This past weekend I was asked to teach Malachi 1:1-5. I’ll be honest, when I first read this passage I had questions, lots and lots of questions. Let’s read the passage together.  

“The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste to his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”” ‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Questions

Some questions I asked as I read this passage:

1. Why would God say he loves Jacob but hates Esau?

2. Does the Lord hate people? I thought he loved everyone.

3. What did Esau do to have the Lord hate him?

4. What did Jacob do to have the Lord love him?

5. How does the Lord making Esau’s land a waste, leaving it to jackals, and if they try to rebuild, tearing it down make people say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel”?

I asked the Lord to answer these questions. I felt like the Lord told me Jacob is the son who chased after holiness while Esau is the son who chased after the flesh. What does this mean exactly? Let’s take a look at the lives of these brothers and find out. 

If you recall, Jacob and Esau were twins. Esau was actually older, and as the older brother had certain rights and responsibilities. 

First Step Away From God

One day Esau came in from hunting and was starving. 

“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25‬:‭29‬-‭34‬ (‭ESV)‬

What Is So Important About A Birthright

What is a birthright and why was this such a turning point in Esau’s life? The birthright went to the oldest son. They were given special privileges as the firstborn. The oldest son received a double portion of all the father had as an inheritance. They were considered the priest of the family and were given judicial authority in the family. 

Esau was more concerned with satisfying his flesh than he was in his God given role in his family. He forfeited his God given responsibility to lead his family both spiritually and in a legal sense just so he could satisfy his hungry stomach. 

Serving The Flesh

This is the first time we see Esau make the choice to turn his back on the ways of the Lord and serve his flesh rather than serve the Lord. What does the Bible say about people who live to satisfy the flesh?

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

The Fruit

Because Esau chose to set his mind on the flesh, he chose to take the first step to being completely hostile toward God. He chose to not submit to the law and ways of God. As a result he did not please God. What was the fruit of his choice to sell his God given role for some soup? 

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Esau allowed bitterness to creep into his life. We see this bitterness grow and mature in his life. Let’s move on to the next step away from God Esau chose to take and see how the fruit of bitterness grew. 

Next Step Away From God

At the end of Isaac’s life, he wanted to give a blessing to Esau. If you recall, Esau was Isaac’s favorite son while Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite. Isaac tells Esau to go hunting and make him some stew so he can give him a blessing. 

Rebekah overheard this conversation and told Jacob to dress up like Esau and steal this blessing. Isaac was old and lost his sight, so it was easy to fool him. Jacob obeyed his mother’s directions, and the passage below is the promise Isaac gave to Jacob, thinking he was giving it to Esau. 

“May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭27‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Isaac told Jacob he will be prosperous and his brothers will serve him. Essentially life was going to be great for Jacob. 

Right about now is when Esau came back and went to see his father for his blessing. Isaac told him he already gave away the blessing. Esau begged for a blessing too, and this is the blessing he was given: 

“Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭27‬:‭39‬-‭40‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

How Did Esau React?

What did Esau say in response to his brother stealing his blessing? 

“Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”” Genesis‬ ‭27‬:‭36‬, ‭41‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Esau chose to plot to kill his brother after their father died. This is definitely choosing to follow his flesh. The plotting of murder shows how Esau nurtured the root of bitterness toward his brother. Throughout his life Esau chose over and over again to walk according to his flesh. With each of these steps he placed himself farther and farther away from God. 

The Ultimate Rejection

Ultimately he chose to completely turn his back on God when it was time for him to marry. 

“So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭28‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

“Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,” Genesis‬ ‭36‬:‭2‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

We see Esau choosing to completely disregard the wishes of his father and marry women from the very group that did not please his father. 

The Precedent Is Set

Esau set a precedent of setting himself apart from his brother, who inherited the rights of the firstborn when he sold his birthright. 

He set his heart to hatred of his brother. We see that generations later this hatred still permeated the hearts of Esau’s descendants when the Israelites needed to pass through the land of Edom after they were set free from slavery in Egypt. 

“But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.”” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭18‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Esau’s descendants were still looking for a reason to kill Jacob’s descendants. 

What Happens To Those Who Follow The Flesh

What are the results of Esau choosing to live in the flesh and reject God and his ways?  ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭14‬-‭39‬ ‭gives an in-depth description of what will happen to those who choose to reject God and follow their own paths. For the sake of brevity I will pick a few verses to give a general idea of what God said. I encourage you to go read the entire passage on your own. ‬‬

“But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭14‬, ‭16‬-‭17‬, ‭20‬, ‭22‬, ‭25‬-‭26‬, ‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

The Results

What did God say would happen to people who chose to reject him and his laws? 

1. Panic
2. Wasting disease
3. Their enemies will eat what they sow in their fields
4. Those who they hate will rule over them (Jacob will rule over Esau)
5. Run in fear even though no one is chasing them
6. The land will not produce food
7. Deserted roads
8. Pestilence
9. The sword will come to them and strike them down
10. Slavery to their enemies
11. Famine
12. Cities wasted and sanctuaries desolate

Sounds like what the Lord said about Esau in Malachi: 

“I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” Malachi 1:2b-4 (ESV)

Esau chose over and over and over again to follow his flesh and reject the ways of God, first by “despising his birthright,” then by vowing to kill his brother. Finally, he married women from the group whom his father knew would be a detriment to his boys. Esau chose to become one with an evil group of people and became just like them. As a result, God said he would cause things like devastation in his land to occur. 

What About You

Have you made choices to do things your way and disregard what the Lord says to do? Have you been tricked by someone close to you and lost something you valued? Has someone you loved dearly betrayed your trust? If so, I implore you to forgive them. Do not let bitterness take root in your life. Bitterness causes nothing but harm and destruction for its victims. Allow God to heal your heart and mind about the wrongs done to you. 

Forgiveness is powerful. Forgiveness is for you, not for those who harmed you. When you forgive, you allow God to work in your life to bring healing to your heart, mind, and spirit. If you find it difficult to forgive, ask the Lord to empower you to forgive those who have hurt you just as he has forgiven you for hurting him. 

This is incredibly important and prevents the enemy from having a foothold in your life. It’s why Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 (ESV)

Next time we will look at the life of Jacob and see how he is the son of holiness. I hope you will join me!