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Did God hate Esau?
Question: In Romans 9:13 God says, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.' How can God hate Esau if He loves everyone?"
Answer: This is called an "idiom of preference," meaning one person or thing is preferred over another person or thing. It doesn't mean God literally hated Esau.
Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other" (Matt. 6:24). Jesus didn't mean for the servant to murder his former master, but to prefer the new master over the old one.
At another time Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). This doesn't mean we should despise and hate our family members, but we should love Jesus more than ourselves and family.
"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" simply means God favored Jacob rather than Esau to fulfill His plan.
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