Romans 9:10-18

Paul now moves on to Isaac and Rebekah's children. As with Isaac and Ishmael things were far from normal. Rebekah was going to have twins, Jacob (later called Israel) and Esau (from whom the Edomites came). Before they were born God told Rebekah that the "older would serve the younger" (Genesis 25:34). This was contrary to the social structures of the time. Moreover it was before either of them had had chance to do anything. Paul's purpose is to demonstrate that God's purpose is sovereign, it is superior to everything else. "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" is perhaps best interpreted as "Jacob I accepted, but Esau I rejected".

Our natural reaction to this is that it is all rather unfair, and indeed Paul anticipates this very reaction. Paul counters this objection by quoting God's word to Moses (Genesis 33:19), "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and compasion on whom I will have compassion". This doesn't seem to help us much, and Paul then goes on to make things worse (at least to our Western mindsets), by declaring that God raised up Pharoah and hardened Pharoah's heart for the very purpose of having a fight with him!

Paul is doing all this to demonstrate that it has always been the case that we are dependent upon God's mercy. not our effort, nor even our desire.

We find all this very hard to take, for it offends our normal way of thinking. As we read more of Romans 9-11 we may become a little wiser, bit here are two thoughts to bear in mind:

1. The sovereignty of God does NOT mean that it does not matter what we do or think. You only have to read the Bible to see that that is not the case!
2. God is sovereign, and His wisdom is far greater than ours.

Whatever you do, do not reject something that God says just because you cannot understand it. Part of true wisdom is to recognise the limits of your own wisdom. As it says in Proverbs 1:7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The only reason you belong to God is because He chose you (John 15:16). There may be times when you cannot make sense of your life and what is happening, but you can always be certain of God's choice, and your future depends on God's mercy, not your wisdom and goodness. I would rather rely on God's mercy than my strength.