more [Gen. 48:20].”28 The decree is not known to men, however, except in rare instances when God chooses to reveal it. In the unique case of Jacob and Esau, the parents were told of God’s eternal decree concerning their twins prior to their birth; Rebecca was divinely informed of the election of her son Jacob.29 But even in this unique instance, this divine revelation did not become the basis for divergent action on the part of the parents. The means of grace were not to be withheld from Esau and
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