Title: God's Choice and Rejection
Commentary on Romans 73
God's Choice and Rejection
Romans 9:9-13
Introduction: Last time we heard through Paul's argument that even if Israel was rejected by God because of their disobedience to God, that was not the reason the Word of God was abolished. This is because God did not promise Abraham's blessing to them through Abraham's physical seed. When God told Abraham that he who is born of Isaac will be called your offspring, these words show that God is not referring to the children of the flesh, but to the children of the promise. However, in today's text, the doctrinal issues of God's election and abandonment are dealt with in depth, taking the case of Jacob and Esau as well as the promise of Isaac as the seed of promise.
1. In the case of Isaac
It proves that Isaac did not become the promised child because he was Abraham's son, but was regarded as the seed because he was the child promised to Abraham by God.
(1) God promised only Isaac to Abraham. Abraham had many sons. Before Isaac was born, there was Ishmael, and after Sarah died, there were six sons born to Geturah, his second wife (Genesis 25:1,2). It was clear that they were rightly descended from Abraham by blood. However, they are not recognized as Abraham's seed. The reason is not because of their relationship as sons or bastards of concubines. However, it is clearly stated that it was because there was no God's promise to them.
The reason God promised Isaac is because of the sons of Abraham, only Isaac is recorded in God's book of life. God recorded the seed of promise in the book of life before the foundation of the world. When God wrote His people in this book of life, He did it first in Christ. Because you will be saved through Christ. And he followed Abraham's faith. Abraham was justified by faith. Because God justifies us through faith in Jesus Christ, he made Abraham the father of faith and regarded him as the promised child and his seed.
(2) God made Abraham or Sarah fulfill his promise when it was artificially impossible to conceive. This is what verse 9 says. “This is the word of the promise, at this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” What did Abraham think at this time? “Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, How can a hundred years old have children? Sarah is 90 years old, how can they give birth?” (Genesis 17:17). What did Sarah think? “Sarah laughed to herself and said, “I am old, and my master is old, how can I be happy?” (Genesis 18:12). The children of God's promise are not born by human means. To show this fact to Abraham, God gave them Isaac when their bodies were old and hard, and when Abraham became like a dead man, he made them believe that Isaac is the seed of God's promise.
(3) God's people, like Isaac, are born with the seed of promise. Because Isaac was born of Abraham's seed, he did not become the child of the promise. Isaac is recognized as the seed of Abraham because he is the child of the promise, born according to the promise of God. We are not the physical descendants of Abraham. But we are the children of Abraham's promise because we are born of the seed of the promise promised to Abraham. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor frequent, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29). In this way, God's people will be born into this world according to the promise, like Isaac, through the faith of Abraham.
2. In the case of Jacob
The seed of God's promise is not unique to Isaac and Ishmael. It can also be found in the case of Jacob and Esau.
(1) Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Isaac. However, even in the case of Isaac, the seed of promise, it is revealed that one of the twin sons was the seed of promise and the other was a forsaken son. If Abraham's blood-related descendants are the children of the promise, then in the case of Isaac's two sons, Esau should be ranked higher than Jacob, and both sons had to be recognized as the seed of Abraham's promise. But in reality it wasn't. Jacob was born as the chosen seed of promise, and Esau was born as a forsaken and unchosen man.
God had already told these two sons about their fate even before they were born. This was said to be as it was said, “Jacob loved, and Esau hated.”
(2) In the case of Jacob and Esau, we can see that God's election is determined before any good or evil human beings do. When their children had not yet been born and had not done any good or evil, “that the will of God according to election may stand, not by works, but by him who calls,” he said to Rebekah, “The older shall serve the younger.” said It was revealed that God's choice is not based on human good or evil, but is made only by God's promises. What are all the grounds for doing this? He said that he might stand up only by him who called. He said that this kind of history is derived from the sovereign work of God.
3. God's Choice and Rejection
Here we run into a serious doctrinal problem. It is a matter of God's choice and abandonment. Isaac is clearly the chosen seed of promise, but Ishmael is clearly the outcast. Jacob is the chosen one, but Esau is the outcast and the elect.
(1) It is a glorious thing to be the elect. The elect are those who, in God's eternal predestination, have received special favors in Christ to live for God's glory and make them His people. Jesus said these people were given to me by the Father, and he promised that not one of them would be lost.
(2) Abandoned people are those who will fall from such a glorious place and be cast away. These are people who have not entered into this special decree of God, and they are the only ones who can only be cast away forever because of their sins.
Conclusion: We have two questions here. Why did God allow man to fall? is to do The answer to this question cannot be found in the Bible. This is part of the mysterious mystery of God. Regarding this, we will go up to the kingdom of God in the future to know its true meaning. However, what we can be thankful for now is that the fall of man was inevitable, and that the fall became an indescribable great blessing to us. Because through that, he was able to inherit the kingdom of God, have the authority of the Son of God, and have eternal life. Another is the question of why God has decided to leave certain human beings in a fallen state. We don't know this either. What we should be grateful for is the fact that this has enabled us to give thanks and praise to God forever.