God chose Jacob over Esau to fulfill His plan of redemption through the line of promise. The choice was not based on merit, works, or natural order, but on God’s purpose in election. Jacob, though the younger and less favored by culture, was chosen to carry the covenant blessing given to Abraham and Isaac.
“And the Lord said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb… And the older shall serve the younger.’”
(Genesis 25:23)
Before the twins were born, God revealed to Rebekah that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). This reversal of expected roles shows that God’s choices are not bound by tradition or human logic.
Jacob and Esau were very different. Esau was a man of the field, impulsive and driven by appetite. Jacob was quieter, dwelling in tents. Though Jacob’s early actions included deception, God’s favor rested on him because of the divine plan, not personal righteousness.
Esau despised spiritual things. He sold his birthright for food:
“And Esau said, ‘Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?’”
(Genesis 25:32)
Later, he married foreign women against his parents’ wishes and lived by the flesh, not by faith. Hebrews comments on this:
“Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.”
(Hebrews 12:16)
God affirmed His choice in Malachi:
“‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’”
(Malachi 1:2–3)
This language expresses preference and rejection in covenant terms. It does not mean personal animosity, but that God set His love on Jacob as part of His redemptive plan, while Esau was not chosen to carry the covenant line.
Romans echoes this:
“For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil… that the purpose of God according to election might stand… it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’”
(Romans 9:11–12)
Jacob’s life was marked by struggle, discipline, and transformation, culminating in a new name: Israel. Despite his flaws, he pursued the blessing of God, while Esau treated it with contempt.
God’s choice of Jacob was not about favoritism, but fulfillment of His promise. A plan that would lead ultimately to Christ, who descended from Jacob through the tribe of Judah.
