Romans 9:13 "As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'"

"As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'" (Romans 9:13 RSV).

Comment:

This passage from Paul's letter to the Romans is quoting the prophet Malachi (1:2-3), but interpreting it in a different context. In both cases it is understood that Jacob is the forefather of the Hebrew people while Esau is the forefather of the Edomites, whose land just to the south of Israel was far less prosperous, and whose kingdom had far less power and significance. The prophet Malachi, writing about 500 years before the life of Jesus, cites this as proof of God's favor to the Hebrew people and asks why, then, they insist on being disobedient to God's laws. Paul's point is that the distinction is not based on anything Esau did wrong, nor on anything Jacob did right. Indeed, the divine decision that 'the elder shall serve the younger' was made while both were still in Rebecca's womb. So not every descendent of Abraham is 'chosen,' and by Paul's extension not every Gentile is rejected. The message of Jesus Christ, the new spiritual understanding he represents, is thus not a matter of birth but of faith, bringing together "even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles" (Romans 9:24). This was an important point in Paul's ministry largely to non-Jews, as distinct from the view of the church in Jerusalem, which maintained that only Jews could become followers of Jesus.   All of that is historically interesting, but what does it mean for us? I think it's an affirmation that the energy of the Divine does not necessarily obey human laws and dictates. It is not about what group we were born into, or what group we choose to join. It is about our individual, personal relationship to our own Christ power—our receptivity to the guidance of Spirit and our willingness to express our Christ energy through the creative choices we make in this human experience.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed