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“Jacob have I Loved, but Esau have I Hated.”

Romans 9:13

We worship God on his throne. “The God of all grace” sits upon the throne of absolute sovereignty; and it is “the Throne of Grace” (Hebrews 4:16). He gives grace to whom he will and withholds it from whom he will, as it pleases him. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy; and whom he will he hardens. If you would find grace, you must find it there, at the “the Throne of Grace,” bowing before the august majesty of the sovereign, eternal God. And that grace comes to sinners through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Coming to God

If we find grace, if we obtain God’s salvation, we will do so only at the Throne of Grace, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We come to God on his throne, through the merits and mediation of his own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing our sin, abandoning all self-worth and self-righteousness, crying, like the publican, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” — God be propitious to me, the sinner, through the sin-atoning sacrifice of your Son. We come to the sovereign Lord God, crying, like the leper, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole.” Come, oh, come to Christ! — “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Bow to the Word

As we read the Book of God, we must read it, bowing before our God, bowing before his sovereign throne, bowing to his Word. Are you prepared to do that? Are you prepared to bow to God and bow to his Word? Here, the Lord God speaks, and speaks plainly about his absolute sovereignty in the exercise of his grace. — “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

If you are one of God’s elect, you will fight that for just so long. God is going to win. He is going to win. He is going to conquer the proud heart. He is going to break the wild asses’ colt. He is going to ride you, until he rides you down and breaks you. The sovereign Christ is going to put his yoke on you. He will conquer you, either in grace or in judgment, but he’s going to conquer you. God is going to have the victory. You will bow to God. You will bow before his throne. The Triune Jehovah is going to magnify and exalt his himself. Christ will be triumphant over you and over me. One way or the other, in grace or in judgment, you will bow at his feet. — “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

God’s Reason

I do not pretend to understand the great wonders of election, reprobation, and predestination. I don’t. But I do rejoice in all God’s glorious character as God, bow to his Word, and worship him. There are some in this world to whom God is gracious, and some to whom he is not gracious. And I know, because God has stated it plainly, exactly why God loved Jacob and why he hated Esau. — “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Romans 9:15).

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s