Jacob and Esau & God's Choice - Mal 1:2-4, Rom 9:10-14

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/223756351348

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>> "I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How hast thou loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau; 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, till they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever." (Mal 1:2-4) <<

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>> And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, she was told, "The elder will serve the younger," As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! (Rom 9:10-14) <<

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I saw videos on storks on YouTube. They were described as the most wicked parent birds. A couple of storks laid four eggs. The eggs hatched out. And a few days later, one of the parent storks killed the smallest one and swallowed it up. A parent stork threw the smallest of four chicks and a little bigger one out of the nest. A parent stork chose one of the chicks, and continually picked it on the head to death.

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But the parent storks would think otherwise. They can't get enough food to feed all the chicks until full-grown ones, but for only one or two chicks. So all the chicks could die of malnutrition if they try to feed them all. So it would be better for the parent storks to remove two chicks early so that they could raise the other ones to full-grown storks. And Didn't the stork kill and swallow up the youngest one to fill its stomach with it and give more food to the chicks left? Can we judge such parent storks to be unjust? What about humans who think such an act is evil? Didn't some humans kill some of their children or even eat them in the famine, or cause their old parents without strength for work to die?

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The deserted chicks might feel great discontent for their parents, but shouldn't the chosen ones thank their parents because they killed other ones to give them life?

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The land where humans live is limited in size, and so are the resources needed for them to live. If the number of people increases infinitely, they will fight and kill one another, therefore God confined the population through diseases, wars, accidents, etc. This is inevitable, not unjust. God sometimes decided who would be kept or who would be removed, regardless of their works. The deserted were removed, and the chosen kept living. God chose Jacob and deserted Esau, when they were unborn yet. Thus, Esau acted foolishly disregarding the blessing of God, so the blessing was given to Jacob, his younger brother. God protected Jacob's descendants and made them last until now, becoming Israel. But the descendants of Esau, Edom, strived to survive, however God destroyed them. Paul, the author of Romans, said that the decision of God was not unjust. Who but Jacob was blessed with the blessing that his descendants have survived until now to become a nation? Why should Esau be blessed with the special blessing Jacob received? He had no reason to be blessed like that. And Edom was destroyed thanks to its sins. Why God should be called unjust? Living in this world means you're living in the grace of God. If so, humans alive must much more love and revere God who has chosen them. Nevertheless if you forget the grace and antagonize him, God, thinking of a lot of poeple who were unchosen and removed, would think, 'There are a lot of deserted humans who have disappeared without good reasons to be deserted. Why should I still protect you and your descendants?'

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Look at King Saul. At first, he was not chosen as king by his good deeds. He became a king by the choice of God, but he failed to keep his good faith, changed his mind, and disobeyed God, who deserted him and appointed David king in his stead. As the parent stork kept picking the unchosen chick on its head to death, so God continually punished Saul's house to destroy it. Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in the war in a day, and later seven men of Saul's house were killed because of an incident with the Gibeonites (2 Sam 21:2-9), and Saul's son Ishboset, who succeeded him, was killed while taking a nap (2 Sam 4:7); because they all must be removed for the prosperity of the house of David where the Messiah was to be born.

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Of the choices of God, some are related to one's deeds after birth, as with Saul. The book of Psalms repeatedly warns that the righteous and their descendants will possess the land while the wicked and their descendants will be removed from the land.

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"Depart from evil, and do good; so shall you abide for ever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. The righteous shall be preserved for ever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell upon it for ever. (Ps 37:27-29)"

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We tremble before the fearful choice of the absolute sovereign God, nevertheless God promises us for sure in the Psalms that the righteous and their children shall be blessed and will possess the land. And we know that God sacrified his only begotten Son to save the world. I would say that 'the choosing and deserting of such a God' is trustworthy, that there can not be unjustness there.

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This article is about 'To live in the world' rather than about 'To get salvation and eternal life.' I expect that God will have consideration for those who were not chosen by God the Creator and had to die early. Isn't he a fair God?

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I write this because there are a great number of pathetic poeple who were much blessed by God to live on earth but became really foolish to live an absentminded and prodigal life. Do you know what the life of adultery, theft, fraud, violence, and lies means? Isn't it the cause of the exculsion from God's choice? How terrible! Don't you know what results you and your offsprings would get if you, as a pastor, embezzle church money, buy degrees, commit a fraudulent election, adultary, and hereditary church succession? If you don't, just see Saul's house and recover your mind. Someday you'll surely greately regret if you keep commiting such sins with such boldness!

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You should not take God's grace and choice for granted. You must always think of the unchosen. Then you can't utter any complaints while living on earth, but only thank and revere God. The Bible tells us to thank and fear him always.