God’s Past Dealings with Israel in Electing Grace
Romans Chapter 9

In this chapter Paul defends the character of God showing that the past history of Israel magnifies the attributes of God.

9v1-13 – His Faithfulness

9v14-18 – His Righteousness

9v19-29 – His Justice

9v30-33 – His Grace

The chief subject of chapter 9 is the Divine Sovereignty of God and human responsibility.

Chapter 10 – Looking at Israel in the present, and viewing the Gospel in perfect harmony with the teachings of the Old Testament and Israel’s persistent rejection of God’s way of salvation, in spite of the witness of the law and the prophets continuing to obtain righteousness by their own works.

In chapter 11 we have God’s Sovereignty shown in grace and mercy, including God’s promised dealings with Israel in fulfilment of prophecy.

Chapter 9 detailed.

A) God’s Faithfulness – Chapter 9v1-13.

The main theme as already stated of chapter 9 being the Sovereignty of God in electing grace, running parallel with human responsibility from experience, one would not seek to understand this, but there is a great joy in believing it, and accepting the truth of it. Many arguments have developed concerning this subject. All to no avail, and one would suggest that prayer for the enlightenment of this truth will be time well spent. If we approach chapter 9 with an open mind concerning God’s Sovereign choice, we will derive a great benefit from its teaching. First, we will deal with the burden of Israel’s election (v1-3) concerning the great passion of Paul for his people here.

9v1 – Paul says, ‘I say the truth in Christ, I lie not.’ His strong character of his language indicates the apostle’s Jewish opponents had charged him with hostility to his nation and insincerity in his actions. He begins his reply by a statement the force of which is to show that the fellowship with Christ makes it impossible. ‘My conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Ghost.’ His conscience bore witness in accordance with his word. Moreover, it was a conscience enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit.

9v2 – When he thinks, first of Israel’s glorious calling, and now of its rejection by God because it rejected its Messiah, his heart is filled with great sorrow and continual grief.

9v3 – He could even wish himself accursed, or cut off from Christ, If through the forfeiting of his own salvation, his Jewish brothers could be saved. In this strong statement, placing himself in rejection, we sense the highest form of human love, that which constrains a man to lay down his life for his friends (John 15v13).

Portraying the enormous burden that Paul felt for the conversion of his Jewish brethren (v4 & 5), we have the blessings of Israel’s election. There are 9 things mentioned here as a privilege of Israel’s election.

  1. Who are Israelites?

This is a reference to the title of honour taken from Genesis 32v28 which reads, ‘and he said thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince as thou power with God and men and has prevailed.’

  1. To whom pertaineth the adoption.

Exodus 4v22-23 reads, ‘let my son go’ – the message to Pharoah – Israel is my son.

  1. And the glory, referring to the Shekinah cloud which rested on the tabernacle (Exodus 40v34-35).

  2. The (five) Covenants.

  3. Moses law – Exodus 20.

  4. The services of God, wonderful typical ritual law.

  5. And the promises. Manifold promises of God, mainly pertaining to the earthly kingdom for Israel.

  6. Whose are the fathers – the patriarchs?

Faith – Abraham Forsaking
Promise – Isaac All

Chosen – Father of Israel – Jacob I

Trust

Him

  1. ‘As whom concerning the flesh Christ came who is overall God blessed forever.’ Though they do not count it a privilege yet the greatest honour of all is that through Israel Christ came.

Note: Christ’s humanity, Authority and Deity are mentioned here in this phrase.

a. Abrahamic Covenant ­- (Genesis 12v1-3)

Get thee out of thy country and thy father’s house.

Make thee a great nation.

A universal promise – bless thee and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing.

12v3 – ‘And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’

b. Palestinian Covenant (or Land Covenant) – Deuteronomy Chapters 28-30

Concerning possessions of the land.

The blessings of obedience is the title for the whole chapter.

28v1 – ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.’ The blessings mentioned are covered in v1-14. And if Israel does not obey God’s voice and walk in his ways, there are lists of curses from God to fall on those who are disobedient to God’s word. These are listed from v16-68.

28v14 – ‘And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words I command thee this day, else the curses of God will fall upon Thee.’

29v10–29 – God made a covenant with Israel calling all Israel to stand before him. Men, women and children, and God made a covenant with Israel that they would obey all that God told them in order that the blessings of fellowship with him may be their privilege.

In chapter 30, we have the conditions for restoration and blessing explained. God in his faithfulness and grace to Israel, knowing Israel’s disobedience and failure to keep his laws, he spoke of them as a stiff necked people. But in his love for this nation, God could speak of his faithfulness in restoring Israel to fellowship with Him upon their return from all their evil ways.

30v2 – God gives the condition of returning unto him, in obeying completely His voice in all He commands – with thy heart and soul.

30v3 – The Lord will have compassion upon thee.

30v4 – The Lord will gather thee back unto himself.

30 v5 – The will do thee good and multiply thee.

30v6 – The love to God must be from the heart and thy seed also.

30v14 – But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

30v20 – The end of the chapter. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, that thou mayest obey his voice and thou mayest cleave unto Him because he is thy life. That thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers’ Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them.

In Hosea 14v4 God says to Israel, ‘I will wait for thy returning, will love thee freely and heal thy backslidings.’

c. Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19v 5-8).

d. Davidic Covenant (2Samuel 7v16). Promising that a descendant of David’s would always sit upon the throne.

e. New covenant – Jeremiah 31v31-40. Promising a new heart and new relationship and the impossibility of the nation of Israel being eradicated.

The Basis of Israel’s Election – Chapter 9v6-13.

To the Jew who had banked on the promises of God to Israel it might have appeared that these promises had failed. In response to this anticipated problem Paul demonstrates that God has only ever acted on the principle of Sovereign grace, and that the rejection by him of the majority of the Jews now does not mean that his promises have failed, because in his wisdom these rejected Jews were never included in the promises at all. This is made clear from v6-7a where Paul shows that the number of those who are of Israel is not determined by natural descent but by God’s wisdom. In order to prove this point Paul gives two examples to show that birth into the patriarchal family did not automatically confer spiritual privilege.

1. The Elect Seed (v7b-9).

The key phrase here is ‘in Isaac shall thy seed be called.’ The law of natural decent demands that Ishmael inherit the promises, but God by Sovereign decree had already chosen Isaac.

2. The Elect Son (v10-13).

Here we learn that neither natural decent nor human merit determine God’s chose.

Note: Some have found great difficulty with the phrase ‘Esau I have hated.’ A. C. Gaebelein was once approached by a young man who said to him, I have a great problem with Esau I have hated.’ Gaebelein replied, ‘I have a greater problem with Jacob I have loved.’

The charge against God has been answered as long as a remnant remains and there is always a remnant, cf. 11v1-5, then God can not be accused of unfaithfulness, for on the basis of his wisdom has chosen and preserved a remnant of Israel. But there is an even more series charge anticipated, that of unrighteousness.

B) God’s Righteousness (9v14-18)

By proving that God was faithful to His purpose in v1 –13, Paul appears to be opening the door to the even more serious charge of unrighteousness. He answers this anticipated charge in two ways.

(i) By showing how he has pardoned erring Israel (v15-16).

All deserved to die for all had sinned yet only 3,000 did die, the rest were spared. God showed mercy on many the basis of which was his sovereign choice and not the will or works of man.

Note: H. A. Ironside says here, ‘observe the wonders of sovereign grace. God took refuge in His own inherent right to suspend judgment if it pleased him and so explains, ‘I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’ He spared the people making them a wondrous witness to his grace.’

(ii). By showing how he punished evil Pharaoh (v17-18). Pharaoh was a wicked tyrant who hardened his heart against God and whose heart God hardened in order to display his power through him. How can God be called unrighteous if lie allowed this dictator to follow his heart after he had hardened it against God and suffer the consequences of it, while at the same time use him in his wickedness to fulfil his purposes, the salvation of his people.

The solving of this problem however only led to a new one, namely the charge that God was not just.

C) God’s Justice (9v19-29).

In answer to this anticipated charge Paul defends God’s justice by using three arguments.

(i). The Illustration of the Potter (v20-21).

The background to this is Isaiah 45v9 & Jeremiah 18v1-10. The argument is that just as a lump of clay cannot complain to the potter who made it that it doesn’t like what it was made into, neither can God’s creatures complain to their creator that they don’t what he has made them. However the passage in Jeremiah 18 which forms the background to this illustration teaches that unlike clay man is made with an intellect and a will, therefore he is a responsible being.

(ii). The Explanation of his Purposes (v22-24).

God did not enjoy watching a tyrant like Pharaoh he endured it so that through him his purposes might be fulfilled. By withholding his wrath God exposed the utter sinfulness of Pharaoh, not to mention the utter bankruptcy of Egyptian religion, so that when judgment did come it was clearly deserved.

Note: Hyper Calvinists say that it was God who ‘fitted’ Pharaoh for destruction. But scripture contradicts that teaching instead that he fitted himself. The verb translated fitted is in the middle voice and as W. E. Vine explains, ‘this implies action done by ones self with a view to ones own aims and interests. The apostle could have used a form of expression stating clearly that they had been fitted by an outward agency unto destruction. That form is set aside however in order to use one which throws the responsibility unto man for the hardness of his heart.’

(iii). The Examination of Prophecy (v25-29).

Here Paul quotes a series of Old Testament scriptures to show that God’s purposes was always to bring in the Gentiles and save a remnant of Israel. Hosea 2v23, is quoted to demonstrate that God would turn from the Jew to the Gentile.

Hosea 1v10, to prove that the Gentiles would be his people. Isaiah 19v22-23, to teach that only a remnant of Israel would be saved. Isaiah 1v9, emphasizing God’s grace in sparing the remnant. The point being that He all along has been acting according to His Word and consistently with His character.