BEIT ADAR 15
Hated
“The
children FOUGHT WITH EACH OTHER inside her …” (Gen 25:22 CJB, emphasis mine)
“as it has been written, “Yaʽaqoḇ I have loved, but Ěsaw I HAVE HATED.”” (Rom 9:13 ISR, emphasis mine)
Ancient Jewish wisdom believes the fighting
that took place in the womb of Rebecca between the twin brothers is indicative
of the struggle that goes on within each one of us, between the yetzer hara (the evil, carnal, self-sovereign nature) and the yetzer hatov (the good, righteous, and
submitted to Elohim nature). I suppose
the westernized church system would equate this struggle as between ‘the old
man’ (the one in dominance before an encounter with Messiah) and ‘the new man’
(the one now submitted to God, and His ways).
Most of us can admit to having moments when the yetzer hara, or the ‘old man’, raises up his head to once again
gain dominance. And, at times, it is a battle royal to slap that ‘old man’ up
the side of the head, make him lie down and surrender.
Why was Esau hated? It had to do with the birthright, that which was his as being the first born. Part of that birthright was the expected and required commitment to the Torah of Elohim, and the acceptance of the responsibilities that are a part of the Torah walk. Scripture tells us that Esau was a ‘man of the field’ (Gen 25:27), a place that was a habitation of wild beasts and idol-worshipers, and that he loved to hunt. Jacob is described as a ‘complete man, dwelling in tents’, meaning that he lacked nothing through the eyes of Torah. Again, Ancient Jewish wisdom believes that the ‘tent’ that Jacob frequented was that of Shem, the son of Noah, where he learned all the ways of Elohim and His Torah.
Torah also tells us that Esau ‘despised his birthright’ (Gen 25:34) and was willing to sell it for a bowl of food, therefore treating as common and mundane the holy, set-apart things of Elohim. In his own self-sovereignty, Esau had no intention of following Torah, nor would he submit to the rule of the Creator in his life. When Esau ‘swore to Jacob’ concerning the relinquishment of the birthright, he bound himself by his own oath, making the transaction irreversible.
In later years, Esau accumulated Caananite women as wives (Gen 26:34-35), thus contaminating the bloodline through which the Messiah would eventually come. Only through Jacob would purity of lineage be established, as well as the birthright and inheritance. And thus, Esau was hated …
What about us? Have we taken the kadosh, holy and set apart things of our Father and trampled them under foot, trading them for a moment of satisfaction? ‘Hate’ is defined as to “greatly dislike; have an intense aversion to”[1]; is this how we want our Creator to view us?
Thoughts to ponder on …
©2022
[1] American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828
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