In Israel it is an old custom to say of things they reject or simply do not choose as something they hate. For instance when shopping for shoes they might say that they hate every shoe expect the ones they are going to buy. They might have no strong feelings against the things they "hate" of loathing or disgust but they simply reject them in favor of something else. God did not despise Esau, but he did choose Jacob instead of him as far as the covenant went. One could say that he favored Jacob, but disfavored Esau. In relation with the specific choice, not the feelings of God, he hated Esau. This is all for a higher purpose. In the end he disfavors no one. When Jesus commanded us to hate our parents he only meant that when or if we must make a choice we should choose Him.
Similarly, to love is no mere feeling but to choose or to act in favor of. We do not have to like them to love our enemies, this would be a contradiction, but we must act in their favor.
I think your cat looks eerily like mine. When I got mine from the Mississauga Animal Control, I thought she was possessed. As I was driving home with her in the cardbooard box, I could see a white plume of smoke rising from the box out of the corner of my eye but never when I looked directly at it. I declawed her even though I don't believe in declawing cats. I almost gave her away to my unsuspecting senior pastor. I could hold her in my arms but she would go berserk if I prayed over her.
But she has calmed down a lot and mostly behave like a Christian cat. Thank God for apocatastasis.
I also think what you wrote makes very good sense. Esau did have a fairly good life even if it was not one his parents approved of. He did not seem to lack any material comforts even though he lost his birthright.
My other question would be about the prophecies Isaac spoke over both boys. How did the various blessings work out? Was Esau or the Edomites ever enslaved by Israel? hmmmm
I think your cat looks eerily like mine. When I got mine from the Mississauga Animal Control, I thought she was possessed. As I was driving home with her in the cardbooard box, I could see a white plume of smoke rising from the box out of the corner of my eye but never when I looked directly at it. I declawed her even though I don't believe in declawing cats. I almost gave her away to my unsuspecting senior pastor. I could hold her in my arms but she would go berserk if I prayed over her.
Maybe all those years of being worshiped (kind of like demons) had a bad effect on them. My cat also goes berserk from time to time and he looks kind of funny when I try to pray over him, but possessed? I don't think he needs to be possessed, I think he is a little demon on his own.
Still, I love cats. They are proud and independent and not in any respect humble, obedient or faithful (as far away from Christian as you can get) but you still gotta love them. And Christ is the king of cats (lion of Judah). I wish I had a better picture of him (our cat, Jimi) on my computer thought. He looks kind of silly on this one.
The blessings and promises given to both Esau and Ishmael are interesting:
Concerning Esau "And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." Gen 27:39-40
Some of this was fulfilled in 1Chr 18:13: "And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David's servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went."
The rest was fulfilled in 2Chr 28:17: "For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives."
Concerning Ishmael: "And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." Gen 6:10-12
"And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." Gen 17:20
"Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." Gen 21:18
Which great nation is this? Although Arabia no longer exists as one state it still can be considered a nation or ethnicity in the wide sense of the word. Maybe God's grand plan involves Arabia and the Moslem world in a far grander sense than imagined; they are (probably) the children of Abraham also. I don't believe that Islam is a true religion, but it is still truer than the old polytheism of that region. Maybe Mohammad had an epiphany but became hardened so he could not see the true Gospel, just as Israel was. We believe that there will be a grand awakening in Israel in the latter days when Israel will finally see their Savior and Messiah, and maybe something similar will happen among Moslems.
We believe that there will be a grand awakening in Israel in the latter days when Israel will finally see their Savior and Messiah, and maybe something similar will happen among Moslems.
