The Older Shall Serve The Younger?

Some more thoughts on the notion that God hates certain people and loves certain people.

Romans 9:11–12 CSB

For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger.

I already discussed the Old Testament quote that is in Romans 9:13. In that quote from Malachi 1:3 we see that God is talking about the nations of Israel and Edom. So then the question does the other quote relate to Jacob and Esau individually or as nations?

The older will serve the younger seems to be a pretty straight forward statement. Yet we cannot find any evidence in the Genesis account that this prophecy was fulfilled. If anything we see that Jacob bowed to Esau (see Genesis 33:3).

Since there is no record of Esau serving Jacob then was the prophecy wrong?

When we look to the passage that was quoted in the full context we discover again that the prophecy did not relate to Jacob and Esau as individuals.

Genesis 25:23 CSB

And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.

“Two Nations” “Two Peoples” “One People” “The older will serve the younger.” So it seems pretty clear from this passage that has been quoted that it is dealing with Jacob and Esau as the fathers of nations.

We do see echos of the prophecy in the Blessing of Issac.

Genesis 27:29 CSB

May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you. Be master over your relatives; may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.

These two passages offer insight into the prophecy. Peoples and Nations will bow and serve Jacob. So we can understand the prophecy as dealing with Israel as a nation. At this point the point of the prophecy is that Jacob is the heir of the promise made to Abraham then passed to Issac and now being passed to Jacob. In each case the prophecy had yet to be fulfilled (Hebrews 11:13) or is only partially fulfilled (e.g., God’s provision).

Again we need to understand the Bible in the context of the whole Bible. Especially when a New Testament writer is quoting the Old Testament.

When we look then at Romans 9:6-13 then we can understand that the election described here is the election of the nation of Israel to be the God’s nation of Priests and the seed of His Son Jesus. To turn this into a doctrine of individual election for salvation is a mistake. It takes and applies an idea that does not come from the very passages that Paul is quoting here. When we understand that it is dealing with Israel and Edom we can then understand blessings and curses more clearly. God does not arbitrarily love or hate individuals.

Taken as a whole then Romans 9 is dealing with Salvation by faith in the promises of God. In Romans 9:1-5 it is abundantly clear that Paul is addressing Israel as a nation and heirs of the promises of God. However, being heirs was not sufficient to save them. Why? He answers the question later in the chapter.

Romans 9:32–33 CSB

Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written, Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.

Paul is building up to this great truth in Chapter 9. It is faith and belief in Jesus Christ that makes us righteous. This is an extraordinarily good message. It fits with the rest of the teaching of the New Testament. Time and again we are called to set aside our attempts to be good enough and place our faith in Christ. The curse then rests upon those that do not believe and not because God arbitrarily chose some to save and some to condemn. That is Paul’s point! He continues with this same line of thinking into Chapter 10.

Again I thank you for the time that you all have spent going through the study on Love. I have been blessed by all of you as we have looked at 1 Corinthians 13.

I very much would like your feedback on the study. If you have any specific or general suggestions on ways to improve it I welcome your insights. If you would be willing to write them out I would be very grateful. I don’t always remember the details of suggestions that have been made. I do my best to capture them as we went through, but I am sure I missed some.

See you all tomorrow morning.

~BJ