Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. Welcome to another wonderful day. We are thankful to God for preserving our lives each new day and for blessing us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Happy Sunday to you all.
In our today’s episode 631, we shall be examining the book of Malachi Chapter 1 titled:
The Love Of God To Mankind; Why Did God Love Jacob And Hate Esau?
The book of Malachi was written around the fifth century, approximately between 440 and 400 BC. This was after which the ruined Temple had been rebuilt. We have examined this in our previous studies.
In the beginning of Malachi chapter 1, we read about how God declared His love for the people of Israel, but they protested, claiming that there were no proofs of God’s love for them. They said “if truly you love us, in what way have you demonstrated this love for us?
They got their answer in the following verse where God says he loved their ancestor (Jacob turned Israel), while He hated Esau.
Now, this is where many people get confused. Why would a loving God declare hatred for a human being that He created?
That is the focus of this message.
Is God not partial to love one person and hate the other, given the fact they both came from the same womb and also given the fact that God is Love (1 John 4:8)?
Before we examine that statement further, let’s quickly look at what Apostle Paul has to say. That is the purpose of the Epistles. We use the Epistles to explain the Old Testament books.
In Romans Chapter 9 from verse 11,
11-12 And before her twin sons were born, God spoke to Rebekah and said: “The oldest will serve the younger.” God spoke these words before the sons had done anything good or bad, which proves that God calls people not on the basis of their good or bad works, but according to his divine purpose.
13 For in the words of Scripture: “Jacob I have chosen, but Esau I have rejected.”
14 So, what does all this mean? Are we saying that God is unfair? Of course not! 15He had every right to say to Moses: “I will be merciful to whomever I choose and I will show compassion to whomever I wish.”
16 Again, this proves that God’s choice doesn’t depend on how badly someone wants it or tries to earn it, but it depends on God’s kindness and mercy.
I will recommend we read the entire chapter 9 of the book of Romans in order to have a clearer picture of the contextual meaning of Malachi’s message.
From Apostle Paul’s explanation, we will discover that he has helped us to interpret the two major words used by Malachi’s which are:
Love and Hate.
God, speaking through Prophet Malachi was not saying he loved Jacob or hated Esau in terms of emotion. God was simply saying he only chose to use Jacob for His divine purpose, while Esau was not chosen for that assignment.
Apostle Paul already made it clear from the Epistle he wrote to the Romans that choosing Jacob and rejecting Esau was not because of what both did. God made this decision even before both knew their right hand from their left hand.
That God chose Jacob did not mean Esau could not fulfil his own destiny too. Afterall, Esau too was blessed in so many ways (Please read Genesis 33:9; Genesis chapter 36). He had so many material possessions. The only difference is that Christ did not come through the lineage of Esau (the Edomites). Rather, Christ came through the lineage of Jacob (Israel). That was the divine assignment given to him. Hence, the meaning of the statement: “Jacob I love, Esau I hate.”
Please, never forget, this is not about emotional love and hatred. It’s about choosing someone for an assignment and not choosing another.
Please stay tuned as I will be digging deeper into this major topic of love and hate in our next episode.
To be continued… stay blessed.
Let’s pray:
I declare you continue to grow mightily in God’s Love and may you continue to enjoy all the dividends of redemption in Christ Jesus as we begin another new week in the new year, in Jesus name.
Every potential that has been lying dormant in you all these whiles, begin to receive divine force to quicken you into positive action in order to maximize those potentials for the benefit of humanity and for the glory of God, in Jesus name.
No one on this platform will die any untimely death, in Jesus name.
I command resources from every corner of the word begin to answer to you. Men will begin to favour you. Anywhere your name will be mentioned, it will be for good, and not for evil, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Book of Genesis Chapters 27 to 46 with Psalm 10 to 15
I call you blessed now and always.
Sunday January 17, 2021 (DDMI)
