Chapter 9
Paul's Genuine Love for Israel And Their God-ordained Religion of Judaism
Chap. 9:1-3—As previously mentioned, the Jews misunderstood Paul's message in the gospel. They saw him as a traitor, and imagined that he was a hater of Israel who disrespected their God-ordained religion of Judaism. They thought that he was teaching that they should "forsake Moses," which to them was outright "apostasy" (Acts 21:21).
To set this misunderstanding right, Paul begins by stating his great love for his nation and his appreciation for the privileges that were theirs in Judaism. His love for them was such that he had great grief and sorrow because of their unbelief and rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah. He even went so far as to say that he had "wished" that he himself were "accursed from Christ" if it meant that his fellow countrymen would be saved! This is an incredible statement, paralleled only by Moses himself (Ex. 32:31-32). This was a clear proof that the Jews had mistaken ideas about Paul; he truly loved them and respected Judaism.
Chap. 9:4-5—To prove that he had no intention of belittling the privileges of Israel, he lists eight things that had made Israel the most favoured nation on the earth (Deut. 4:7).
• "The Adoption"—The nation had been put into a favoured place with God (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 7:6-8).
• "The Glory"—The Shekinah glory, which was visibly the sign of God’s favour upon them (Ex. 13:21-22; 2 Chron. 5:14).
• "The Covenants"—made to the fathers on behalf of the nation (Gen. 15:18-21; 17:7, etc.).
• "The Law"—The five books of Moses had been given to them. (Ex. 20).
• "The Service of God"—The divinely instituted Levitical order of sacrifices, whereby they approached God in worship and praise, belonged to them (Lev. 1-7).
• "The Promises"—A bright future in the millennial kingdom was assured to them (Isa. 30:23-26; 32:1-20; 35:1-10, etc.).
• "The Fathers"—A great heritage of spiritual ancestors.
• "The Messiah"—They were favoured by God to have the Saviour and future Ruler of the world to emerge through their nation (Isa. 9:6-7).
By adding his "Amen" to this list of things, Paul was indicating that he greatly appreciated these advantages and privileges that had been given to Israel, and approved of them. He valued those things as much as any Jew and did not make light of them in his preaching and teaching, as the Jews mistakenly thought. In fact, he could argue that it was not he who was disrespectful of Judaism and the hope of Israel, but them! For the greatest of these favours promised to Israel was to have the Messiah come into the world through that nation (Matt. 1). It was He, around whom all the privileges of Judaism centered, and through whom the promises would be fulfilled. But when He did come to them, they rejected Him! They "stumbled at that stumbling stone" (chap. 9:32; John 1:11), and their stumbling has hindered the fulfilment of their national "hope" (Acts 26:6).
The True "Israel of God" is Not Every Natural Descendant of Abraham
Chap. 9:6-33—Paul then turns to show that the Jews’ rejection of their Messiah had not breached God's promise to Israel. He says, "Not as though the Word of God hath taken none effect." That is, God has pledged with His Word to bless Abraham's children, and that promise has not become null and void (Heb. 6:13-18).
He goes on to show that while those promises will definitely be fulfilled, Scripture does not teach that they will be realized by every one of Abraham's descendants. He says, "For they are not all Israel which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." In stating this, Paul shows that Abraham has two kinds of descendants: there are those who have his bloodline but not his faith, and then there are those who have both. This means that not all who are "of Israel" by natural descent are necessarily true "Israel" having faith. A real Israelite whom God regards has both Abraham’s blood and Abraham’s faith. In accordance with this, Paul carefully distinguishes "the seed" of Abraham (natural descent) and the "children" of Abraham (those who have Abraham’s blood and faith). He touched on this distinction in chapter 2:28-29. Thus, Scripture distinguishes between an Israelite and "an Israelite indeed" (John 1:47). The promises of God, therefore, will most assuredly be fulfilled to "all Israel" (chap. 11:26), but this refers to those who are true Israelites having Abraham’s blood and faith.
Four Instances From Israel’s History Concerning the Sovereignty of God
Paul then shows that God works on the principle of sovereign election, and since He is God, He can sovereignly call the Gentiles at this present time, even as He sovereignly called the nation of Israel long ago. The Jews were really the last people in the world who could afford to question divine sovereignty. Again and again in their history it had been exercised in their favour. Paul turns to Scripture to prove this point.
1) Isaac Chosen Rather Than Ishmael
(Chap. 9:7b-9)—Paul quotes the Lord's statement to Abraham: "In Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12). This was said to him when there was some question in Abraham's household as to who would be his heir—Ishmael or Isaac. By stating emphatically that it would be Isaac, the Lord clearly ruled out natural descent in Abraham's house, because both Ishmael and Isaac were Abraham's natural sons. If the Jews insisted on natural descent being the enough to inherit the blessing, then they would have to admit the Arabians into blessing, because they descended from Abraham through Ishmael! (Gen. 25:12-18) The Jews would never accept that. Paul says, "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." Ishmael, as we know, was a child of the flesh, but Isaac was the child of promise (Gal. 4:23). By God’s choosing of Isaac rather than Ishmael, it is clear that blessing in Abraham's house did not come through the line of natural descent. And, it will be that way when the kingdom of Christ is established on earth—not all of Abraham's natural descendants will be blessed as his "seed" and inherit the promises.
2) Jacob Chosen Rather Than Esau
(Chap. 9:10-14)—Paul moves on to the example of Jacob and Esau. He shows again that blessing did not come through natural descent, but through the sovereign election of God’s grace. In regard to Isaac and Ishmael, the Jews might argue that they had two different mothers, but they could not use that argument here with Jacob and Esau. Rebekah was the mother of them both.
In connection with these twins, if blessing is inherited on the line of natural descent, then they would have to admit the Edomites into blessing! No Jew would accept that for a moment. Before the boys were born, and had done neither “good” nor “evil,” God said, “The elder shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23). Normally Esau would have had the place of privilege in Isaac's family, but God's sovereign selection passed Esau by and rested on Jacob. This proves that God's sovereign call does not depend on works, whether good or bad, but on grace alone. Fifteen hundred years later, the Lord said, “Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated” (vs. 13; Mal. 1:2-3). This was written after they had lived their lives and had proved their true character. Thus, Paul mentions two statements that the Lord made concerning Jacob and Esau: one was stated before the boys were born (vs. 12), and the other was stated many years after they had lived their lives and had died (vs. 13). They show conclusively that God chose one rather than the other.
3) the Lord Chose to Have Mercy on Israel When They Turned to Idolatry
(Chap. 9:14-16)—The person who argues with divine sovereignty will say, "If there are really only two outcomes in choosing—to be blessed or damned—to go ahead and elect one and not the other, necessarily damns the one who wasn't chosen! How can this be fair?" The same skeptic will also say, "If everything has been settled ahead of time, then there is nothing anyone can do about it, and if that is true, then God is unrighteous for condemning people because it’s not their fault they weren’t chosen!"
Paul anticipated that people would object to the principle of divine sovereignty and responds by saying, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?” He answers his own question, “God forbid [far be the thought].” Paul proceeds to defend the sovereignty of God, but not as some Christian theologians who try to reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility by merging them into one thing. They will say that God, by His foreknowledge, knew who would believe and who would not, and chose those who would believe. This is the gist of the mistaken ideas of Arminianism, which emphasizes man’s responsibility in salvation to the exclusion of God’s sovereignty. Paul cites an example of God’s sovereignty from the case of Israel's idolatry—their worship of the golden calf (Ex. 32). When the people sinned against God in this matter, God said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Had God dealt with Israel according to the just deserts of divine justice only, giving them what was due to them, He would have destroyed the whole nation! But, the fact that God elected not to judge the nation, shows that He sovereignly chose to have mercy on them. The Jews could hardly afford to argue with God's sovereignty on this occasion, for had it not been exercised favourably toward them they would have been wiped out! If Jews wish to charge God with unrighteousness in this, then they would be admitting that they should be condemned! And if all men deserve to be condemned, then no one can rightly accuse God of unrighteousness if He doesn’t show mercy to some. Paul, therefore, concludes, "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." If God chooses to have mercy on some, no one can find fault with it.
4) the Lord Hardened Pharaoh
(Chap. 9:17-18)—Opposers may not have a difficulty with God sovereignly acting in mercy toward someone, but they might when it comes to an act of judgment. Paul goes on to show that God is also sovereign in judgment. Just as Israel did wickedly in worshipping the golden calf, and God sovereignly chose to show mercy on them, so also with Pharaoh—he did wickedly, but in his case God hardened him, and then judged him. Since Pharaoh was reaping what he had sown, God was justified in judging him. Thus, we see God's sovereignty being exercised in showing mercy to some and also in hardening others. Paul says, "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth" (vs. 18). God can and does exercise judgment on the wicked, and He is just in doing so, but He might choose to show mercy on some; it is His prerogative.
Who Can Resist the Will of God?
Chap. 9:19-23—Men will accuse God of unrighteousness by pointing to His dealings with Pharaoh as an example of predestinating people to hell. Paul goes on to show that this is not true; God would never predestinate anyone to a lost eternity. He also points out that it is folly on man’s part to question the ways of God.
He presents the argument that skeptics and opposers use: “If God hardens a man so that the man will not believe, how can God then ‘find fault’ with him for not believing?” (vs. 19) Paul answers this mistaken notion by showing that while God does act in judgment, Scripture does not say that He chooses people for eternal destruction. “Vessels of wrath are fitted to destruction” (vs. 22), but they are not fitted as such by God; people fit themselves for it by their own unbelief! In the case of Pharaoh, God did not predestinate him for judgment. If we read the account of the Lord’s dealings with Pharaoh carefully (Ex. 4-12), we will see that he fitted himself for his judgment by repeatedly hardening himself against the Lord. But he was not doomed from the moment of his birth. In his life, he proved himself to be wicked, and God could have justly cut him off, but chose to preserve him alive for a time so that He might display His power in judgment, and through it, magnify His name in the earth.
The Lord knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart against Him (Ex. 3:19) and told Moses that He would judicially harden his heart even further, as a consequence. The Lord said, “I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go” (Ex. 4:21; 7:3). Note: the Lord did not say at that moment, "I have hardened his heart..." but rather, “I will harden his heart.” It was something the Lord was going to do as a consequence of Pharaoh’s hardening his heart first. Sure enough, Pharaoh proved himself to be a wicked man, and hardened his heart against the Lord. Scripture records, “And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn [hardened]” (Ex. 7:13). (This verse unfortunately has been mistranslated in the KJV, saying, "And He hardened Pharaoh's heart." This would make the Lord the Initiator of the hardening, which is not true.) Exodus 7:13-14 is the first mention in Scripture of Pharaoh's heart being hardened, and it is clearly something that he did himself. In fact, he repeatedly hardened his heart against the Lord (Ex. 7:22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7). It was only after all that, that the Scripture finally says, “And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (Ex. 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10), which is a fulfilment of what the Lord said He was going to do in Exodus 4:21 and 7:3. Scripture says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Prov. 29:1). This was the case with Pharaoh.
Paul shows that to question the sovereignty of God is to misunderstand who God is, and who we are. He says, “For who hath resisted His will? 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? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” God has all power in heaven and earth and can to do as He pleases—and He never does wrong. He said to Abraham, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25).
All men deserve judgment, but if God chooses to show mercy on a few, who are we to say that He is doing wrong? How any get saved at all is a testament to the sovereign grace of God. The old and true adage is: all may come (Rev. 22:17), but none will come (John 3:32); but on account of the sovereign power of God acting in men, some shall come to Christ and be saved (John 6:44). While God may choose some for blessing (as “vessels of mercy”), He never chooses any to go to hell. All who turn out to be “vessels of wrath” are “fitted to destruction” by their own unbelief (vs. 22). There is no such thing as being predestinated to hell. Paul says that the reason why God chooses some to be “vessels of mercy” is to demonstrate “the riches of His glory” (vs. 23).
J. N. Darby said, "The root of the question is this; is God to judge man, or man God? God can do whatsoever He pleases. He is not the object of our judgment" (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible––on Romans 9). F. B. Hole said, "How slow we are to admit that God has a right to do as He likes, that in fact, He is the only One who has that right, inasmuch as He alone is perfect in foreknowledge, wisdom, righteousness, and love. Things may appear inexplicable to us, but then that is because we are imperfect."
The Principle of the Sovereign Election of Grace Applied to the Gentiles
Chap. 9:23-26—Paul then shows that the principle of sovereign election applies as much to the Gentiles as it does to Israel. He says that “the vessels of mercy” (believers) were “afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.” Thus, all blessing, whether for Jews or Gentiles, rests upon the sovereignty of God.
He quotes from Hosea 1:10 and Hosea 2:23 to show that God will once again take up Israel in a coming day. They are presently in a position of not being His people—“Lo-ammi” ("not My people") being written over them. But then, in sovereign grace, He will make them His people again. Their present position of not being His people is identical to the position that the Gentiles are in. Paul's reasoning is that if God can deal in this way with Israel, then He can do it with the Gentiles too.
Chap. 9:27-29—Paul then quotes from the prophet Isaiah to emphasize what he has already taught in verses 6-8—that this act of grace toward Israel will not include every Israelite by natural descent. The mass of the nation will prove to be faithless and will be judged by God, but “a remnant” will be saved. He says, “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea (by natural descent), a remnant shall be saved” (Isa. 10:22). And again, “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed [a very small remnant], we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha” (Isa. 1:9). Those who will compose this remnant will have faith, and consequently, will receive the Lord, and be blessed according to the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These will form the nucleus of the nation in the Millennium.
Vss. 30-33—Paul then concludes by stating that the Gentiles who have “followed not after righteousness” have found “righteousness that is on the principle of faith.” On the other hand, Israel, who followed after “the Law” for “righteousness,” has not attained it because they sought it by “the works of the Law,” and not by faith.
Paul asks, “Wherefore?” He answers his question by stating that it was “because they sought it not by faith.” The Jews (nationally) missed the blessing because they misunderstood the purpose of the Law. They thought that it was a ladder upon which one climbs to attain righteousness, and have tried to establish their own righteousness by keeping the Law, and as a result, have become blinded as to their true state. And the crowning proof of their blinded state is that they “stumbled at that stumbling-stone”—Christ. They rejected Him!
Paul quotes again from Isaiah 28 to show that while the nation as a whole stumbled at the “stumbling-stone and rock of offence,” God has worked sovereignly and some at this present time (a remnant) have believed the gospel. By saying, “whosoever believeth,” Paul points to the fact that there is human responsibility in receiving the blessing—a person, whether Jew or Gentile, must believe. This acts as a segue (connector) to the subject in the next chapter, which has to do with the responsibility of man.