Question 1
Didn't God Hate the Unborn Infant Esau?
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (Romans 9:11-13)
God prophesied to Rebekah the future of her two sons. Esau would serve Jacob. Paul is clear God pronounced this judgment against Esau, the elder brother, before the two sons were born or had done anything evil.
The text means precisely what it says, which is why it bothers so many Christians. They jump to a false conclusion: "Esau never had a chance to prove himself. Yet it says that God hated him. That's not fair of God. God is fair, so the text couldn't mean what it says. It must mean something else."
Paul knew that this is what people would say, so he immediately asked a rhetorical question which makes sense only if God's hatred of Esau really did begin before Esau had done good or evil: "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid." Paul then goes onto speak of the Pharaoh of the Book of Exodus in similar terms (Question 2).
Paul was quoting Malachi 1:2-4. In verse 3 we read that God even condemned all of Esau's heirs, Edom: "And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste. . . ."
Questionable Answer
"God really didn't condemn Esau before either of the sons was born. He condemned Esau because He foresaw the evil deeds that Esau would do later on. So God isn't unfair. Esau fell by his own evil deeds."
My Reply: But the text is specific: God did condemn Esau before he had done anything evil. The text does not mention Esau's future deeds. The point is: all men are condemned automatically before they are born. That is what the doctrine of original sin means. Esau was a son of rebellious Adam, just like all the rest of us, and was therefore innately evil and hated by God, just like all the rest of us, before he had done anything moral or immoral. The amazing fact is not that God hated Esau. The amazing fact is that God loved Jacob!
Didn't God tell Rebekah that the elder would serve the younger? Could Esau have lived a good life and have reversed that promise? Isaac thought so, and he was ready to give the blessing to Esau (Genesis 27:4). But Isaac was wrong; God made it possible for Jacob to receive the blessing despite his father's act of rebellion (Genesis 27:6-29).
Was Esau helpless? Yes. Was it inevitable that Jacob get the blessing? That is what God told Rebekah (Genesis 25:23). Could she rely on God's promise? Absolutely. Did Esau have a chance of overcoming God's promise? Not a chance. Question: Is there any meaning to the word "chance" in God's plan?
For further study Psalms 5:5; 11:5; Romans 11:7-10; Ephesians 2:3; Hebrews 12:16-17.
