Why does God say He hated Esau if He doesn't literally hate him?
God's statement that He hated Esau is a comparative term, not literal hatred or intent to harm. His love for Jacob was so far beyond comprehension that, by comparison, Esau was as if hated. Scripture uses similar comparative language when Jesus speaks of hating father and mother.
Les explains Romans 9:13, where God says, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated," and notes that this throws a curve at people. He qualifies the word "hated": it is not hate as we think of hating someone enough to practically do them harm. It is a comparative term. Even Jesus used similar language when He said that unless you hate your father and mother, you cannot be His disciple. He never expected anyone to hate their parents literally; it was comparative, meaning that unless love for the Lord Jesus is so great that, by comparison, love for family seems almost like hatred. Les says it is the same with Esau. It was not that God had an intrinsic hatred for him, but His love for Jacob was beyond comprehension, so it was as if Esau was hated. This follows the earlier statement that the elder, Esau, would serve the younger, Jacob, said before the boys were ever born.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
More Questions
How did Spurgeon answer the woman who could not understand how God could hate Esau?
Spurgeon told a woman troubled by how God could hate Esau that her question was not the real problem—the real problem and mystery is how God could ever love Jacob.