“… he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, ‘Your older son will serve your younger son.’ In the words of the Scriptures, ‘I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau .” (Romans 9:12-13 NLT)”

Today, I will deviate a bit. I was a child when I used to hear preachers say God hated Esau while he was still in the womb for no obvious reasons and He loved Jacob unconditionally. I stand to tell you that, that assertion is erroneous and a distorted view of God. God can love a man unconditionally but He cannot h any man unconditionally.I told you that to understand the Scriptures, bear in mind the CAN DO of God and the CANNOT DO of God. The Holy Spirit taught me that as a child. Abraham told God, you CANNOT act wickedly. That was because he knew God’s nature and character.To hit the nail, when Esau and Jacob were in the womb God said the older will serve the younger but God didn’t say he hated any. Be patient with me.Remember that Esau and Jacob were twins. This means that they were given birth to on the s ame day. Today, we have many people who are not as rich as their younger brothers and they are living fine. Also, there are persons who have bosses that are of the same age as their younger ones and they are happy with their jobs. So, saying that Jacob would be greater than Esau was not a curse.If you read your Bible, you will realize that Esau became established and successful before Jacob. While Jacob was roaming and slaving under Laban, Esau had 400men serving him. Esau had founded Edom long before the nation of Israel was established. When the Israelites were suffering in Egypt for 430 years and wandering in the wilderness for 40years, Edom was already a kingdom (Gen.36:15).My point is, Esau was richer than Jacob in their lifetimes (read your Bible). The blessing was actually upon the nations that both men would establish separately because God told Rebecca that there were two nations in her. God saw them as nations not individuals.At what point did God say He hated Esau? It wasn’t when they were in t he womb. In fact, it wasn’t in their lifetimes. It was long after they were dead. And God wasn’t referring to the individuals; He was referring to Edom and Israel. He said Edom, I hate, Israel I love (Malachi 1:1&2).Trust me, the Israel God loved suffereda lot due to their rebellion but God assured them that He would never leave them. And in God’s plan, Edom was to prosper alongside with Israel (Deut. 23:7&8). It is like Israel becoming the USA of today and Edom becoming the UK. But they both failed God. Edom’s major offence among others was that they took advantage of Israel’s predicament in their days of punishment (Obadiah 1:210).God loved Israel unconditionally and yet punished them gravely. He did a lot for them but didn’t do everything for them. And He never hated Edom unconditionally. Even Pharaoh was not hated unconditionally; he first led himself into the hate zone.