Romans ~ Part 25

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As I’ve stressed in my previous post, our journey to comprehend the profound significance of Sha’ul’s Letter to the Romans is not just a study but a crucial cornerstone of our faith.

Regarding the Jewish Experience ~ Part 3

In Romans 9:19–29, the Sha’ul explores the profound dynamic between God’s sovereignty, His wrath against sin, and His mercy towards the undeserving. This passage encourages Believers to reflect on God’s sovereignty in their lives, reminding them that even in suffering or trials, God’s purpose is ultimate and good. It calls on them to trust in His mercy while recognizing the seriousness of His wrath against sin, fostering a deeper understanding of His grace.

This post’s big idea communicates that God’s wrath and mercy are inherently tied to His character; we must acknowledge both to grasp the depth of our need for Yeshua and the wonder of His grace.

Man Cannot Limit God’s Grace

¹⁹ But you will say to me, “Then why does he still find fault with us? After all, who resists his will?” ²⁰ Who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to him who formed it, “Why did you make me this way?” (Isaiah 29:16) ²¹ Or has the potter no right to make from a given lump of clay this pot for honorable use and that one for dishonorable?

In our last post, we left off in Romans 9:18: So then, He has mercy on whom He wants, and He hardens whom He wants. Hardens is a tricky word that easily provokes one to question the moral justice of the universe. “If God makes me hard, why does he blame me for being hard?” Sha’ul offers little comfort as, in his Jewish manner, he answers this question with a question: Who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? Lest one thinks Sha’ul is arrogant, he lets God Himself be the one to whom objection must be made by quoting Isaiah in v. 20 and using the image of the potter and the clay from Jeremiah 18:6 in v. 21. Traditional Judaism takes the same viewpoint, as can be seen in this quotation from the weekday morning prayers in the Siddur (Prayerbook): “Who is there among all the works of your hands, among those above or among those below, who could say to you, [God,] ‘What are you doing?’”

However, against Sha’ul’s refusal to budge on the matter of God’s sovereign right to make from a given lump of clay this pot for honorable use and that one for dishonorable must be placed, his insistence that “Everyone who calls on the name of Adonai will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Sha’ul does not let go of either side of the apparent paradox of predestination versus freedom of choice (see also Philippians 2:12–13). Instead, He is action-oriented, steering us away from idle and destructive questioning of God’s governance toward the practical solution, which is coming humbly to God through Yeshua HaMashiach—this path is closed to no one. God does not harden the heart of anyone but a confirmed rebel (Yochanon 12:39); He wants all to turn from sin to Him (Romans 2:4, 2 Kefa 3:9).

²² Now, what if God, even though He was quite willing to demonstrate His anger and make known His power, patiently put up with people who deserved punishment and were ripe for destruction? ²³ What if He did this in order to make known the riches of His glory to those who are the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—²⁴ that is, to us, whom He called not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles?

These verses thus show that God’s mercy is more evident and incredible, glorious, and “mercy-full” when the background of judgment is perceived. The salvation of Gentiles and Jews, a significant theme in chapters 1–4 of Romans, is reintroduced in the context of showing how God will fulfill His promises to the nation of Isra’el despite her present apostasy in rejecting Yeshua HaMashiach. Just as God in His mercy called people from among the Gentiles, who deserved punishment and were ripe for destruction, so that He might make known the riches of His glory, so, as we will see in chapter 11, he will once again turn to Israel in mercy.

Prophets Told of God’s Grace

²⁵ As indeed He says in Hoshea,

“Those who were not my people I will call my people;

her who was not loved I will call loved; (Hosea 2:25(23))

²⁶ and in the very place where they were told,

‘You are not my people,’

there they will be called sons of the living God!” (Hosea 1:10)

Sha’ul uses these texts from Hoshea midrashically ^[1]. Hosea was not referring to Gentiles but to Isra’el itself; he meant that one day Isra’el, in rebellion when he wrote, would be called God’s people. Sha’ul’s meaning, which does not conflict with what Hosea wrote but is not a necessary inference from it, is that “God’s people” now include some Gentiles. How this has come about and for what purpose are examined in Romans 9:30–10:4 and 11:17–32, as well as in the book of Ephesians.

²⁷ But Yesha‘yahu, referring to Isra’el, cries out,

“Even if the number of people in Isra’el is as large

as the number of grains of sand by the sea,

only a remnant will be saved.

²⁸ For Adonai will fulfill his word on the earth

with certainty and without delay.” (Isaiah 10:22-23)

The first part of Hosea 2:1(1:10), quoted in vv. 25–26, includes God’s promise—made initially to Avraham (Genesis 22:17) and Ya‛akov (Genesis 32:17)—that “the number of the sons of Isra’el will be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered.” Turning on this part of Hosea’s prophecy, Sha’ul cites Yesha‛yahu (Isaiah) to show that its fulfillment does not, as one might think, imply the salvation of every single Jew, for only a remnant will be saved. This idea has already been expressed in v. 6b and will be expanded on at 11:1–6.

²⁹ Also, as Yesha‘yahu said earlier,

“If Adonai-Tzva’ot had not left us a seed,

we would have become like S’dom; we would have resembled ‘Amora.” (Isaiah 1:9) ^[2]

As Yesha‛yahu said nine chapters earlier in his book, “If Adonai-Tzva˒’ot [Adonai“of hosts, of armies”] had not left us a seed (Romans 9:7), we would have” been annihilated, like S’dom and ‛Amora (Genesis 19). The seed is the “remnant” of v. 28. By referring back to concepts presented in vv. 6–7, vv. 27–29 give closure to Part I of chapters 9–11 on God’s role in Isra’el’s apostasy (see 9:1–11:36). God cannot be blamed for the nation of Isra’el’s failure to accept Yeshua as her Messiah; on the contrary, God must be thanked for showing enough mercy to preserve a “seed” or “remnant” of individual Jews who did accept Him, namely, the Messianic Jews.

Our next post continues to examine the theme: Regarding the Jewish Experience.

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^[1] Midrash (מדרשׁ) is an interpretive act, seeking the answers to religious questions (both practical and theological) by plumbing the meaning of the words of the Torah.

^[2] Romans 9:19-29