Love & Hate

Malachi 1:2-3 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

It doesn’t seem fair on the surface when some people have so much and some have so little, does it? We call it “income inequality” and call for “wealth redistribution.” We name the problem in terms of math and the myth that all people should be are equal in outcome.

But we aren’t equal. Talents and efforts, intelligence and determination, genetics and epigenetics, nature and nurture. We may all be humans created in the image of God, but not every one has the ability to be a brain surgeon. Not everyone can be a public speaker. Everyone can’t be a CEO with all the pressures and responsibilities. Someone has to be the person who makes the product, markets the product, and consumes the product.

One of the verses that often gets pulled out of its context in order support a particular bent in theology is in our text for today. Jacob gets love, Esau gets hate. That isn’t fair! We have to do something about that. This verse gets used to support the theology that an arbitrary choice by the LORD to favor some and withhold favor from others explains why some are saved and others are not.

But is this really what this verse is saying? Does the LORD just flip a coin and cast some humans aside? Did Esau have any say in his position? Can we find any clues from the context that help us understand how Esau ended up with the short end of the stick?

I am so thankful that often difficult passages of Scripture get clarity of meaning when the context is examined. The LORD speaks clearly if we are willing to listen. He tells us what we need to know if we will take the time to slow down and not jump to any concussions. (SMILE)

So what hints can we gather from the following verses that help us understand this seemingly arbitrary choice by the LORD? The next verse gives us our first clue. Edom, another name for Esau, stands up in defiance of the LORD. The LORD has destroyed them and Edom says they will rebuild. So how is this a clue?

Esau lost his inheritance to Jacob over a bowl of soup and he resented his loss of position. He rebelled against the LORD. His decedents didn’t help Israel when they came out of Egypt. They refused passage through their land. The family feud lasted for generations. Later they took vengeance on Israel. Edom was not an innocent bystander. His choices helped him end up where he was.

So these statements here demonstrate Edom’s rebellion. And when we rebel against the LORD, the LORD removes His blessing. And this is exactly what has happened. They have moved themselves out of God’s favor and into God’s curse.

As the chapter continues we see other actions of rebellion that illustrate this shift in position that can happen based on our actions. Priests were offering defiled sacrifices, a forbidden thing. Then the LORD rejects the sacrifices because they chose to disobey clear commands.

He then speaks about bringing these types of defiled offerings to an earthly king. Would they be accepted? Of course not! Their rebellion brings about the LORD’s response. The implication being, that if they changed their behavior, the LORD would change His response.

And how does this affect the LORD’s reputation among the nations? The LORD’s character is upheld. The other nations see that they have rebelled against Him and that He has the power to protect His honor. The LORD responds to both obedience and rebellion.

So it is clear from the context that Esau is hated because of his rebellion. He made choices to violate the LORD’s will. And his choices evoked a response from the LORD. And the response was a known and promised response. And yet they chose to rebel anyway.

So next time someone tries to use this verse to justify their slice of theology, smile and slow them down. Bring them back to the context and maybe they will hear the Word of the LORD.

Just so you know, this verse is quoted in Romans 9:13. And knowing its original context helps make sense of the meaning that Paul brings out in that chapter. Paul does not misquote and change the meaning of the verse. He takes the meaning in the original passage and imports it into his argument in Romans 9.

So our take away is this: our choices matter. What we do with what we have received makes a difference in our relationship with the LORD and with others.