Understanding “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
“(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 calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” – Romans 9:11-13
Few verses are quoted more often, or examined less carefully in their context, than Romans 9:13. It is commonly used to teach that before Jacob and Esau were born, God arbitrarily chose Jacob for salvation and Esau for condemnation. It is one of the primary passages used to support the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election.
But Romans 9:13 does not stand alone. Paul is quoting Scripture, and when we follow the Bible’s own cross references, the meaning becomes remarkably clear.
Two Nations
Romans 9:12 says: “It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.”
The key is to notice where this statement comes from. Paul is quoting Genesis 25:23, where God told Rebekah:
“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.”
God Himself defines the context: “Two nations.”Jacob, later named Israel, would become the father of the nation Israel through the twelve tribes that came from his twelve sons. Esau, also called Edom, would become the father of the Edomites, after marrying wives from the land of Canaan contrary to Isaac and Rebekah’s instruction. The promise ultimately concerned the nations that would come from each of the sons. Both individuals, and both nations from those individuals, are interchangeably called Jacob or Israel, and Esau or Edom, throughout Scripture and the context determines what is being referenced.
This also explains the statement, “The elder shall serve the younger.”
If this prophecy were primarily about Jacob and Esau personally, we would expect to find Esau becoming Jacob’s servant during their lifetimes. But that never happened. Instead, the prophecy was fulfilled through their descendants.
During David’s reign, Israel conquered Edom. First Chronicles 18:13 records that “all the Edomites became David’s servants.” The nation from the elder, Edom, became subject to the younger, Israel. This will also be fulfilled in totality in the future when God judges Edom through Israel in the day of the Lord (Ezk 25:12-14, Oba 1:15-18).
“As It Is Written”
Paul then writes in Romans 9:13: “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
Those words, “As it is written,” give us another built-in cross-reference. Paul is quoting Malachi 1, written more than a thousand years after the individual men Jacob and Esau had died:
“The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.” - Malachi 1:1-5
Notice the language carefully. Esau’s mountains, his heritage, desolate places, and Edom itself are all mentioned. This is very plainly national language. Malachi is not, nor is Paul, describing God arbitrarily hating an unborn child. He is describing God’s judgment upon the nation of Edom after centuries of wickedness.
God’s Hatred Was Not Arbitrary
Esau the man was not condemned in the womb. In fact, God blessed Esau through Isaac and gave his descendants Mount Seir for a possession (Gen 27:38-40).
Deuteronomy 2:5 says: “I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.”
God commanded Israel concerning the Edomites in Deuteronomy 23:7: “Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother.”
The hatred spoken of in Malachi concerns what the nation of Edom became and God’s righteous judgment against its wickedness. The prophets repeatedly identify Edom’s violence, pride, cruelty, and hatred toward Israel as reasons for judgment (Ezk 25:12-14, Oba 1:8-18, Amo 1:9-12).
God does hate, but His hatred is not arbitrary. Proverbs 6:16-19 plainly identifies things that the LORD hates, and they are all connected with wickedness and unrighteousness:
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
This is a testament to how vast God’s love is to an unrighteous world, dying for undeserving sinners and offering them salvation freely by His grace through faith in Christ (Rom 5:8-21).
Election Concerns God’s Purpose
Romans 9:11 says that all of this occurred: “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.”
The election in this passage concerns God choosing the line through which His promises and purpose for Israel would be fulfilled.
God chose Jacob rather than Esau as the line through which the nation Israel and the promises to the fathers would continue. That choice was not based upon Jacob earning it through good works or his own personal faith (he lied and deceived Isaac to obtain the blessing after all). Neither child had yet done good or evil when God declared which line He would use. The point is God’s purpose, not an eternal decree assigning one individual to heaven and another to hell.
Paul later makes the national nature of Israel’s election clear in Romans 11:28, despite the fact that most of the nation of Israel opposed the gospel: “as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.”
God’s love for Jacob concerns His election and covenant purpose through Israel and His faithfulness to the promises He made unto the fathers of the nation.
Let the Bible Explain the Bible
When we put the passages together, the context is clear. Genesis 25 tells us there were two nations in Rebekah’s womb.
Romans 9:12 repeats the prophecy that “the elder shall serve the younger.” History records Edom serving Israel and also God’s future judgment of Edom by Israel (Ezk 25:12-14).
Romans 9:13 then quotes Malachi, which plainly speaks about Israel and Edom more than a thousand years after Jacob and Esau themselves were gone.
The Bible has given us the context from beginning to end. This is why cross-references are so valuable in Bible study. Sometimes a verse appears difficult because we have heard a theological system imposed upon it before we have allowed Scripture to explain itself. As a former Calvinist, I can definitely attest to this, especially surrounding election.
But when Romans says, “As it is written,” we should go read what was written. When Genesis says, “Two nations are in thy womb,” we should believe that the prophecy and word of promise concerns two nations. And when Malachi speaks of Edom’s mountains, heritage, wickedness, and judgment, we should understand “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” within that same national context.
Context matters. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual allows the Bible to define and explain itself, but it takes careful study and effort that many don’t do (1Co 2:13). When Scripture gives us its own cross-references, we should use them, rather than trust in the tradition and private interpretation of men.
