What Does Romans 9:13 Mean? Does God Hate People?
Romans 9:13
What Does This Verse Mean? Does it Mean what it says it means?
Romans 9:13 (LSB)
Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
This is a direct quotation from Malachi 1:1-2
Malachi 1:2–3 (LSB)
“I have loved you,” says Yahweh. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “Yet I have loved Jacob;
but I have hated Esau, and I have set his mountains to be a desolation and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
What does this mean? And how does it square with passages such as John 3:16
John 3:16 (LSB)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
So, two areas require distinctions in what is being said and what is not.
1. God’s Love
2. The purpose of including these verses
How are we as Christians to reconcile these two statements, which seem to be conflicting concerning the love of God and the hatred of God?
Furthermore, what does Jesus mean with what He says in Luke 14:26-27?
Luke 14:26–27 (LSB)
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Well, throughout Scripture, we see an item that causes many of us to shudder and cringe, specifically when non-believers push in on the passages that deal with God destroying nations, God’s wrath on sinners, and verses that deal with the hatred of God.
The Scriptures mention the following verses concerning “hate” and what God hates, and we must be careful to distinguish and interpret what is being said in the Bible, which lists these seemingly conflicting verses. If we aren’t careful, we may do what theologian Marcion of Sinope (AD 85-160) did when he suggested that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. The Old Testament God was vengeful, wrathful, and angry, and the God of the New Testament is loving, kind, and gracious.
Here is a list of biblical references referring to what God hates:
1. Proverbs 6:16-19 provides seven items God finds detestable
a. Haughty eyes (vs. 17)
b. Lying tongue (vs. 17)
c. Hands that shed innocent blood (vs.17)
d. Head that devises wicked thoughts (vs. 18)
e. Feet that runs to evil (vs. 18)
f. False witness who breaths out lies (vs.19)
g. One who spreads strife among brothers (vs.19)
2. Proverbs 8:13
a. Perverted speech
3. Psalm 97:10
a. Hates evil
4. Psalm 11:5
a. Hates the wicked and the one who loves violence
5. Malachi 2:16
a. Hates divorce
6. Zechariah 8:17
a. Evil in hearts toward one another, false oaths
7. Provers 12:22
a. Lying lips
8. Psalm 26:5
a. Assembly of evil doers
9. Revelation 2:6
a. The works of the Nicolaitans
10. Romans 9:13
a. Esau
11. Malachi 1:3
a. Esau
These are just a few samples of the verses in the Bible that deal with what God hates. However, what does the word “hate” mean? More importantly, are we, as Christians, called to hate people also? To quickly answer the second question, the answer is no; Christians are not called to hate anyone. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:43-44 that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Yet, the question remains: what does it mean that God “hates” something or someone? Many would say using the popular slogan, “hate the sin, but love the sinner,” as their mantra to answer this question. However, that slogan presents a false dichotomy that we must understand. The sin is attached to the very nature of the individual. What Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:44, as F.F. Bruce states, “The best way to destroy an enemy is to turn him into a friend.” The Apostle Paul clarifies this in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” However, this still doesn’t answer the what and the who for which we see the word “hate” directed.
In the verse found in Luke 14:26, Jesus says,
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Some see this saying and, in an attempt to “protect Jesus,” downplay the significance and meaning of this text by stating it is mere hyperbole and was meant to exaggerate His point. However, in understanding the text in Luke 14:26 and to answer our question concerning hate, Jesus says something very similar in Matthew 10:37-38,
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
The word “worthy” is used here, which means does not deserve to belong to me. Jesus emphasizes in both passages that His interests must be paramount and come before anything else, such as His followers. However, the preceding verses underline the weight of this statement in verses 33-34, where He teaches that anyone who denies Him, He will also deny, and that He did not come to bring peace but division a sword. So, in both of these verses, the context becomes clear concerning a situation in which individuals must decide to choose Christ over and above anyone else, including their own family. One cannot be a true worthy follower of Christ if they are unwilling to reject anyone who is opposed to Christ or who would place another individual in a place of affection, desire, and authority over Christ. Understanding this begins to unveil a principle seen throughout the teaching found in the Bible and helps us draw lines around interpreting the seemingly conflicting concepts of God’s “love” versus God’s “hate.”
Understanding Romans 9:13
As previously outlined, numerous verses deal with what God hates; however, for the purposes of this article, I will focus on Romans 9:13 as a sample verse, which will bring us to a deeper level of understanding and interpreting the other verses concerning the same subject. In reading Romans 9:13, it is critical to look at the verses leading up to this one as it sets the stage for what Paul addresses concerning this topic. In verses 1-12, Paul addresses the faulty understanding of predestination. He does this by using the unborn children of Esau and Jacob and their actions to receive God’s love and also God’s hate. In understanding this, we must remember a promise that was given by Yahweh to Rebekah concerning the two twins before either of them was brought forth out of her womb, Genesis 25:23,
“And Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
This example of both Esau and Jacob serves as an example in divine election and the grounds and merit of individuals that God calls into salvation. Paul makes this explicitly clear in Romans 9:11, highlighting that neither of them had done anything good or bad. Still, the purpose of their calling and election was for the purpose of God according to His choice, and the choice was not because of works that either of them had done or would do, but solely because of Him who calls. Paul anticipates the objection and rejection of this notion that it “isn’t fair” or that God was unrighteous in choosing one over the other. Verse 14 gives Paul’s anticipatory response by answering, May it never be. Now, for those of you who object to the notion of election and predestination by asking, “What about free-will?” please read the article concerning that for clarification. What is described in this section concerning Esau and Jacob is unconditional election, not conditional. Unconditional entails that neither of the twins had done anything to earn God’s choosing; it was given to one over the other due to God’s unconditional will and desire of what they have or haven’t done. If it were conditional, then it would depend upon the individual's merit or action to have earned or attained God’s choosing. However, as the verses outline, the individuals have not even been born, and God has made His decision. This understanding is not isolated solely in this verse but also in other passages of Scripture such as Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:15, and Isaiah 49:1. The importance of understanding this is that God’s choosing rests in the free will of our Creator and due to His sovereignty and grace, delivers His mercy on those He chooses.
Understanding God’s Love vs. God’s Hate
In understanding the context of Paul’s writing in Romans, we can now arrive at the issue of harmonizing God’s love passages with what God hates passages. To begin, the notion that God loves everybody the same unconditionally is erroneous. Why? The passage we are studying is in complete opposition to this faulty understanding of God’s love. But what about passages such as John 3:16? R.C. Sproul beautifully communicates the different ways the Bible refers to the love of God. Passages such as John 3:16 deal with God’s love of benevolence or His good will God has towards all His creatures. We might also understand this as common grace. Common grace that He extends to everyone, even though we are all deserving of immediate destruction, His benevolent love is extended to all mankind as Jesus says in Matthew 5:45, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
God does love all mankind; however, this is a general love due to common grace He extends. Yet, there is a special aspect of God’s love that He has and that He delights in, as RC describes it as His love of complacency. This is a type of love that God the Father has for God the Son, and it is a love that extends to anyone who is in Jesus. To understand this differently, I love children; I love seeing the children in our church playing, reading the Bible, and learning. However, I have a special love for when I see my three children. Only my children will receive this type of love because they belong to their mother and I. Understanding this concept just barely touches the tip of the iceberg concerning the type of love Jesus Christ has towards us. Now, understanding these two different types of love God has towards His creatures, we can arrive at a biblical understanding in interpreting Romans 9:13 and other verses.
Romans 9:13 is written as a comparison between the two types of love and also as a way to interpret the type of hate. The verse shows the difference between God’s love of complacency and God’s love of benevolence. The complacent love of God far exceeds and surpasses beyond any type of comparison with the love of benevolence. Again, the love (complacency)God extends to Jacob He withholds from Esau while still yet loving Esau (benevolence) by the sheer fact that Esau is alive. The withholding of God’s love of complacency from Esau was not because of anything he had done, a fact we previously established with both Jacob and Esau; therefore, it becomes clear that the hatred described in Romans 9:13 is not that of an intense passion or dislike of one's emotions or loathing towards Esau. But if one compares the two types of love, it may appear as if it is hatred when one begins to understand the difference between God’s love of complacency versus His love of benevolence.
Focusing now on the specific word “hate” within the context of Romans 9:13, we then understand that this word μισέω (miseow) means that Esau was not the recipient of God’s favor and was therefore disregarded regarding the treatment, love, and affection that God lavishly bestowed upon Jacob. The same word is used in John 12:25, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. This means that an individual who finds their life solely in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross will find their life, and they must disregard their own prerogatives regarding their selfish wants and desires for a total life committed towards Christ. Now, lest we assume then that the word hate is a mere indifference towards Esau, which softens the blow and the language of this text, let us now unpack the word as it relates to God and how He views sin and the sinner. We have not yet completely answered the extent of the meaning of Romans 9:13 and other passages regarding what God hates; Psalm 5:5 provides helpful insight into the further investigation of our search for truth. Psalm 5:5 says,
“The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all workers of iniquity.” Notice the object of God’s hatred; it is not “sin” or “iniquity” in a general sense, but rather it is people whom He hates. But what types of people and to what extent?
The word “hate” and the withholding of God’s love of complacency does not mean a lesser type of love as we might assume. God did not love Esau less than Jacob; God did not love Esau in any type of saving love whatsoever. David in Psalm 139:21-25 sheds additional light and perspective on answering what kind of hate, to what extent, and how should we as Christians view this. Narrowing specifically on verses 21-22, it says,
“Do I not hate those who hate You, O Yahweh? And do I not revile those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.”
David describes hate using physical combatant terminology, “revile those who rise up against you.” These are individuals who treat God as an enemy combatant; they are not neutral towards God. Then David responds to those who rise up against Him, saying that he has “the utmost hatred, they have become my enemies.” This is not an emotional form of hatred; the biblical understanding of the word hatred is not how we as humans experience hatred, as an overwhelming sense of intense emotions, but rather as a covenant action of whom God has chosen to receive His love, those who do not, even we before the regenerational work of the Spirit were much in the same way. The individuals then who do not receive the saving love of Christ are enemies of Christ and He will destroy them because they are His enemies. He withholds His blessings, favor, mercy, and special love from them. Therefore, they are completely void of experiencing these items, and the deprivation of His special love only leaves the individual with its antithesis, hate. To question the “fairness” of what this and other passages describe is to call God’s omniscience and justice into question, which we know He is never unjust nor unloving, nor does He not extend mercy. God deals with the sinners who will not be saved according to their deeds, which is the just due of their life; He allows them to continue living (benevolence) as they continue onto hell. God is under no obligation to save anyone for any reason since we are all damned due to our sins. The fact that God chooses of His own free will to save anyone is incredible and should never puff us up with pride; it should humble us that God, out of the counsel of His own will, chose to save us.
May we rejoice that God saw fit to save any of us, may we continue to show His love towards each other, and may we continue to share the hope and message of the gospel as we are not privy to, nor should we attempt to ascertain who is numbered among the “elect” versus the “non-elect.” As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 115:1–3,
“Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”