"For this is the word of promise AT THIS TIME WILL I COME AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON ........." Romans 9 v 9-13
In verse 6-8 we have seen that the sovereignty of God is not based on natural heritage; here in verses 9 - 13 we now see that it is not based on human works. It is entirely based on the "purpose of God according to election." (Romans 9v12) This goes to the heart of this entire section of Romans 9 - 11. The whole context of chapter 9 and indeed of chapters 9 - 11 is the sovereignty of God in using nations to accomplish His purposes. These chapters are not so much about individual salvation, as about God's right to use any agency, whether nation, or ruler of a nation to bring about His purposes. We must learn to understand not only the individual statements of scripture, but the context in which these scriptures appear. The context is clearly not to do with individual salvation but with the global purpose of God in salvation and the way in which He has gone about it. These chapters are full of this truth. Why did God bless Israel? (verses 1 - 5). He blessed them and separated them from the nations to bring forth to the world Christ the Messiah. Through Christ the Messiah, He would bring eternal blessing (verse 5); so He sovereignly chose Israel to bring Christ to the world. Again, in verse 6 he is talking about the nation of Israel, and he distinguishes between natural Israel and spiritual Israel. When he comes to the example of Jacob and Esau, he is not referring to them as individuals, but rather to them as they became nationally. The quotation in verse 13 "the elder shall serve the younger" is taken from Genesis chapter 25v23, and if we read the whole verse it says "two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels.........." So again the context is not individual but national and that is how we must interpret Romans chapter 9. Even the example later on of Pharaoh, is of God using the ruler of an nation to accomplish His purposes. At the end of chapter 9 in verses 30&31 he talks about what the Gentiles have done as opposed to what Israel have done; again the context is national. When we come to chapter 11 and he talks about "all Israel shall be saved" and of the "fullness of the Gentiles" again he is talking of nations. If we fail to grasp this in these chapters we lose the entire meaning of the whole section. Paul has spoken of individual salvation in chapters 1 - 8. In chapters 9 - 11 he is showing how a sovereign God has used nations to accomplish His purpose for the world. The beauty of this is as follows; God used the nation of Israel to bring Christ to the world, because only through Christ would blessing come to the world. Israel rejected Christ, but a remnant of them brought the gospel to the Gentiles. When this work of the salvation of Gentile nations is complete, God will use the Gentiles to bring the true Israel back to Himself! This is why Paul ends this entire section with a doxology of praise to the God of wisdom, who chose to bless Israel, to bless Gentiles, to restore true spiritual Israel to Himself and thus in a very wonderful way God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Instead of debating the issues surrounding divine sovereignty in individual salvation, we should be rejoicing in the wonder of how God went about it and so achieve His eternal purpose.
The phrase in verse 12 "the elder shall serve the younger" cannot possibly refer to the two individuals Jacob and Esau. Historical narrative shows Esau did not serve Jacob; but as history developed it transpired that the people of Esau became subservient to the people of Jacob. The second quotation to do with the brothers "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" is found in Malachi chapter 1v2, some 1,300+ years after their birth so the reference is to national Jacob and national Esau.
Therefore the whole context, and it is worth repeating, is about the sovereignty of God in using whatever agencies He will to bring about His benign purposes for the world. There is no concept either in this chapter or anywhere else in the bible of divine reprobation (which means and as some erroneously teach, God chooses some for damnation). As we shall see later in this chapter God chooses people for glory, men choose wrath for themselves. We need to cease using scripture to bolster our pet and self opinionated theories. If God predestinates people for damnation He also predestinates the sin that took them there, and this is impossible, and is an insult to the gracious and merciful God who provided salvation for all. I cannot stress too strongly here that we as human beings are all responsible for our own eternal destiny, and if believers we are all responsible for our own eternal rewards. Like the apostle Paul we sit back and wonder as we view a sovereign God accomplishing His purposes despite the failure of man.
So the sovereignty of God is not based on national heritage or human works but solely in the will of God, and if we would decide that we cannot possibly explain the sovereignty of God, but just accept it as a glorious truth, then we will begin rejoicing instead of doubting and debating.
"ISRAEL, OUT OF WHOM THE CHRIST, WHO IS OVER ALL, GOD BLESSED FOR EVER!"
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