SANE - HATE, DISTANCED OFF

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 10: 22 (NIV)

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INTRODUCTION

The world will hate you as it has hated me. And hated Christians have been since the very beginning. The Hebrew word for hate is sane. It means to reject, to avoid, to ignore, or to turn away from, or rather to not be able to draw near to.

YOU WILL BE HATED

Jesus said, " Be not of this world." Yes, we may be in the world, but we are not to walk according to it. Many would call us anomalies—not conforming to the standards of the world.

And what this world doesn't understand, it often rejects, sometimes even hates. God mentions in John 15: 18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

THE HEBREW WORD SANE

The Hebrew word for hate is sane. The word can mean to hate, to be hateful, to be hated, or to be a hater (2). It is a primitive root that hides a hidden meaning behind it. One that not many are privy to.

I HAVE HATED HIM

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3: 16 (NIV)

We all have heard about God’s unconditional love. His love is ever patient and neverending. So color me surprised when I read in Malachi 1: 2-3, ““Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

God hated Esau? Here is a verse that seems to put the very foundation of Christianity at risk. The All-loving God might not be so all-loving after all.

The Hebrew word sane is almost always translated as hate, but in biblical Hebrew, SANE carries a much different meaning. It usually means to reject, to avoid, to ignore, or to turn away from. (3)

Does that mean that God, who rejects no one, rejected Esau? Not necessarily. What is hidden beneath this specific sentence is the fact that God could not relate to Esau intimately, like He could to Jacob. As Chaim BenTorah says, in Jacob, He was able to kindle a fire and draw Him near. Sadly, He could not do the same with Esau. (4)

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

As patient as God is, He calls us to be patient and loving too. We are called to be available, near, and open even to those who may have wronged us, and not immediately withdraw from them. Instead, we are to show them God’s love.

CONCLUSION

The world will hate you because of me. We are called to be in the world, but are not of this world. The Hebrew word for hate is sane. It means to reject, to avoid, to ignore, or to turn away from. But it may also be translated as, especially in the case of Esau, to not be able to kindle a fire. To not be able to draw near. God is ever-loving after all. He can only love those who allow His love to kindle a fire in their lives in the end, though. (5)

Application

Let us let God show us, if He has not been able to draw near us, as He has desired and wanted to.

SOURCES

1. Image created via canva.com.

2. Blue Letter Bible. Sane. Available at https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h8130/kjv/wlc/0-1/

3. Eitan Bar. Hebrew Word Study: HATE (SANE). Available at https://eitan.bar/articles/hebrew-word-study-hate-sane/

4. Chaim BenTorah. Hebrew Word Study – Hate – Sane. Aug 26, 2024. Available at https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2024/08/hebrew-word-study-hate-sane/

5. Doug Hershey. Jacob I Loved, Esau I Hated – Hebrew Word for Hate. Available at https://firmisrael.org/learn/jacob-loved-esau-hated-hebrew-word-hate/