Indeed: What of Esau?

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Jan 13, 2010 at 12:59

Indeed, what of Esau, of his position (or lack thereof) before all things holy, so much so that he was a man of his appetites and sold his birthright for a meal. We read in Malachi that the LORD 'hates' Esau for his despising the things of righteousness, which is what his birthright embraced. Are we to understand that a loving Almighty God does have a propensity for hatred? We must rely on scripture to make the distinction between the hatred that fuels the antipathies and acts of human violence against Christians in the Muslim world, and what the scripture tells us about the LORD's dealing with a spiteful humanity.

We can trace mankind's disrespect of the righteousness and holiness of the LORD to the garden of Eden, of course, of Adam's disobedience that cost him, and us, our spiritual relationship in these mortal bodies. It is the essence of sin and the reason of separation of mortal humanity and the Eternal Sovereign. It is also the reason Almighty God sent His Son, born sinlessly through a virgin to be the messenger of His righteousness and Messiah to His people Israel, and to those who seek Him out after accepting Him as LORD and Savior in response to His death on the cross and His resurrection. In this is the greatest love.

The matter can be easily resolved in understanding that Esau hated first his birthright, then the promise granted through the blessing now belonging to Jacob (Israel), which he sold to Jacob in his disdain of such things. In essence, again, he did not value what the birthright meant, of the blessing of Almighty God and the promise of a future for the people descendent to Abraham, Esau's grandfather.

Esau may be looked at as a depiction of the world and its disdain for things holy and spiritual; of the worldly mentality that seeks pleasure before honor, of the things of darkness rather than the things of the light. In the actions of terrorism, such things of darkness are manifest of the rebellion against the things of righteousness and Almighty God. Is it any wonder then that the world is being propelled by its own enmity of the things of Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and judgment is at hand for the rebellion? This is what the mindset of Esau is all about: and we should wonder then that Almighty God has His hatred for that attitude?

It is that attitude that put Jesus Christ on the cross. Mankind's lifelong endeavor to thwart the love that Almighty God would bestow to those who would have faith in Him has been a challenge to Almighty God for as long as mankind has been out of the garden. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ in representing the grace and mercy of Almighty God in reconciling a sinful humanity to Himself can be described as the single most incredible gift of love ever expressed, and humanity (except for a repentant few) outright rejects it out of hand, as did the Islamic Prophet when dictating the Quran. Like Jacob, these who seek redemption at the feet of Almighty God through belief in the selfless act of Jesus Christ, do so because there is the realization that seeking the righteousness of Almighty God is the only way to have eternal life and peace, something the world desperately needs, but can never realize on its own.

The scripture of the Hebrew Holy Bible tells us that Almighty God cannot countenance sin, that its presence in Heaven is not tolerated. It is why the Adversary is here on earth, to make war with the things of Almighty God, and to do as much as he can to be the cause of destruction and death. In that we see the attitude of Esau, who, having despised the blessing of Almighty God, brought about his spiritual destruction, and to his heritage, as the Holy Bible tells us. He brought it upon himself, as does anyone else who turns and spurns the blessing of Almighty God away. We see the same attitude in the attacks against Christians in the Muslim enclaves, and in the same guise where people faking their Christianity (not correctly representing His love in His Holy Spirit) do similarly despicable things.

While we read of the love of Almighty God, we read also of His holiness and righteousness, which requires judgment and condemnation of the rebellious attitude against Him. It is an error to make out that His holiness is a source of hatred in the same way as a mortal human gets angry. Since a mere human cannot be righteous in the same way as Almighty God without the infusion and interchange of His Spirit, therefore the source of anger and hatred cannot be measured the same way.

Esau is hated for his despising of the things of Almighty God; therefore he brought it upon himself. It is a warning to all, that to seek the things of Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ is the honorable thing to do, or realize there is condemnation for not doing so as the consequence.

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