Why Did God Favor Jacob and Not Esau Essay Example
Why Did God Favor Jacob and Hate Esau?
-----Ai Xin 1091510114 In the Genesis, I was always doubted that why God chose to bless the deceiving Jacob while hated the seemingly innocent Esau. So, here I tried to make a shallow exploration about it.
Clearly, Jacob did not act in a kind and loving way towards his brother Esau. In fact, Jacob took full advantage of the fact that Esau was tired and very hungry. Moreover, there later came a time when Jacob did something that was even worse than what he did to Esau.
Namely, Jacob actually deceived Isaac, his own father. The record of Jacob's great deception is in Genesis chapter 27 after Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, had become so old that he was weak, and nearly blind. Isaac asked Esau to bring him some special delicious food. Esau departed to fulfill his father's request. While Esau was away, Jacob brought food to his father, and tricked him into thinking that it was Esau who brought it. Because of this, Isaac blessed Jacob, in the false belief that he was blessing Esau.
Jacob was deceitful. Then, how can God honor this blessing? There is a fact that Esau was the elder brother and, based on customs in Old Testament times, he was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance from his father. This double portion was often referred to as the ‘birthright’ of the firstborn. So, there is a instinctive fierce struggle between the brother even before the birth. Rebekah, their mother, had ever asked God why this struggle was going on. And God informed Rebekah that the older child Esau was destined to ‘serve’ the younger child Jacob.
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the
-----Ai Xin 1091510114 In the Genesis, I was always doubted that why God chose to bless the deceiving Jacob while hated the seemingly innocent Esau. So, here I tried to make a shallow exploration about it.
Clearly, Jacob did not act in a kind and loving way towards his brother Esau. In fact, Jacob took full advantage of the fact that Esau was tired and very hungry. Moreover, there later came a time when Jacob did something that was even worse than what he did to Esau.
Namely, Jacob actually deceived Isaac, his own father. The record of Jacob's great deception is in Genesis chapter 27 after Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, had become so old that he was weak, and nearly blind. Isaac asked Esau to bring him some special delicious food. Esau departed to fulfill his father's request. While Esau was away, Jacob brought food to his father, and tricked him into thinking that it was Esau who brought it. Because of this, Isaac blessed Jacob, in the false belief that he was blessing Esau.
Jacob was deceitful. Then, how can God honor this blessing? There is a fact that Esau was the elder brother and, based on customs in Old Testament times, he was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance from his father. This double portion was often referred to as the ‘birthright’ of the firstborn. So, there is a instinctive fierce struggle between the brother even before the birth. Rebekah, their mother, had ever asked God why this struggle was going on. And God informed Rebekah that the older child Esau was destined to ‘serve’ the younger child Jacob.
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the