Sermon Central
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Why God Hated Easu
Contributed by Joseph Miller on Mar 20, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: Explore how it's "fair" for a loving, non discriminating God to love one brother and hate the other.
WHY GOD HATED ESAU
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
This has got to be one of the most difficult verses in the Bible. This verse seems to totally contradict the very nature of God.
There's a book called, 'The hard sayings of Jesus' and also one called, 'The Difficult Sayings of Jesus'. Well, if I was looking for 'hard or difficult sayings of the Bible' surely this one would have to be included. Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Love just seems to primarily be the theme of the life of Christ.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
God's very nature is described as LOVE.
The reason Jesus Christ was born is because of God's love for mankind.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
He loved us when we were unloveable.
He loved us when we were still sinners.
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us
To the ones whom ask, "How do you know God loves you"?
Do you have any proof of His love?
I point you to a hill called Calvary and say, because of this, I KNOW God loves me?
If there isn't anything else we can look at to see His love manifest, look at Calvary.
Look at the cross
See him hanging there beaten, bleeding from every orifice of His body, yet pleading for our forgiveness.
That's LOVE!
He first loved me, not in word only but also in deed.
He showed me love so in return I should show Him love.
The love of God is limitless.
God loves and loves and loves and when people stop loving, God continues to love even more.
3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
An everlasting love - indefinite or unending future, eternity.
That's a long time and that's a lot of love.
I don't deserve it, but I'm thankful He extends it to me.
Then amidst all this we have said about The Love of God, we find these startling words, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
What hard words to grasp.
What a hard verse to even imagine being in the Bible.
Why would God love one and not the other?
We know that, God is no respecter of persons, but never forget, God is a respecter of principles.
He proves to the church that this gospel is for whosoever will in Acts 10.
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
God doesn't have favorites.
God doesn't choose one person over another person.
If we are chosen or rejected of God it's because of our choices.
In Acts 10 Peter has been called to preached to Cornelius.
Cornelius tells him about the angel that appeared to him while in prayer telling him to send for Peter.
Peter has had a vision on the roof top as these men are coming for him and now everything is starting to make sense to him.
He has the revelation that it isn't about your natural blood which flows through your veins but rather the love for God that flows through your being.
If you love God and have a heart for Him then you will be accepted of Him.
So HOW CAN and WHY WOULD this God whom is so NONDISCRIMINATORY say that he LOVES one yet HATES another?
Let's compare and contrast the 2 and see if we can understand this a little better.
Both are children of Jacob and grandchildren of Abraham.
One would almost automatically assume that both would have Abrahamic Covenant Rights.
Yet only one walks in the covenant of Abraham.
Esau is the first born and by virtue of being the first born he has certain rights.
He is the receiver of the birthright.
He gets a double portion of the inheritance.
But also, the one with the Birthright, was put in the line of the spiritual patriarchs of the family.
Esau’s birthright, however, meant more than an ordinary first-born son’s privilege. He was in a unique position, He was born to an inheritance which all the world’s wealth would not buy.
