Romans 9:13
Scripture:
Romans 9:13 (ESV) “As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Devotion:
A few days ago we celebrated Good Friday. In the church my family attended the preacher stressed that “God Loves You”. His point was that God meets you wherever you are at, and he accepts you as you are because Jesus comes to reclaim sinners – not perfect people. Of course my preacher friend was totally correct! What he said was perfectly right, both scripturally and culturally for an Easter sermon. But then we stumble over verse like Romans 9:13. We encountered this verse yesterday in our text, and I thought it is well worth revisiting it, because in some ways when you read it it is like being slapped in the spiritual face.
“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Wait, what? Doesn’t God love everyone? How are we to understand something like this? How can God on the one hand “so love the world, that he gave his only Son”, and on the other hand hate Esau?
Well we need to understand the bigger picture of what Paul says here. Paul is quoting from Malachi 1:2-3, and he does so to highlight a crucial point about God’s sovereign choice and His way of working out His purposes in history. God’s sovereign choice in election is not about personal animosity. It is about choosing a particular family to carry the promise God made to Abraham that he would save the world through his offspring. God’s choice of Jacob and not Esau was ultimately about setting aside a family line out of which Jesus would be born.
That said, this verse still challenges us because deep down we feel that this is unfair. Why would God choose one and not the other? Isn’t it unfair that God should chose Jacob and not Esau? For that matter, isn’t it unfair that God would choose us, and not our family member who doesn’t believe?
That is exactly the point.
This is a call for us to suspend our sense of fairness in faith and to submit ourselves to God’s purposes. Paul will in the verses that follow explain that God has the absolute right to choose what to do with the people he created. He is the creator, everything belongs to him. He is totally allowed to make one vessel on to honour, and another unto dishonour. That is his right.
Actually it is unfair that God would choose some people and not others. But what is unfair about that is not that other people are left out. The unfair thing is that he saved us. If we received what is “fair”, we would be receiving the death and eternal wrath of God our sin deserves. But in God’s sovereign grace, he chose to save the elect for his glory and for his purposes.
It may feel like a bitter pill to swallow. But trusting that God knows better than you do, is the first step to spiritual maturity. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And wisdom dictates that surely the Creator knows better than the creature.
Prayer:
Lord, Your ways are higher than ours, and Your thoughts beyond our understanding. Help us to trust in Your sovereign will, even when it puzzles or challenges us. Teach us to rest in the knowledge that Your love is vast, deep, and sometimes beyond our comprehension, but always perfect in its purposes. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge for the Day:
Today, spend some time reflecting on the vastness of God’s love and the mystery of His choices. When you encounter situations or verses in the Bible that challenge your understanding of God’s nature, take a moment to pray for wisdom and a deeper trust in His sovereign plan. Share with someone the peace that comes from accepting the mysteries of God’s will and the comfort found in trusting His perfect love.