Why Did God Say He Loved Jacob But Hated Esau? - Bible Study

Even though Jacob and Esau did finally make amends (Genesis 33:10-11), the seed of dissension was already sown through the children of Esau. The entire book of Obadiah is judgment against Edom.

“Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken. (Obadiah 1:18)

After the Jews returned from captivity, they made slaves of the Idumeans (descendants of Esau) and forced them into Jewish rites thus fulfilling that the elder would serve the younger. As an independent nation, Edomites were done.

Israel now thrives as the desert rose and part of Edom’s land was present-day Petra, now an empty, sand covered tourist attraction.

Herod the Great was born from a Nabatean mother and was an Idumean convert to Judaism due to these imposed religious rites.

Herod may have been king over Israel, but his acts of favor toward the nation through his building projects were for his own gain and favor. He wasn’t about to bow the knee to another king. He wanted to kill Jesus when He was born to prevent Christ’s (a descendant of Jacob’s) ascension to the throne. The antagonism still existed.

Herod was appointed by the Romans; he didn’t inherit the rights to royalty through blood succession because he wasn’t a true Israelite. When Herod Agrippa II died, the Herodian rulership over Judea ended.

The Consequences of Deception

Jacob fled for his life after experiencing his father’s grief and his brother’s anger due to the deception. On his journey to Padan Aram, the Spirit visited him in the night and re-established His covenant with Jacob’s descendants (Genesis 28:10-17).

But the consequences of Jacob’s past actions were ahead of him. Even though the blessing Jacob obtained would continue because God would honor His covenant, Jacob paid for his trickery by being tricked himself. We do reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8).

He fled from his brother in fear of his life and stayed away for twenty years. And later Jacob was deceived by Laban with being given the wrong sister to marry, and his wages were changed ten times (Genesis 31:41).

God could have fulfilled the words He spoke to Rebekah His own way, but Rebekah intervened and the whole plan got skewed. This caused the strife and division in the family. She should have learned from Sarah how trying to force God’s hand results in disaster.

Rebekah paid for her part in the lie because she is not mentioned anymore, not even her death and burial. This may indicate she never saw her favorite son again.

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