For though her sons had not been born yet or done
anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might
stand—not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will
serve the younger.
I already discussed the Old Testament quote that is in Romans 9:13.
In that quote from Malachi 1:3 we see that God is talking about the nations of
Israel and Edom. So then the question does the other quote relate to Jacob and
Esau individually or as nations?
The older will serve the younger seems to be a straight
forward statement. Yet we cannot find any evidence in the Genesis account that
this prophecy was fulfilled. If anything, we see that Jacob bowed to Esau (see Genesis 33:3).
Since there is no record of Esau serving Jacob then was the
prophecy wrong?
When we look to the passage that was quoted in the full context,
we discover again that the prophecy did not relate to Jacob and Esau as
individuals.
And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger
than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
“Two Nations” “Two Peoples” “One People” “The older will
serve the younger.” So it seems pretty clear from this passage that has been
quoted that it is dealing with Jacob and Esau as the fathers of nations.
We do see echos of the prophecy in the Blessing of Issac.
May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you.
Be master over your relatives; may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you.
Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.
These two passages offer insight into the prophecy. Peoples
and Nations will bow and serve Jacob. So, we can understand the prophecy as
dealing with Israel as a nation. At this point the point of the prophecy is
that Jacob is the heir of the promise made to Abraham then passed to Issac and
now being passed to Jacob. In each case the prophecy had yet to be fulfilled (Hebrews 11:13)
or is only partially fulfilled (e.g., God’s provision).
Again, we need to understand the Bible in the context of the
whole Bible. Especially when a New Testament writer is quoting the Old
Testament.
When we look then at Romans 9:6-13
then we can understand that the election described here is the election of the
nation of Israel to be the God’s nation of Priests and the seed of His Son
Jesus. To turn this into a doctrine of individual election for salvation is a
mistake. It takes and applies an idea that does not come from the very passages
that Paul is quoting here. When we understand that it is dealing with Israel
and Edom, we can then understand blessings and curses more clearly. God does
not arbitrarily love or hate individuals.
Taken as a whole Romans 9 is dealing with Salvation by faith
in the promises of God. In Romans 9:1-5 it is abundantly clear that Paul is addressing
Israel as a nation and heirs of the promises of God. However, being heirs was
not sufficient to save them. Why? He answers the question later in the chapter.
Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith,
but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is
written, Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip
over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.
Paul is building up to this great truth in Chapter 9. It is
faith and belief in Jesus Christ that makes us righteous. This is an
extraordinarily good message. It fits with the rest of the teaching of the New
Testament. Time and again we are called to set aside our attempts to be good
enough and place our faith in Christ. The curse then rests upon those that do
not believe and not because God arbitrarily chose some to save and some to
condemn. That is Paul’s point! He continues with this same line of thinking
into Chapter 10.
~BJ
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