The Necessity of Divine Election

“ I have loved you,” says the LORD.
“ Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”
Says the LORD.
“Yet Jacob I have loved;
But Esau I have hated,
And laid waste his mountains and his heritage
For the jackals of the wilderness.” (Malachi 1:2-3)

The above is a portion of the text on which I had the opportunity to speak yesterday as the adult Sunday school class continues its trek through the minor prophets. Clearly seen in the passage is the doctrine of election--a topic on which I have not taught in quite a while, and one that I do not feel I handled very well yesterday. At the conclusion of the lesson, one of the ladies in the class approached me with this thought:

"If God did not choose some people then no one would be saved. If He had simply placed a sign by the roadside that said, 'Whosoever will may come' we all would have rejected Him. People will not choose that which is abhorrent to them."

Certainly I have heard what she had to say in the past, but as I had forgotten, I am thankful that she reiterated to me such a clear and simple explanation of the importance of election.

Praise the Lord that He chose me!