Lesson 121
Romans Chapter Nine
The Faithfulness of God to
Review
of context:
Paul points out here
the choice of Jacob over Esau for the promised lineage of the nation.
Esau as an
individual never served Jacob;
However, the
subjugation of the Edomites to the Israelites began
under David, was complete under Solomon, and continued on and off until the
Babylonian captivity. (2 Sam 8:14)
From the context of
the quotes it is obvious that Jacob and Esau are euphemisms for the nations in
the brief portion which Paul quoted?
Certainly the
Apostle Paul did not intend to wrench these sentences out of their prophetic
contexts to make them teach a doctrine of unconditional individual election.
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The point of the context is that the basis of the choice by God is made clear
not once but twice that it did not rest in the one chosen. (
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God has the right to choose, not only because He is Sovereign but also because
He is OmSc and therefore has the wisdom to make only
right choices.
Rem: God blesses
directly, but very seldom, what He does do is bless mediately; through an agent, or agency.
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God blesses all of mankind [potential] through His choice of
Overview
1. National election and blessing is in view not individual election or salvation.
2. God’s choice was determined through whom the promise-blessing would
come.
3.
God chose to bless non-meritorious faith-response to the promise blessing of
which Jacob and the nation that came from him represents.
4.
God chose to hate rejection of the promise-blessing of which Esau and the
nation that came from him represents.
- Know that Esau had
every opportunity to believe as Jacob did!
9:14-18 God's
righteousness in dealing with
“What
shall we say then?" What's
your conclusion?
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Paul once again senses a question running through the thinking of his hearers
in
"There is no
injustice with God, is there?"
- The point being made here by Paul is that
God made the choices, Isaac, Jacob and later the tribe of
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But what's the implication if God did choose based on whether they did good or
bad? then God
would be choosing based on human performance!
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The issue here is not justice but once again God's sovereign decision.
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In
-
In
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In
- What's the
implication??
No
one then ever deserves or can earn His mercy!
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In
Begins with a quote
from Ex. 33:19,
Historical setting:
It had not been long
since the law had be given to Moses on the tablets of stone, and Moses had come
down off the mountain and found the people had apostatized against the Lord,
they were in open rebellion by making a golden calf, Ex. 32, which they said
was to represent the god who brought them out of the land of Egypt. 32:1-5
Moses went to
intercede with God for the remainder of the people you see the same kind of
impassioned, agonizing cry that we saw with Paul in 9:1-3. [Ex. 32:30-32]
It is in the Lord's
response to Moses' 3 requests that we get the statement quoted by Paul in
#1 What are you going to do with your people? 33.12-13
#2 Will you
personally go with us? 33.14-15
In 33:16-17 he makes
the point that if God goes with them they will be a distinguished people.
#3 Will you show me
your glory? 33:18
What is man's response [in general] to the display of
God's Glory??
1.
Man corrupts the splendor of God's being by expressing his own assertiveness.
2.
Man shuts out God's strong presence with his own supposed self-sufficiency.
3.
And perhaps the worst of all, man pollutes God's grace with his own works.
33:19 God's response to Moses' requests
- "gracious" !nh basic idea is to bend or stoop
down; the picture is that of a superior, here God, stooping down to help an
inferior person, Moses
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"compassion" ~,xr usually is used of a superior for an inferior;
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speaks of action taken motivated by love;
The words used in
the LXX to translate gracious and compassion are the same ones found in Rom.
9:15 carrying the same ideas.
He is telling Moses
that He makes the choice whether to be gracious or to show compassion.
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Throughout the 40 years of the journey in the wilderness Moses would see many,
many times the mercy and compassion of God exercised towards them when they
rightly deserved His wrath.
No one can ever deserve or earn His mercy or
compassion.
B.L. The passage in Exodus has nothing to do with
individual, unconditional election to salvation, and therefore, neither could
the passage in Romans.