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Jacob have I loved...

Christ_empowered

Christ_empowered

Member
...Esau have I hated. I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, I will show compassion to whom I shall show compassion....

...what do we do with this? I mean, accept it, yeah--its in The Bible, right? But how do we, as Born Again Christians trying to work out our own salvation and also witness to the lost, deal with the mystery of God's dealing with us and with others?

For me personally, its been kinda rough. Its one thing to go through things and "take responsibility" (always a good thing, but I think American culture in the 21st century takes it a bit too far); its another to be the recipient of extreme grace, miracles, even, and wonder: why me? I guess the psychology people call this "survivor's guilt" or something. It does something to inspire a healthy fear of God, that's for sure; seeing that you could have been destroyed like so many others.

Anyway, this isn't about me. I was just throwing that in there to get the convo going. God deals with us as He sees fit, I know--there's no way around that one--but...

...I dunno. These are just hard things for me to wrap my mind around.
 
2 “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, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” - Mal 1:2-3
Click to expand...

I don't intend to fully answer your question as God's ways are typically beyond our finite thinking. But here are a couple things to consider...
  • God was creating contrast between those whom He has chosen and those whom He hasn't. God really "calls" everyone, but it's those who respond who are really "chosen." This is why Jesus says, "Many are called, few are chosen." Many are called but few respond. I actually discuss this in the beginning of a recent sermon I preached, listen to it here for free: Click Here Esau didn't respond to God the way Jacob did and therefore the nation of Israel was more blessed than Edom.
  • God's doesn't bow down to man's tradition. Man's tradition was that the first born would receive a spiritual blessing and a double-portion inheritance. This would've been Esau, however, Esau didn't value it as much as Jacob did. The tradition of man was pretty ridiculous in this case too since they were twins! Neither of them was the older brother in reality (one of them just popped out seconds before the other)! They were the same age! Thus, God mocks the irrelevant tradition of man and choose who He sees fit.
Just a couple thoughts to chew on, I'm sure others have more...
 
This kinda explains why God does what He does. It's a bit long but well worth the read.

Romans 9
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
 
Gary said:
This kinda explains why God does what He does. It's a bit long but well worth the read.

Romans 9
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Click to expand...

Good verses to remember.

Man-centred thinking is, in contrast, upside down.

Blessings.
 
Christ_empowered
An excerpt of the Study of Romans – Election Made Plain
http://www.gracegod.com/Study Books/Romans1.pdf
To find this portion of the study use "Ctrl F, type "Jacob" and and hit enter which will be the second time Jacob is mentioned in the study.

God said He hated Esau, but loved Jacob - Romans 9:13; but this was uttered years after they had both manifested their nature - Malachi 1:1-3. Esau represented the fleshly seed, the old Adam; Jacob the spiritual line, the last Adam. God chooses none of the old creation, either in Israel or any other nation. They were all, according to His provision, put to death with Christ - their Substitute and Representative.
 
I wrote a series of short articles on the subject which come under the title 'Jacob have I loved'.

There is a complete explanation of why God said what He said, and Jacob did as he did.

Use the search function to find it, and you'll see what I mean.
 
Christ_empowered said:
...Esau have I hated. I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, I will show compassion to whom I shall show compassion....

...what do we do with this? I mean, accept it, yeah--its in The Bible, right? But how do we, as Born Again Christians trying to work out our own salvation and also witness to the lost, deal with the mystery of God's dealing with us and with others?

For me personally, its been kinda rough. Its one thing to go through things and "take responsibility" (always a good thing, but I think American culture in the 21st century takes it a bit too far); its another to be the recipient of extreme grace, miracles, even, and wonder: why me? I guess the psychology people call this "survivor's guilt" or something. It does something to inspire a healthy fear of God, that's for sure; seeing that you could have been destroyed like so many others.

Anyway, this isn't about me. I was just throwing that in there to get the convo going. God deals with us as He sees fit, I know--there's no way around that one--but...

...I dunno. These are just hard things for me to wrap my mind around.
Click to expand...

We begin with repent, as so many things in our heart go wrong, and need to be wiped out. As I think.

With love.
 
Christ_empowered said:
...Esau have I hated. I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, I will show compassion to whom I shall show compassion....

...what do we do with this? I mean, accept it, yeah--its in The Bible, right? But how do we, as Born Again Christians trying to work out our own salvation and also witness to the lost, deal with the mystery of God's dealing with us and with others?

For me personally, its been kinda rough. Its one thing to go through things and "take responsibility" (always a good thing, but I think American culture in the 21st century takes it a bit too far); its another to be the recipient of extreme grace, miracles, even, and wonder: why me? I guess the psychology people call this "survivor's guilt" or something. It does something to inspire a healthy fear of God, that's for sure; seeing that you could have been destroyed like so many others.

Anyway, this isn't about me. I was just throwing that in there to get the convo going. God deals with us as He sees fit, I know--there's no way around that one--but...

...I dunno. These are just hard things for me to wrap my mind around.
Click to expand...

6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son." 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger." 13 As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Romans 9:6-13


The word hate, does not mean what we perceive in the traditional sense.

God is love.

This phrase means He loved Esau less, as contrasted to "hate" as we view the word hate.

Never the less, Paul is renewing their minds with some truth that specifically attacks the Hebrew stronghold within their mindset that says: I am saved because I am the seed of Abraham.

...For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

Abraham is my father; was the mindset that both John the Baptist and Jesus attacked with the truth.

Here are a couple of examples:

7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Luke 3:7-8

and again -

They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham... you are of your father the devil...
John 8:39,44


JLB
 
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