And the LORD said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
(Genesis 25:23)
God promised that through Isaac, Abraham would have descendants beyond counting. The promise was sure but didn’t come quickly or easily. Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was barren for about 20 years (Genesis 25:20, 26). But when Isaac prayed for his wife, the LORD answered, and Rebekah conceived.
Once pregnant, the struggle that Rebekah felt in her womb made her seek God. As she sought Him, the LORD spoke to her regarding number of children in her womb, their gender, and the destiny of those sons in her womb. That’s when God told Rebekah that she had twins, and each son would be the father of a nation. And, of the two twins, one would be greater than the other, and the younger would be greater than the older.
In proclaiming that the older shall serve the younger, God chose to go against the culturally accepted pattern of that time and place that the older should always be preferred over the younger. In Romans 9:10-13, the apostle Paul used this choice of Jacob over Esau before their birth as an illustration of God’s sovereign choice.
Paul wrote that God’s choice was not based on the performance of Jacob or Esau. God announced these intentions to Rebekah before the children were born (the older shall serve the younger) and repeated His verdict long after Jacob and Esau had both passed from the earth (Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, Malachi 1:2-3).
Some people object, questioning the fairness of God making such a choice before Jacob or Esau were born. Yet we should regard the love and the hate God spoke of in Malachi 1:2-3 and Romans 9:10-13 as having to do with His purpose in choosing one of these two to become the heir of the covenant of Abraham. God did nothate Esau in the sense of cursing him to a doomed life in either this world or the next. All told, Esau was indeed a blessed man, and in some ways more well-adjusted than Jacob (Genesis 33:4-9). Yet regarding the inheritance of the covenant, it could be rightly said that God hated Esau and loved Jacob.
When it comes to God’s choosing, many people make the mistake of thinking that God chooses for random or arbitrary reasons, as if His choices were unplanned and senseless. That isn’t the case. God chooses according to His divine wisdom, love, and goodness. We may not be able to understand God’s reasons for choosing, and they are reasons He alone knows and answers to, but God’s choices are not random or capricious.
You can rest in knowing that when God chooses, it is always for a good reason – and for the ultimate good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
