August 14, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Romans? Here’s today’s reading:
Romans 9 (NIV)
Paul’s Anguish Over Israel
1I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4the people of Israel............Continue Reading
There is a great deal in this chapter that on the surface seems to contradict, however, there is no contradiction in God’s promises. His plan and purpose is set without us knowing or even understanding.
He determines who He shows mercy to and who He does not and it is certainly not for us to question God’s plan in our short sighted view of fair and unfair. It also does not excuse us of the responsibility we have to believe and faithfully follow God.
Pastor always says God will be glorified through us or in spite of us and that is what this chapter makes me think about. We can not comprehend the thoughts and plans of God they are much higher than ours therefore we need to do our part and let God do His!
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.38-39.NIV
Romans 9
Paul was very passionate about his people and saw both the great benefit that they received in being Jews and yet how unfaithful they had been throughout their history and in his present time in their rejection of Christ. God had shown the pattern through Abraham and Isaac of what defined His people and that it was based on faith and promise. And yet God had not failed them, but they had failed God. But even as they were making their choices, God also was making choices and orchestrating things according to His plan and purpose. Because that is the banner that flies over everything, God will be glorified and He has the right to do what is necessary with what He has made to accomplish that glory. And no choice we will ever make will change that. But we have to decide like the Jews had to decide am I going to live to promote God’s glory or work against it? But even as you may work against it, it will be shown in the end that you were actually working towards it…the ride was just different in experiencing His cursing rather than His blessing.
And the chapter ends with Paul recognizing that as the Jews got it wrong and didn’t come to God based in faith like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob showed, that the Gentiles practically stumbled upon it and got it right in seeing something in the Jewish Messiah that could bring them salvation…not in the works we did, but in the faith we had….
This is a bit confusing, but I don’t think this is about salvation, it is about the lineage of the Savior. I think we need to read further in Romans to understand exactly what is being conveyed here. I think many take this to mean that God makes some vessels to smash and others for useful purposes. I don’t think that is what this is about. I think it is a rhetorical device to tell us (and the Jews) that we don’t have a place to question God’s plans. Later Paul talks about the Jews being hardened to draw the Gentiles. They are seeking God based on the law and their own ability (or inability) to follow it, rather than based on faith.