispensation of grace. This choice will not be because the law is evil or bad but because God has chosen that the only way man will be reconciled to Him is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It is only by faith in the finished work of Christ that anyone inherits the promise. Look closely at Jacob and how he received the promise anyway (Genesis 27) – his mother cooked the meal that Isaac ate, his mother clothed him, and his mother took the ‘curse’ upon herself. Consider this picture a typology of salvation and righteousness by faith – that Jesus is our Advocate. He took our curse upon Himself and presented us to God with the sacrifice on the cross through which we can now receive justification by faith from God – an eternal blessing. Glory to God!

When we consider Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” we see how God does not refer to hatred as asking us to abhor our family but that by reason of choice, we esteem Jesus [immeasurably] higher and [inestimably] more. So, when God says, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated,’ the message is that as much as God had respect for the law, it does not compare to the love that He has for His Son, who has now become the propitiation for sins so that you and I can be forever reconciled to God.

In the end, there is an important lesson to note – God is not fair. God is just. To think that God should be fair is to think that He owes us something. It is in that mentality that we begin to boast in our works, and that is the root of the problem.

Rather, God is sovereign, and He does as He pleases. However, He does not do it arbitrarily. He remains just and righteous in His decisions. Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! We should rather glory in God’s righteous decision to justify us by faith, and faith alone.

His name alone be praised forever. Amen!

Shalom.

All scriptures are in the New King James Version (NKJV)