An Analysis of Romans 9 – 11
Paul’s overall message is that not
all Jews are saved, but only those who believe.
He explains that it has always been God’s plan to save those who believe
the gospel and not those who perform the works of the law. He also handles objections raised by the
Jews. The primary objection Paul deals with is that God’s plan to save
9:1 I say the truth in
Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2
That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Paul takes this matter very
seriously. He is addressing Jews, and
showing his great love for the Jewish people. Paul was the apostle to the
Gentiles, which may have given rise to the question of his loyalty to the
Jews. Paul affirms here that they are on
his heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh:
There are very few parallels to this
great of a love or burden for soul winning.
Paul would literally stand in the Jews’ place if he could. Besides
Christ, Moses was the only other who made a statement like this.
Exodus 32:32-33: "But now, if You will, forgive their sin --and if not, please blot me out
from Your book which You have written! And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book."
The parallel is so
strong that Paul seems to allude to this Old Testament passage. Exodus 32-34 describes
the Israelites’ rebellion of worshiping the golden calf, just after God rescued
them from bondage in Egypt and gave Moses the law.
This allusion is Paul’s
first of two from Exodus 32-34. The
second is upcoming in verse 15. More will be said
about this important text in that place, but one point should be made here. Paul and Moses were unable to substitute for
their people. Why not? God’s justice. God punishes the sinner. God’s justice did not allow Him to punish
Moses in place of those that actually committed idolatry. Because of God’s justice in punishing
sinners, only Christ’s death and the imputation of His righteousness can save.
Paul is speaking about the Jews as a
nation, but specifically lost Jews. Paul
identifies himself with the Jews nationally (kinsmen according to the flesh),
but contrasts himself with them as it relates to their standing before God
(accursed from Christ).
What is Paul’s basis for saying that
the Jews are rejected? In the preceding
chapters, Paul has firmly established that salvation is not through the works
of the law, but through faith in Christ.
The Jews were rejecting Christ and the Gospel and so were cut off.
4 Who are Israelites; to
whom pertaineth the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises;
‘Israelites’ is the special name for
Jews, derived from the special name God gave Jacob. Paul is talking about national adoption, not
adoption into the family of God. Paul is
about to make this point abundantly clear.
The reference to glory likely refers to the cloud or the Shekinah glory that surrounded the temple and the ark. The covenants refer to the promises made to
the patriarchs, kings and prophets. The
giving of the Law is the Law of Moses, which guided Jewish life and conduct
from morality to dietary customs, legal system, and medical system. In short, the law visibly set
5 Whose are the fathers,
and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
The fathers here are a reference to
the Patriarchs. Christ came to the Jews
specifically and His ministry centered around the
Jews. What greater blessing than the
highest revelation of God coming to that nation? Christ was God. Of note, this list provides many wonderful
blessings from God, but not eternal life.
In this introductory section, Paul
is basically saying that the Jews nationally have been rejecting Christ and are
now being punished. They had been the
recipients of many, many blessings from God, but because of their unbelief,
they now stand rejected.
6 Not as though the word
of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all
Paul echoes chapter 4:13-16:
“For the promise, that he should be
the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but
through the righteousness of faith. For
if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made
of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for
where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to
that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all”
Paul had already taught that 1) God’s
promise to Abraham would be on none effect if keeping the law was the condition
for being made heir of the world and 2) those that believe are Abraham’s
children.
Imagine for a second the response a
Jew might give to Paul’s argument in Romans 1-8. I know I don’t perfectly keep the law. I sin.
The whole book of Leviticus tells me what to do when I sin. It is not about me perfectly keeping the law;
it is about God’s covenant. God made a
covenant with my people. It was His
doing that I was born a Jew, which put me into the covenant. God’s covenantal promises provide
me with forgiveness of my sins,
since I was born a Jew and remain a Jew by keeping the law. So if I am unforgiven
despite God’s putting me into His covenant by making me a Jew, then His word has
taken none effect.
This is the objection Paul is
dealing with. He has to rule out not
just the works of the law, but also national Judaism. Paul has already shown that becoming a Jew is
unnecessary, but he also has to show that it is insufficient. Paul also has to show that God’s promise to
Abraham did not fail even if many Jews are lost.
How does Paul rise to the challenge?
Paul states that God’s word (adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and
the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises) given to
national Israel, were effective in providing a spiritual blessing to a subset
of spiritual Israelites. Simple
physical descent from
Paul introduces the Old Testament
for the first time with this verse in the form of allegory. The same term
Physically, the Jews were
Spiritually, the Jews were
rejected. They did not believe the
Gospel and were now cut off from Christ.
They were not the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:16)
The verse describes that not
everyone who in Jewish is saved. This is
the answer to the objection that if salvation is through faith in Christ and
not Jewish nationality God’s plan would have failed in trying to save
them. Paul’s answer is not that God’s
plan could never change or fail, but that they misunderstood the plan. The plan was never to save national Jews or
those who follow the law, but only to save those who have faith.
7 Neither, because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children: but, in Isaac shall thy seed be
called.
Here Paul quotes Genesis 21:12-13:
But God said to Abraham,
"Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah
tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.
And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy
seed."
This is the context: after Isaac had
been born, Sarah wanted Abraham to throw out Ishmael and make Isaac his
heir. Abraham at first worried about
this, but God said go ahead and do it, Isaac will be your heir and so the
nation of
Physically, God’s choice was to make
Isaac and not Ishmael Abraham’s heir.
Paul is using this example of a son of Abraham who was rejected. The Jews are sons of Abraham who are rejected. So God’s choice does not bless people just
because they are Israelites.
Paul teaches a deeper spiritual
truth though this example. In the
passage in Genesis, at a spiritual level, Isaac represents the Gospel and
Ishmael the law. (Galatians
4:22-31) God chose to save through the
gospel, not the law. The children of
Abraham are those that believe.
(Galatians 3:6-7, 39) This answers the Jew’s question as to why they are
rejected. It was always God’s plan to
reject unbelievers, even Jewish ones who earnestly follow the law. The Jews, who were attempting to gain
salvation through the law are Israel (physically), but not of Israel
(spiritually).
The concept of “calling” (Greek κληθησεται),
or as it can be translated “naming”, is important. The idea is not one of invitation, but rather
designation. A group was to receive a
special designation by God, a designation which would set them apart from other
people. Physically that was the nation
of Israel, God’s chosen people.
Spiritually, God calls believers His children. The concept of naming
ties this declaration back to God’s original promise to Abraham that he would
become the father of a great nation. Isaac and his offspring were to be
identified as the great nation God established through Abraham.
It is important to see this as a
three step process. First, God gives a
promise. Second, people believe God’s
promise. Then third, God fulfills His
promise. The promise to Abraham was “I
will make you a great nation and in you all the nations of the world will be
blessed”. Then Abraham believed God’s
promise. Finally, God made Abraham a
great nation. Implicit within the
promise to Abraham is the Gospel. God
would send Christ through Abraham to bless the world. When Abraham believed God, God justified
Abraham. Today that same promise given
to Abraham is even more explicit. God
promises that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Then people believe. Finally, God saves them.
8 That is, they which are
the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed.
Physically, not all of Abraham’s
children (the children of the flesh) were blessed. Isaac was; Ishmael was not. This removes the
objection that descent guarantees blessings.
Spiritually, Paul distinguishes
between the children of the flesh (Jews who follow the law) and the promise
(those who have faith). The flesh represents
those who through human endeavor follow the law. (Galatians 3:2-3) The children of the flesh are those who were
seeking salvation through their own strength using the law. Not all national Israelites are rejected or
children of the flesh, Paul himself being a prime example. In other words, Paul is subdividing
The children of the promise are
those who follow Christ through faith.
(Galatians 3:8) They, as Abraham, believe God’s promises and are
declared righteous and adopted into God’s family as His children. (Romans 4:1-5) God chose to give the promise
to Isaac, not Ishmael. Just because they
are Abraham’s children by nature does not make them God’s children.
Verse 8 summarizes Paul’s argument
from verses 6 and 7. Paul removes the
false notion regarding national Judaism.
The statement here in verse 8 “they which are the children of the flesh,
these are not the children of God” corresponds to his earlier statements: “for
they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” and “neither, because they are
the seed of Abraham are they all children”. Paul denies firmly that national
Jews are: 1) Spiritual Israel 2) Abraham’s spiritual children and 3) the
children of God. Thus the Jewish
argument that nationality brings them within God’s covenant is false. Being a national Jew is insufficient.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah
shall have a son.
Here Paul quotes from Genesis 18:10:
He said, "I will
surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will
have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind
him.
God had already promised that He
would make Abraham a great nation. Later
God would explain to Abraham that Isaac would be his heir. But in between, He
tells Abraham that Sarah, who is barren, will have a son. Not only did God confirm His plan but He
clarified the promise. Each clarification
reveals more and more to Abraham about how he will be made a great nation.
Promise, in the Greek, is
genitive. It’s literally the promise’s
word or the word the promise possesses. The
point is that these words (i.e. that Sarah will have a son) are based on the
original promise to Abraham that God would make him a great nation and through
him all the nations of the world would be blessed.
Physically, Isaac would become the
father of the nation of
Paul is also teaching a deeper
spiritual truth. Isaac was born blessed with being in the lineage of Christ
because of the promise. The foundation
of the blessing was not the flesh, but God’s promise. The promise to Abraham
was more than that he would have a son, but it is the promise of the Gospel. (Galatians 3:22)
10 And not only this; but
when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Paul strengthens the argument he
explained through Isaac and Ishmael with the example of Jacob and Esau. He also confirms his identity with Israel
nationally. The phrase “and not only
this” indicates Paul continuation of his previous point.
11 (For the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Paul’s argument crescendos.
God’s purpose was the reason He said
to Rebecca, “the older will serve the younger”.
Paul says this comment to Rebecca was made in order for God’s purpose to
stand. Might stand (or remain) is the
subjunctive of meno.
Here the subjunctive indicates God’s intention. Thus a hyper-literal translation might be God’s
purpose was to make His purpose stand. In
other words, there are two purposes or intentions. The first is God’s purpose for telling
Rebecca the older will serve the younger.
The second is God’s purpose for promising Abraham that all the nations
of the world will be blessed through him.
God’s promise to Abraham is the foundation for His statement to
Rebecca.
This tying back to God’s original
purpose is similar to verses 7, 8 and 9.
In 7 we see that through Isaac, Abraham’s seed will be named. This of course relates back to God’s promise
to Abraham to make him a great nation.
In verse 8 we see that the children of the flesh are counted for the
seed. This also points back to God’s
original promise to give Abraham descendents.
Likewise, in verse 9 we have the word of the promise or the promise’s
word. The declaration to Sarah was made
based on God’s original promise to Abraham.
Here in verses 11 and 12, it’s no different. God’s
purpose for telling Rebecca the older will serve the younger was to establish His
original promise to Abraham. The purpose according to election then, is God’s
choice to make Abraham a promise.
While the direct subject is God’s
choice to promise blessings to Abraham, it’s also true that implicitly God is
choosing Jacob. In fact, we have three
sets of pairs: two choices, two declarations/promises, and two fulfillments. These pairs are of course related, but they
are also distinct. God’s promise to
Abraham is primary and the source His promise to Rebecca. His promise to Rebecca is secondary and
dependent on His promise to Abraham. The
relation between God’s promise to Abraham and His declaration to Rebecca is one
of reaffirmation and additional revelation.
Just as the two promises are
related, so also the two choices are related. The relation between’s God’s
choosing to bless Abraham and His choice to bless Jacob is that of fulfillment.
God choose to make Abraham a great nation and His choice of Jacob was in
fulfillment of the purpose. What fulfilled
God’s promise to Rebecca? God’s blessing
Jacob by giving him the birthright, making him the father of the nation of Israel,
and passing the line of Christ through him fulfilled both God’s original
promise to Abraham and His reaffirmation of that promise to Rebecca.
Paul claims God’s declaration to
Rebecca that the older will serve the younger established His promise to
Abraham not of works, but of Him that calls.
Three questions remain for us to fully understand this text. First, what does not of works, but of Him that
calls mean? Second, how does God’s
declaration to Rebecca establish God’s promise to Abraham not of works but of
Him that calls? Third, how does this
whole argument answer the Jewish rejection?
Paul’s statement not of works, but
of Him that calls is both a negation and an affirmation. Not of works means not via the works of the
law. Him that calls is God, who calls us through the Gospel to faith in Christ. God names those that believe His children.
How does God’s declaration to
Rebecca establish God’s promise to Abraham not of works but of Him that
calls? By showing the insufficiency of
national lineage for entrance into the covenant and works for remaining in the
covenant, Paul shows the promise to Abraham was not of works. By showing God was reaffirming His promise to
Abraham, which was the call of the Gospel, Paul was
showing it is of Him that calls.
Paul is denying that national lineage
is sufficient for entrance into God’s covenant with Abraham. This much is clear from the fact that Ishmael
is rejected, despite being Abraham’s son.
But Paul further clarifies this point using the declaration to
Rebecca. Ishmael was Abraham’s son, but
not Sarah’s. So perhaps there was not
enough purity in his blood for God to use him.
But in the case of Rebecca, the children had the same father and
mother. Not only that, Esau was older
then Jacob and the rightful heir. Yet he
still didn’t receive the birthright. This firmly demonstrates the insufficiency
of national lineage.
Having demonstrated the
insufficiency of national lineage for entrance into the covenant, Paul also
shows that the works of the law do not keep people in the covenant. God’s declaration to Rebecca was before the
children had done good or evil. This
shows God was not establishing His promise to Abraham based on Abraham’s descendents
keeping the law. God was establishing His
promise to Abraham in another way, by reaffirming His promise, which is the
call of the Gospel.
So how does this whole argument
answer the Jewish rejection? Paul’s
argument denies and disproves their assertion regarding God’s word and also
explains what God’s word is really all about.
The Jews were claiming that national lineage brought people into the
covenant and the works of the law kept people in the covenant. Paul disproves that paternity brings people
into the covenant, through the examples of Ishmael and Esau. Paul further proves that works don’t keep people
in the covenant, because the declaration to Rebecca was given in order to
establish God’s promise to Abraham before the children were born and did
anything good or evil. So what the Jews are saying is God’s word is not in fact
God’s word. So God’s word can’t be
failing in the way the Jews think it has failed.
Having dispatched the Jews’ false
notion, which was Paul’s principle aim, he also sets
forward the truth regarding God’s word. God’s
word has established a spiritual Israel, those He named Abraham’s descended,
the children of the promise. This
establishment is through His promising blessings and calling through the
Gospel. This was God’s intention all
along, so God’s word has not failed.
12 It was said unto her,
the elder shall serve the younger.
God’s declaration to Rebecca makes
His promise to Abraham stand.
Here Paul quotes from Genesis 25:23:
The LORD said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples will be separated from your
body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall
serve the younger."
The context of which is
Rebecca’s asking the Lord about the struggle she felt in her womb. She was informed that she would have twins who
would father two different nations. The
declaration that the older will serve the younger actually was not fulfilled during
Jacob and Esau’s lifetime. Rather it was
fulfilled in the nations that each man fathered.
Two facts demonstrate
that the literal sense of this election was national not individual. First,
Jacob and Esau are spoken of as the heads of nations in the passage in Genesis,
not individually. Second, the service was not performed by Esau, but by the nation
that descended from him. So the literal
sense of the choice of God is clearly seen as the election of Nations. This
proves that physical lineage does not guarantee blessings.
The spiritual sense of
the passage, which Paul uses to further disprove the Jew’s objection that the
plan of God failed if they are rejected because of unbelief, is that God chose
to save through the gospel, not the law.
The elder is Esau who represents the
law which was given before Christ. The
younger is Jacob who represents the promise of the gospel. Those who follow the gospel will be stronger
and will rule over those who follow the law.
Here a question comes up as to how
the election of Jacob as a nation answers the question the Jews posed of their
rights to salvation through nationality?
Wasn’t Jacob and the nation of Israel blessed with divine love and
didn’t Esau have to serve him? Jacob in
representing the Gospel answers the Jewish objection, but does Jacob in
representing the nation of
The election is first and foremost
about the condition of salvation, faith.
Only secondarily is individual included in membership. In the choice of Jacob, he was considered as
a nation, not an individual. In the
spiritual choice, the Gospel as a means is first included, then those
individuals who believe.
Another question that arises is how
can we have a “bi-level” meaning to the text?
In other words, if the example itself deals with national blessings, and
what it represents deals with spiritual blessings Paul is simultaneously
communicating two truths through the same vehicle. But this approach opens up a can of worms to
biblical interpretation. It would be
simpler to look for ether the literal or the symbolic interpretation to the
text, but not both.
Normally, if the literal meaning
makes sense, there is no need to look for a figurative sense. But in this case we have Paul introducing
another sense when he said not all Israel is of Israel. Also, we have Paul in Galatians 4 revealing
to us that in the Old Testament texts, God was teaching a spiritual truth. So we cannot add our own spiritual meaning to
a text wherever we like, but if God’s adds a spiritual meaning, we need to
learn from it.
So can we throw out the literal
sense and understand Romans 9 with the spiritual meaning? No.
God was also teaching the election of Ishmael and Jacob for national
blessings in the Old Testament texts.
God’s choice conferred both blessings and both blessings deal with the
Jewish argument. Here’s a summary matrix:
|
Sense |
Accepted |
Rejected |
|
Literal |
God’s promise |
Nationality |
|
Symbolic |
God’s call to faith |
Works of the law |
13 As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Here Paul quotes from: Malachi 1:2-5:
"I have loved
you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You
loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD.
"Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his
mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance
for the jackals of the wilderness. Though Edom says, "We have been beaten
down, but we will return and build up the ruins"; thus says the LORD of
hosts, "They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the
wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant
forever."
Your eyes will see this and
you will say, "The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!"
The context is Malachi’s prophesy
against the sins Israel lapsed into after rebuilding the temple. Israel had fallen into sin, so God permitted
their captivity. Israel was not the only
nation God had judged with captivity.
God also permitted the Edomites to fall. (Ezekiel 25:12-14, Jeremiah 49:7-22) However,
the Persians had allowed Zerubbabel to return to Jerusalem
and rebuild and had allowed Ezra to return and reinstitute temple worship. Nehemiah had also been allowed to return as a
leader of the nation of Israel. So there
had been significant rebuilding by this point.
Yet Israel fell into sin once again, which Nehemiah and Malachi were
addressing. Malachi reminds Israel of
God’s favor towards them as a nation over and above the Edomites,
in that God blessed Israel’s reconstruction efforts, but did not bless the Edomites reconstruction efforts. This all goes back to God’s choice make Jacob
not Esau the father of Israel.
Paul’s quotation of Malachi confirms
that God did in fact establish His promise to Abraham through Jacob, not Esau. Jacob’s children became Israel and received
God’s national blessings. Spiritual
Israel also receives God’s spiritual blessings.
The statements, “the elder shall
serve the younger” and “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” are
parallel. The hatred of Esau was not
demonstrated in him personally, but his posterity as a nation. The hatred is a matter of relative amount blessings
Jacob received from God compared to Esau, not an emotion on God’s part.
14 What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
The Jewish objection is it unfair
for God to reject the Jew’s who are earnestly seeking salvation through the law. God choose to reject those who follow the law,
which leads to the condemnation of most Jews.
Further, God chose without considering how hard they were trying.
Paul’s response is that God is not
unrighteous. God is righteousness.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion.
In the Greek, Paul follows the
Septuagint. The KJV has “I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy”, but the second mercy
in the Greek and Septuagint is present tense.
So it should be translated “I will have mercy on whom
I have mercy”. The same is true of
compassion.
There is a second translation
problem in the KJV translation. It doesn’t
capture the indefiniteness in the Greek related to “whom”. In both the Greek and Septuagint “whom” is
followed by the particle “an” which denotes
uncertainty. Thus, “whom”
should be translated whomsoever. So the
correct translation should be: “I will
have mercy on whomsoever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomsoever
I have compassion.”
So how can the passage be both indefinite
(i.e. whomsoever) and also definite (i.e. God’s future mercy is as definite as
His present mercy)? By God’s definite
promise to save whosoever calls on the name of the Lord. God has declared an
unchanging formula: if you believe, you will be saved.
Here Paul quotes from Exodus 33:19:
And He said, "I
Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of
the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious , and
will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
This quotation is taken from Exodus
32-34, the infamous golden calf episode.
Just after God had rescued Israel from Egyptian bondage and while Moses
was up on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God, the people were down below
forming an idol to worship. God tells
Moses that He will destroy Israel as a punishment. Moses intercedes by appealing to God’s
character and promise to Abraham. Paul’s
argument is quite similar.
Exodus 32:11-14:
Then Moses entreated the LORD his
God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom
You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty
hand? "Why should the Egyptians speak, saying,
'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to
destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your burning anger and
change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.
"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply
your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have
spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it
forever.'" So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He
would do to His people.
This was Moses’ first of three intercessions
in Exodus 32-34. God had said He was
going to destroy Israel and Moses appeals to God’s promise to Abraham and
faithfulness. God changes His mind. The first intercession deals with the total destruction
of the nation of Israel, the second requests forgiveness for the nation and the
third requests God’s continued presence among the people.
The second intercession is the one
alluded to above in Romans 9:3. Moses
request forgiveness for the nation, but God says no, He will punish those that
sinned. After God punishes the people He
stays He will leave the children of Israel, because they are obstinate. Moses intercedes for them, and God decides to
have mercy on them and continue to stay with them.
Paul uses this passage forcefully in
Romans 9. God’s promise to Abraham and
His faithful character spared the Jews of destruction, but not all of
them. Nationality was not enough, the
obstinate had to be punished and cut off from God’s blessings. Those that were blessed by God’s presence
didn’t deserve God’s presence. Rather
God was being merciful towards His people.
In the same way, now, not all Jews
are blessed based on their nationality or God’s promise to Abraham. Those that are sinning by rejecting the
Gospel are not part of God’s covenanted blessings. Those that are in Spiritual Israel don’t
deserve God’s presence, but God had chosen to be merciful with them.
Why is it not unfair for God to
choose to give salvation to those who believe and reject those who are trying
to be saved through the law, even though He requires perfect obedience to the
law for salvation? Two reasons, because
He is sovereign with respect to planning to show mercy on believers if he wants
to and second because He is showing mercy. Mercy and fairness are not at the
same level. It would be fair for God not
to save anyone. But mercy goes beyond
fairness, so God is at liberty to show mercy in the manner He sees fit without
the charge of unfairness. Only out of
mercy has God chosen to save anyone, so He is not unrighteous. His election to save based not on works, but
on him who called is not unrighteous because the election’s basis is mercy.
16 So then it is not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that sheweth mercy.
Salvation is not based on desire to
follow the law (him that willeth), or actually
following the law (him that runneth) but on God’s
plan of mercy. Those who follow the law
for salvation are not seeking God’s mercy.
They intend to earn it by their own strength. They are children of the flesh and God does
not show them mercy.
Paul argues against both willing and
running, that is both desire to obey and obedience. This answers the Jewish argument that I know
I don’t keep the law perfectly, but if I try hard God will make up the
difference.
Some church fathers say him that “willeth” relates to Isaac’s choice to give Esau the
birthright, but mistakenly blessing Jacob.
“Him that runneth” relates to Esau’s running
for his birthright. That explanation
seems unlikely, because Paul seems to be addressing the Jews directly, outside
the allegory.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I
raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee,
and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Here Paul quotes from Exodus
9:15-16:
"For if by now I had
put forth My hand and struck you and your people with
pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for
this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the
earth.”
The context of which is Moses goes
to Pharaoh and requests him to let Israel go.
Pharaoh refuses. God started to
send plagues. Perhaps Pharaoh through
fear of the plagues would have let the Israelites go, but God hardened
Pharaoh’s heart and the plagues continue.
By using the example of Pharaoh,
Paul shows that if God’s sovereignty allows Him to raise
up Pharaoh and then harden him to show His power, He is allowed to have
compassion on those who He calls and harden the Jews who work for their
salvation. Paul implies that God
hardened the Jews based on their refusal of His call. If God had the right to harden Pharaoh, He
has the right to harden them.
It’s important to understand that
Pharaoh was not hardened by God causing him to sin, but by God removing His
grace which softens men’s hearts and hinders sin. God stopped calling Pharaoh as a punishment
for his sins. As seen below, God hardens
through His longsuffering.
18 Therefore hath he
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Paul sums up versed 15-17. Pharaoh and Moses were both used by God to
deliver the nation of Israel - Moses through mercy, Pharaoh, who rejected
mercy, through hardening. God had the
right to do both, so God has the right to have mercy on believing Jews and
reject unbelieving Jews. This answers
the question does God have the right harden and punish the children of the
flesh and accept the children of the promise?
19 Thou wilt say then
unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath
resisted his will?
The term in Greek for “resisted” is anthistemi. It’s
used 12 times in the New Testament; most typically meaning talking back to or
opposing one in authority. We are told to resist the Devil (James 4:7, 1 Peter
5:9 and Ephesians 6:13) and the disciples were told that no one would be able
to resist their speech (Luke 21:15 and Acts 6:10). Quite often anthistemi
carries the connotation of evil insubordination as is the case of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:8), apostates following Jannes’ and Jambres’ example of
withstanding Moses (2 Timothy 3:8) and Alexander the coppersmith that opposed
Paul (2 Timothy 4:15). However,
sometimes it just means opposing one in authority, as Paul opposed Peter
(Galatians 2:11). So resistance here is
talking back or opposing.
This understanding of anthistemi is confirmed in the subsequent verse (verse 20) by
looking at the phrase “repliest against God”. In verse 19 anthistemi
means talking back to God regarding His purpose and promise given to Abraham.
“Find fault” in the Greek is in the
middle voice. God found fault with the Jews for Himself. This connects the action of hardening with
God’s purpose. So the idea is that God’s
finding fault with the Jews is in line with His plan and He punishes them with hardening.
The Jews were admitting that they
didn’t have the authority to oppose God regarding His plan for Abraham (who has
resisted His will). They knew God has
the right to make plans. So what are
they objecting to? Being
blamed. In other words they were
saying: “you have the right to make a plan to have mercy though the call of the
Gospel, but not the right to blame us for rejecting”. The complaint isn’t about
the plan per se, but they’re being punished for not going along with the plan.
They also admitted God was finding
fault with them, but they thought God shouldn’t do so, because no one had the
right to tell God off for making such a plan in the first place. They would have come up with a different plan
than God did. A plan that would not leave
them rejected. But they cannot oppose God’s plan, so God does not have the
right to find fault with them and punish them by hardening them.
This objection goes a bit further
than the objection in verse 14. In verse
14, the justice of God’s plan was challenged.
Here, the Jews challenge God’s justice in punishing those who don’t go
along with His plan. Paul’s opponent retreats from the position that God’s plan
is unfair, to the position that God’s blaming them for rejecting His plan is
unfair.
20 Nay but, O man, who
art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus?
Here Paul quotes from Isaiah
45:9:
" Thus saith the LORD to
his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden,
to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the
loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall
not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I
will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret
places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which
call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy
name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the LORD, and
there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west,
that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring
forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have
created it. Woe unto him that striveth with his
Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay
say to him that fashioneth it, What
makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands??
Isaiah 40-48 provides a sequence of
trial speeches in which God proves that He alone is God, because He alone can
tell the future. The most detailed
prophecy is given in chapter 45, where God foretells His specific working
through Cyrus, a gentile King, to restore Israel and the surrounding nations
from captivity. God is doing this so
that everyone, everywhere may know that the Lord alone
is God and that He created everything and that He providentially runs the world. In knowing the Lord, righteousness and salvation
will abound. But God pronounces woe on
those that struggle against their Maker (who just provided additional revelation
and salvation) by complaining about the way God is running the world. The analogy given is that of clay and a
potter. God, as Creator, has a right to run
the world the way He wants. They had no
right to talk back and are both impudent and ungrateful.
Paul uses this quote to demonstrate
that God as Creator has the right to save who he chooses and it is
disrespectful to ask this question. Man
does not have the right to question God in this manor. The Jews are both impudent for questioning
God’s right to hold them accountable and ungrateful for the salvation God has offered
them through the call of the Gospel. They
are doubly to blame. No wonder God is
now hardening them.
The Greek we have a play on words
here between plasma (the thing molded) & plasanti
(the molder). Plasma is a subject case noun. Plasanti
is a substantive participle, focused on the implied person performing the
action and taking the timing of the main verb, which in this case is erei (will speak) which is future tense. So the sense is God
will be molding at the same time the question is asked. The action of molding then is not one of
creation, but rather of God’s providential dealings in men’s lives by forming
them through either calling or discontinuing the call (i.e. hardening).
So the Jew’s objection that God
doesn’t have the right to blame them is answered by Paul as: 1) no you are
wrong, 2) you are impertinent and 3) God as Creator has the right to not only plan
as He want, but also to punish those who reject His plan. Just as God used Cyrus to reveal Himself and
bring salvation, but punished those that reject, so to, God can use Israel to
bring salvation, but punish those that reject.
21 Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and
another unto dishonor?
The language here is very similar to
Jeremiah 18 and is probably a paraphrase:
2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house,
and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went
down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. 4 And
when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter,
he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 6 O house of
The context of which is God was
working in the Nation of Israel, but because of their sin God punishes the Jews
with captivity. God had already
permitted the ten northern tribes to be destroyed, and Jeremiah is warning
Judah that God is about to punish both them and the surrounding nations, if
they don’t repent. God had been forming
Israel into a vessel of honor but because of their disobedience despite
repeated warnings, God made them into a vessel of dishonor.
God’s right to punish sinful Israel
is like a potter’s rights over clay. By
using the example of a potter, Paul shows that by the fact God as the creator
of man that He has the right to punish sinners.
The word power does not mean force, but right or authority. God makes vessels unto honor though the
Gospel and makes then unto dishonor by hardening them.
The Jews are the lump of clay. Just as Rebecca was one
woman who gave birth to two children, so one lump is the source of two types of
vessels. But whereas Rebecca’s
children represent God’s choice to save through faith, not nationality or the
law, the example of the potter demonstrates God’s right in acting in accordance
with that choice.
God was dividing the Jews into two
groups, believers through the Gospel’s call and unbelievers through
hardening. The verses below explain
that God makes vessels unto dishonor (hardens them) through His longsuffering.
22 What if God, willing
to shew his wrath, and to make his power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
The word “fitted” in Greek is katartiso in a passive form. The idea here is that of completion or making
something complete. The usage is similar
to that of 1 Thessalonians 3:10 “might perfect that which is lacking in your
faith” or Galatians 6:1 “restore such an one in the
spirit of meekness” or Luke 6:40 “after he has been fully trained, will be like
his teacher”. The concept here is that
God’s hardening the Jews completes the path they started towards their own destruction.
Through God’s longsuffering with the
vessels of wrath (i.e. the Jews that rejected Christ and were punished by
hardening), God is showing His power and wrath.
This takes us back to the example of Pharaoh in verse 17. How did God act towards Pharaoh? God 1) gave
Pharaoh a high position, 2) didn’t immediately destroy Pharaoh for his refusal
to let Israel go and 3) hardened Pharaoh to demonstrate His wrath and power and
finally 4) used Pharaoh to deliver Israel.
How did God act towards the Jews?
God 1) gave the Jews national blessings, 2) didn’t immediately destroy
them for their rejecting Him and 3) He was hardening them to demonstrate His
wrath and power and 4) used national Israel to deliver spiritual Israel.
How does God’s longsuffering show
His wrath, when He’s forbearing His wrath?
If God had destroyed Pharaoh right away, at least it would have been
over with. As things progressed they
just got worse and worse for Pharaoh. We
knew God was angry with Pharaoh because instead of immediately destroying him,
God hardened Pharaoh. The same is true
of the Jews. We stand in awe of God’s
anger and power as He hardens them as a punishment for their rejection of
Christ.
23 And that he might make
known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore
prepared unto glory,
God prepares, out of the lump of the
nation of Israel, a remnant, by calling them to faith and having mercy them.
24 Even us, whom he hath
called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
So God has chosen to save those who
follow His call through faith without discriminating between
nationalities. Now even Gentiles are
blessed through God’s call of the Gospel.
The “even us” demonstrates that
Paul’s illustration of the potter was about the Jews but applies to the
Gentiles as well.
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call
them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not
beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto
them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called
the children of the living God.
Here Paul quotes from Hosea 2:23: “"I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who
had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those
who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my
God!' " And Hosea 1:10: “Yet the number of
the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured
or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people
," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living
God."
The context of which is Hosea’s
ministry to the 10 northern tribes in Israel which were about to go into
captivity. God declares that He is about to destroy them for their sins, but He
also promises a future restoration. Hosea
uses the analogy of a prostitute wife, who leaves her husband, but is attracted
back and reconciled with her spouse. The Jews have been rejected, but not
totally. God will bring them back.
Romans 9, if read in
isolation of original context of the quotation, might suggest the people who
are not God’s people are the Gentiles, who were before excluded, but now
included in the promise. The quotation in its original context in Hosea, references
the restoration of Israel, not Gentiles.
So what Paul is saying here is that
Here as in verse 7, we see calling
again, not used in the sense of vocation, but that of designation or
naming. Again, as in verses 7 and 8, God
names those who believe His children.
Believers are God’s covenant people.
27 Esaias
also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of
the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a
remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Here Paul quotes Isaiah
10:22-23: For though your people, O
Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will
return; A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. For a complete destruction, one that is
decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
The context here is the remnant that
God saved in Isaiah’s time from the Assyrian king, and physically returned to
Jerusalem. They were being punished, but
were promised to be returned to the land.
God had decreed destruction for the Assyrians, but the returning Jews
would be spared.
The application here is that the
Jews, although nationally cut off, punished and hardened, not all will be
destroyed. They are not completely
rejected. Punishment (hardening) has
been declared for those around the remnant, but not all are cast away.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the
Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as
Here Paul quotes from Isaiah 1:9: Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a few survivors, we
would be like
The historical setting for this
passage is somewhat unclear. It either
took place at Jerusalem’s siege at the hands of Israel and Damascus or
Jerusalem’s siege at the hands of Sennacherib of the Assyrians. The first time period seems more likely based
on 1) Isaiah 6:1’s discussion of Uzziah’s death, as
well as 2) the account of Sennacherib coming much later in chapter 36. This was
a time of massive loss, death, suffering and destruction for the nation of
Judah and was just before the fall of the Nation of Israel to the
Assyrians.
The immediate context of the passage
is God’s allowing the nation of Judah to undergo suffering and death, but He
preserves a remnant. God sends Isaiah to
tell the people to repent of their sins and turn back to God, or even the
remnant will also be punished for their sins.
Again, Paul’s point is that although
the Jews have been nationally rejected and condemned for their sins, not all
Jews are rejected. Most of Israel is
lost, but a remnant remains. This is the
element of spiritual Israel within national Israel. Paul’s use of “seed” or remnant corresponds
to his use of the word and point in verses 7 and 8. Not all national Israel will be saved,
there’s a subgroup within Israel that God mercifully saves.
Isaiah and Hosea were
contemporaries, both witnessing and prophesying about the Assyrian
captivity. Both Isaiah’s quotes and
Hosea’s related to Israel in their original contexts and here in Romans 9 are
seen by the transition word “also”.
However, Hosea is saying the rejected Jews will be restored in the
future, but Isaiah is saying that some Jews are actually accepted now. In combination they demonstrate that though
the Jews national are rejected and the Gentiles added in, yet the Jews are not
altogether rejected or beyond God’s mercy.
30 What shall we say
then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained
to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Paul starts the conclusion of this
section. The Gentiles were not the
original recipients of the law and the promises as the national Jews were, nor did
they struggle under the Law, but they have obtained righteousness. They are now embracing the Gospel and being
justified by faith and have imputed righteousness.
31 But
32 Wherefore? Because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they
stumbled at that stumbling stone;
The reason the Jews are rejected is
that they are seeking righteousness through the Law, not the imputed
righteousness which is by faith. God has
decided only to have mercy on those who have faith in the Gospel.
33 As it is written,
Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Here Paul quotes Isaiah 8:14: "Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the
houses of
Both these passages are
prophetic about Christ and the two effects His ministry had. To believers, Christ brings salvation. To those that reject Him, their unbelief
becomes their downfall, for which they become rejected and hardened by God.
Connection
between Romans 9 and Romans 10-11
The 10th chapter of
Romans expands on justification by faith and the 11th chapter
expands on the national election and subsequent rejection of Israel. In chapter 10, Paul goes into detail as to
why the Jews are being hardened and also Paul explains God’s choice to save by
grace through faith. In chapter 11, Paul
explains the implications of the Jews hardening on the Gentiles and also talks
about their future restoration.
Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer
to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify
about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to
establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of
God.
Paul loves the Jews, despite the
fact they are lost. Paul confirms his statements in Romans 9 that the Jews seek
salvation through the Law. Paul also
claims that they are not hardened beyond salvation, just as he did in Romans
9:25.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is
based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the
righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART,
`WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ
down), 7 or `WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to
bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 But what does it
say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that
is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the
heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE
DISAPPOINTED."
Again, Paul confirms the Gospel
message was God’s message all along. The
Israelites are rejected because they seek salvation through the Law and not the
free offer of the Gospel as God had originally established. Those that believe the Gospel are saved.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call
on Him; 13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE
LORD WILL BE SAVED."
Paul here affirms that
salvation is for both Jews and Gentiles, based on faith in Christ. Salvation was never for the Jews alone or
based on nationality. Rather, God had
planned to save believers.
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they
have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And
how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they
preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW
BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah
says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?" 17 So
faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18 But
I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; "THEIR
VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD ." 19 But I say, surely
The call of God must be heard
throughout the world. God is willing to
have mercy on both Jews and Gentiles so the Gospel must spread.
11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people?
God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of
Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not
cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not
what the scripture saith of Elias how he maketh intercession to God against
Here Paul quotes from 1 Kings 19:10-18
10He said, "I have been very zealous
for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your
prophets with the sword And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it
away." 11So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD " And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great
and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an
earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD
was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face
in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you
doing here, Elijah?" 14Then he
said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the
sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down
Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and
they seek my life, to take it away." 15The LORD said to him, "Go,
return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived,
you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; 16and Jehu the son of Nimshi
you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat
of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your
place. 17"It shall come about, the
one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall
put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put
to death. 18"Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not
bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."
Elijah, God’s prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Judah,
had just won a great victory over the prophets of Baal. God sent fire down from heaven to consume Elijah’s
sacrifice, demonstrating that He is God.
As a result many of the prophets of Baal were killed, but right on the heels
of this victory, Jezebel resolves to kill Elijah and so Elijah was on the run
and under a great depression. Elijah
asked God to take his life, but God sent an angel to Elijah to provide for
him. God asked Elijah what he was doing
at Mount Horeb and Elijah told God that Israel had
forsaken God’s covenant. God tells
Elijah of a coming judgment at the hands of Hazael,
future king of Aram, Jehu, future king of Israel and Elisha, God’s future
prophet. But God will not destroy
everyone. He will spare 7,000 men in the
upcoming judgment. Who will He spare?
Those that did not bow to Baal back in Elijah’s recent contest with the
prophets of Baal.
Paul’s choice of verb tenses for “reserved” is
interesting. Paul uses aorist tense, but
the Hebrew and Septuagint use a future tense.
Aorist tense often indicates an action in the past, but the text and
context in the Hebrew does not allow for an understanding of past action. God is going to deliver 7,000 people out of
the upcoming judgment. Aorist often
conveys the sense of definitiveness of purpose and that’s what it means
here. God’s choice to spare the 7,000
people who trusted in Him and did not bow down to Baal from the upcoming
judgment is so firm, it’s as if God has already spared
them.
The 7,000 not bowing the knee to Baal didn’t earn God’s
sparing them, but God chose to reserve them because He loved Israel. As
Elijah pointed out, the rest of Israel abandoned God’s covenant with Abraham,
but these 7,000 hadn’t. They believed God’s promise and awaited its
fulfillment. In the same way, God’s love
for Israel was why He saves believing Jews.
God chose to save by grace through faith, so those with faith are His
chosen people. The remnant within Israel
demonstrates God’s abiding love towards them.
Paul brings the example of Elijah into the context
for the Jews of his day with the phrase “Even so then at this present time also
there is a remnant according to the election of grace”. Paul focuses on the present time. Christ came to the Jews bringing salvation and
they, by and large, rejected Him. But
not all did. Some believed Christ and
followed Him, such as Paul and the other apostles and those at Pentecost and so
forth. Those believing Jews formed a
remnant that God had chosen to have mercy on.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of
works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Paul argues that the Jewish
viewpoint is both wrong and illogical. If remaining within God’s covenant is
earned, it’s not a gift, if it’s a gift it’s not
earned.
Not all Jews are rejected. The lump has been broken into believing Jews
who comprise the remnant and unbelieving Jews who are rejected. The Jews who are following the Law for
salvation are not under grace. God had
chosen to save by grace through faith.
Those that don’t believe are of
7 What then?
This passage heralds back to
9:30-32: 30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue
righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not
succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not
pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.
Israel sought righteousness through
the Law, but did not obtain righteousness.
Rather, God’s choice imputes righteousness to believers. Paul introduces the concept of “the
rest”. God’s election creates a group
that excludes the rest.
8 (According as it is written, God hath given
them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they
should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them: 10 Let
their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always.
Here Paul quotes from Isaiah
29:10: 10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of
deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers
hath he covered.
Here God pronounces judgment
on Jerusalem for their sins. He is about
to allow the Assyrians to capture
Paul is also quoting
from Deuteronomy 29:4: Yet the LORD hath not
given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this
day.
Again, God is punishing
Paul also quotes Psalms 69:22 Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should
have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened,
that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. 24 Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger
take hold of them. 25 Let
their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute him
whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast
wounded. 27 Add
iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. 28 Let them be blotted out of
the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
This Psalm is about
Christ and His crucifixion. As a
punishment for their sins, the Jews that crucified Christ were hardened and
iniquity was added to their iniquity.
Paul uses these three
examples to demonstrate that Israel was hardened before because of their sins
and unbelief and they are being hardened now for their sins, unbelief and
rejection of Christ.
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they
should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto
the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if the
fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?
The phase me eptaisan
hina pesosin is difficult
to translate and can either be understood as have they stumbled that they
should merely fall or have they
stumbled that they should irrevocably
fall? Paul is not denying that the Jews
fell, which he states in verse 22 using the same word in Greek pipto. Paul is
asking a rhetorical question about God’s intention of hardening the Jews. This is too be understood either as a denial
of God’s intention being falling for the sake of falling or a denial that a
irrevocable fall was part of God’s plan.
A denial of an irrevocable fall makes more sense given the rest of the
verse and the overall theme of restoration.
So the passage is saying: “Have they stumbled that they should
irrevocably fall? God forbid!”
The “them” refers back to Israel, so
salvation came to the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy. God is using the
Gentiles to bring the Jews back to Him. Paul
contrasts the Jews diminishing with their fullness. The number of saved Jewish nationals is down,
but in the future the number of saved Jews will increase to the fullest. The phrase “riches of the world” is talking
about the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Paul and others turned to the Gentiles from the Jews, because of the
Jews rejection. Acts 13:46 would be a
classic example of this.
Paul gives the reason and extent of
the hardening of Israel. God uses their
hardening to add the Gentiles into the promise, but that does not mean Israel
is entirely rejected. God’s purpose in
hardening Israel and making them vessels of wrath was not destroying them for destruction’s
sake, but rather to bring salvation to the Gentiles. Their hardening was not permanent.
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I
am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14 if
by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save
some of them. 15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of
them be, but life from the dead?
There is a minor textual variant at
the beginning of verse 13. The Textus Receptus has “gar” (for)
and the Westcott and Hort has “de” (but). Gar carries the sense of additional rational
for what was just discussed. De can be
either continuative or disjunctive. If
it’s continuative, the sense is basically the same as gar. If it’s disjunctive it typically enters a
new, but related topic. Gar is witnessed
in the Byzantine majority text as well as the Bezae Cantabrigiensis (approximately 500 AD) as well as the
Vulgate and Cyrillic translations. So,
since it has both a majority as well as ancient witness, and it fits the rest
of the passage, a compelling case can be made for gar.
So gar indicates Paul’s provision of
additional rational for his prior claim that God hardened the Jews, not to
destroy them, but rather to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles and thereby
provoke the Jews to jealousy. What is
the reason? Paul’s
ministry. God sent Paul to preach
to the Gentiles so that the Jews would become jealous of their conversion to
God and be saved themselves.
Paul in verse 15 affirms what he
denied in verse 1, that the Jews are cast away.
But he has already spelled out the differences. The Jews’ casting away is not complete,
because there is a remnant, it’s not permanent because they will be restored,
and it was not God’s intention to cast them away for the sake of destroying
them.
Israel’s hardening did not put them
past the reach of God’s saving arm. Paul
strives that they may yet be saved. The
resurrection is not a literal resurrection, but a demonstration of the power of
God in breathing back spiritual life into a dead nation.
16 For if the firstfruit
be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
“Firstfruit”
refers to the Israel’s practice of offering the first and best of a crop to
God. Through that offering the entire
crop was sanctified unto God. “Firstfruit” and “root” are Abraham and the “lump” and “branches”
are all the Jews. Holiness is the
natural state for Jews, given their origins in Abraham. Jews are special to God, so their conversion
back to God will be even more special than the Gentiles conversion. Their being formed out of the lump into vessels
of wrath is unnatural.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off,
and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in
among them, and with them partakest of the root and
fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not against the
branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the
root, but the root thee.
The Jews are the branches broken off
from the root, which is Abraham and the promise God made to Abraham. They are no longer spiritual Jews. When Christ came and the Jews rejected Him and
God cut them off. God grafted the
believing Gentiles into the Jews place.
Most translations insert an implied
“remember” between “if thou boast” and “thou bearest
not the root, but the root thee”. So the NKJV, NIV, NET, ESV and NRSV. The thought is that the Gentiles are not to
forget where they came from. The promise
given to Abraham is the reason they are righteous.
The Jews had been saying they were spiritually
superior to their Gentile neighbors because they received blessings as God’s
chosen people. The Gentiles were
fighting back, say the Jews were now rejected and they accepted. In a way that was true, but
certainly not a reason to boast.
Paul explains that it’s not due to Gentiles’ superiority that they are
now blessed, but due to God’s original promise.
19 Thou wilt say then, The
branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: 21 For if God spared not
the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Paul affirms that God’s purpose in
hardening the Jews was to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. While it’s true that the reason the Jews are
rejected and don’t get to participate in the blessings God promised to Abraham
is their unbelief and that the Gentiles do is their faith, they are still not
to boast. Why not? They should be afraid. Because if God didn’t spare the Jews for
unbelief, He would not spare them either.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity
of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou
continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt
be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in
unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
God punished the Jews severely by
hardening them. He showed great kindness
to the Gentiles, by justifying them through faith. But the Gentiles need to continue in God’s
kindness which justifies, otherwise God will handle them like the Jews. And if the Jews don’t stay unbelievers, they
will be blessed again, God is able to make them righteous through the promise
to Abraham.
The same word for God’s ability here
is used on Romans 9:22: chestotes “although willing
to demonstrate His wrath and make his power known”. God’s power that hardens is also His power
that heals.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree
which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to
nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed
into their own olive tree?
The reason for
The Gentiles on the other hand were
being added in their place because they were accepting the Gospel. However, they too will be cut off if they
stop believing.
This passage demonstrates that the
election is God’s plan to save people through faith. Note that the election:
God chose to work through the
Patriarchs which did two things; it established
Since they are national Jews, it
will be quite natural for them to be restored.
This is the converse of verse 21.
Just as it’s natural for the Gentiles to be rejected, because they are
not from Abraham, so to it’s natural for the Jews to be accepted, because they
are from Abraham.
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should
be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be
come in.
Greeks at the time had religions
which restricted membership and did not disclose their “mysteries” till you got
inside. Paul uses that concept here and
other places to demonstrate to the Gentiles that God had a plan that He is now
fulfilling. The Israelites didn’t know
ahead of time that salvation would apply to Gentiles. Now everyone was realizing that the Gentiles
could be saved.
The fullness of the Gentiles refers
to the spread of the Gospel thought out the world. The partial hardening implies that not all
Jews are hardened, but there is a remnant left.
The “until” hints that the end of the hardening is upcoming.
26 And so all
Israel as a nation will be recovered
to God. Paul bases this on the covenant
God made with Abraham. The three R’s
show us that Paul is talking about physically
In the future, when God is restoring
all things, both the national and spiritual blessings promised to Abraham will
come together. The national Jews will be
spiritual Jews, as the Jews turn away from their sins and back to God and are
made righteous through the promise to Abraham.
Paul quotes from Isaiah 59:20:
59:20 And a Redeemer will come to
The context of which is Israel sins
and God’s coming judgment. The Lord is
depicted as a warrior coming to clean house.
After that He will come as a redeemer to save. Isaiah is talking about the future
restoration of Israel from their sins and salvation through Christ the
Redeemer. Physical
Paul also quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34:
31" Behold, days are
coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I
made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to
them," declares the LORD. 33"But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD,
"I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34"They will not teach
again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,"
declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I
will remember no more."
The Jews’ salvation will not come
through following the Law, but through the declaration of the Gospel, the new
birth through the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins through the blood of
the Redeemer.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies
for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers'
sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance.
The Jews were now rejected, because
they did not believe this Gospel.
Because of this the Gentiles were added in, so the Gentiles benefited
from the Jews’ rejection. However, the
Jews are still a special people, who God loves and will restore. Not because of any merit of the Patriarchs,
but God’s promise to them. Rather than
God taking back his promise to Abraham because of the Jews’ unfaithfulness, God
will fulfill His promise in saving believers, which will include national Jews
in the end.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed
God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even
so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may
obtain mercy. 32 For God hath concluded them all in
unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
All of mankind, both Jews and
Gentiles, are or were unbelievers. God’s
will to have mercy extends to all. God
uses even unbelief, to bring people to faith.
Concluded in the Greek is sugkleio and has the
sense of imprisoned. God hardened Jews
and Gentiles in their sins so that He could provide mercy to everyone. This is all part of fulfilling God’s promise
to Abraham. When both Jews and Gentiles
believe all the nations of the world will be blessed through him.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath
known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? 35 Or
who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For
of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.
Amen.
God’s plan to bring salvation to all
is a mystery now revealed to us.
So in conclusion, Paul is teaching
how the doctrine of justification by faith is impacting both Jews and
Gentiles. He reconciles justification by
faith and the rejection of the Jews who do not believe with the promises God
gave