God assures the Israelites of his love through his sovereign good pleasure whereby he freely chooses to establish and continue his intimate covenant of grace with whomever he is pleased to do so! God declared to the patriarch Isaac that his twin sons, Esau and Jacob, would form two nations. These two nations would be rivals, but Jacob would have dominion over Esau (Genesis 25:23). This was contrary to what Isaac would have wished, for Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob (Genesis 25:28). Furthermore, Esau was the eldest, and would normally have received preference. But God loved Jacob more than Esau, even though Jacob had shown himself to be a deceiver and liar.

This love of God for Israel was made evident through the domination of Jacob over Esau, as it found fulfilment in the descendants of Jacob (the Israelites) and the descendants of Esau (the Edomites). From the reign of David (2 Samuel 8:13–14) to the reign of Jehoram (2 Kings 8:20–22), the Israelites had dominion over Edom. Israel’s past domination over the Edomites was proof of God’s past love towards Israel, which is rooted in God’s sovereign grace of election.