10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
It sounds strange to the ears. He loves Jacob and hates Esau even before they were born? But this takes understanding the expression. It is a phrase of emphatic choice. It is not about love/hate in the traditional sense but God’s election, the older serving the younger, is his emphatic choice in election. It is a statement of high contrast.
This isn’t the only place we see this.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
Jesus is saying that those who follow must also make an emphatic choice. It isn’t that we are to hate father and mother as this would be disagreeing with the teachings to honor father and mother. Rather it is saying that the choice to follow Jesus must be an emphatic one above all other loves.
This does not mean abandonment or neglect of families. In fact the Scriptures say if you do that you are worse than an unbeliever. But it does mean Jesus comes first above all other loyalties.
The context and flow of God saying he hates Esau but loves Jacob is God choosing. He has first made this argument by saying that the descendants of Abraham are those who have faith and not necessarily those who are of blood alone. And now he says he is going to choose Jacob over Esau, not because of what they have done or not done, but this is the way he sees things unfolding.
Not through the natural order, but through God’s promise and election.
What does this mean for us?
Salvation is by faith, not by works. We see that through the promised seed, the Messiah, that will come through Isaac, the son of the promise.
Salvation will come from the line of Isaac and then Jacob, not Ishmael. We can expect God’s Messiah to come through the line of the Jewish people, because they are the descendants of Isaac and Jacob. Who are the descendants of Ishmael? The Arab nations.