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| Chapter 9 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ I speak the truth in Christ--I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit-- 2 that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites and 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 of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 6 ¶ It is not as though the Word of God hath taken no effect. For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel; 7 neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." 8 That is, they who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; rather, the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: "At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son." 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, in order that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not by works, but by 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." 14 ¶ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid! 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." 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy. 17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth." 18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, "Why doth He yet find fault, for who hath resisted His will?" 20 But nay, 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?" 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? 22 What if God, choosing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction; 23 and this that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, whom He had prepared before unto glory, 24 even us whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 ¶ As He saith also in Hosea: "I will call them ‘My people,’ who were not My people, and ‘her beloved’ who was not beloved." 26 And, "It shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ‘Ye are not My people,’ there shall they be called the children of the living God." 27 Isaiah 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." 29 And as Isaiah said before: "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah." 30 ¶ What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why so? 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 Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed." |
9:1-13 God’s Purpose in Israel Paul now turns to the nation of Israel and their response to the coming of Christ. In the past God tended to treat the Jews as a nation and not as individual people, when Jesus came some people believed but the nation as a whole rejected Him. The nation was looking for a Messiah who would be a king to lead them from world powers. So God has set aside, for a while, the nation of Israel and has gone into the world (the Gentiles) with His offer of love and Grace. God will also set aside the world if they reject Him. Romans chapter 9 deals with Israel’s past and what God has done with the nation. v1-3 Paul is very sad for his people the Jews. Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin, Phil 3:5. Paul seems to have the same sadness for the Jews as Jesus had, Matt 23:37. Paul’s deep concerned for their spiritual need must be Spirit controlled, full of love, Rom 5:5; 2 Cor 5:14. 9:4,5 Blessings given to the Jews. v4 Adoption. The whole nation, not just those who believed, Gen 12:3. Abraham and his descendants held a special place with God, Deut 14:2. God planned to use this nation to provide the means of salvation for the world through Christ being born and His death. v4 Glory. The special way God showed Himself to Israel, for example, the Pillar of fire bringing them out of Egypt, Glory filled the temple. v4 The Covenants, Israel received a number of covenants but four were dependant upon God. 1) Abrahamic Covenant, Gen 12:1-3. A promised land and the coming of the Saviour. 2) Palestinian Covenant, Deut 30: The land. 3) Davidic Covenant 2 Samuel 7: The Seed. 4) New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34: The Blessings. Covenants which required the people to do something were: Mosaic Covenant, the Law, the divine standard, had to be obeyed or suffer the punishment. Note Gal 3:19, "It was added because of transgressions until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;" Added to the promise until Jesus came. v4 The Service of God. The sacrifices, allowing the priest to come into the presence of God. All the various sacrifices pointed to the coming Messiah. Note John’s reaction, John 1:29. v4 The Promises. v5 The Fathers. 4000 years of ancestry, Abraham, Isaac,Jacob,Moses, David, Solomon all had some affect on the world today. v5 The blessing of the Christ the Messiah who physically came into the world through their nation. 9:6-24 God’s purpose. v6 Just because a person is born of Israel, a Jew, does not mean he/she will benefit from the promised blessings. The Jews thought that because they were descendent’s of Abraham, they would not be cursed by God, John 8:36-38. This reminds us that your relationship with God does not depend upon your parents. Each person has to seek forgiveness through Christ. v7-10 Isaac was born as part of God’s plan but needed great faith by Abraham, unfortunately he tried to help God’s plan along, (Gen 16:1-16). God had planned for the descendent’s to come through Isaac but it was necessary for Abraham to believe before Isaac was born, just like we have to believe for our salvation. v8 Paul points out the difference between those born of the flesh and those born according to the promise. You cannot automatically become children of God. v10,11 Some Jews might have replied "We are Children of Isaac, so God will not reject us." Paul said that God had already made a choice between Isaac’s two sons before they had been born, not based upon the sons behaviour in any way. v12,13, "The older will be submissive to the younger," Gen 25:23. These verses do not indicate selection for salvation, rather, selection for the role in God’s plans, Esau could have sort God’s blessing,but he rejected Him. Just as Esau was rejected so God has rejected the Jews and taken the Gentiles during this present time. v14 Can God be unrighteous because He made a choice which was not the way man would chose? That’s not possible, God always make the correct decision. v15 God’s qualities are shown in this verse. He is sovereign. This statement came after Israel’s sin of the Golden calf, Ex 33:19. God could have destroyed the nation at this point, Exodus 32:10. It was only Moses action which made God spare them. Exodus 32:11ff. v16 No one has claim on God’s mercy. Salvation is offered to all, God will never send anyone to hell, the person has to reject the offer of salvation through Jesus, by this rejection the person sends themselves to hell. v17 The Pharaoh, which Moses dealt with, was raised up by God to the position of power so that God could show his power to the world. If the man had been in charge of a small village he would have still been against God in his attitude, that would not have changed. v18 Therefore God is free to choose what to do. If you look at the story in Exodus, Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God affected him, James 1:13. Consider Rom 1:24-28. v19-24 A question which comes from this is "This does not make sense, why did God still find fault in Pharaoh?" Paul answers "Why do you question God? Does the pot have the right to question the potter who made the ‘pot’ this shape." The Potter knows why one is made beautiful for show and another for dirty work. The same applies to how God’s wrath is poured out. This applies to both Jew and Gentile. v22 "ripe for destruction," Man rejected God in the garden of Eden, He could have destroyed him then but in His mercy provided a way back to Him. v25,26 Paul quotes from Hosea 2:23, originally to the 10 tribes who had departed from serving God, so they had become like Gentiles in the way God treated them. But God promised He would one day call them His children. v27,28 Paul now looks at Isaiah’s testimony, Is 10:22,23. A small number will be saved, The passage also suggests time may be cut, v28. v29 God has left a small group who love Him, Is 1:9, if not Israel would have been destroyed. v30 Because Israel rejected the Gentiles have now been able, by faith, to be made right with God. v31,32 Because they thought that by keeping the Law, they thought that they would be made right, and did not need Christ, they found Him a "Stumbling Block" and rejected Him. However, it is impossible to fill the requirements of the Law and so it resulted in the rejection of Christ and crucifixion. |
Easy English Translation
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