Malachi 1:2-3 (ESV)
[2] “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. I have laid waste his hill country and left
his heritage to jackals of the desert.”
This is covenant language, not emotional language. Typically, a firstborn son would inherit a double portion of the inheritance. In the case of Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom), Esau was the firstborn, but it was the second born that God chose to inherit the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. It is not that God hated Esau emotionally, but that God rejected Esau for the inheritance,
We might guess that God rejected Esau because he knew what kind of person Esau was and what kind of people his descendants would be. The truth is however, Jacob wasn’t any better than Esau. Jacob’s descendants were no better than Esau’s descendants. God, in his sovereign free will chose Jacob. The point of this passage is not to indicate who is going to Heaven and who is going to Hell, but to remind the Israelites that they are a chosen, covenant people. In being chosen, they have been the recipients of God’s love. The old hymn, Why Should He Love Me So? is an appropriate hymn for the Israelites. There was no good reason for God to love them, and yet he did.
The same is true for us. As our world spirals further and further away from God’s intent, it is tempting to think of oneself as better than “them.” But the truth is, apart from the grace of God, we would be no different. This Thanksgiving may we be reminded of God’s love for us, not because we are better, smarter, or more moral than the world, but because he chose to love us. We can either respond to his love or ignore it, but as believers in Jesus Christ, we are loved.
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