By BlogSpotThinker
September 23, 2011
Among the accusations apparently levied against God, one accusation appears to be that the Bible portrays God as unconcernedly arbitrary in His judgment of humanity. One apparently suggested example of this apparently suggested arbitrariness appears suggested to pertain to the Old Testament account of Jacob and Esau and, more specifically perhaps, the New Testament, Romans 9, apparent Paulian reference to that Old Testament account. The Romans 9 passage appears suggested to portray God as arbitrarily preferring Jacob and disapproving of Esau.
I humbly and respectfully suggest that I appear to understand the logic behind the apparent concern regarding the apparent Biblical portrayal of God in Romans 9. The passage’s apparent linguistic portrayal of God appears very inconsistent with the apparent description of God elsewhere in the Bible as unfathomably just and loving.
Upon closer review, however, the writer of Romans 9 – apparently suggested to be Paul – appears to combine two “quotes” from God from two different sections of the Bible. Romans 9:12 appears suggested to quote “The older will serve the younger” from Genesis 25:23 and Romans 9:13 appears suggested to quote “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” from Malachi 1:2, 3 (both from the New International Version).
The apparent “original” context and resulting original connotation of the statements apparently suggested to have been quoted in Romans 9 appears to vary somewhat from the context and connotation apparently applied by Romans 9 to those original statements. Genesis 25:22 and 23 appear to represent a conversation between God and Rebekah, Isaac’s wife and the mother of twins Jacob and Esau. The passage appears to suggest that Rebekah sensed a great deal of movement of the two prenatal infants: “The babies jostled each other within her” (New International Version) and inquired of God regarding the reason. Genesis 25:23 appears to suggest that God replied to Rebekah that the twins would father and head two separate nations and that the “older” would “serve the younger”, apparently reversing tradition that appears to typically assign a greater leadership role to the older of siblings. Although God appears to foretell, in this passage, the destinies of the two children, there appears to be no indication at all in the passage that God preferred one child over the other. This appears suggested to be solely an explanation for the hyperactivity that Rebekah appears suggested to have sensed and a foretelling of the destiny of the two children.
In Malachi, a retrospective monologue by the prophet Malachi regarding Israel (apparently Jacob’s descendents) appears to have just started. In the passage, Malachi appears to begin by voicing God’s declaration of love for Israel. Malachi then appears to describe Israel’s apparent request to God to substantiate this declared love of Israel. Malachi then appears suggested to describe God’s substantiation of His love for Israel via a reminder of the sibling nature of the two nations’ forefathers and that, yet, God has loved Jacob, but has hated Esau. Being that this monologue appears to represent a retrospective, it appears reasonable to suggest that the difference in God’s treatment of the two brothers and their lineage might reasonably be considered to be related to their apparently earlier reported choices regarding acceptance of God’s leadership.
The apparent Romans 9 analysis apparently associated with Paul appears reasonably considered to address the apparent assertion of Jews that their descendance from Abraham automatically guaranteed their acceptance by God. Paul appears suggested to describe that acceptance by God is, at all times, the purview of God, rather than even descendance from Abraham. Further, Paul appears suggested to illustrate the apparently suggested disconnect between God’s approval and descendance from Abraham by suggesting that both Jacob and Esau were descendants of Abraham and that, yet, God approved of Jacob while highly disapproving of Esau. Paul appears suggested to mention that this diverse destiny was foreknown by God before the twins had been born and that God’s authority regarding foreknowledge and approval regarding humanity was demonstrated by God’s declaration to Rebekah that the younger would serve the older. The apparently suggested Paulian reference to God’s differing approval response toward Jacob and Esau and their lineage appears reasonably considered to be phrased as an afterthought, apparently perhaps, supporting the apparent Paulian assertion that descendance from Abraham did not make approval by God automatic: “just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13, New International Version).
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