It's A Love Hate Relationship Series

There are a number of you who will die with no faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To each of you, the Lord will look you over from your first day to your last, and He will truly be able to say, “I have loved you.” I was reminded as I drove by a business just this week that had this on their sign out front: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God is holding out His hands to tell you He loves you now and He has loved you then.

1. Tell Me Again You Love Me

2. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

“‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?’ ‘Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated” (Malachi 1:2-3a). Again, the people ask questions nearly every time God speaks.

2.1 A Silly Question

Have you ever asked a silly question? Some years ago, a lady was on a train that stopped suddenly and unexpectantly, so the lady said to the conductor, “Why is the train stopped?” The conductor replied, “We’ve hit a cow, and they’re cleaning the cow out of the cowcatcher on the train.” She said, “Oh, was the cow on the track?” He said, “No, ma’am, we had to chase him all over a field in order to hit him. Now, you would think that for a silly question, God would give a silly answer, even a sarcastic answer; but God doesn’t do that. Instead of offering a sarcastic or silly answer, God says, “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” at the end of verse 2. Many people will be taken aback by the idea that God hates anyone. Let’s explore Esau for a moment.

2.2 Esau

Again, God says, “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” at the end of verse 2. Esau was not only Jacob’s brother, but he was also Jacob’s twin. Esau is a real person, and his story is told in Genesis 25. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, and their story is told in the book of Genesis. Because this is so long ago, these two brothers were the fathers of nations. Jacob’s name was eventually changed to Israel, and he fathered the Hebrew people. Esau was the father of the people called Edom. As the two nations prospered years later, the two nations were enemies. Again, even though the brothers were twins, the nation of Esau grew to hate God’s people. When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, the Edomites acted as informants. The descendants of Esau looted the city of Jerusalem (Obadiah 10-13). They even cut off escape routes for the Hebrew people (Obadiah 14). Esau’s family legacy was really wicked.

Remember, God is speaking to the people of God, the descendants of Jacob. Remember their city was torn down, but I will not allow them to rebuild: “If Edom says, ‘We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,’ the Lord of hosts says, ‘They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever’” (Malachi 1:4). God says in effect, “I oppose them, I will continue to oppose them, I will give them up to their wicked way, and I will be angry with them forever and ever.” A chill runs up and down my spine as those are strong words.