Judgment
Malachi 1:2-5
Malachi · ~430 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”
King James Version · the opening — all 4 verses are below
God's elective love for Jacob over Esau declared, quoted by Paul as the foundational example of divine election.
Read the whole passage — all 4 verses (KJV)
1:2I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
1:3And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
1:4Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
1:5And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.
Fulfillment References
Romans 9:13 Ephesians 1:4
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal'I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau' — God's free, electing love set on Jacob, not for merit but by grace. Paul cites it (Rom. 9:13) of God's sovereign mercy in choosing. The God who loved Jacob loves His people freely in the Lord Jesus, in whom we are chosen (Eph. 1:4); the 'hatred' of Esau is the language of covenant rejection, not caprice — God's purpose stands.
JewishGod's covenant love for Jacob (Israel) over Esau (Edom), shown in their contrasting destinies; the assurance of God's love to a doubting people.
CatholicGod's free election of Jacob, read by Paul (Rom. 9) of sovereign mercy; love and 'hatred' as covenant terms of choosing.
ProtestantA key text for unconditional election (Rom. 9:13) — God's love set on Jacob by grace, not works.
AcademicA disputation on God's love using the Jacob/Esau (Israel/Edom) contrast; the 'love/hate' idiom denotes preference/election in covenant context.
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