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The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Chapter 9
The Word of Promise Bible Journey
The Promise of God to You
It's such a pleasure having you here for more Daily Bread. Well,
we're halfway through Paul's letter to the Romans already! In this
part of Paul's letter, we've got sort of a little lesson of Who's
Who. Paul tells us that just because someone is born an Israelite,
that doesn't guarantee them anything.
He begins by saying how sad he is for his kinsmen (the Israelites)
that believe they automatically get privileges because of their
heritage.
Below is the first part of Chapter 9, with scripture references
included. Take a little read and then we will discuss it more.
Romans 9:1-18
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my
heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ
for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and
the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the
flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6 Not as though the Word of God hath taken none effect.
For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel [They don't all have
the Faith that Israel had, just because they were born of Israel.]:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they
all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called [Genesis
21:12].
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these
are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are
counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I
come, and Sarah shall have a son [Genesis
18:10].
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived
by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger
[Genesis
25:23].
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated [Malachi
1:2-3].
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid.
15 For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion
[Exodus
33:19].
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth [it doesn't matter if a person wishes or pursues], but of God
that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth [Exodus
9:16].
18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and
whom He will He hardeneth [makes stubborn].
The Word of Promise Bible Vow
The Promise of God is Real
So, what's the message we're supposed to derive from this? Like Paul
said from the beginning, it doesn't matter who you are, what matters
is if God chooses you. Shucks, you could be Isaac's son and not be
chosen, as you've seen, or, you could be someone who persecutes
Christians, and be chosen, as Paul was. It doesn't matter who you
are. Paul goes on:
Romans 9:19-29
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault?
For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same
lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour [Proverbs
16:4]?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his
power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath
fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on
the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but
also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people,
which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved [Hosea
1:10].
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it
was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called
the children of the living God.
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number
of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall
be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth
[Isaiah
10:22-23].
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth
had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto
Gomorrha [Isaiah
1:9, Isaiah
13:19].
The Word of Promise Bible Meaning
The Promise of God Explained
What does this mean? Perhaps that if God had left the children of
Israel such a massive people, they might have been totally destroyed
if God hadn't reduced them to just a small number, when He scattered
them during the carrying away into Babylon.
Funny, this is similar to what happened in Babylon at the very
beginning of it's existence. The people grew to thinking that they
could reach heaven and make a name for themselves (become famous Genesis
11:4). But God saw that they were up to no good, so he confused
their language and scattered them throughout the earth. Maybe the
children of Israel were getting a little too close to this manner of
thinking, so God took care of business.
Romans 9:30-33
30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which
followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness,
even the righteousness which is of faith.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of
righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as
it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that
stumblingstone;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed [Isaiah
8:14, Isaiah
28:16].
The Word of Promise Bible Study
The Promise of God Forever
So you see, the Lord, just as He has throughout the ages, judges us
by our decisions. He doesn't want a bunch of angels that will choose
anything but Him and fall. He doesn't want a bunch of angels that
decide they want to be Him, and build a tower that reaches to
heaven. He just wants us to be righteous children.
To the Jewish people, Jesus (the stumbling stone) was totally the
opposite of law, so you can see why the term stumbling stone is used.
The Jewish people who couldn't see the Truth in Him and accept Faith
over law, tripped over the stone, they were offended by Him, even
though He patiently answered their questions about His doctrine, over
and over again, they couldn't see that the things they studied in
scripture so diligently, and their long awaited Messiah, was right
before their eyes, and they stumbled over Him.
It looks like God has His own version of Who Is Who, and it's up to
us to decide if Jesus is who the Messiah is, or if we choose law
instead. Who's who? Depending on what we choose, will determine
whether He will choose us in the end.
The Word of Promise Bible Conclusion
The Promise of God Summary
More interesting writing from Paul ahead, so come on back soon, and
don't miss it, right here at Daily Bread.
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