Jacob, I Loved, Esau I Hated
By Joe Mack Cherry
I. Introduction
A. Malachi the Prophet
1. Malachi means “messenger.
2. In the Gr. Translation, Malachi is not rendered as a proper noun but is indicative of an adjective (modifier of a noun); therefore, it is an indication of it being a title.
3. Some Jewish scholars actually believe that Malachi is actually referring to:
a. Ezra
b. Haggai
c. Nehemiah
d. Zerubbabel – governor of Judah Hag. 2:21
e. Most believe Malachi to be the last OT prophet. Others believe Joel is.
B. The exact date is not pinpointed in study that I have done.
1. It was written after 516 BC, during the Persian rule, after the second temple had been completed and dedicated.
2. Malachi references sins that were being committed by the Jews that corresponded with Nehemiah observation on his second trip back to Jerusalem in 432 BC.
a. Malachi 1:6-10
b. Blemished sacrifices
c. Corrupt Priests
d. Marriage outside the Jewish race.
C. It is written in a Dialectic Didactic Manner
1. God makes a statement and the Jews respond with a question.
2. God then answers the questions.
a. I have loved you. Wherein have you loved us? 1:2
b. A son honors his father and a slave his master. Wherein have we despised Your name? 1:6
c. You offered defiled food on my altar. Wherein have we polluted You? 1:7
d. You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. Wherefore? 2:14 Refers to the Jewish women whose husbands had divorced them for pagan women.
e. They were calling evil good. Wherein have we wearied Him? 2:17 Isa. 5:20 says, “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil.”
f. From the days of your fathers, you have turned against my ordinances. Wherein shall we return? 3:7
g. You have robbed me. Wherein have we robbed You? 3:8 in tithes and offerings.
h. You spoke harsh words against me. What have we spoken so much against thee? 3:13 They found no profit in observing His ordinances.
II. Read Mal. 1:1-5
A. First Statement and Question vs 2
1. “I have loved you,” says the Lord.
2. The Jews could not deny this is any shape form or fashion but they respond with the statement, “How have You loved us?”
a. Ever have a child be unappreciative?
b. It cuts when they do not see the sacrifices that we make for them.
3. All of us at different times have lost sight of God and His greatness.
a. The loss of focus doesn’t turn on dime.
b. Satan has a way of subtly moving our focus off Christ and on to other things. Then one day we wake up lost and wondering where God’s been. He hasn’t moved! As we mentioned a minute ago, the Jews were steeped in sin. IB2
c. It doesn’t have to be necessarily, something wrong; it just has to be something that takes us away from focusing on Christ. Use the example of my brother when his son died.
d. Like the Jews, not a one of us can deny that God hasn’t proven His love to us and I don’t mean just the salvation aspect of our relationship.
e. The “Footprints in the Sand” used to be placed in new picture frames is an example of God’s love for us.
• He carries us when we can’t carry ourselves.
• Psa. 55:22 – “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”
• We are fortunate to have a God that will take us back when we stray and will take our anxieties because He loves us. II Pet. 5:7.
B. God’s reply – Jacob, I have loved and Esau, I have hated.
1. Before Esau and Jacob were born Rebekah asked the lord why the commotion in her womb.
a. Gen. 5:23 – “The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
2. Jacob, I loved.
a. Jacob was a cheater. He took advantage of Esau’s weak condition to gain the birthright.
b. Some may say that was good business.
c. Some may say, well he was going to sell to someone, it might as well be me.
d. It worked out as God intended BUT Esau had a choice and made the wrong one. This is a whole nother lesson for another time. Providence. Rom. 8:28
3. Esau, I hated.
a. Wow, did He really hate him?
b. Is there such a thing as godly hatred? Proverbs 6:16-19
• Haughty eyes – Prideful people
• Lying tongue – Liars
• Hands that shed innocent blood - Murderers
• Heart that devises evil schemes – Those who prey on others.
• Feet that are quick to rush into evil – Those with no concern for themselves or others, they are consumed with doing evil.
• A false witness – a liar
• A man who stirs up dissention among brothers. – Troublemaker
• In this instance, the Heb. word for hate is used as a verb. It is an action word.
c. Esau SOLD his birthright. This was something God specifically purposed for the oldest son to have.
• We have to be very careful with the things with which God blesses us.
• They should never be taken for grant it because they can be taken away as easily as they are given.
d. Many say when it comes to vs. 3 we argue over its meaning.
• Actually, it does, when used as a comparison. Strong says the word here means “detestable to persecution” or by extension to love less.
• Want to look at some things God told the Edomites when they stood by and watched Jerusalem be destroyed in 586 BC. (II Chron. 21:16-17)? Just read the short book of Obadiah. Vs. 10 – “because of the violence against your brother you will be destroyed forever”. This did not happen immediately; the last record of an Edomite was King Herod Agrippa who died between 41 and 44 AD.
• Ask yourself will God cause persecution? Absolutely! Read again vss 4-6.
• What did God say to the Jews in Haggai 1:5.
III. Take warning.
A. Rom. 15:4
1. “Things that were written afore time were written for our learning”.
2. We see that every time the Jews strayed God had to discipline them to bring them back. They were warned by Moses that God would discipline them if they strayed.
3. My brother wasn’t perfect but he was smart enough to stay out trouble by watching me get into it.
4. We fool ourselves if we think God won’t do that today.
