Thursday, October 06, 2016

Almost anyone reading the opening verses of Malachi would raise a question about God loving Jacob and hating Esau. When you read about these two brothers in Genesis there is no mention of God hating Esau. The description of Isaac’s blessing for Esau is that he would live by the sword and serve his brother. Genesis 27:40-41 reads, “But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck,” and goes on to say, “Esau held a grudge against Jacob.” That grudge has continued down through the centuries. Check the prophecy of Obadiah to see how he amplified this. Paul amplifies this further when he writes in Romans 9:10-13, “Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad – in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls – she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” John MacArthur in his Bible Commentary writes, “Obadiah’s prophecy…indicated that the Lord’s hatred was against Esau’s idolatrous descendants. In the same way, the Lord’s love for Jacob refers to his descendants who were His sovereignly elected people…Nor does the love/hate language signify a comparative love in which He loved Jacob more and Esau less. Rather, the context here speaks of love as ‘choosing for intimate fellowship’ and hate as ‘not choosing for intimate fellowship’ in the realm of redemption.” I’m always blown away when I think that God lovingly chose me. Do you feel the same way?