Romans 9 and the Nation of Israel Continued

 I started to elaborate on how it is important to look at the references that Paul is using in Romans 9 to fully understand what exactly he is trying to communicate. In this way we can let scripture speak for itself. There is no better commentary for scripture than scripture itself. I focused on two key passages Romans 9:13 quoting Malachi 1:3 and Romans 9:12 quoting Genesis 25:23. I now am looking at the other quotes in Romans 9.

Romans 9:7 CSB

Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

The statement “your offspring will be traced through Isaac” is a clear focus on Israel. Isaac is inheriting the promised covenant that God has given to Abraham.

Genesis 21:11–13 CSB

This was very distressing to Abraham because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac, and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”

Sarah asked Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham was understandably distressed by this request. However, God was going to use this for good. Notice the quote your offspring will be traced through Isaac. This is a reminder to Abraham about God’s promises (Genesis 15:4-6). It is a promise to Abraham that is repeated multiple times in Genesis (Genesis 12:7, 15:18, 17:8, 24:7). On each occasion the promise was related to Israel not individually to Isaac.

Also notice that God is fulfilling his promise to Abraham by saying Ishmael will be a nation as well (Genesis 21:13). So this quote is dealing with Israel and decedents of Ishmael. Interestingly Ishmaelites are often associated with Arabs and even the Islamic religion considers Ishmael a patriarch of their religion.

The next quote is when God and angels visit Abraham and Sarah before she is pregnant with Isaac (Romans 9:9 and Genesis 18:10-15). This particular quote is dealing with the promise of Isaac. It focuses on the fact that Sarah was in disbelief that she could have a child of her own. She had been through menopause and recognized that she would never have children. And so when God said that she would have a baby she laughed.

We move forward to Moses with the next quote. In this quote he is referencing when Moses asked to see God’s face.

Exodus 33:18–20 CSB

Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.” He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”

The graciousness was Three-fold. God was promising that the goodness of His presence and rest (Exodus 33:13-17). God was also protecting Moses from His consuming glory (Exodus 33:20). Specifically notice the larger context of this quote. Moses in not asking for favor on himself alone he also is asking for God’s grace toward the nation of Israel (Exodus 33:13). He is interceding for the nation (Exodus 32:30-33). God has already promised to care for Moses, but Moses wants God to show grace (undeserving) to Israel. It also is interesting that the renewal of the law covenant immediately follows in Exodus 34:1-10. Even in this case though the covenant is with the nation of Israel (Exodus 34:10).

As mentioned in the previous blog posts it is important to understand the context of the quotes that Paul is using here to fully understand his intended meaning. There are several other quotes in Romans 9. One way to think about this in the modern sense is Paul is providing hyperlinks for us to explore. In the time of Paul giving a snip it of a quote was the same as providing a reference as I have in these posts. My intent is to give you the opportunity to go look these passages up. In the same way Paul is inviting us to look at the passages that he is quoting.

The only way to interpret that Paul is referring to saving election is to ignore the contexts of the verses that he is quoting and say Paul is not talking about Israel as a nation and that he is talking about individuals. Someone who holds to this view I would ask, “So is Paul proof texting the Old Testament?” When contemporary pastors string together a set of verses out of context to make a point in sermon, we rightly criticize this. However, to take Romans 9 as evidence that God salvifically chooses some individuals and condemns other individuals is to believe that proof texting is OK if Paul is the one doing it.

Clearly, I do not think that is Paul’s intent here. I believe that Paul’s focus in the part of the letter to the Roman church is on the election of the nation of Israel as the nation of promise, covenant of the law, and the seed of salvation.

Blessings

~ BJ

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The Older Shall Serve The Younger?

 

Romans 9:11–12 CSB

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.

Genesis 25:23 CSB

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.

Genesis 27:29 CSB

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.

Romans 9:32–33 CSB

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