How did Spurgeon answer the woman who asked him how God could hate Esau?
He replied that her inability to understand how God could hate Esau was not his problem. His problem, he said, was how in the world God could love Jacob. The greater mystery is divine love toward Jacob and toward us, not hatred toward Esau, who was destitute of faith.
Les explains that a lady came to Spurgeon after a service and said she could not understand how God could hate Esau. Spurgeon answered that this was not his problem; his problem was how in the world God could love Jacob. Les points out that it is no problem to understand God hated Esau because Esau was totally destitute of faith and did not think anything of what God said. The real mystery is how God could love Jacob—and then how He could love us. Les shares his own testimony: as a skinny little kid, a dear preacher's wife wept over him and never gave up until she led him to the Lord. He notes that whatever he has been able to read will be part of hers because she was faithful. Les ties this to Malachi 1, where God says, 'I have loved you... yet I loved Jacob,' showing that God's love is the greater wonder.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
More Questions
Why did God say 'Esau have I hated' if it doesn't mean literal hatred?
God's 'hatred' of Esau was not an intrinsic hatred; it was because His love for Jacob was beyond comprehension, so that it was as if Esau was hated.