Genesis 25: 19 - 25
TWO NATIONS ARE IN THY WOMB
19) And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:
20) And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21) And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22) And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23) And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24) And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25) And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26) And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them. King James Version Public Domain
JESUS, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HATRED?
I. The Setting of the statement:
A. Their Birth (Genesis 25: 19-26)
Jacob and Esau's birth represented the beginning of two nations. Esau was the firstborn and thereby legal heir to the family birthright which included, among other things, being a recipient to the covenant between God and Abraham. God foretold, prior to their birth, that the birthright would be Jacob's. For this birthright was to be the link in the line of descent through which the Promised Messiah would be born. (Numbers 24: 17-19)
B. Their Character (Genesis 25: 26, 27)
Esau was a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman in every sense of the word. Jacob was said to be plain and dwelled in tents. In other words, Jacob's life was boring! Nothing exciting to write about. No great adventures to tell. The word "plain" describes Jacob's character to come - as a person who would become a man of God. (Psalm 135:4) Remember, a person's character is an overflow of the state of their heart.
C. Their Interest (Genesis 25: 26 - 34)
Esau had no interest in spiritual things so he agreed to sell his birthright to Joseph. His response revealed the value he placed on the birthright as he impulsively surrendered the spiritual, his birthright, to his younger brother for temporary satisfying the physical, his hunger. I could make an entire sermon just from these verses alone! We often do the same thing today as Esau, ignoring the eternal/spiritual for the temporal/physical. Oh, how I cry unto my LORD regarding this.
II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STATEMENT!
A. God did not hate Esau in the sense of cursing him or setting Himself against him. After all, Esau was a blessed man. (Genesis 33:9, 36: 1 - 43) God loving Jacob and hating Esau had nothing to do with the human emotions of love and hate as we understand them. It had everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and rejecting another and his descendants because of their character. Romans 9 teaches us that God unconditionally elected Jacob to be the recipient of the Abrahamic Covenant: Jacob would be blessed; his seed would be blessed and the world would be blessed through his seed. But Jacob being elected to receive the blessing didn't determine Esau's cursing. It was his character and behavioral choices in that he rejected God.
We all have free will. At any time, we can choose God over all gods. We can humble ourselves to the King of Kings and obey Him, fully complying with His will. He chose each one of us. We are the ones who chooses to have our names blotted out of The Lamb's Book of Life. The choice is ours alone. What is your choice? click here for more information on eternal salvation: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.
B. God hating Esau and loving Jacob was more about rejection and acceptance of God Himself. Remember, in the Holy Bible, the word hatred means to despise or love less but it also means rejection. (Romans 9: 1 - 13) God loved Jacob and hated Esau because when he sold his birthright, he snubbed the privilege he had been given and thereby rejected God and in turn God rejected him. It was according to acceptance that one, Jacob, would receive the Abrahamic covenant and one would reject it, Esau, by his very behavior and attitude regarding the birthright. The whole significance of the statement is that when God declared Jacob and his descendants to be the recipients of the Abrahamic Covenant through whom the Savior would come, He chose to love Israel like no other.
Here, can I say, that the last of the Ten Commandments is: Thou shalt not covet. Breaking this Commandment actually leads to breaking most if not all of the others. Be content with your blessings. Be happy for the blessings of others. Lean on Jehovah Rohi for all of your needs and desires. Put His Kingdom first and He will adjust your attitude and desires.
III. The Seriousness Of The Statement!
The seriousness of God loving Jacob and hating Esau is that salvation is based on God's sovereign choice. This is important... in order for God's sovereign purposes in election to stand it must not be by works but of God Who calls us according to His grace. (Titus 3:5). It is God's choice because our salvation originated in His heart. (Ephesians 1:4, Revelation 13, Romans 9: 16)
ROMANS 9
1) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2) That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3) For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
4) Who are Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6) Not as though the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7) Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8) That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9) For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah (Abraham's wife) shall have a son.
10) And not only this; but when Rebecca (Isaac's wife) also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11) (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calls;)
12) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13) As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14) What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15) For He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16) So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.
So, here are the points":
1) God has the sovereign right to reject anyone but He only does so, not because He hates them, but due to their rejection of Him like Esau did.
2) God's sovereign election involves a choosing prior to one's birth with a rejection of what a person will do in their life in response to His offer of salvation.
3) The idea taught here discards the belief that God ever appointed anyone to eternal life or death before they were born.
So, let's be thankful for so great a salvation that we have been given. Amen?
This post if based on the sermon received from our Pastor at First Baptist Church of New Caney, Texas. If this has been a blessing to you, please pray for our church and our blog ministry, that God will use us to reach those who are seeking His face. You are encouraged to leave a message in the comment section with questions or your thoughts about this post. We enjoy hearing from you.
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