I want to give God the glory, because in anything, I can be assured that time spent with Him, even in events where time may be of the essence… ANY time spent intentionally appreciating the presence, and therefore the glory and goodness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is never time wasted.
I don’t have to feel it, all I control is my own being singing praises to God – body, mind, soul and spirit, as much as I could bring, basically just trusting the Lord in worship, in spite of anything that dares to shake us or snatch our focus away.
I don’t have to feel it – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit respond according to their infinite greatness, their eternal goodness, and the complete and absolute love for all of us, and for me, personally.
With that said, I suppose we can keep going down the Roman Road; We’ve taken some extra time to look at Romans 8 under a microscope of sorts, not sure if it’ll also be the case for any more chapters moving forward, but, well, we’re taking a look at Romans 9 today, unsure where we’ll be taken.
Let’s go.
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Paul, an Israelite, whom we later learn is of the tribe of Benjamin, is saying here that if it was possible for him to take curse and rejection for the sake of the salvation of his countrymen, he would do it.
Recently we remember our late Senior Pastor Oscar, who died exactly 4 years and, oh, as of this writing, 4 years and a couple of days ago… and in every chance I got, I shared a verse that he was quite fond of sharing, up until the end of his physical body: That is, Acts 20:24:
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
I bring this up only to point out that the same apostle Paul who said he does not account his life of value or as precious to him, is the same guy who wrote to the Romans, that if it were possible, he would lay down the same life if only it meant the salvation of his countrymen.
Besides his kinsmen being close to him, Paul also recognizes how special the people of Israel are: ‘to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises’… and also, ‘from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ…’
Did you catch that? Paul is pointing out that it was with the nation of Israel that God’s covenant was made (The Law was entrusted to them), and from the same nation’s bloodline, Jesus Christ was born; yes, He who ‘is God over all, blessed forever’.
To Israel the Old Commandment was entrusted, and in the fullness of time, through Israel was born the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the One who established the New Covenant.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Long chunk of text here, but from what I understand in all this, it’s mentioning that the nation of Israel was not merely comprised of the people in Israel’s bloodline; it wasn’t just the descendants of Israel ‘of the flesh’ but also ‘children of the promise’ were also ‘counted as offspring’.
Citing the old Sarah as an example – the same Sarah, whom I recall was even laughing as such good (albeit impossible to the human mind at the time) news was being shared to Abraham, actually gave birth to Isaac, according to the promise of the Angel of the Lord.
Paul also gave Rebekah and Isaac as an example, but this time mentioned the promise of the Lord to the former, when He told her that ‘the older will serve the younger’; It is not merely the flesh of Israel to multiply, all the way down to the birth of Jesus Christ; No, what I gather from the examples of Sarah and Rebekah is (1) it is not according to the capabilities of the flesh, but according to the word of the Lord and the grace of God that women shall have sons, even at their old age, and (2) it is not according to the perceptions and approvals of the flesh, but according to the same word of promise from our Lord that ‘The older will serve the younger’;
God’s promises to us are superior to the power of the flesh (Sarah), or the wisdom and schemes of the flesh (Rebekah).
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
There is a need for us to take that in a little further; At first glance, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’ doesn’t sound like the very gracious and loving Father we know. And Paul understood this, which is why he took it upon himself to take precious time and space in the paper he had to explain further, but further examples.
The God who said, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’, is the same God who told Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Also, God spoke to I imagine was the most powerful person in that time and age, Pharaoh – He spoke to him through Moses, quoting from Exodus 9:16 – “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
Through Malachi, it’s revealed that ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’;
Through Moses we hear Him say, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’
And Paul even puts it all together, and says that God ‘has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.’; Not for a demonstration of power, or a show of His glory, more that it is necessary according to His infinite wisdom, that (His) name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Oh, Lord, have mercy. Help me out as I keep at this.
You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called sons of the living God.’”
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
I imagine a good number of ministers have gone through hoops to explain how God would love Jacob and hate Esau, and also how God could harden the heart of Pharaoh… But I suppose, if we were to ask the Lord for help, He would probably point us back to what Paul had to write here, which I have no doubt was breathed and influenced into Him by no less than the Holy Spirit Himself.
We could complain and question the words of our Creator, but in the end the question is not if WE, as creations, would have the right to question our Creator… but it IS pointed out that it is the CREATOR who has full right to move one vessel and the other for uses – not answerable to our limited knowledge, but according to HIS infinite power and eternal wisdom.
For, Paul explains, it is only God, in said power and wisdom, who knows all factors considered ‘in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy’ – When He says ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’; ALL of it was in anticipation for HIS glory to be seen, not only in the nation of Israel, but to the Gentiles, to the entire world!
God said what He said, and although we could question it, we would rather do our best to trust Him instead – for the people of the time would have NEVER thought that those that Israel knew would never be called ‘God’s people’ would be called ‘sons of the living God’, nor would they have ever guaranteed the chances of Israel’s elimination – not by exile or by destruction or invasion, but through slow, painful decline, as in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Now that I think of it, perhaps some of our own fathers, or our own leaders who have gone ahead of us – well, not ‘perhaps’, I’m sure a good number of them have been seemingly reckless with their own words, and through the passage of time, brash as their comments may have been, they all came to fruition – whether they were alive to say ‘I told you so’ or not.
But I sincerely doubt that they knew ALL the implications of what they had to say at any given moment – only God has that eternally superior wisdom to know, and infinitely superior power to follow through.
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
I take it that all that we’ve been discussing regarding the Lord’s seemingly ‘reckless’ words which have left us discussing, and even leaving Paul with an entire chapter to discuss it; The culmination of all the words spoke to Moses, to Pharaoh, to Malachi, and to Hosea… in the fullness of time, they all point to the ‘Stone of stumbling’, the ‘Rock of offense’: No less that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Israel insisted on the Law to lead to righteousness, but ‘did not succeed in reaching that law.’
However, for the Gentiles, that’s most likely you and me (unless you are from Israel, and if so I say, Shalom, and I hope I’m making sense): We weren’t looking for righteousness, but got it when we believed in Jesus Christ.
In all that’s going on in your own life, you may be hearing from the Lord, and it may just be possible that you may not be hearing the words you want to hear. I’m not saying for you to accept any condemnation – but you’ll know if our Father is the One rebuking, if you’re at peace knowing the everlasting love behind it.
It may also be possible that all you’re hearing is silence, and silence could be so much for some, too much that we find it as brash and as reckless… But I think we’re coming to the conclusion that no matter what words we do hear, or what words we’re still trying to figure out, or in the absence of any words God has for us in any situation we’re enduring right now…
All roads lead to Rome,
All God’s words lead to Christ.
Indeed, even in all I’m going through, may it all continue to lead to Christ.
What a Savior. Halleluyah.
Until the next post, God bless us all.
154788/365000
#Sovereignty #DivineMercy #Romans #Bible #BibleStudy #BibleInOneYear #Election #GodsPromises #JesusChrist #TrustingGod #Preeminence #Revelations #Reflections #WOrship #HolySpirit #PracticalChristianity #BenefitsOfSalvation
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment