Sunday Sermon: Jacob I Loved, Esau I Hated (Romans 9:10-13)

You're listening to the preaching ministry of Gabriel Hughes, pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church in Casa Grande, Arizona. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on this podcast we feature teaching through a New Testament book, an Old Testament book on Thursday and our Q &A on Friday.

Each Sunday we are pleased to present our sermon series. Here is Pastor Gabe.

Romans 9 and the Purpose of Election

Well good morning.

Good morning.

We come back to our study in Romans chapter 9. If you would open up your Bible please to Romans 9. Last week I quoted from Richard Resberry, the 17th century English Puritan pastor. I've been reading a book of his recently and I come again to Romans 9 quoting from him once more.

And this quote kind of summarizes even what we had been looking at last week and what we come back into this week as we resume the study of our passage. Resberry said the following, those whom God foreknew are the true recipients of the covenant's eternal and spiritual blessings and none of them are cast off.

The rest being merely outwardly associated with the covenant were never truly his people. So understanding that as we come back in to read once again that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.

And as we will even consider today at the end of this particular paragraph the statement that our brother Alan has already read for us from Malachi chapter 1, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated and all of this so that the purpose of God's election might continue.

Let's read once again in Romans chapter 9 verses 6 through 13 in honor of the word of the king would you please stand. Romans chapter 9 beginning in verse 6 hear the word of the Lord. But it is not as though the word of God has failed for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring but through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God but the children of the promise are counted as offspring for this is what the promise said about this time next year I shall return and Sarah shall have a son.

And not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man our forefather Isaac though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God's purpose of election might continue not because of works but because of him who calls.

She was told the older will serve the younger as it is written Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. You may be seated as we pray. Heavenly Father as we come into this passage today. I pray that you would guide our understanding.

These are concepts that are too wonderful for us way beyond our reach and our grasp. As Solomon had said in the book of Ecclesiastes you have set eternity in the hearts of men yet they cannot fathom what you have done from beginning to end.

So those out there who do not fear God who would try to grasp eternal things will come up with foolish concepts. Either that the universe is eternal or there is an infinite number of universes out there or that that matter has always existed to some degree or another.

Completely ignoring that there is God who stands over all you alone are without beginning and without end and you have created all that is. Not only have you created everything that exists but you reign and govern over it.

You have even ordained all of their purposes in times in which these things would come to pass and come to transpire. And so Lord may we not think too highly of ourselves or of our situation. But we understand that we are here specifically for the time and place that you have ordained for your good purpose.

And I pray we see that as we come to scripture today. May we stand in fear of God may we tremble with reverent awe even because of all that you've done for us through Christ our Lord. And it's in Jesus name that we pray and all God's people said amen.

Paul on God's Sovereignty and Election

Now you are used to me after reading the passage. After praying to then possibly coming into some Old Testament example that we tie this into. I think for our purposes this morning it would be good for me.

To read the rest of what we are observing here in Romans 9. Let's see where Paul is going next. Because what we are what we are going to consider about these passages especially in verses 10 through 13 that we're going to be focusing on today.

This will help us as we consider what Paul is laying out here for all of us. Even what the Holy Spirit is saying to all of us regarding God's purpose of election. So let me continue on and you can follow with me in your text if you like.

I'm going to start reading in verse 14.

Paul says,.

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy.

For the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who are you oh man to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

What if God desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for glory even us whom he has called not from the Jews only but also for the Gentiles.

As indeed he says in Hosea, those who were not my people I will call my people and her who was not beloved I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them you are not my people there they will be called sons of the living God.

And let me stop there. So as we come back into this passage in Romans 9 we have heard as I said from verse 6 that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. We had considered passages in other places like in Galatians chapter 3 where it is said that it is those who are of faith who are the children of Abraham.

So we are talking about a spiritual reality here not because we are genetically descended from a particular person that makes us promised but rather that we would believe. And this according to God's purpose of election showing revealing who has been chosen because they believe God and it like Abraham is credited to them as righteousness.

And this all that God's purpose of election might continue not because of works but because of him who calls not because of anything that we did. So it's not even by our own desire or will that we would do this and therefore I may call myself a child of God but because he has called and we have done as an evidence of the calling that we've received in God.

And so as we consider today in verse 12 she being Rebecca was told that the older will serve the younger and as it is written Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. Now whenever we come to that and you'll notice the title of my sermon today is that statement Jacob I loved but Esau I hated instead of rather calling this God's purpose of election which is really what we're going to be considering today.

But I titled the sermon that Jacob I loved but Esau I hated for this reason. When we come to that statement in the text we are inclined to think that Esau I hated is the shocking statement because God is love.

He loves everybody. Why would he hate anyone? And so when we hear Esau I hated that's the part that makes us oh man I just don't want to think about God hating anybody. But really the shocking statement is Jacob I loved because he himself did not deserve this love by works and it was not because of who he was born into but so that God's purpose of election might continue to the praise of his glorious grace as said in Ephesians chapter 1.

So the section that we're looking at today is verses 10 through 13. And to remind you once again of our overall outline we began by considering Paul's painful burden in verses 1 through 3. We read of the privileged blessings that were given to Israel in verses 4 and 5.

And then last week considering how we of faith who are considered sons of God how those blessings would even be for us. We considered the perfect word in verse 6. It is not as though the word of God has failed but he is accomplishing everything that he set forth to accomplish and everything that his word testifies of God that he will accomplish.

We read of the promised children last week in verses 7 through 9 and then what we read about here this week is the purpose upheld. God's purpose of election which is in verses 10 through 13. Let's come back to verse 10 and consider once again what Paul says here drawing from an Old Testament example.

And not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man our forefather.

Isaac.

So remember once again he's just come from this example of Isaac being the promised seed not Ishmael. Ishmael is never mentioned by name but we understand that that's the comparison that Paul has been making in the passages before that.

The promise was not going to be through the matter that Abraham and Sarah took into their.

Own hands.

God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Well Abraham's too old. Sarah's beyond childbearing years. So we're going to have to do this another way. Sarah offers her maidservant to Abraham to have children through her and then a child is born to them whose name is Ishmael.

That was not the promised seed. That was not what God had in mind. God comes and personally visits Abraham now. Visits him with two other angels. And if you'll remember this from Genesis those two angels end up going into Sodom to inspect that place to see if there were any righteous there because the judgment and wrath of God was about to come upon that city.

Those two angels accompany God to the Oaks of Mamre. He sits there beneath the trees with Abraham who offers food to him and they fellowship together and eat. And God says to Abraham this time next year I will return to you and your wife Sarah will have a son.

Sarah who's listening in the tent nearby laughs because she knows how absurd that would be if the promise were to come from any man. But as we considered last week yeah with man this is impossible but not with God for all things are possible with God.

And so Isaac through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And so having considered the example of Isaac Paul just continues down the line of our Old Testament forefathers the patriarchs verse 10 not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived by one man our forefather Isaac though they were not yet born and had done nothing either.

Good or bad.

That should very much give us pause. They had not done anything good or bad. Now let me tell you what the text does not say here. The text does not say they have not yet been born but God looked into the future to see which one was going to do good things and which one was going to do bad things.

And he chose the one that he saw was going to do the most good things the one that was more righteous that's the one that I'm going to pick. And the other one he cast off because that man was going to do wickedly and he was going to do all manner of unlawful things.

Is that what the text says.

God does not look down the tunnel of time to learn anything where he has foretold to us through prophets what God is going to do. He is revealing to us what he has ordained. He is not revealing to us what I looked into the future and saw and now I'm telling you what's coming down the pipe.

No this is what God has destined to take place and we are privileged to hear what he has ordained for his good purposes. God doesn't look into the future to see who's going to do good and who's going to do bad because as we see in the comparison between these two men Jacob I loved and Esau I hated but Jacob and Esau were kind of dirt bags.

There wasn't anything about one that looked really more pleasant than the other. So they had not yet been born. They had done nothing either good or bad but God chose one over the other.

Why?

So that God's purpose of election might continue. Now this is not the first time that we've seen this word elect in the book of Romans. This came up before chapter 8 verse 33. If you look up just a little bit further from where we were months ago in Romans chapter 8 verse 33 who shall bring any charge against God's whom elect God's chosen and the subject is going to come up again even as we continue into chapters 10 and 11.

So this is not the first time that we've seen this word elect. It's come up before the word elect very that simply means chosen. It means that God has specifically desired selected out and purposed this person for a particular cause.

Election is choosing or as helps word studies defines it it is selection out of and to a given outcome. So not just that God would arbitrarily choose one and ignore another but that he specifically chose this one for a purpose for a given outcome that he means to have take place.

These are not arbitrary decisions but what we read about here in Romans 9 regarding God's purpose of election. Let me tell you what we're not talking about and I believe that this distinction is important.

We're not talking about in this passage that God has ordained everything that comes to.

Pass.

Has God ordained everything that comes to pass?

Yes.

That's not what we're talking about in this passage. We're talking specifically about the individuals that God has chosen for his purpose. So knowing that God has ordained all things we're zeroing in on something particular.

Whom God has chosen. Now there are plenty of arguments that are made throughout Scripture regarding God's ordaining whatever comes to pass. In fact you don't you don't really have a passage in the Bible that is that chapter that we go to that specifies look here it explicitly says God has ordained everything that comes to pass.

In fact that understanding is really overriding everything that exists in Scripture. Like it should be a given. If you believe in a sovereign God who created all things. If you believe Genesis 1 -1 the very beginning of the Bible.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then it should just be a given that God has ordained whatever comes to pass. He made it. He purposed it. Now as we get into the minutia of what that means ordination what it means it doesn't necessarily mean that God has by his hand purpose and specified every single event that happens as though God would therefore then become the author of evil.

Our own statements of faith declare that. Like when we look in the Westminster Confession or our own London Baptist Confession of faith God is not the author of evil. It is explicitly stated there in that way.

But God certainly allows evil to take place. And you understand that God being sovereign over everything. God who could prevent this from happening but he allows it to take place. If he allows it to happen then we have to conclude that he has in a sense ordained it.

He could stop it but doesn't. Because he has ordained it to happen. In fact it is so it is such common sense regarding God having ordained and being sovereign over all things that whenever anyone in Scripture would question this they are responded to with even some level of mockery at times.

For example Exodus chapter 4. God tells Moses to go into Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go. What is Moses response?

I'm a man of faltering lips.

How am I to do this to go into Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go? What is God's response? The Lord said to him who has made man's mouth? Who has made him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I the Lord?

What's God's response to Pharaoh? What are you talking about man? I am God who made all things. You think you're going to have a problem going into Pharaoh and telling him to let my people go if I'm the one that has told you to go in and do that?

You question or challenge the sovereignty of God or his ordaining of all things? There's sometimes a level of mockery that comes with that response. Job chapter 40. The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said dress for action like a man and I will question you and you will make it known to me.

Will you even put me in the wrong? This is God responding to Job. Are you going to put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God that you can thunder with a voice like his?

Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity. Clothe yourself with glory and splendor. Pour out over the overflowings of your anger and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.

Hide them all in the dust together. Bind their faces in the world below. Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. Consider Isaiah 43 verses 8 and 9. Where the Lord says bring out the people who are blind yet have eyes, who are deaf yet have ears.

All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right and let them hear and say it is true.

In other words, who else is going to prophesy? Who else is going to predict the future or call the end from the beginning? Who can do that but the one who has ordained that these things would take place?

As God goes on to say in verse 13, I am he. There is none who can deliver you from my hand. I work and who can turn it back? Consider Lamentations 3, 37 to 39. In the midst of Judah's judgment because of their rebellion against God.

Who has spoken and it came to pass unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?

And Jesus even in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6. Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Look at the birds of the air. They don't gather into barns or sow in the fields and yet the Lord God cares for all of them.

How much more will he care for you? Oh, you of little faith. And look at the lilies of the field, the way that they are clothed with splendor. I tell you Solomon and all of his majesty was not clothed like any one of these.

And yet they grow in the field today. Tomorrow they are bundled up and tossed in the fire and destroyed. If God will clothe the lilies of the field, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith.

Again, when we get to these places where we start questioning whether God really is sovereign and whether he really has ordained all things, scripture responds to that with a sense of mockery. And we deserve to be mocked for that.

Why would we doubt God? If you believe God is sovereign, then he is absolutely in control of every moment. And none of us have any excuse to say. Where is God? Or what is he doing in the midst of this?

So again, this passage is not about. God's ordaining everything that comes to pass. That's not the subject. Specifically, we're zeroing in on a very particular thing. God's choosing whom he desires to save.

As A .W. Pink has said about the sovereignty of God, him having ordained all things. It is not blind fate. It's not unbridled evil. Man or devil, but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to his own good pleasure and for his own eternal glory.

And one aspect of that is that he chooses whom he means to save. Quoting from Raspberry again, election is not a reward. But it is an act of pure mercy. And consider that again as we read. Once again, in verse 11, they would not yet been born.

And had done nothing either good or bad. In order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. As I had expressed already, it's out of Ephesians chapter 1, where we read of God having purposed whom he is going to save, having chosen them from before the foundation of the world.

And it's even there where it is said that this is all to the praise of his glorious grace. Why would God do this? To the praise of his glory. Let me read to you from Ephesians 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Same thing there, according to the purpose, so that God's purpose of election might continue.

And then verse 6, the reason for this, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. Has God ordained all things that have come to pass? Absolutely he has. Has he also ordained that there would be some ignorant people who would come along and question whether God has ordained everything that has come to pass?

Yes, God has ordained that too. Why has he ordained that? So his great power and mercy would be known even through those who are ignorant. So that God would be glorified to the praise of his glorious grace.

I'm astounded at the number of people that I discuss this topic with who will just dismiss everything that I'm saying, no matter how much scripture I quote to them, by saying, well, I guess God has ordained me not to understand.

Or I guess God has ordained me not to be a Calvinist or something to that effect. You become like Adam. It's because of the woman you put here with me who gave me some of the fruit and I ate it. Adam's already tried that.

He already blamed God. How did that go for him? You're not sitting in a great place if you start saying, well, I guess God just ordained me for this. None of us will be able to stand before God and say, as Paul is going to get to here shortly, well, who can resist your will?

If you've purposed it, then what could I have done about it? What's Paul's response to that? Who are you, oh man, to answer back to God? None of us have any place to sit here and question why God would choose one and not the other.

We can ask that in a sense of awe. I've expressed that to you before, even with regard to my own siblings. Why would God choose me and not my brother or sister who don't believe?

I don't know.

But I ask that question not in a sense of, God, why would you do such a thing? I ask that in a sense of why would he choose me? What have I done to deserve any of this? And the answer is nothing. I'm not morally better than any of my other siblings who were raised by the same parents with the same ethical code.

And yet I became saved and they didn't. But it's all these things for God's purpose of election that his purpose might continue. And not because of works, but because of him who calls. So again, it's to the praise of his great glory.

I remember hearing a story that was told by Bill Hybels. Bill Hybels was one of the fathers of the Seeker Sensitive Movement along with Rick Warren. So the idea that church is not really for Christians to worship and honor God, but instead we should create church to be an environment for the person who is seeking God.

But we've already read in Romans 3, there are none who seek after God. So Hybels, who was the founder of Willow Creek, one of the big churches that was a part of this movement. Believe it or not, there was a time when he was attending a reformed seminary and sitting through very reformed classes, but it just didn't take with him.

One of those classes that he was sitting through was taught by R .C. Sproul. And R .C. Sproul is talking about election. And he's writing on the blackboard, as if you've seen those old videos of Sproul, you know about Sproul writing on the blackboard.

And he turns around and he's writing something on the blackboard and with his back to his students, Bill Hybels decides to speak up. And he says, so you're saying to me that God just arbitrarily chooses one person and not another?

And Sproul stops and turns around and goes, what did you say? Now, Hybels is actually the one telling this story. And Hybels said, as soon as Dr. Sproul turns around and says that, I'm like, oh boy, I really stepped in it.

Whatever's coming next, I know I deserve it. And Sproul said to Hybels, God doesn't arbitrarily do anything. It's not random. God's not rolling the dice to see what comes up on the dice. And then I'm going to make a decision based on that.

It is God's purpose. And it may be above and beyond our knowledge or understanding of what is going on here. But though it may not make sense to us now, one day it will. I think it will make sense to us.

But then we will also spend all eternity looking into the minute details of everything that God was doing in the midst of all of those things and glorifying God because of how he was moving even different molecules in certain places to bring about your salvation for his glory.

This is for his purposes. His great name. And though when the twins were in Rebecca's womb, I mean, we're talking about twins here even. This is just a wonderful example of God and what he demonstrates for his purpose of election.

These are twins. Like I've talked about how my own brothers and sisters were raised under the same teachings of my mom and dad. Yet I became a Christian and they didn't. But in this particular circumstance, there's even more in common between these two than my own brothers and sisters.

These are twins in the womb at the same time. Born at the same time. The twins in the womb of Rebecca, they had not even yet been born. They hadn't done anything good or evil. But in order for God's purpose of election to continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, she was told, verse 12, the older will serve the younger.

Now that was totally outside the realm of practicality and normalcy amongst people in the world at that time. Whether you were talking about those who were descended from Abraham, or you're talking about even pagans that lived elsewhere in the world.

Who was the heir in the family?

The oldest.

The firstborn. The firstborn son in particular. The firstborn son is the one who receives. He is the one that the father of this child has purposed will be my heir and receive all that is mine. He is the one through whom my name is going to continue.

The oldest child. And yet we've already seen that Abraham's oldest son was not going to be the heir. Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. Remember, the name of the patriarch continues through the oldest son.

God is saying, no, it's going to be the younger one. It's going to be Isaac. Through him, my name will be proclaimed. And then here with the twins. Two in the womb. The firstborn is the one who is going to receive all of the rights of the firstborn.

And yet God says to Rebecca, no. Two nations at war within your womb. Remember that word that God had given to Rebecca. But the older will serve the younger. It's the younger that I have chosen. It's the younger that God has purposed.

And so as it is written again, back to Malachi chapter one, Jacob, I loved, but Esau, I hated. And God had set this upon them even before they were born. Now, some will excuse this saying, Jacob, I love, but Esau, I hated by saying, well, God doesn't really hate anyone.

So this is really just about preference. God preferring one and he just didn't prefer the other. Well, tell that to Esau. I don't think Esau's perspective of that was really, well, he just liked Jacob a little bit more than me.

Look at what happened to the Edomites after that. We have entire books that are written in the Old Testament. The book of Obadiah is about a judgment that's coming upon the Edomites because they did wickedly and sided with the pagans who were coming against the Israelites instead of defending their own kin.

And God's judgment would come upon Edom to wipe them out. Look at the wickedness that continued to perpetuate through Edom after that. King Herod was an Edomite. And who was he trying to destroy? The child of promise.

Jesus Christ. So you could see even down through the generations, God's favor was no longer with the descendants of Esau. And they continued to act rebelliously against the Lord. But God had preserved his remnant for the purpose of bringing about the Savior of mankind through Jacob, not Esau.

And so Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. And once again, this is said so that God's purpose of election might continue. Again, not because of works, but because of him who calls. Not because Jacob was better.

Not because God looked down the tunnel of time and saw that Jacob would be better. Not even that he looked down through time and saw that the descendants of Jacob would just be better than the descendants of Esau.

God chose to give his blessing upon the promised seed, the purpose that he brought forth this one for. So that the Savior of the world would be born. And then follow this logically, spiritually, as we've been talking about, even with regards to the statement that not all descended from Israel belong to Israel.

All who spiritually believe in Jesus Christ, we are children of promise. But even your salvation, brother or sister, is not because of your will or your works that you have done. Your salvation is also to the praise of God so that his purpose of election might continue through you.

Just like Jacob, none of us have done anything that makes us lovable. That makes us inherently worthy of the love of God. We've already read in Romans chapter 3 that together we've become worthless. If left in that condition, what would happen to us?

We would perish under the judgment of God. That's exactly what all of us deserve. And you know the wickedness that you've done. If you've been sitting with us through our study in Romans, especially as we were going through Romans 1, and hearing about all those wicked, depraved sins that those who are given over to a depraved mind do, you could identify with some of those sins because you've seen yourself doing some of those sins.

And so if you had heard those sins mentioned in Romans 1, you know I've not done anything any better than anybody else. I had a pretty squeaky clean resume growing up as a kid, and you would look at that and say, my, that was a godly man.

Brothers and sisters, I had all kinds of sins in secret I was doing that nobody knew about, even as a professing Christian. And I am just as worthy of the condemnation and judgment of God as anybody. But praise the Lord, we have read in Romans 8, 1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And in Christ our sins are forgiven. We have been made children of promise through Him who loved us, to the praise of His glorious.

Grace.

Three Lessons from Jacob and Esau

As I wrap this up, still much, much more to be said, and we're going to continue on in what we've been studying here in Romans 9. But to summarize what we've considered in just this section, verses 6 -13, last week's sermon and this week's sermon.

Let me summarize it with these three points. Number one, the family that you are born into won't save you. Those who were descended from Abraham were not automatically saved. And as I gave examples of this last week, there were plenty of Jews that thought that they were saved because they were Jews.

They were telling Jesus, we know who our father is. We're descended from Abraham. We're the children of the promise. Jesus says to them, you're children of Satan. And your will is to do your father's desires.

Who you're born into does not automatically mean that you are saved. Just because you were born into a Christian home doesn't automatically mean that you were saved. Just because you were born into a family that practiced paedo-baptism and you were baptized as an infant does not mean that you were saved.

Just because you went to church camp when you were 7, 8, 9 years old and heard the preacher and believed the gospel and you were baptized at 9, that doesn't mean that you were saved. Because somebody else told me.