Did God Hate Essau

[Traderjane]

I saw a few comments in another thread to the effect that God hated Essau. I didn't wantt to derail the thread by asking about it there, but this really surprised me. I have never read the story that way nor have I ever heard it protrayed that way. Is there a reason some think that God hated Essau?

Thanks!

 

[resurrection33]

I don’t think the Lord hated anybody.

 

[ProdigalSon]

Well the only thing that I have come across concerning this is in Malachi 1:2-3 and it is echoed again in Romans 9:10-13. So yeah this is a good question but it does seem to be a little controversial. Even if you say what Paul said in Romans was just a mans view of it, how do you explain what God clearly said to Malachi?

 

[loveschild]

Question: "Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau (Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13)?"

Answer: Malachi 1:2-3 declares, “’I have loved you,’” says the LORD. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' ‘Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ the LORD says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’” Malachi 1:2-3 is quoted and alluded to in Romans 9:10-13, “Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau? If God is love (1 John 4:8), how could He hate anyone?

When studying the Bible, it is critically important to always study the context of a particular Bible verse or passage. In these instances, the Prophet Malachi and the Apostle Paul are using the name “Esau” to refer to the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau. Isaac and Rebekah had two sons, Esau and Jacob. God chose Jacob (whom He later renamed Israel) to be the father of His chosen people, the Israelites. God rejected Esau (who was also called Edom), and did not choose him to be the father of His chosen people. Esau’s and his descendants, the Edomites, were in many ways blessed by God (Genesis 33:9; Genesis chapter 36).

So, considering the context, God loving Jacob and hating Esau has nothing to do with the human emotions of love and hate. It has everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and rejecting another man and his descendants. God choose Abraham out of all the men in the world. The Bible very well could say, “Abraham I loved, and every other man I hated.” God choose Abraham’s son Isaac instead of Abraham’s son Ishmael. The Bible very well could say, “Isaac I loved, and Ishmael I hated.” Romans chapter 9 makes it abundantly clear that loving Jacob and hating Esau was entirely related to which of them God chose. Hundreds of years after Jacob and Esau had died, the Israelites and Edomites became bitter enemies. The Edomites often aided Israel’s enemies in attacks on Israel. Esau’s descendants brought God’s curse upon themselves. Genesis 27:29 tells us, “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

 

[Credo_ut_Intelligam]

I don't think there should be a problem in acknowledging that God hates some persons, as long as we don't impute to God the same sort of hate that we as humans feel. We need to recognize that God has all of our affectional states, only without the taint of sin with which we experience our own affectional states.

This goes for the affection of love to. Yes, God loves people and God is love, but it could be misleading if we simply take our own concept of love or experience of love and impute that to God. We have to let Scripture correct our ideas about what love is and should be. Likewise with anger, hate, or wrath (although this may be more difficult).

Nevertheless, Scripture seems clear that God experiences "hate". This was discussed in another thread, here: http://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/17800-hate-sin-love-sinner.html

This is usually seen as more problematic in regards to the Esau passage because Paul makes it clear in Romans that this is prior to and not on the basis of their (Jacob's and Esau's) works. Nevertheless, Paul's point in Romans seems clear: God has the prerogative to act as he pleases, to the glory of his name.

 

[Ricke]

God indeed hated Esau. Esau was born a Jew the first born, and sold his birthright to his younger Brother Jacob for a Hot meal.

Jacob did this to have The first born's blessing, then Esau's Mother Rachel, also Jacob's Mother set it up so Jacob could get Esau's rightful inheritance. Israel their Father was almost blind, and could not see Jacob.

So Jacob and His Mother Rachel "Conned" Israel. Esau showed his contempt for his own people, The Children of Israel, by Esau selling his birthright to younger Brother Jacob. Israel, gave all the rightful blessings to Jacob unknowingly but Esau deserved it, for his contempt.

The Bible also tells us Esau favored dating non-Jews which was a no-no and Rachel and Israel did not like Esau dating Non Jewish Girls. Great story..in Genesis

God however dealt with Jacob just like he deceived and tricked Esau, God tricked him to work 7 years for the hand of a lady he dearly loved. On his Wedding Night her Dad gave Jacob the older Sister to wife, explaining the oldest has to be married first as a custom. So Jacob had to work another 7 Years to finally get the sister he really Loved.

Then The Bible teaches God got him again.....He shut the womb up of the Sister he loved and gave Children to the Sister he did not Love. Eventually God opened up the womb of The wife he loved..and from these two Woman come the 12 Tribes of Israel....

 

[distinctiveministry]

In Malachi (and therefore Romans, when it is quoted), "Esau" is clearly a reference not to just Esau the person, but to his decendents, the land of Edom. The Malachi passage contrasts God's relationships with Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) in order to show God's faithfulness. The loved/hated expression as used in scripture rarely or never literally means hated, but is just used as a contrast to the love relationship.
That the Romans passage quotes this may also be evidence that Paul is arguing not in favor of individual election, but in God's perrogative to work in and through whole groups of people while still holding individuals accountable. It essentially says, in keeping with the very beginning of the same chapter, that yes, God did choose and work through Israel, but no, this does not mean that every Israelite is in right relationship to God. He is faithful to His covenants, and His covenants were ultimately not with individuals, but with a whole nation.
So no, the passages cited are not reason enough to say that God literally hated Esau the man.

 

[Shwagga]

Genesis 25:23
And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.

 

[Slepsog4]

It is not about the person but the nation which came from him. God made a choice which one would be the source for the coming Messiah.

 

[Traderjane]

I agree that "hate" in the bible can't mean literal emotional hate in the way we use it today. For example, I can't imagine that Jesus urged people to literally "hate" their parents.

A while ago, I used Essau as a counter example to Cain in a discussion of how one should react to not being chosen by God. Unlike Cain who can not get over his bitterness, Essau, after a period of grieving comes to terms with his lot. He prospers with a successful family. He is gracious to Jacob and generously reaches out to him to ease Jacob's return. Essau's descendants became Isreal's enemies, but Essau and his family seem to have been quite blessed.

-Jane

 

[Crazy4GODword]

GOD does not hate anybody, for someone even worse than him He gave 1/3 of the kingdom of GOD (Lucifer) and made it into what is now called hell.

 

[Glowing]

GOD does not hate anybody, for someone even worse than him He gave 1/3 of the kingdom of GOD (Lucifer) and made it into what is now called hell.

If you think God ,or, we, enjoy this war on evil, that has been and still is at war, then your misunderstanding something. God not only has ALL of our emotions, but even morenaturally(supernaturally) so.

Yes God hated Essua, Yes God Hates Evil, Yes God Hates Unfairness, Yes God Hates ILL Communication, Yes God Hates how many of his children he has to send to grade 2 (The Lord's Day) Yes God not only Hates what he ultimatley has to do to who was Lucifer(Satan/Death) and Yes God HATES that he has to repent himself of what HE WILL do to Death(satan/Lucifer).

Not meanig to be rude Bro, just real.

Love and Peace To ALL in CHRIST!!!

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

When Scripture talks about God’s hatred, it uses a distinctly biblical idiom which does not imply that Yahweh exhibits disgust, disdain or a desire for revenge. There are clear objects meriting God’s hatred, including the seven evils of Proverbs 6:16–19, all forms of hypocritical worship (Is 1:14; Amos 5:21) and even death itself, as Jesus demonstrated at the grave of Lazarus in John 11:33, 38 (see also Mk 3:5; 10:14; and Jn 2:17).

But in this antonymic pair of love and hate, as used in Scripture, there is a specialized meaning. A close parallel to the emotions expressed for Jacob and Esau is Jacob’s response to his wives, Rachel and Leah, in Genesis 29:30–33. While Genesis 29:31, 33 says that Jacob hated Leah, Genesis 29:30 clarifies this usage by stating in the same context that he loved Rachel more than Leah. A similar situation is found in Deuteronomy 21:15–17.
To summarize, the hated one is the one loved less.

The New Testament uses the same terminology in Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13. There are two parallel lists which use the formula even more dramatically. Matthew 10:37 says, "Anyone who loves … more than me," while Luke 14:26 states the same concept as, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate … "

God does not experience psychological hatred with all its negative and sinful connotations. In this text, he merely affirms that Jacob had had a distinctive call, for when he had been blessed, all the nations of the world would eventually, if not immediately, profit from his blessing. Thus there came a ranking and a preference, in order to carry out God’s plan and to bring the very grace that Esau would also need.

God’s love and hate (in his deciding to prefer one person for a certain blessed task) were bestowed apart from anything these men were or did. God’s choice of Jacob took place before Jacob’s birth (Gen 25:23; Rom 9:11). Thus it is unfair to interpret these verses as evidence of favoritism or of partiality on the part of God. They express a different set of realities from what English words generally signify.

​

 

[Crazy4GODword]

If you think God ,or, we, enjoy this war on evil, that has been and still is at war, then your misunderstanding something. God not only has ALL of our emotions, but even morenaturally(supernaturally) so.

Yes God hated Essua, Yes God Hates Evil, Yes God Hates Unfairness, Yes God Hates ILL Communication, Yes God Hates how many of his children he has to send to grade 2 (The Lord's Day) Yes God not only Hates what he ultimatley has to do to who was Lucifer(Satan/Death) and Yes God HATES that he has to repent himself of what HE WILL do to Death(satan/Lucifer).

Not meanig to be rude Bro, just real.

Love and Peace To ALL in CHRIST!!!

what i was meaning was friend that He does not hate anybody because He created everything, but He does hate the thing that are wicked or the acts of wickedness, plus hate is a strong word for when someone hates someone else they can kill them or something serous, Just as people who like the same gender, for it is not them that GOD hates but the acts of the sexualness that is being played (no offense)

 

[Devolution]

I saw a few comments in another thread to the effect that God hated Essau. I didn't wantt to derail the thread by asking about it there, but this really surprised me. I have never read the story that way nor have I ever heard it protrayed that way. Is there a reason some think that God hated Essau?

Thanks!

Esau treated his inheritance with disdain. As though it were worthless. What else was in Esau's heart that we as men could never hope to see? What else did his heart trample in secret? But there is One that sees to the very soul. He, He can discern, and it is His place and right...to hate that which is vile.

Zechariah 11:8
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month, and My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred Mine.

Psalm 2
1: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed saying,
3: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us
4: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision
5: Then He shall speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure

Psalm 7:11
God judgeth the righteous,and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 14:2-3
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Proverbs 1:24-26
24: Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded;
25: But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of My reproof:
26: I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh

There are so many hundreds more in many different offerings. Yes God hates. Is it such an incomprehensible notion? God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. If we, being but filthy rags before Him, can still, in our souls, loathe wickedness, and abhor the wicked man who does such things, even though we also, having various types of sin within us, desensitizing us to varying degrees towards personally applicable assorted sins, and men, yet we are still able in this compromised state, to discern and hate the greater exponents of sin, how much more God the lesser ones? Who is purer than us yet not subject to desensitization or compromise? I speak broadly here. Remember: we only see in men what is put before us, God sees the true man in all his vileness and secret of heart. Yes of course He hates. Though He has no pleasure in it...nor compromised or corrupted by it, He does hate it. This is important to remember.

Hate the sin and not the sinner.
Though wise counsel, and to be exercised through discernment, this is nevertheless used against those weaker more influential ones amongst us, and used against us for manipulation through stealthy acceptance by subtility by the enemy. It is a tool to cause pause, to cause you to question. To water down those unawares, and more extremely: those who outwardly appear righteous, but inside are, or are becoming, ravening wolves. It is taken out of context however, and many are paralyzed by it, and err in judgments and the like. At times accepting what should not nor ever be accepted. I have been guilty also, we all have at times if we are honest. We need be aware. It is a two edged blade, and many are cut upon handling it.

There are levels of sin, and sinners. There is a point where that saying must end, and the sinner becomes personally hated by God indeed. For when that person and his sin become truly one and the same, well, they then are the same. And he now is Hated, for he is now a living example of the sin he carries. They become one. And God always sees the end result, we however, can only appreciate what is past, and what is unfolding in the present, and weigh it accordingly against our precepts. God is free of this restriction. That is important to consider. For who among us knows what tomorrow brings?

Let not social engineering rob you of your wits. Nor peer pressure cause you to compromise. Nor be afraid of intellectual brow beating and seemingly logical philosophizings which are actually against truth well disguised. Keep aware and let not your consciences be seared until you are desensitized..for before you realize, you will be tolerating more and more wickedness amongst you until you also become tainted as they, by association. Satan is very very clever, and we are his targets. You and I, his most hated of enemies, and enemies hope to destroy.....and are indeed hated.

And after all this is acknowledged and understood in its many complexities, though hate is present on Gods behalf, it is not enjoyed nor savored nor built upon for hates sake. Nor is it unjust for righteousness to abhor wickedness. It is a just hatred enacted for the sake of right. For our sakes, and our childrens. It is just this: a righteous uncompromisable hatred for evil. God has no pleasure in destroying wickedness. But it is His place to protect His good children in doing so. Therefore, He must and He will.

Yes it is a touchy subject, yes the waters can be murky for us subject to the here and now, peering through smudged windows, with limited insight into the motives of men, but not for God. All is clear and open before Him. And God does hate. We would never be safe if He did not. All would be lost. All would be compromised. And evil would win...God forbid. Smite them Lord, and avenge all those they have slain with twisted pleasure in wickedness, for they are vile. Amen.

 

[thewordofgod]

I saw a few comments in another thread to the effect that God hated Essau. I didn't wantt to derail the thread by asking about it there, but this really surprised me. I have never read the story that way nor have I ever heard it protrayed that way. Is there a reason some think that God hated Essau?

Thanks!

God doesn't hate anyone. He's the one who planned everything before he created us so what you see today was planned by God.

God chose Jacob as the one who was created with Jesus, the saints and the other prophets as the Word.

Psalm 135:
4: For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.

I Colossians 1:
15: He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation;
16: for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him.
17: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18: He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
19: For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,
　
John 1
1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2: He was in the beginning with God;
3: all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
　
Ephesians 1:
3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
5: He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6: to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
　
Romans 8:
28: We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose
29: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.
30: And those whom he predestined he also called and those whom he called; he also justified; and those whom he justified; he also glorified.
　
II Thesalonians 2:
13: But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
14: To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
　
John 15
16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jeremiah 15:
15: Behold, I am bringing upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the LORD. It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say.

Psalm 33:
12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

 

[resurrection33]

I saw a few comments in another thread to the effect that God hated Essau. I didn't wantt to derail the thread by asking about it there, but this really surprised me. I have never read the story that way nor have I ever heard it protrayed that way. Is there a reason some think that God hated Essau?

Thanks!

I don’t think the Lord hates anyone. He will discipline us, for own good, but I don’t think he hates anyone.

 

[thewordofgod]

I don


God doesn't care what his sinners are doing because he planned it all to happen just the way we're living it. This age was only meant for his

prophets, Jesus and us saints so he could reveal his knowledge in our heart, mind and souls. This knowledge will be needed in paradise to guide us

in forming a new vocabulary and language that all God's people will speak for eternity. Once we have a new language, then God can begin to speak

through us again.

 

[Glowing]

Esau treated his inheritance with disdain. As though it were worthless. What else was in Esau's heart that we as men could never hope to see? What else did his heart trample in secret? But there is One that sees to the very soul. He, He can discern, and it is His place and right...to hate that which is vile.

Zechariah 11:8
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month, and My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred Mine.

Psalm 2
1: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed saying,
3: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us
4: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision
5: Then He shall speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure

Psalm 7:11
God judgeth the righteous,and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 14:2-3
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Proverbs 1:24-26
24: Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded;
25: But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of My reproof:
26: I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh

There are so many hundreds more in many different offerings. Yes God hates. Is it such an incomprehensible notion? God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. If we, being but filthy rags before Him, can still, in our souls, loathe wickedness, and abhor the wicked man who does such things, even though we also, having various types of sin within us, desensitizing us to varying degrees towards personally applicable assorted sins, and men, yet we are still able in this compromised state, to discern and hate the greater exponents of sin, how much more God the lesser ones? Who is purer than us yet not subject to desensitization or compromise? I speak broadly here. Remember: we only see in men what is put before us, God sees the true man in all his vileness and secret of heart. Yes of course He hates. Though He has no pleasure in it...nor compromised or corrupted by it, He does hate it. This is important to remember.

Hate the sin and not the sinner.
Though wise counsel, and to be exercised through discernment, this is nevertheless used against those weaker more influential ones amongst us, and used against us for manipulation through stealthy acceptance by subtility by the enemy. It is a tool to cause pause, to cause you to question. To water down those unawares, and more extremely: those who outwardly appear righteous, but inside are, or are becoming, ravening wolves. It is taken out of context however, and many are paralyzed by it, and err in judgments and the like. At times accepting what should not nor ever be accepted. I have been guilty also, we all have at times if we are honest. We need be aware. It is a two edged blade, and many are cut upon handling it.

There are levels of sin, and sinners. There is a point where that saying must end, and the sinner becomes personally hated by God indeed. For when that person and his sin become truly one and the same, well, they then are the same. And he now is Hated, for he is now a living example of the sin he carries. They become one. And God always sees the end result, we however, can only appreciate what is past, and what is unfolding in the present, and weigh it accordingly against our precepts. God is free of this restriction. That is important to consider. For who among us knows what tomorrow brings?

Let not social engineering rob you of your wits. Nor peer pressure cause you to compromise. Nor be afraid of intellectual brow beating and seemingly logical philosophizings which are actually against truth well disguised. Keep aware and let not your consciences be seared until you are desensitized..for before you realize, you will be tolerating more and more wickedness amongst you until you also become tainted as they, by association. Satan is very very clever, and we are his targets. You and I, his most hated of enemies, and enemies hope to destroy.....and are indeed hated.

And after all this is acknowledged and understood in its many complexities, though hate is present on Gods behalf, it is not enjoyed nor savored nor built upon for hates sake. Nor is it unjust for righteousness to abhor wickedness. It is a just hatred enacted for the sake of right. For our sakes, and our childrens. It is just this: a righteous uncompromisable hatred for evil. God has no pleasure in destroying wickedness. But it is His place to protect His good children in doing so. Therefore, He must and He will.

Yes it is a touchy subject, yes the waters can be murky for us subject to the here and now, peering through smudged windows, with limited insight into the motives of men, but not for God. All is clear and open before Him. And God does hate. We would never be safe if He did not. All would be lost. All would be compromised. And evil would win...God forbid. Smite them Lord, and avenge all those they have slain with twisted pleasure in wickedness, for they are vile. Amen.

Thank-You Devolution; put at least a 1000 times better than i could ever hope to ! Sorry that i wasn't more thorough in my explaination, as i was tired at the time, it was more a gut reaction that i had responded with, as he is only 15, it just blows me away what some so called Pastors are teaching.

Love and Peace Forever in CHRIST!!!

 

[NoahsDad]

I don


God doesn't care what his sinners are doing because he planned it all to happen just the way we're living it. This age was only meant for his

prophets, Jesus and us saints so he could reveal his knowledge in our heart, mind and souls. This knowledge will be needed in paradise to guide us

in forming a new vocabulary and language that all God's people will speak for eternity. Once we have a new language, then God can begin to speak

through us again.

O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?