In his epistle to the Romans, Paul portrays God as the One who hates Esau and loves Jacob. Paul takes up a question first raised in the book of Malachi — a question so provocative that it forces us to pause: is God unjust? Paul’s answer is an emphatic “no.” Yet the way he justifies this answer seems, at first glance, to paint God as partial rather than impartial. He grounds his argument in a striking statement God made to Moses in Exodus: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19).
This declaration was spoken in response to Moses’ request to see God’s glory. What followed was an act of unimaginable mercy: God had set Moses apart — made him holy — for the purpose of leading His people, and it was this holiness that allowed him to stand in God’s presence and live. Throughout the Old Testament, by contrast, we find repeated accounts of people who perished simply because their unholiness could not withstand the sheer holiness of God. Unlike them, God showed Moses His compassion because He was also compassionate toward His erring people, whom He had decided to deliver under Moses’ leadership.
This raises an unsettling question for us today: are we meant to see God as One who loves some and, by implication, hates others?
The Repercussions And The Remedy
As this portion (Romans 9:13b, 15) is sometimes interpreted as presenting God as ‘partial,’ believers think that God shows mercy to some people, particularly to certain renowned servants of God, leading them to submit to their authority while thinking that they are unworthy and that God hates them as He hated Esau. With this wrong perception, many servants of God take advantage of believers’ ignorance and place themselves on a high pedestal.
The reasons for this adverse effect lie in the negligence on the part of believers. The first and foremost issue is that believers rarely read the Word of God on their own. When we don’t read the Bible ourselves, some leaders may mislead us or only share their limited understanding, causing us to miss the true nature of our Father God.
The second flaw is our desire for a sign from the Holy Spirit in our lives, prompting some leaders to hold anointing meetings to “fill” believers with the Holy Spirit. To receive the Holy Spirit, believers often shout praises and dance, thinking the warmth or tingling they feel is the Spirit’s presence, which makes them believe they are filled. However, if we read the Bible, it will clarify when and how we truly receive the Holy Spirit.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
With this, every reader of the Bible should understand that God is not partial but loves everyone equally and cares for us in every respect. This does not mean that God does not love those who have not yet believed the message of truth; if that were so, God would not have sacrificed His Son as atonement for their sin.
The Context
Through Malachi, God reveals how the people of Israel had sinned against Him and what they would reap because of their sin. Despite their sin, God said, “I loved Jacob,” meaning that He loved Jacob, loves Jacob, and will continue to love Jacob despite his unworthiness. At the same time, God foretold the fate of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, as the people He hated; as a result, their lands became wastelands.
Now the question is whether God decided in advance to love some people and hate others. Not at all. Rather, God knew beforehand how the Israelites would sin against Him and how the Edomites would sin as well. The wrongful deeds of people are not orchestrated by God; it is people who choose to wrong Him. God, who knows everything in advance, is simply revealing to us what has already been happening within them.
If we pause to consider whether Jacob deserved God’s love, certainly he did not. Yet, even though Jacob did not deserve to be loved by God, God said that He loved him. Because of the injustice Jacob did to his brother, he eventually came to God as his hiding place. Esau, on the other hand, never allowed his guilt to lead him to repentance, instead choosing a lukewarm lifestyle that kept him from remorse. This was very much his own choice, one that made him unworthy of earning the love of God. While we rely only on religious rituals, we are exposed to this kind of situation, as explained to the church of Laodicea.
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth
Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV)
Illustrations From The Bible
Hence, it is not some predestined action of God to love one and hate another; rather, it is the choice of people that earns them His love or His hatred.
To understand this, consider Jesus, who foretold how Peter would deny Him. This denial was not predetermined by Jesus; rather, Peter chose to act exactly as Jesus had said because of his lack of understanding of the purpose of Jesus’ suffering.
Along the same lines, people often think that God created Judas Iscariot to fulfill prophecy. But God did not predestine Judas’ betrayal; rather, Judas fit himself into that prophecy. God is not intent on fulfilling His prophecies; rather, He uses them as a warning so that people may come to their senses and return to Him, as in the case of Nineveh.
Paul quotes God’s words spoken against Pharaoh to support his understanding of God’s impartial justice. But the deeper truth is this: whether it is Pharaoh or anyone else, God does not tolerate those who are puffed up with pride. Moreover, the Pharaohs projected themselves as gods to their people. Just as God cast down the angel who raised himself above God, will He not likewise punish those who try to elevate themselves to equality with Him?
We are merely vessels, and what we contain brings forth its fruit. It is not God who destines any specific person to a particular fate, but rather each person’s own attitude that determines it.
Therefore, from the very beginning, God asked mankind to think and do what is right and to leave what is wrong. Yet, if we rely on our own discernment of what is good, sometimes even our evil deeds may appear good to us. For Saul, persecuting the followers of Jesus seemed good in his own eyes. Hence, the discernment of good and evil should be left to the Holy Spirit, and we should give Him ample space to work freely while He resides in our hearts. When we desire wrong things, God says sin creeps in and begins to dominate us.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. ”
Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)
Despite the negligence on the part of Cain, God did not hate him; rather, He came to him with love and kindness to direct his ways onto the right path. Even today, the unchanging God directs us in a personal way to do what is right, but somehow we give more importance to the things religion has taught us than to what God actually wants us to do. With our good deeds, we cannot cast away our downcast state. But what God accomplished through the earthly life of His Son has made us worthy of living with Him. Hence, the good thing for us to do is to set aside our own good deeds and instead depend on the good deed Jesus accomplished on the cross. Our good deed is nothing but sitting at the feet of Jesus to hear His voice, which teaches us truth and gives us strength to set aside the lies and falsehoods of this world.
Mary showed this kind of response to Jesus, but Martha grew upset and complained about Mary’s conduct, taking it as cunning avoidance of the household tasks. Martha resented her sister and even doubted Jesus, as though He were encouraging idle gossip. Despite Martha’s accusations, Jesus did not hate Martha; instead, He lovingly explained to her that what Mary had done was right and that what Martha herself was doing was only a source of tension and grief.
but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42 (NIV)
The Mirage And The Oasis
We are unable to comprehend God’s hatred in the same way we comprehend His love. When God says, “I hate,” it is not the hatred we show one another; it is altogether different, for wherever hatred increases, the love of God increases all the more. Let us not make the mistake of thinking that God might hate someone or that He hates us. Rather, understanding His love that surpasses everything, let us surrender our lives to Him as a living sacrifice.
To see God as one who hates us is like a mirage that appears as a body of water in the desert but does not, in reality, exist. The seasoned traveller is not deceived by such an illusion; likewise, the believer who walks constantly with God soon comes to understand that in Him there is only love, and nothing else. The love of God, by contrast, is the true oasis of the desert, offering lasting comfort and rest.
The Jordan Valley 
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