As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
As it is written, to hate means to love less by comparison, not to feel human hatred, malice or ill will. The love-hate contrast speaks in strong prophetic language of temporal privilege, blessing and inheritance, Jacob receiving the greater lot and Esau the inferior, not of their fixed eternal destinies of salvation and perdition. The words were spoken long after the two men were dead and point to their posterity as two nations and two manner of people, which is the corporate sense Paul applies. The choice of Jacob over Esau stands to show that God's purpose of election rests not on works, willing, striving or natural descent, but on His call and mercy, announced before the children had done good or evil. That choosing is a call to carry His truth, blessing and promised Seed to the world, open impartially to Jew and Gentile, and it predestines no one to sin or eternal destruction, for God was willing to save Esau and every soul keeps the privilege of choosing His way.
Language and Historical Setting
In the verse “hated” is used in a comparative sense to mean loved less, not hatred as people commonly understand it, with no malice, ill will, vindictiveness, or wishing and doing harm. God preferred Jacob to Esau because of their different characters, loving Jacob and choosing him for the line of the promised Seed while loving Esau less and rejecting him from that position as unworthy. The contrast describes a choice to give Jacob greater privileges and a better inheritance and Esau an inferior lot, rather than detesting Esau.
The love-hate language is strong prophetic language about temporal privileges, blessings, and inheritance, with Jacob receiving the greater privileges and better inheritance and Esau the inferior lot. It is not a declaration that Esau was eternally condemned and Jacob eternally saved, nor of different destinies of eternal salvation and perdition, since all are judged according to their works and the light they received. The election there is not to eternal life or eternal death and does not fix Jacob’s salvation or Esau’s destruction, nor predestine Esau to condemnation before birth.
Unlike “the elder shall serve the younger,” which was spoken before the children were born, these words were written more than a thousand years after Jacob and Esau were dead. They have no reference to the two men personally but to their posterity as two nations and two manner of people, with one people stronger than the other. Paul applies the verse in that same corporate sense, not to Jacob and Esau as individuals but to two manner of people, showing that not all descended from Israel are counted as Israel and that another manner of people may become Israel by faith. In that corporate sense the verse concerns their descendants, not a decree predestining the two individuals to salvation and destruction.
Jacob and Esau also stand for characters as well as individuals, representing two different characters, with God choosing the character that would best glorify Him to carry the promised Seed, the elder serving the younger. God loved Jacob’s character because he prized God’s birthright, blessing, promises, and promised inheritance. Esau was rejected because he despised them, lacked faith and lightly esteemed God’s promises including the promised inheritance, selling the birthright for food and thereby illustrating disregard for that privilege. His loss of the birthright was by his own voluntary act, and the choice was not arbitrary because character was foreseen before birth.
Election, Mercy and True Israel
The choice of Jacob over Esau serves the purpose of election, which stands not on human works but on divine call and mercy. That choice was announced before the children had done good or evil, and the later verdict agrees with the earlier word that the elder would serve the younger and with the later outcome. The children of promise, not merely descendants by flesh, are counted as the seed, and salvation depends on God who shows mercy, not on human willing, striving, natural descent, or effort.
The election is to a place in purpose — the special privilege of the family, church, and line to carry truth, blessing, and the promised Seed to the world — and God has the right in will and wisdom to choose and set aside instruments for that work. Jacob's line was chosen to carry that truth while Esau's line was set aside from that particular honor and privilege, yet this did not choose Jacob for personal salvation nor condemn Esau. It did not bar Esau from salvation if he sought God in the appointed way, did not grant special privileges to the Jewish nation, but bestows favor impartially on Jews and Gentiles who accept it.
God's decisions to choose, preserve, or destroy are not arbitrary decrees for wrath against those who have done nothing to deserve it. Foreknowledge revealed character before birth, for God foresaw the character Esau would develop, and hatred did not mean help was withheld, since He did everything within His power to help and could have given the same righteous character if yielded to as Jacob did. He offers grace and patiently gives opportunities to serve His purposes, but those who persistently resist and reject Him, lacking faith and lightly esteeming promises and inheritance, become fit and unfit for continued existence and are at last given over to their own ways, which becomes an occasion for displaying power and glory.
The verse does not mean God predestines anyone to eternal destruction or chooses anyone for sin and condemnation, since He calls all to righteousness and life. His choosing is a call to salvation through grace and mercy that people may accept by choosing His way, set within His purpose to save and not a decree that some must be lost. When God hated Esau He loved him less than Jacob, not predestining him to condemnation before birth; the election there is not to eternal life or eternal death and does not fix Jacob's salvation or Esau's destruction. The gift of grace through Christ is free to all, Esau lost the birthright by his own voluntary act in selling it, Jacob's defrauding him of the blessing did not deprive him of securing blessing, man turns from God and not God from man so responsibility rests with man, every soul keeps the privilege of choosing and is therefore held responsible, and God hated only in the sense He hates sin.
The verse belongs to teaching identifying the heirs of promise and how the promise is obtained. Not all descended from Israel are counted as Israel, physical descent and blood relationship by themselves prove nothing and decide nothing, and character alone determines true Israel. Unbelieving descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, following after righteousness by works and stumbling at the Stone, are not counted as seed and forfeit the conditional kingdom promises under the old covenant, while Gentiles who seek righteousness by faith gain precedence and with the believing remnant become Abraham's seed, Israelites by adoption, and children of the promise sharing the same body and promises. There is therefore no special favor by birth, no national restoration according to the flesh but fulfillment in Christ for those who believe, no casting off of His people whom He endures with long-suffering even as vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and Israel is defined by faith in Jesus with the tribes not restored according to the flesh.
Divine Love and Human Response
God's loving and hating are not like selfish human feeling, for He bears no vindictive spirit toward sinners and takes no pleasure in their death. He hated Esau only in the sense in which He hates sin, yet in justice and mercy He must finally remove those who cling to sin for the safety of the universe. That He loves and hates, and is described as angry, shows that He has passions.
Foreknowledge revealed the characters of Jacob and Esau before they were born, and hatred did not mean help was withheld, for He did everything within His power to help Esau, and if Esau had yielded as Jacob did He could have given him the same righteous character. Esau lost the birthright by his own voluntary act in selling it for food, and Jacob's success in defrauding him of the blessing did not deprive Esau of the privilege of securing God's blessing. Man turns from God and not God from man, so responsibility rests with man, and God was willing to save Esau. Here hated means loved less, not human hatred that wishes or does harm.
God's love for Jacob stands alongside Isaac's love for Esau and Rebekah's love for Jacob, and alongside the truth that God loved the world. That Jacob was beloved of God did not mean an earthly life free from suffering, for he passed through a long chain of trials and his reward was not earthly. His love and Esau's rejection cannot be measured by worldly fortunes, since Esau received Mount Seir and its earthly good things during his lifetime, while Jacob lived as a stranger and died in Egypt without receiving his inheritance. Esau's apparent wealth was temporary, while Jacob's hope was in the world to come where he would receive an inheritance lasting forever, so Jacob made the wiser choice because he was willing to wait. The contrast of loving and hating teaches that love for God must come before love for family or for self.
As it is written, to hate means to love less by comparison, not to feel human hatred, malice or ill will. The love-hate contrast speaks in strong prophetic language of temporal privilege, blessing and inheritance, Jacob receiving the greater lot and Esau the inferior, not of their fixed eternal destinies of salvation and perdition. The words were spoken long after the two men were dead and point to their posterity as two nations and two manner of people, which is the corporate sense Paul applies. The choice of Jacob over Esau stands to show that God's purpose of election rests not on works, willing, striving or natural descent, but on His call and mercy, announced before the children had done good or evil. That choosing is a call to carry His truth, blessing and promised Seed to the world, open impartially to Jew and Gentile, and it predestines no one to sin or eternal destruction, for God was willing to save Esau and every soul keeps the privilege of choosing His way.
Language and Historical Setting
In the verse “hated” is used in a comparative sense to mean loved less, not hatred as people commonly understand it, with no malice, ill will, vindictiveness, or wishing and doing harm. God preferred Jacob to Esau because of their different characters, loving Jacob and choosing him for the line of the promised Seed while loving Esau less and rejecting him from that position as unworthy. The contrast describes a choice to give Jacob greater privileges and a better inheritance and Esau an inferior lot, rather than detesting Esau.
The love-hate language is strong prophetic language about temporal privileges, blessings, and inheritance, with Jacob receiving the greater privileges and better inheritance and Esau the inferior lot. It is not a declaration that Esau was eternally condemned and Jacob eternally saved, nor of different destinies of eternal salvation and perdition, since all are judged according to their works and the light they received. The election there is not to eternal life or eternal death and does not fix Jacob’s salvation or Esau’s destruction, nor predestine Esau to condemnation before birth.
Unlike “the elder shall serve the younger,” which was spoken before the children were born, these words were written more than a thousand years after Jacob and Esau were dead. They have no reference to the two men personally but to their posterity as two nations and two manner of people, with one people stronger than the other. Paul applies the verse in that same corporate sense, not to Jacob and Esau as individuals but to two manner of people, showing that not all descended from Israel are counted as Israel and that another manner of people may become Israel by faith. In that corporate sense the verse concerns their descendants, not a decree predestining the two individuals to salvation and destruction.
Jacob and Esau also stand for characters as well as individuals, representing two different characters, with God choosing the character that would best glorify Him to carry the promised Seed, the elder serving the younger. God loved Jacob’s character because he prized God’s birthright, blessing, promises, and promised inheritance. Esau was rejected because he despised them, lacked faith and lightly esteemed God’s promises including the promised inheritance, selling the birthright for food and thereby illustrating disregard for that privilege. His loss of the birthright was by his own voluntary act, and the choice was not arbitrary because character was foreseen before birth.
Election, Mercy and True Israel
The choice of Jacob over Esau serves the purpose of election, which stands not on human works but on divine call and mercy. That choice was announced before the children had done good or evil, and the later verdict agrees with the earlier word that the elder would serve the younger and with the later outcome. The children of promise, not merely descendants by flesh, are counted as the seed, and salvation depends on God who shows mercy, not on human willing, striving, natural descent, or effort.
The election is to a place in purpose — the special privilege of the family, church, and line to carry truth, blessing, and the promised Seed to the world — and God has the right in will and wisdom to choose and set aside instruments for that work. Jacob's line was chosen to carry that truth while Esau's line was set aside from that particular honor and privilege, yet this did not choose Jacob for personal salvation nor condemn Esau. It did not bar Esau from salvation if he sought God in the appointed way, did not grant special privileges to the Jewish nation, but bestows favor impartially on Jews and Gentiles who accept it.
God's decisions to choose, preserve, or destroy are not arbitrary decrees for wrath against those who have done nothing to deserve it. Foreknowledge revealed character before birth, for God foresaw the character Esau would develop, and hatred did not mean help was withheld, since He did everything within His power to help and could have given the same righteous character if yielded to as Jacob did. He offers grace and patiently gives opportunities to serve His purposes, but those who persistently resist and reject Him, lacking faith and lightly esteeming promises and inheritance, become fit and unfit for continued existence and are at last given over to their own ways, which becomes an occasion for displaying power and glory.
The verse does not mean God predestines anyone to eternal destruction or chooses anyone for sin and condemnation, since He calls all to righteousness and life. His choosing is a call to salvation through grace and mercy that people may accept by choosing His way, set within His purpose to save and not a decree that some must be lost. When God hated Esau He loved him less than Jacob, not predestining him to condemnation before birth; the election there is not to eternal life or eternal death and does not fix Jacob's salvation or Esau's destruction. The gift of grace through Christ is free to all, Esau lost the birthright by his own voluntary act in selling it, Jacob's defrauding him of the blessing did not deprive him of securing blessing, man turns from God and not God from man so responsibility rests with man, every soul keeps the privilege of choosing and is therefore held responsible, and God hated only in the sense He hates sin.
The verse belongs to teaching identifying the heirs of promise and how the promise is obtained. Not all descended from Israel are counted as Israel, physical descent and blood relationship by themselves prove nothing and decide nothing, and character alone determines true Israel. Unbelieving descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, following after righteousness by works and stumbling at the Stone, are not counted as seed and forfeit the conditional kingdom promises under the old covenant, while Gentiles who seek righteousness by faith gain precedence and with the believing remnant become Abraham's seed, Israelites by adoption, and children of the promise sharing the same body and promises. There is therefore no special favor by birth, no national restoration according to the flesh but fulfillment in Christ for those who believe, no casting off of His people whom He endures with long-suffering even as vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and Israel is defined by faith in Jesus with the tribes not restored according to the flesh.
Divine Love and Human Response
God's loving and hating are not like selfish human feeling, for He bears no vindictive spirit toward sinners and takes no pleasure in their death. He hated Esau only in the sense in which He hates sin, yet in justice and mercy He must finally remove those who cling to sin for the safety of the universe. That He loves and hates, and is described as angry, shows that He has passions.
Foreknowledge revealed the characters of Jacob and Esau before they were born, and hatred did not mean help was withheld, for He did everything within His power to help Esau, and if Esau had yielded as Jacob did He could have given him the same righteous character. Esau lost the birthright by his own voluntary act in selling it for food, and Jacob's success in defrauding him of the blessing did not deprive Esau of the privilege of securing God's blessing. Man turns from God and not God from man, so responsibility rests with man, and God was willing to save Esau. Here hated means loved less, not human hatred that wishes or does harm.
God's love for Jacob stands alongside Isaac's love for Esau and Rebekah's love for Jacob, and alongside the truth that God loved the world. That Jacob was beloved of God did not mean an earthly life free from suffering, for he passed through a long chain of trials and his reward was not earthly. His love and Esau's rejection cannot be measured by worldly fortunes, since Esau received Mount Seir and its earthly good things during his lifetime, while Jacob lived as a stranger and died in Egypt without receiving his inheritance. Esau's apparent wealth was temporary, while Jacob's hope was in the world to come where he would receive an inheritance lasting forever, so Jacob made the wiser choice because he was willing to wait. The contrast of loving and hating teaches that love for God must come before love for family or for self.