Romans 9:13 … as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

The meaning of words is not static.  The same word can have many different meanings under different circumstances.  Meaning can change based on location.  In Britain, they can “put their trunks in their boot,” but in America, we can “put our boots in our trunk.”  Meaning can change based on time. A “gay man” in the 1890s is not the same as a “gay man” in the 1990s.

Context can often determine the meaning. “He was blue.” has a different meaning in each of the following contexts. 1) When they found him lost in a snowstorm,…  2) After he fell into a 1000 gallon vat of paint, … 3) After his dog died,…  4) There was a red team and a blue team, …

People who are autistic often take words literally, and therefore misunderstand.  When it comes to the scripture, many Christians behave as if they are autistic.  Perhaps the word they have the most problem with is sin, but hate has to be near the top of the list. 

In a Jewish culture, the words we translate as love and hate had several different definitions.  They had the common definitions that we automatically think of, but the word “love” also meant, “To choose” and “hate” also meant, “To reject.” Jesus spoke of serving two masters and said that we would end up loving one and hating the other, He meant we would choose one and reject the other.  Understood in this way, this scripture means God chose Jacob to carry the promise and rejected Esau.  It does not mean God “Hated” Esau as we normally think of hate. 

God is love, and He never hates, detests, or despises anyone.  He loves the most unrighteous, wicked and evil person to ever live.  He hates, detests and despises sin and evil in every form; still Christ died for the sinner.  Sinners are not lost because God hates them; they are lost because they (hate) reject Christ.