"Esau I Have Hated"?

This morning's reading was Deuteronomy 2:1-7, in which God tells the Israelites to treat the Edomite nation with respect, as a brother nation. Didn't God say "Esau I have hated"? In Romans 9:13, Paul quoted this line from Malachi 1:2 to illustrate the concept of election. God's hatred was demonstrated in His chosing Jacob, rather than Esau, as the son through whom all nations would be blessed.

How was God's hatred of Esau played out in history? While Israel was in Egypt for 430 years, then wandered in the wilderness for another 40, Edom grew as a nation, drove the Horites out of the hill country of Seir and settled in. By the time God told Israel to behave well with the Edomites, Edom may have been a nation for twice the time that the United States has been one.
Perhaps a thousand years later, Obadiah and Malachi prophesied against Edom and Malachi announced God's hatred. Edom would be destroyed because of its sin, not just because God hated them. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Edom in 586 BC and later the Nabateans drove them from their territory. Where did they go? They fled to to the protective arms of their "little brother," Israel and settled south of Judea at the southern end of the Dead Sea, in an area known as Idumea.

Where do we find Idumea next? "When they heard all [Jesus] was doing, many people came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan around Tyre and Sidon." (Mark 3:6) God's hatred of Esau led to Esau being among those who heard the gospel from Jesus, himself.