| Romans! |
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| Chapter Nine |
It is most interesting that while this book is to the Romans, Paul
continually has in mind the Jews, his kinsmen. It is almost as
though he is writing to Jewish believers in Rome, or at least in
great part as well as to the Gentile believers. Perhaps at the
time of the writing the Roman church was either Jews or Jewish
Proselytes who had been converted.
I am speaking the truth, as one who belongs to the Messiah. I am
not lying. My conscience, governed by the holy spirit, is my
witness, that I have great and continual sorrow in my heart. For
I could pray to God that I were cut-off from the Messiah for my
brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
In these verses, Paul is showing a fervent and emotional love for
the Jews, his kinsmen. He begins by building a framework for his
love and then he gives <almost> full range to his emotions. He
sees the sorry position that the Jews have chosen by rejecting
the Messiah. He wishes it was not true and that a different route
for them could have been taken.
In verse one, Paul says that he is speaking the truth. He further
says that he is in the Messiah or that he belongs to the Messiah
who is Himself the truth and therefore, he (Paul) is not lying.
Further, his conscience is his witness, and the holy spirit governs
it. Had he been lying, his conscience would have been smitten is
his reasoning here. It was a continual and great sorrow to Paul
that the Jews had rejected the Messiah. Here Paul was
preaching to the Gentiles and realizing all the time that those
who had been given the law and had been in covenant with God
were now being rejected because they had rejected the
Messiah. It was painful to see family reject what was so clear
and obvious to him because of his calling. Many of us have
experienced the same thing. We have been called into the truth
and have come to see so clearly the way of salvation that we
have grieved that our families could not see and understand what
we have seen.
But for Paul the thought goes even deeper. He could, no doubt,
see the plan of God to a degree much greater than we have yet
probed. He understood that the Jews were at one time the bride
of God. God had been married to them. But the time had come
that their Husband had died and the marriage was no longer
binding. Then the Husband had been resurrected by God the
Father and was preparing for Himself a new bride. Paul realized
that the Jews were not, in the main, going to be a part of this
new bride. How sorrowful Paul was, for he realized that the
Jews, who had been given the first opportunity to be the bride of
the One who would be given the universe, was turning it down.
Paul realized what being the bride of the Messiah meant. The
Jews would no longer be first in God's plan, but peoples from all
nationalities would take that first and highest plane for human
beings in the family of God. The Jews would forever be at lower
levels in God's plan.
At the full realization of the implications of what was shaping up
and becoming a reality before his eyes, Paul has an outburst of
emotion much as Moses had in Exodus 32:32. If you will not
forgive their sin, I pray that you will blot me out of your book,
which you have written!
Ex 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I
pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Paul has some similar emotional outburst at this point. If it would
do any good, I would ask God to sacrifice me so that the Jews,
my blood-family would be given the knowledge and
understanding and desire to be in this first part of the plan of
God.
Of course, Paul realized that this could not be. He knew that
God's plan called for a rejection of the nation of Judah because
the Messiah came to them and they would not receive Him.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh:
For they are Israelites! He made them His sons and revealed His
glory to them. He made His covenants with them and gave them
the law. To them was given the Temple Worship and they have
received the promises of God! They are descended from the
Hebrew ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), and the Messiah as a
human being belongs to their race. And the Messiah is over all
and blessed of God forever, amen.
In these two verses, Paul lays before our eyes why it is a
travesty that the Jews will not be included <as a whole> as the
bride of the Messiah.
First, they are Israelites! Don't overlook the importance of this
statement. The word Israel meant, "One who prevails with
God!" The name was given to Jacob because he prevailed with
God when he wrestled with Him all night. What Gentile could
claim to have wrestled with God? Jacob was the one who had
given his name to the Israelites. To be the descendants of a man
who had wrestled with God and prevailed was a distinction that
no other race could claim, if that alone had been to the Jews'
credit it would have given one pause as to why they were now
being rejected by God. And we are Abraham's children and true
Jews and true Israelites before God in place of the Jews. What
a grief to Paul that his people had been so cut off.
All Israelites would have this distinction, but the House of Israel
to the North of Judah had long ago forsaken the Sabbath and the
knowledge of God for paganism. They had been lost and
absorbed into the Gentiles in their religions and governments.
The Jews were the ones who had gone into the Babylonian
captivity and returned to put God first in their lives. They had
prevailed with God by keeping the faith. But their faith became
a stumbling block to their acceptance of the reality in place of
the type.
Carrying the name of Israel was not the only distinction claimed
by the Jews. God had called them His children! Paul realized
that those who accepted the Messiah were the children of God.
But the Jews had been the children of God! Here they were
being cut off so that others might have that distinction. It was
indeed a sorrowful thing for Paul as he was a Jew.
De 14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut
yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Beyond this, the Jews were the descendants of those who had
been honored by the very presence of God. Their ancestors had
been led out of Egypt by great miracles and the cloud by day and
the pillar of fire by night. The presence of God that went up
from the tabernacle and that hovered over the ark. No other
nation besides Israel could boast of having been recipients of the
very presence of God, as had the ancestors of the Jews. Paul
realized that the holy spirit was now being offered to God's
children. He would be near them and they would be able to talk
and walk with Him.
De 4:7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto
them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
And the Jews had been given the covenants. Notice that the
word covenants is plural. They had been given the covenant of
marriage. This was done at Mt. Sinai where YHWH gave them
their part in the covenant, the laws. They said all that God has
said we will do. In other words they said, I do! They were given
the Sabbath covenant. The Sabbath was set apart as very
important to God. It had been included in the covenant of
marriage. But, there was a special attention given to the
Sabbath by God. It was to be held in special esteem by His
people. There was the covenant of circumcision that had been
given to Abraham and continued by his descendants. All these
covenants were made with the ancestors of the Jews. They were
a special people to God and here they were in the process of
losing to others this special relationship to God.
Further, they had been given the law. No nation had been so
blessed with a law so great. Other nations fumbled about trying
to know how to govern themselves. But the Israelites had been
given the key as to how to govern themselves. No nation could
be so great as they could because no nation had been given these
laws from God! The law was the key to greatness. Only they
had been given the opportunity for this greatness. And we are
given the opportunity for that greatness. The law of God is
perfect for our conversion and wisdom.
De 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments
so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Ps 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The Jews knew how to worship God. They had been given all
the elements of worship. Salvation is of the Jews. Without the
Old Testament, we would have a totally different worship today.
We would not understand the holy days. We would not
understand the clean food laws. We would have no concept of
the plan of God. We would have no calendar to tell us when the
Holydays were to be kept. Our understanding would be very
limited if we had only the New Testament. How to worship God
was given to the Jews. But they were unwilling to let go of the
type in order to worship the reality. What a grief to Paul that
the Jews had so much and yet were losing out on being in this
first foundational plan of God made possible through the Messiah.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for
salvation is of the Jews.
Another unique relationship to God held by the Jews was the
many promises that God had made to them through their
ancestors. They had been promised the land of Canaan. They
had been promised that the Messiah would come through them.
In fact, the whole earth had been promised to Abraham through
the Seed that was to come. The Seed had now come and the
Jews had rejected Him. Paul could see all the greatness that
would come to those who were made children of God through the
Seed. He saw the rejection of the Jews that was coming. It was
a grief to him for he had trained to be a priest of these people
and realized their position and that it was coming to naught for
them.
Furthermore, the fathers were the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob whom God had made many and great promises. To
the true Jew, the spiritual Jew, they are our earthly fathers.
Ga 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham.
But furthermore than all these things, the Messiah was a Jew by
birth into the human family. And He has been made heir of all
things and is blessed of God forever. Amen (so be it).
These thoughts overwhelmed Paul. To think that all of the above
was true concerning the Jews and yet they were being rejected
for the Gentiles of whom none of these things were true. It was
astounding! It so grieved Paul that he could pray for God to
sacrifice him in order to reverse the situation and re-embrace the
Jews. But he knew it was not in the plan and such a sacrifice
would not bring the reversal. There is a possibility that the word
<amen> could be referring to his submission to God's will in
choosing the Gentiles instead of the Jews. Of course, the
<amen> could be referring only to the last thought of all things
being given to the Messiah by the Father and his eternal blessing
from Him.
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;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came, who are over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Not as though the word of God has failed. For not all the people
of Israel are the people of God.
Although the promises of God were given to Abraham and to his
children, it was his children through faith that would receive the
spiritual promises. Even the Messiah said that God was able to
raise up children to Abraham from stones! Therefore, any
promises God made to Abraham would be fulfilled. God's word
would not fail.
The word <Israel> is put for the children of God in one place and
the children of Israel or Jacob in the other place. God's children
are those who are the children of faith. If only the Israelites by
blood relationship to Jacob were Israelites, then one might say
that God's promise had failed if He did not make a majority of
the Jews His children of faith. For even the Jews were only a
small part of the descendants of Jacob. But, God was and still is
selecting for Himself a people who are following in the Messiah's
footsteps by faith, as did their father Abraham. These too are
Israelites! For as Paul says in another place, those who are a
new creature in the Messiah are the Israel of God!
Mt 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham.
Ga 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.
Ga 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not
all Israel, which are of Israel:
Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God
said to Abraham, It is through Isaac that your seed shall be called.
Here Paul is drawing another analogy. Abraham had children by
other women than Sarah and yet it was only through the seed of
Isaac that the children of promise were to come - for Isaac was
the child of promise. Isaac had Jacob and Jacob's name was
called Israel. None of Abraham's other children had this
distinction. Even Abraham's other children (besides Isaac) were
Gentiles! They were not the children of promise! They were not
the children who came by faith! They were children born in a
normal way! But Isaac was a miracle! Now we know why God
did not give Abraham Isaac until an absolute miracle was
necessary. For all children of God are brought into being by a
miracle. We must have our sins wiped away by the justification
of God's blood! We must be rescued from death. We must be
brought back from the brink of oblivion and from the impossible
in order to become a son of God! So, Isaac was to be an example
of those who would be children by faith. God's word has not
failed, for it was to children by faith that the promises were to be
given.
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:
but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
This means that the children born in the usual way are not the
children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's
promise are regarded as the true descendants.
Paul continues to draw the picture that those children who are
natural-born (without promise) are not the children of God.
Rather, as only those who came through Isaac the son of promise
are considered as Abraham's descendants, even so only those
who are children of faith are considered the children of God.
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.
For God's promise was made in these words: At the right time I
will come back, and Sarah will have a son.
Paul continues to show that Isaac, the father of Jacob who was
called Israel was brought into this world by a promise from God.
And Isaac was to be the heir of all of Abraham's promises.
Therefore, God's word has not failed. For Isaac was a type of
the Messiah. The Messiah was promised to come through
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's descendants. And we are the
children of God through the Son of Promise, the Messiah, even
as the Jews were the sons of promise through Isaac the son of
promise.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall
have a son.
And this is not all. For Rebecca's two sons had the same father,
our ancestor Isaac. But in order that the choice of one son might
be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her,
The older shall serve the younger. He said this before they were
born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's
choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done.
As the scripture says, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.
Paul continues - This is not all! Rebecca had twins by Isaac the
son of promise! But, God did not leave it to Isaac to pass on the
promises to the eldest, Esau. Rather, God told Rebecca before
the twins were born that the <older> would serve the <younger>.
God did this to show that it was by His <choice> that the
promises would be made. At this time, neither of the boys had
done anything good or bad. But God chose Jacob and rejected
Esau. Paul is showing here that we are God's children because
He calls us and chooses us to be His children. It is by faith that
we are children of promise and not by bloodline.
Abraham was the father of the faithful. Isaac was the son of
promise. Jacob was chosen over Esau and given the promise.
Even so, God's word of promise has not failed because it is
through those who are called and who are justified by faith and
those who live by faith that will become the children of God!
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac;
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;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
In this section, we see first of all Paul's sorrow because his race,
the Jews, has not been chosen to be the children of promise by
faith in the Messiah. Paul shows the many reasons it would seem
logical for God to use the Jews. But because the Jews rejected
the Messiah, He has rejected them for the time being. They will
not in the main be a part of the bride of the Messiah.
In one place the Messiah gives a parable showing a wedding feast
in which many were called to attend. He was speaking to the
Pharisees at the time and they were those in the parable who
came up with one reason or another to keep from attending the
wedding. At last, the call was made to those who were of no
account, those who were not the wise of the world to come to the
wedding. Even so, we are making up the bride of the Messiah.
Paul saw this dilemma and was grieved because he saw the
rejection of the Jews because they rejected the Messiah. But
Paul was not of the illusion that God's word would be broken,
and he continues to show how that God's word will be honored.
Abraham was the father of the faithful. Isaac was the son of
promise. Jacob was chosen and the firstborn was rejected. In
the physical reality, Jacob is the father of the Jews and Esau's
children are Gentiles. In Paul's analogy, Esau becomes a type of
the Jews and Jacob is a type of the righteous Gentiles who are
called of God to be in the first resurrection. For, Esau rejected
the birthright and blessings of God while Jacob embraced them.
But the Jews were rejecting the birthright and blessings of God
while the Gentiles were embracing them! No wonder Paul was
grieved for the reality of this must have been so penetrating and
cognizant to him that it was most bitter!
If Paul was alive today and could see the history that has elapsed
over the last almost 2000 years, he would be astonished at how
the Gentiles have corrupted the word of God. Perhaps he would
be encouraged to see that in these last days the children of
Joseph are in the forefront of giving the truth to the world as
many as the Father will call.
And even many of the Jews are returning to the understanding
that the Messiah did in reality come in 30 AD. Some of those are
still holding on to the laws including the Sabbath. They see only a
glimpse of the full scope of the gospel, but it is a start. Perhaps
Abraham's children will still have a great part in being the bride
of the Messiah.
No doubt that when Paul wrote these verses in Romans it looked
as though almost all the Jews were rejecting the gospel and as
though the Gentiles were going to make up the vast majority of
the bride. For some reason, the Gentiles were so close to the
pagan gods that Satan could easily cause them to corrupt the
gospel. Perhaps God has in these last days returned to
Abraham's descendants to finish His plan for mankind. Perhaps
the corruption brought on by the Gentiles has turned God again
to Abraham's children through Isaac and Jacob.
Now after much struggle by the English speaking peoples of the
world we have a complete Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
We have many aids to study and learn about Paul's writings as
well as all the other writers. What a blessing! And how good it is
to see that there are no contradictions in the entire Bible – so far
as its message of God’s plan is concerned. And with the holy
spirit to be able to find answers to questions that have stymied
the authorities for centuries is absolutely a great inspiration.
What shall we conclude then? Has God been unjust? Certainly
not!
Keep in mind the subject matter. The Jews were being left out
of the foundational plan as followers of the Messiah because as a
nation they had rejected Him. Even so, God was not unjust in
this matter. And in this section, Paul elaborates on why God is
just and righteous in this matter.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid.
For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will
have compassion on whom I will.
In other words, it is God's plan that is being worked out here on
the earth and it is His prerogative to make the determination on
whom He will have mercy and compassion. God calls whomever
He desires for His plan. God chooses whom He wills. Paul may
have had his own case in mind. He had been seeking out
believers of the Messiah for persecution and death! But God
struck him down blinding him with a shaft of light. God called
Paul and chose him for His purpose. The statement of Moses is
in Ex. 33:19.
Ex 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
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.
So then, it (God's compassion and mercy) does not depend on a
man's will, nor does it depend on what man does, but it depends
on God who shows mercy.
The graciousness and mercy of God's calling one into this way of
life and the justification of one's past sins which makes possible
the successful entry into the kingdom does not depend on man,
but on God. God does the calling. God does the choosing. God
does the justifying. God makes salvation possible. Because the
Jews rejected the Messiah, God chose not to call them. That
was His prerogative.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God that sheweth mercy.
For the Scripture says concerning Pharaoh, I have raised you up
for the very purpose of displaying my power in (my dealings with)
you, so that my name may be proclaimed the whole world over.
Paul is saying here that the Scripture records that God's purpose
for raising up Pharaoh was so that He might be able to display
His power and so that God's name might be proclaimed all over
the world. The word <Pharaoh> means: his nakedness. Before
God, the Pharaoh was naked. He could not succeed against
God. The Scripture is found in Ex 9:16 where God told Moses to
tell this to the Pharaoh. Paul is continuing to show that God
makes the determination about what He will do with men on the
earth in order to fulfill His purpose. Therefore, God is righteous
in His rejection of the Jews for the foundational part of the plan
of God.
Ex 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew
in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the
earth.
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.
So then, He has mercy on whomever He wills and He hardens
whomever He wills.
So, God has mercy on whomever He chooses and He hardens
(causes to be stubborn) whomever He chooses. It was necessary
that the Jews not recognize the Messiah when He came the first
time. For had they recognized Him they would have worshipped
Him rather than putting Him to death. But they were chose by
God to be blind to His first coming! It was very much to God's
purpose that the Jews be hardened or made stubborn against the
Messiah the first time so they would kill Him. For He had to
become the Sacrifice for all mankind during His first
appearance. He became the Passover Sacrifice to ransom us
from the world. He became the Sin Sacrifice to justify the gap
that separated us from God. He became the morning and
evening sacrifice and every other sacrifice to bring us and keep
us in the center of God's will.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he
will he hardeneth.
Then you will say to me, If this is so, how can God find fault with
anyone? For, who can resist God's will?
In other words, someone might put forth the argument that if this
is true that God calls and has mercy on whom He wills, causing
one man to be stubborn and the other yielding, how can God find
fault with anyone? For as God is all-powerful, who can resist
God's will?
The argument is that if God can and does make the choice to call
whom He wills, then man cannot be faulted for his actions or his
sins. Of course, this question would not tend to enter into the
mind of the unconverted because they don't understand the plan
of God. Paul is posing this question to the believer who has a
perspective for understanding.
Those who are called would understand that God has this
prerogative. Those who are not called would find arguments
against such a statement because they don't understand God's
plan.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath
resisted his will?
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Shall that
which is formed say to Him that formed it, Why have you made
me thus?
Paul did not directly answer the question that he proposed, at
this point. He did not say that man would not be held responsible
for his sins because he had not been chosen for salvation at this
time. Neither did he say that he would.
We know the answer is that man is held accountable for his
actions even if God chooses him to be stubborn and to refuse to
yield to God. Pharaoh lost his kingdom. It was destroyed right
before his eyes. And he lost his life! For, Pharaoh was drowned
in the sea! But Paul shows a greater depth to this just ahead.
Ps 136:15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: for his
mercy endureth forever.
Rather, Paul comes back with another argument. Who are you
O man to ask such a question of God? You are but of the dust of
the earth. There was a time when you did not exist and God
brought you into existence as a part of His plan. Shall that which
has been formed say to God who created it, Why have you made
me an inferior vessel?
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?
Does the potter not have authority over a lump of clay to make
one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Paul still has in mind God's choice of the Gentiles over the Jews
for salvation in the first harvest. All humans are but so much
clay. We are all the children of Adam. Adam means, "the red
earth" in Greek. Adam was made from a lump of red clay.
Therefore, the rest of mankind came from this lump of clay. God
chooses to call some for salvation (honorable vessels) and others
He does not call at this time. Therefore, they are dishonorable
vessels for the present age.
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
So, what if God fully resolved to show His wrath, and to make
His authority known – has yet patiently endured the vessels of
wrath, which are ripe for destruction? And, what if God,
purposes to reveal His abundant glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He has determined beforehand for glory?
Here Paul puts forth another argument to show that God is not
unjust. Paul's perspective is this: God has the right and power
and authority to punish man for sin. However, in the case of the
Egyptians and Pharaoh He did not rush in and exact their just
penalty - even when they were ripe for destruction. Rather, God
saw that He could use their punishment to reveal His glory on
those who were ripe for mercy. In this way God is fully just in
what He has done and is doing.
God does not take men who are righteous and turn them into
vessels of dishonor by creating in them a stubborn heart, but He
takes unrighteous men who are already overdue for destruction
and uses them to project His wrath and authority. And at the
time God shows His wrath and authority on these vessels of
dishonor, He shows His graciousness and glory on those who are
ripe for mercy. Therefore, God is more than righteous in His
actions.
God did not allow Pharaoh to repent when a plague destroyed
part of his land because Pharaoh was past due for destruction
even before the plagues were sent on him. Pharaoh had to take
the full punishment, and to take the full punishment God
hardened his heart. For God was showing mercy on the
Israelites whom Pharaoh had kept in bondage. It was only right
and fitting that Pharaoh should not be allowed to receive only a
meager punishment. He had been the instrument of killing many
Israelites and therefore was overdue for the death penalty
before God began to destroy him with the plagues. He was
merely a criminal who was put to hard labor for a period of time
and ultimately drowned in the Red Sea for his many capital
crimes against the law of God. And this says nothing about the
fact that the Pharaoh was the leader of his nation in worshipping
false gods that could not hear, speak or see.
But at the time God was measuring out His punishment against
Pharaoh and his nation for their crimes, that were long overdue,
He was at the same time beginning to reward those who had
suffered the crimes of the Egyptian nation. The Israelites were
overdue for some mercy! Therefore, God in using His wrath on
the vessels of dishonor showed His mercy on the vessels of
honor. The hardening of Pharaoh's heart was only a part of his
long overdue punishment.
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:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
And so it is with us, whom God has called, not from the Jews
only, but also from the Gentiles.
So, as it was with the Pharaoh and with the Israelites of old, even
so it is with those whom God is calling today. The Jews had long
lived their lives in a self-righteous way projecting themselves to
be righteous but bending the law to their own purposes. And in
the end they rejected the Messiah and would have nothing to do
with Him other than for His destruction. They were blind leaders
of the blind! Even the Messiah called them such. They caused
their fellow Jews to follow them in putting to death the Messiah
rather than accepting Him.
Their time of punishment had come. God was turning His back
on them because they had rejected the Messiah, His Son! Soon
the temple was destroyed and within a few decades they were
ejected from the land of Judah. Some few of the Jews were
being called into the truth, but the vast majority of God's calling
at this time would be from the Gentiles.
God had hardened the hearts of the Jews to reject the Messiah
because their punishment was long overdue even before the
Messiah came. And as with the Pharaoh, their punishment made
possible the opening up of the gospel to those who had long been
overdue to hear the gospel. God's wrath on the Jews made
possible His mercy on the Gentiles.
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the
Gentiles?
Just as He says in Hosea, Those who were not My people I will
call My people, and her who was not beloved, I will call My
beloved.
So, God has kept His promise. The Gentiles who were not His
people are now called and chosen to be His people. Those who
were not His beloved are now called to be His beloved. They
were totally unknown, but now they are made vessels of honor to
become the bride of God!
Ho 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy
upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were
not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
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.
And in the very place where they were told, You are not my
people – there they will be called the sons of the living God.
Paul uses a Scripture that refers to the Israelites. They had been
rejected, but were now being accepted again – in Ho 1:10. Paul
is showing that God rejects and accepts people as His sons based
on His calling and choice. The Jews were the children of God,
but because their punishment was long overdue God hardened
their hearts to reject the Messiah and then God rejected them so
He could make sons of the Gentiles by calling and choosing
them. Their rejection and acceptance in Hosea is used as an
analogy of God’s rejection and acceptance of the Gentiles.
Ho 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to
pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,
there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
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.
Isaiah also cried aloud concerning Israel, Even though the
number of the children of Israel is as the sand of the sea, only a
few of them will be saved. For God will quickly settle His full
account with the world.
Here Paul is using a prophecy from Isaiah that is speaking of the
modern people of Israel in our time. Isaiah is speaking of their
physical salvation at the return of the Messiah. Even though
they are as the sand of the sea today, only a few will return to
the land of Israel at the Messiah's return. For God is going to
settle His account with the world quickly in the very last days.
At that time, millions of the modern Israelites will be destroyed
by modern warfare. Only a few will be left of all these millions
on the earth because of the quick settlement of God's account
with the world.
Paul used this prophecy about the physical salvation of the
Israelites, the Americans, Canadians, Britons, and other modern
day Israelites for his analogy. He explains that their physical
salvation (especially the end result that only a few will return to
the land of Israel) is an example of the spiritual salvation of the
Jews of his day. In other words, there would only be a few of the
Jews, in relation to the Gentiles, who would accept the sacrifice
of the Messiah and ultimately receive spiritual salvation at the
first resurrection.
Paul did not know about the identity of the modern day
Israelites, but he did understand that the prophecy of Isaiah was
referring to the end time Israelites. Several times Paul uses
Scriptures from the Old Testament to draw analogies. In this
case, just as few Israelites will be left in the end time to return to
Israel, even so, only a few Jews will be called for salvation at this
time.
Isa 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a
remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow
with righteousness.
23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even
determined, in the midst of all the land.
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.
As Isaiah prophesied, If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed,
we would have become like Sodom; indeed, we would have been
made like Gomorrah.
This prophecy from Isaiah was about the House of Judah. This
vision seems to be in reference, time wise, to the history of the
Jews at that time. Under David and Solomon, all the tribes of
Israel had made up the nation. When Solomon's son Rehoboam
came to the throne, the 10 tribes to the North separated
themselves and made Jeroboam their king. At the time of
Isaiah's writing, it had been perhaps a little more than 100 years
since the split between the House of Israel to the North and the
House of Judah to the South. If Isaiah was writing late in his life,
it is possible that the entire House of Israel to the North had
already been taken captivity.
Paul is using this Scripture as an analogy. Even as there were
few left of all the Israelites in the day of Isaiah, so would God's
calling of the Jews be few. But, God left a remnant in those days
and even so now He was calling a few Jews. Otherwise, their
case would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Those two cities have
no descendants on the earth today because there were no seed
left for their posterity. Had God not called a few Jews, their
future would have been like those two cities.
Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant,
we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto
Gomorrah.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a
seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrah.
So, this is our conclusion: The Gentiles, even though they were
not striving for righteousness, have obtained righteousness -
even the righteousness that comes by faith. But Israel, earnestly
following the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling
the law.
So, here is the irony of the matter. The Gentiles did not pursue
the law. They lived according to their senses and received the
penalties due to their error. But when the time came and God
called and chose some of them, they believed that the Messiah
had come to wipe away their past sins so they could live a
righteous life and they became fervent for righteousness. The
gap between them and God was obliterated by the sacrifice of
the Messiah and they lived their lives by faith each day believing
that God would continue to justify them when they came up short
of God's law.
On the other hand, the Jews who had devoted their lives to live
by the laws of righteousness did not succeed. They were living
the law as best they could, but without the justification of their
past sins, it was no good! Their effort was in vain because they
were dirty with sin and seeking to live as though they were
righteous. Once a sin is committed, only God can wipe it away!
And the blood of bulls and goats was not sufficient to wipe those
sins away. The Jews were relying on a broken stick to cleanse
their sins. They were unwilling to look to the Messiah, the only
One who could rectify their sins.
There they were, doing all that work of sacrificing bulls and
goats at the temple. They had their many rules to live by. They
had made their lives a burden “for God”. But it was all in vain
because they forgot the one most important thing! They did not
rely on faith in the blood sacrifice of the Messiah! Only then
would God accept them into His presence. Only then would they
be able to come before God and have their daily trespasses
wiped off the slate!
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.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not
attained to the law of righteousness.
Why? Because they sought righteousness without faith. They
relied on the works of the law. They have stumbled over the
Stumbling Stone. As the Scriptures say, Behold I lay in Zion a
Stumbling Stone and a Rock of Offence. And whosoever
believes in Him shall not be ashamed.
Is 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Is 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and
for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Paul here explains exactly what I have said above. The Jews did
not obtain righteousness because they tried to do so without
faith. They relied on the works of the law (the blood of bulls and
goats) rather than faith in the sacrifice of the Messiah.
They stumbled over the Messiah. For He became a Stumbling
Stone to them and a Rock of Offence. They were constantly
offended by His teachings. At times they took up stones and in
their wrath would have stoned Him to death because of His
teachings. They eventually did have Him put to death. And, they
could not admit that He was right afterwards for that would have
been an admission of guilt. Therefore, they hatched up a lie.
They paid the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to say that His
disciples came at night while they were sleeping and stole Him
away! Therefore, as Isaiah said, the Messiah became a gin
(trap) and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Jews.
But, if one will believe in this Stumbling Stone and Rock of
Offence that has been laid in Zion for the Jews, he will absolutely
not be ashamed. Therefore, while most of the Jews were not
being called to salvation at that time, the Gentiles were.
Mt 28:13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away
while we slept.
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;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of
offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
In this section, Paul shows that God has been totally righteous in
the matter of rejecting the Jews and choosing the Gentiles. He
gives the example of Pharaoh and shows that the Jews had come
full circle from the mercy of God to His punishment. When they
were small in His sight as slaves of Egypt, God had mercy on
them and punished Pharaoh. Now that they were so full of
themselves and unwilling to humble themselves and recognize
their need for justification by the blood of the Messiah, it was
their time to be rejected for another people who would be willing
to confess their sins and be washed clean.
The Messiah had become a Stumbling Stone to the Jews. And
God had blinded them so they could not see because their sins
had come to the point where they needed to be punished, even
before He hardened their hearts. Through God's punishment of
them He brought mercy to the Gentiles and made salvation
possible to a people who had not been His people. Although God
did call a seed of the Jews for the future and whoever believes
on Him shall never be ashamed!
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Chapter:
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Seven Continued
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Eight Continued
continually has in mind the Jews, his kinsmen. It is almost as
though he is writing to Jewish believers in Rome, or at least in
great part as well as to the Gentile believers. Perhaps at the
time of the writing the Roman church was either Jews or Jewish
Proselytes who had been converted.
I am speaking the truth, as one who belongs to the Messiah. I am
not lying. My conscience, governed by the holy spirit, is my
witness, that I have great and continual sorrow in my heart. For
I could pray to God that I were cut-off from the Messiah for my
brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
In these verses, Paul is showing a fervent and emotional love for
the Jews, his kinsmen. He begins by building a framework for his
love and then he gives <almost> full range to his emotions. He
sees the sorry position that the Jews have chosen by rejecting
the Messiah. He wishes it was not true and that a different route
for them could have been taken.
In verse one, Paul says that he is speaking the truth. He further
says that he is in the Messiah or that he belongs to the Messiah
who is Himself the truth and therefore, he (Paul) is not lying.
Further, his conscience is his witness, and the holy spirit governs
it. Had he been lying, his conscience would have been smitten is
his reasoning here. It was a continual and great sorrow to Paul
that the Jews had rejected the Messiah. Here Paul was
preaching to the Gentiles and realizing all the time that those
who had been given the law and had been in covenant with God
were now being rejected because they had rejected the
Messiah. It was painful to see family reject what was so clear
and obvious to him because of his calling. Many of us have
experienced the same thing. We have been called into the truth
and have come to see so clearly the way of salvation that we
have grieved that our families could not see and understand what
we have seen.
But for Paul the thought goes even deeper. He could, no doubt,
see the plan of God to a degree much greater than we have yet
probed. He understood that the Jews were at one time the bride
of God. God had been married to them. But the time had come
that their Husband had died and the marriage was no longer
binding. Then the Husband had been resurrected by God the
Father and was preparing for Himself a new bride. Paul realized
that the Jews were not, in the main, going to be a part of this
new bride. How sorrowful Paul was, for he realized that the
Jews, who had been given the first opportunity to be the bride of
the One who would be given the universe, was turning it down.
Paul realized what being the bride of the Messiah meant. The
Jews would no longer be first in God's plan, but peoples from all
nationalities would take that first and highest plane for human
beings in the family of God. The Jews would forever be at lower
levels in God's plan.
At the full realization of the implications of what was shaping up
and becoming a reality before his eyes, Paul has an outburst of
emotion much as Moses had in Exodus 32:32. If you will not
forgive their sin, I pray that you will blot me out of your book,
which you have written!
Ex 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I
pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Paul has some similar emotional outburst at this point. If it would
do any good, I would ask God to sacrifice me so that the Jews,
my blood-family would be given the knowledge and
understanding and desire to be in this first part of the plan of
God.
Of course, Paul realized that this could not be. He knew that
God's plan called for a rejection of the nation of Judah because
the Messiah came to them and they would not receive Him.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh:
For they are Israelites! He made them His sons and revealed His
glory to them. He made His covenants with them and gave them
the law. To them was given the Temple Worship and they have
received the promises of God! They are descended from the
Hebrew ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), and the Messiah as a
human being belongs to their race. And the Messiah is over all
and blessed of God forever, amen.
In these two verses, Paul lays before our eyes why it is a
travesty that the Jews will not be included <as a whole> as the
bride of the Messiah.
First, they are Israelites! Don't overlook the importance of this
statement. The word Israel meant, "One who prevails with
God!" The name was given to Jacob because he prevailed with
God when he wrestled with Him all night. What Gentile could
claim to have wrestled with God? Jacob was the one who had
given his name to the Israelites. To be the descendants of a man
who had wrestled with God and prevailed was a distinction that
no other race could claim, if that alone had been to the Jews'
credit it would have given one pause as to why they were now
being rejected by God. And we are Abraham's children and true
Jews and true Israelites before God in place of the Jews. What
a grief to Paul that his people had been so cut off.
All Israelites would have this distinction, but the House of Israel
to the North of Judah had long ago forsaken the Sabbath and the
knowledge of God for paganism. They had been lost and
absorbed into the Gentiles in their religions and governments.
The Jews were the ones who had gone into the Babylonian
captivity and returned to put God first in their lives. They had
prevailed with God by keeping the faith. But their faith became
a stumbling block to their acceptance of the reality in place of
the type.
Carrying the name of Israel was not the only distinction claimed
by the Jews. God had called them His children! Paul realized
that those who accepted the Messiah were the children of God.
But the Jews had been the children of God! Here they were
being cut off so that others might have that distinction. It was
indeed a sorrowful thing for Paul as he was a Jew.
De 14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut
yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Beyond this, the Jews were the descendants of those who had
been honored by the very presence of God. Their ancestors had
been led out of Egypt by great miracles and the cloud by day and
the pillar of fire by night. The presence of God that went up
from the tabernacle and that hovered over the ark. No other
nation besides Israel could boast of having been recipients of the
very presence of God, as had the ancestors of the Jews. Paul
realized that the holy spirit was now being offered to God's
children. He would be near them and they would be able to talk
and walk with Him.
De 4:7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto
them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
And the Jews had been given the covenants. Notice that the
word covenants is plural. They had been given the covenant of
marriage. This was done at Mt. Sinai where YHWH gave them
their part in the covenant, the laws. They said all that God has
said we will do. In other words they said, I do! They were given
the Sabbath covenant. The Sabbath was set apart as very
important to God. It had been included in the covenant of
marriage. But, there was a special attention given to the
Sabbath by God. It was to be held in special esteem by His
people. There was the covenant of circumcision that had been
given to Abraham and continued by his descendants. All these
covenants were made with the ancestors of the Jews. They were
a special people to God and here they were in the process of
losing to others this special relationship to God.
Further, they had been given the law. No nation had been so
blessed with a law so great. Other nations fumbled about trying
to know how to govern themselves. But the Israelites had been
given the key as to how to govern themselves. No nation could
be so great as they could because no nation had been given these
laws from God! The law was the key to greatness. Only they
had been given the opportunity for this greatness. And we are
given the opportunity for that greatness. The law of God is
perfect for our conversion and wisdom.
De 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments
so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Ps 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The Jews knew how to worship God. They had been given all
the elements of worship. Salvation is of the Jews. Without the
Old Testament, we would have a totally different worship today.
We would not understand the holy days. We would not
understand the clean food laws. We would have no concept of
the plan of God. We would have no calendar to tell us when the
Holydays were to be kept. Our understanding would be very
limited if we had only the New Testament. How to worship God
was given to the Jews. But they were unwilling to let go of the
type in order to worship the reality. What a grief to Paul that
the Jews had so much and yet were losing out on being in this
first foundational plan of God made possible through the Messiah.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for
salvation is of the Jews.
Another unique relationship to God held by the Jews was the
many promises that God had made to them through their
ancestors. They had been promised the land of Canaan. They
had been promised that the Messiah would come through them.
In fact, the whole earth had been promised to Abraham through
the Seed that was to come. The Seed had now come and the
Jews had rejected Him. Paul could see all the greatness that
would come to those who were made children of God through the
Seed. He saw the rejection of the Jews that was coming. It was
a grief to him for he had trained to be a priest of these people
and realized their position and that it was coming to naught for
them.
Furthermore, the fathers were the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob whom God had made many and great promises. To
the true Jew, the spiritual Jew, they are our earthly fathers.
Ga 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham.
But furthermore than all these things, the Messiah was a Jew by
birth into the human family. And He has been made heir of all
things and is blessed of God forever. Amen (so be it).
These thoughts overwhelmed Paul. To think that all of the above
was true concerning the Jews and yet they were being rejected
for the Gentiles of whom none of these things were true. It was
astounding! It so grieved Paul that he could pray for God to
sacrifice him in order to reverse the situation and re-embrace the
Jews. But he knew it was not in the plan and such a sacrifice
would not bring the reversal. There is a possibility that the word
<amen> could be referring to his submission to God's will in
choosing the Gentiles instead of the Jews. Of course, the
<amen> could be referring only to the last thought of all things
being given to the Messiah by the Father and his eternal blessing
from Him.
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;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came, who are over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Not as though the word of God has failed. For not all the people
of Israel are the people of God.
Although the promises of God were given to Abraham and to his
children, it was his children through faith that would receive the
spiritual promises. Even the Messiah said that God was able to
raise up children to Abraham from stones! Therefore, any
promises God made to Abraham would be fulfilled. God's word
would not fail.
The word <Israel> is put for the children of God in one place and
the children of Israel or Jacob in the other place. God's children
are those who are the children of faith. If only the Israelites by
blood relationship to Jacob were Israelites, then one might say
that God's promise had failed if He did not make a majority of
the Jews His children of faith. For even the Jews were only a
small part of the descendants of Jacob. But, God was and still is
selecting for Himself a people who are following in the Messiah's
footsteps by faith, as did their father Abraham. These too are
Israelites! For as Paul says in another place, those who are a
new creature in the Messiah are the Israel of God!
Mt 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham.
Ga 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.
Ga 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not
all Israel, which are of Israel:
Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God
said to Abraham, It is through Isaac that your seed shall be called.
Here Paul is drawing another analogy. Abraham had children by
other women than Sarah and yet it was only through the seed of
Isaac that the children of promise were to come - for Isaac was
the child of promise. Isaac had Jacob and Jacob's name was
called Israel. None of Abraham's other children had this
distinction. Even Abraham's other children (besides Isaac) were
Gentiles! They were not the children of promise! They were not
the children who came by faith! They were children born in a
normal way! But Isaac was a miracle! Now we know why God
did not give Abraham Isaac until an absolute miracle was
necessary. For all children of God are brought into being by a
miracle. We must have our sins wiped away by the justification
of God's blood! We must be rescued from death. We must be
brought back from the brink of oblivion and from the impossible
in order to become a son of God! So, Isaac was to be an example
of those who would be children by faith. God's word has not
failed, for it was to children by faith that the promises were to be
given.
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:
but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
This means that the children born in the usual way are not the
children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's
promise are regarded as the true descendants.
Paul continues to draw the picture that those children who are
natural-born (without promise) are not the children of God.
Rather, as only those who came through Isaac the son of promise
are considered as Abraham's descendants, even so only those
who are children of faith are considered the children of God.
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.
For God's promise was made in these words: At the right time I
will come back, and Sarah will have a son.
Paul continues to show that Isaac, the father of Jacob who was
called Israel was brought into this world by a promise from God.
And Isaac was to be the heir of all of Abraham's promises.
Therefore, God's word has not failed. For Isaac was a type of
the Messiah. The Messiah was promised to come through
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's descendants. And we are the
children of God through the Son of Promise, the Messiah, even
as the Jews were the sons of promise through Isaac the son of
promise.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall
have a son.
And this is not all. For Rebecca's two sons had the same father,
our ancestor Isaac. But in order that the choice of one son might
be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her,
The older shall serve the younger. He said this before they were
born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's
choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done.
As the scripture says, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.
Paul continues - This is not all! Rebecca had twins by Isaac the
son of promise! But, God did not leave it to Isaac to pass on the
promises to the eldest, Esau. Rather, God told Rebecca before
the twins were born that the <older> would serve the <younger>.
God did this to show that it was by His <choice> that the
promises would be made. At this time, neither of the boys had
done anything good or bad. But God chose Jacob and rejected
Esau. Paul is showing here that we are God's children because
He calls us and chooses us to be His children. It is by faith that
we are children of promise and not by bloodline.
Abraham was the father of the faithful. Isaac was the son of
promise. Jacob was chosen over Esau and given the promise.
Even so, God's word of promise has not failed because it is
through those who are called and who are justified by faith and
those who live by faith that will become the children of God!
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac;
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;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
In this section, we see first of all Paul's sorrow because his race,
the Jews, has not been chosen to be the children of promise by
faith in the Messiah. Paul shows the many reasons it would seem
logical for God to use the Jews. But because the Jews rejected
the Messiah, He has rejected them for the time being. They will
not in the main be a part of the bride of the Messiah.
In one place the Messiah gives a parable showing a wedding feast
in which many were called to attend. He was speaking to the
Pharisees at the time and they were those in the parable who
came up with one reason or another to keep from attending the
wedding. At last, the call was made to those who were of no
account, those who were not the wise of the world to come to the
wedding. Even so, we are making up the bride of the Messiah.
Paul saw this dilemma and was grieved because he saw the
rejection of the Jews because they rejected the Messiah. But
Paul was not of the illusion that God's word would be broken,
and he continues to show how that God's word will be honored.
Abraham was the father of the faithful. Isaac was the son of
promise. Jacob was chosen and the firstborn was rejected. In
the physical reality, Jacob is the father of the Jews and Esau's
children are Gentiles. In Paul's analogy, Esau becomes a type of
the Jews and Jacob is a type of the righteous Gentiles who are
called of God to be in the first resurrection. For, Esau rejected
the birthright and blessings of God while Jacob embraced them.
But the Jews were rejecting the birthright and blessings of God
while the Gentiles were embracing them! No wonder Paul was
grieved for the reality of this must have been so penetrating and
cognizant to him that it was most bitter!
If Paul was alive today and could see the history that has elapsed
over the last almost 2000 years, he would be astonished at how
the Gentiles have corrupted the word of God. Perhaps he would
be encouraged to see that in these last days the children of
Joseph are in the forefront of giving the truth to the world as
many as the Father will call.
And even many of the Jews are returning to the understanding
that the Messiah did in reality come in 30 AD. Some of those are
still holding on to the laws including the Sabbath. They see only a
glimpse of the full scope of the gospel, but it is a start. Perhaps
Abraham's children will still have a great part in being the bride
of the Messiah.
No doubt that when Paul wrote these verses in Romans it looked
as though almost all the Jews were rejecting the gospel and as
though the Gentiles were going to make up the vast majority of
the bride. For some reason, the Gentiles were so close to the
pagan gods that Satan could easily cause them to corrupt the
gospel. Perhaps God has in these last days returned to
Abraham's descendants to finish His plan for mankind. Perhaps
the corruption brought on by the Gentiles has turned God again
to Abraham's children through Isaac and Jacob.
Now after much struggle by the English speaking peoples of the
world we have a complete Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
We have many aids to study and learn about Paul's writings as
well as all the other writers. What a blessing! And how good it is
to see that there are no contradictions in the entire Bible – so far
as its message of God’s plan is concerned. And with the holy
spirit to be able to find answers to questions that have stymied
the authorities for centuries is absolutely a great inspiration.
What shall we conclude then? Has God been unjust? Certainly
not!
Keep in mind the subject matter. The Jews were being left out
of the foundational plan as followers of the Messiah because as a
nation they had rejected Him. Even so, God was not unjust in
this matter. And in this section, Paul elaborates on why God is
just and righteous in this matter.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid.
For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will
have compassion on whom I will.
In other words, it is God's plan that is being worked out here on
the earth and it is His prerogative to make the determination on
whom He will have mercy and compassion. God calls whomever
He desires for His plan. God chooses whom He wills. Paul may
have had his own case in mind. He had been seeking out
believers of the Messiah for persecution and death! But God
struck him down blinding him with a shaft of light. God called
Paul and chose him for His purpose. The statement of Moses is
in Ex. 33:19.
Ex 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
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.
So then, it (God's compassion and mercy) does not depend on a
man's will, nor does it depend on what man does, but it depends
on God who shows mercy.
The graciousness and mercy of God's calling one into this way of
life and the justification of one's past sins which makes possible
the successful entry into the kingdom does not depend on man,
but on God. God does the calling. God does the choosing. God
does the justifying. God makes salvation possible. Because the
Jews rejected the Messiah, God chose not to call them. That
was His prerogative.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God that sheweth mercy.
For the Scripture says concerning Pharaoh, I have raised you up
for the very purpose of displaying my power in (my dealings with)
you, so that my name may be proclaimed the whole world over.
Paul is saying here that the Scripture records that God's purpose
for raising up Pharaoh was so that He might be able to display
His power and so that God's name might be proclaimed all over
the world. The word <Pharaoh> means: his nakedness. Before
God, the Pharaoh was naked. He could not succeed against
God. The Scripture is found in Ex 9:16 where God told Moses to
tell this to the Pharaoh. Paul is continuing to show that God
makes the determination about what He will do with men on the
earth in order to fulfill His purpose. Therefore, God is righteous
in His rejection of the Jews for the foundational part of the plan
of God.
Ex 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew
in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the
earth.
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.
So then, He has mercy on whomever He wills and He hardens
whomever He wills.
So, God has mercy on whomever He chooses and He hardens
(causes to be stubborn) whomever He chooses. It was necessary
that the Jews not recognize the Messiah when He came the first
time. For had they recognized Him they would have worshipped
Him rather than putting Him to death. But they were chose by
God to be blind to His first coming! It was very much to God's
purpose that the Jews be hardened or made stubborn against the
Messiah the first time so they would kill Him. For He had to
become the Sacrifice for all mankind during His first
appearance. He became the Passover Sacrifice to ransom us
from the world. He became the Sin Sacrifice to justify the gap
that separated us from God. He became the morning and
evening sacrifice and every other sacrifice to bring us and keep
us in the center of God's will.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he
will he hardeneth.
Then you will say to me, If this is so, how can God find fault with
anyone? For, who can resist God's will?
In other words, someone might put forth the argument that if this
is true that God calls and has mercy on whom He wills, causing
one man to be stubborn and the other yielding, how can God find
fault with anyone? For as God is all-powerful, who can resist
God's will?
The argument is that if God can and does make the choice to call
whom He wills, then man cannot be faulted for his actions or his
sins. Of course, this question would not tend to enter into the
mind of the unconverted because they don't understand the plan
of God. Paul is posing this question to the believer who has a
perspective for understanding.
Those who are called would understand that God has this
prerogative. Those who are not called would find arguments
against such a statement because they don't understand God's
plan.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath
resisted his will?
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Shall that
which is formed say to Him that formed it, Why have you made
me thus?
Paul did not directly answer the question that he proposed, at
this point. He did not say that man would not be held responsible
for his sins because he had not been chosen for salvation at this
time. Neither did he say that he would.
We know the answer is that man is held accountable for his
actions even if God chooses him to be stubborn and to refuse to
yield to God. Pharaoh lost his kingdom. It was destroyed right
before his eyes. And he lost his life! For, Pharaoh was drowned
in the sea! But Paul shows a greater depth to this just ahead.
Ps 136:15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: for his
mercy endureth forever.
Rather, Paul comes back with another argument. Who are you
O man to ask such a question of God? You are but of the dust of
the earth. There was a time when you did not exist and God
brought you into existence as a part of His plan. Shall that which
has been formed say to God who created it, Why have you made
me an inferior vessel?
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?
Does the potter not have authority over a lump of clay to make
one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Paul still has in mind God's choice of the Gentiles over the Jews
for salvation in the first harvest. All humans are but so much
clay. We are all the children of Adam. Adam means, "the red
earth" in Greek. Adam was made from a lump of red clay.
Therefore, the rest of mankind came from this lump of clay. God
chooses to call some for salvation (honorable vessels) and others
He does not call at this time. Therefore, they are dishonorable
vessels for the present age.
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
So, what if God fully resolved to show His wrath, and to make
His authority known – has yet patiently endured the vessels of
wrath, which are ripe for destruction? And, what if God,
purposes to reveal His abundant glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He has determined beforehand for glory?
Here Paul puts forth another argument to show that God is not
unjust. Paul's perspective is this: God has the right and power
and authority to punish man for sin. However, in the case of the
Egyptians and Pharaoh He did not rush in and exact their just
penalty - even when they were ripe for destruction. Rather, God
saw that He could use their punishment to reveal His glory on
those who were ripe for mercy. In this way God is fully just in
what He has done and is doing.
God does not take men who are righteous and turn them into
vessels of dishonor by creating in them a stubborn heart, but He
takes unrighteous men who are already overdue for destruction
and uses them to project His wrath and authority. And at the
time God shows His wrath and authority on these vessels of
dishonor, He shows His graciousness and glory on those who are
ripe for mercy. Therefore, God is more than righteous in His
actions.
God did not allow Pharaoh to repent when a plague destroyed
part of his land because Pharaoh was past due for destruction
even before the plagues were sent on him. Pharaoh had to take
the full punishment, and to take the full punishment God
hardened his heart. For God was showing mercy on the
Israelites whom Pharaoh had kept in bondage. It was only right
and fitting that Pharaoh should not be allowed to receive only a
meager punishment. He had been the instrument of killing many
Israelites and therefore was overdue for the death penalty
before God began to destroy him with the plagues. He was
merely a criminal who was put to hard labor for a period of time
and ultimately drowned in the Red Sea for his many capital
crimes against the law of God. And this says nothing about the
fact that the Pharaoh was the leader of his nation in worshipping
false gods that could not hear, speak or see.
But at the time God was measuring out His punishment against
Pharaoh and his nation for their crimes, that were long overdue,
He was at the same time beginning to reward those who had
suffered the crimes of the Egyptian nation. The Israelites were
overdue for some mercy! Therefore, God in using His wrath on
the vessels of dishonor showed His mercy on the vessels of
honor. The hardening of Pharaoh's heart was only a part of his
long overdue punishment.
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:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
And so it is with us, whom God has called, not from the Jews
only, but also from the Gentiles.
So, as it was with the Pharaoh and with the Israelites of old, even
so it is with those whom God is calling today. The Jews had long
lived their lives in a self-righteous way projecting themselves to
be righteous but bending the law to their own purposes. And in
the end they rejected the Messiah and would have nothing to do
with Him other than for His destruction. They were blind leaders
of the blind! Even the Messiah called them such. They caused
their fellow Jews to follow them in putting to death the Messiah
rather than accepting Him.
Their time of punishment had come. God was turning His back
on them because they had rejected the Messiah, His Son! Soon
the temple was destroyed and within a few decades they were
ejected from the land of Judah. Some few of the Jews were
being called into the truth, but the vast majority of God's calling
at this time would be from the Gentiles.
God had hardened the hearts of the Jews to reject the Messiah
because their punishment was long overdue even before the
Messiah came. And as with the Pharaoh, their punishment made
possible the opening up of the gospel to those who had long been
overdue to hear the gospel. God's wrath on the Jews made
possible His mercy on the Gentiles.
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the
Gentiles?
Just as He says in Hosea, Those who were not My people I will
call My people, and her who was not beloved, I will call My
beloved.
So, God has kept His promise. The Gentiles who were not His
people are now called and chosen to be His people. Those who
were not His beloved are now called to be His beloved. They
were totally unknown, but now they are made vessels of honor to
become the bride of God!
Ho 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy
upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were
not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
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.
And in the very place where they were told, You are not my
people – there they will be called the sons of the living God.
Paul uses a Scripture that refers to the Israelites. They had been
rejected, but were now being accepted again – in Ho 1:10. Paul
is showing that God rejects and accepts people as His sons based
on His calling and choice. The Jews were the children of God,
but because their punishment was long overdue God hardened
their hearts to reject the Messiah and then God rejected them so
He could make sons of the Gentiles by calling and choosing
them. Their rejection and acceptance in Hosea is used as an
analogy of God’s rejection and acceptance of the Gentiles.
Ho 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to
pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,
there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
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.
Isaiah also cried aloud concerning Israel, Even though the
number of the children of Israel is as the sand of the sea, only a
few of them will be saved. For God will quickly settle His full
account with the world.
Here Paul is using a prophecy from Isaiah that is speaking of the
modern people of Israel in our time. Isaiah is speaking of their
physical salvation at the return of the Messiah. Even though
they are as the sand of the sea today, only a few will return to
the land of Israel at the Messiah's return. For God is going to
settle His account with the world quickly in the very last days.
At that time, millions of the modern Israelites will be destroyed
by modern warfare. Only a few will be left of all these millions
on the earth because of the quick settlement of God's account
with the world.
Paul used this prophecy about the physical salvation of the
Israelites, the Americans, Canadians, Britons, and other modern
day Israelites for his analogy. He explains that their physical
salvation (especially the end result that only a few will return to
the land of Israel) is an example of the spiritual salvation of the
Jews of his day. In other words, there would only be a few of the
Jews, in relation to the Gentiles, who would accept the sacrifice
of the Messiah and ultimately receive spiritual salvation at the
first resurrection.
Paul did not know about the identity of the modern day
Israelites, but he did understand that the prophecy of Isaiah was
referring to the end time Israelites. Several times Paul uses
Scriptures from the Old Testament to draw analogies. In this
case, just as few Israelites will be left in the end time to return to
Israel, even so, only a few Jews will be called for salvation at this
time.
Isa 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a
remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow
with righteousness.
23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even
determined, in the midst of all the land.
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.
As Isaiah prophesied, If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed,
we would have become like Sodom; indeed, we would have been
made like Gomorrah.
This prophecy from Isaiah was about the House of Judah. This
vision seems to be in reference, time wise, to the history of the
Jews at that time. Under David and Solomon, all the tribes of
Israel had made up the nation. When Solomon's son Rehoboam
came to the throne, the 10 tribes to the North separated
themselves and made Jeroboam their king. At the time of
Isaiah's writing, it had been perhaps a little more than 100 years
since the split between the House of Israel to the North and the
House of Judah to the South. If Isaiah was writing late in his life,
it is possible that the entire House of Israel to the North had
already been taken captivity.
Paul is using this Scripture as an analogy. Even as there were
few left of all the Israelites in the day of Isaiah, so would God's
calling of the Jews be few. But, God left a remnant in those days
and even so now He was calling a few Jews. Otherwise, their
case would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Those two cities have
no descendants on the earth today because there were no seed
left for their posterity. Had God not called a few Jews, their
future would have been like those two cities.
Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant,
we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto
Gomorrah.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a
seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrah.
So, this is our conclusion: The Gentiles, even though they were
not striving for righteousness, have obtained righteousness -
even the righteousness that comes by faith. But Israel, earnestly
following the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling
the law.
So, here is the irony of the matter. The Gentiles did not pursue
the law. They lived according to their senses and received the
penalties due to their error. But when the time came and God
called and chose some of them, they believed that the Messiah
had come to wipe away their past sins so they could live a
righteous life and they became fervent for righteousness. The
gap between them and God was obliterated by the sacrifice of
the Messiah and they lived their lives by faith each day believing
that God would continue to justify them when they came up short
of God's law.
On the other hand, the Jews who had devoted their lives to live
by the laws of righteousness did not succeed. They were living
the law as best they could, but without the justification of their
past sins, it was no good! Their effort was in vain because they
were dirty with sin and seeking to live as though they were
righteous. Once a sin is committed, only God can wipe it away!
And the blood of bulls and goats was not sufficient to wipe those
sins away. The Jews were relying on a broken stick to cleanse
their sins. They were unwilling to look to the Messiah, the only
One who could rectify their sins.
There they were, doing all that work of sacrificing bulls and
goats at the temple. They had their many rules to live by. They
had made their lives a burden “for God”. But it was all in vain
because they forgot the one most important thing! They did not
rely on faith in the blood sacrifice of the Messiah! Only then
would God accept them into His presence. Only then would they
be able to come before God and have their daily trespasses
wiped off the slate!
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.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not
attained to the law of righteousness.
Why? Because they sought righteousness without faith. They
relied on the works of the law. They have stumbled over the
Stumbling Stone. As the Scriptures say, Behold I lay in Zion a
Stumbling Stone and a Rock of Offence. And whosoever
believes in Him shall not be ashamed.
Is 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Is 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and
for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Paul here explains exactly what I have said above. The Jews did
not obtain righteousness because they tried to do so without
faith. They relied on the works of the law (the blood of bulls and
goats) rather than faith in the sacrifice of the Messiah.
They stumbled over the Messiah. For He became a Stumbling
Stone to them and a Rock of Offence. They were constantly
offended by His teachings. At times they took up stones and in
their wrath would have stoned Him to death because of His
teachings. They eventually did have Him put to death. And, they
could not admit that He was right afterwards for that would have
been an admission of guilt. Therefore, they hatched up a lie.
They paid the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to say that His
disciples came at night while they were sleeping and stole Him
away! Therefore, as Isaiah said, the Messiah became a gin
(trap) and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Jews.
But, if one will believe in this Stumbling Stone and Rock of
Offence that has been laid in Zion for the Jews, he will absolutely
not be ashamed. Therefore, while most of the Jews were not
being called to salvation at that time, the Gentiles were.
Mt 28:13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away
while we slept.
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;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of
offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
In this section, Paul shows that God has been totally righteous in
the matter of rejecting the Jews and choosing the Gentiles. He
gives the example of Pharaoh and shows that the Jews had come
full circle from the mercy of God to His punishment. When they
were small in His sight as slaves of Egypt, God had mercy on
them and punished Pharaoh. Now that they were so full of
themselves and unwilling to humble themselves and recognize
their need for justification by the blood of the Messiah, it was
their time to be rejected for another people who would be willing
to confess their sins and be washed clean.
The Messiah had become a Stumbling Stone to the Jews. And
God had blinded them so they could not see because their sins
had come to the point where they needed to be punished, even
before He hardened their hearts. Through God's punishment of
them He brought mercy to the Gentiles and made salvation
possible to a people who had not been His people. Although God
did call a seed of the Jews for the future and whoever believes
on Him shall never be ashamed!
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Commentaries
Chapter:
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Five
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Seven
Seven Continued
Eight
Eight Continued