“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated (Romans 9:13)
There can be a fine line between love and hate. Love is a strong word for deep affection. Hate is an equally strong word for intense dislike. In the Old Testament, Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Isaac being the promised son of Abraham. But in Romans 9:13 we learn that God loved Jacob, yet hated his twin brother Esau? The word hate used in Romans 9:13 means, “to detest.” God actually detested Esau. In fact, Esau is the only person singled out that says God hated. But the question is why?
If you are familiar with the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau, you are aware that Esau was a skilled hunter. Jacob a quiet, more reserved son. Isaac favored Esau, while Rebecca favored Jacob. One day Esau came home hungry from hunting. In fact, the bible says that he was starving. When he walked into the kitchen, he found Jacob cooking up a big pot of stew. Esau wanted some of it to satisfy his hunger. Jacob said sure, he would fix Esau a bowl – IF he would give his birthright to Jacob. Why would Jacob want that? What is so important about a birthright? A birthright was something given to the eldest son of a Jewish family. Having it meant that son would receive a double portion of the family inheritance once the patriarch (father) of the family passed away. But it also meant something far more significant than mere financial gain. It meant the elder brother would become the spiritual head (the priest) of the family. Being the family priest was a right given by God. Esau agreed to the transaction, ate the stew, got up and left the kitchen, showing contempt for his birthright. Being the firstborn is something very sacred to God, even if it wasn’t to Esau. The bible refers to Jesus Christ as being God’s firstborn (Romans 8:29 and Colossians 1:18). In giving his birthright for a bowl of stew, Esau actually rejected God. Thus, God ejected Esau.
According to author Max Lucado, the bible references seven things that are holy (sacred) to God. They are God’s chosen people (I Peter 2:9), human life (Genesis 1:27; 9:5-6), marriage (Matthew 19:6), sex (Hebrews 13:4), the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8), the tithe (Leviticus 27:30), and the name of God (Exodus 20:7). We need to be very careful how we treat things that are holy to God. If we reject these things as being holy, we are treating them with the same contempt that Esau treated his birthright.
I encourage each of us to ponder the things that are holy to God and ask him to help us love the things that he loves and hate the things he hates. There can be a fine line between the two. Let’s be very careful that we do not cross it.
Darlene