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Romans 9:10–12
. . . it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger” (Rom. 9:12).
“And not only this. . . ” With these words, Paul moves on to the next point in his effort to show that the large-scale Jewish rejection of the gospel does not mean God has altered or failed in His redemptive purposes. The apostle is arguing that “they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” but that true Israelites are those God elects to salvation. And he is making his case from the Scriptures that record the beginnings of the Jewish nation, showing that God was electing even at that point.
Having shown that God made a choice between the sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, Paul now focuses on the third generation. Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Jacob, provide a wonderful example for Paul’s purposes. As Dr. James M. Boice points out, someone might conceivably argue that Isaac was chosen by God over Ishmael because Ishmael was the son of an Egyptian, Hagar. Thus, he was not a full-fledged Jew. But no such argument is possible in the case of Isaac’s sons. They were as alike as two sons can be, twin sons of the same parents. And yet, God chose Jacob over Esau before they were born. Genesis 25 records the story. Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, had a difficult pregnancy as the twins struggled in her womb, and she went to God seeking to understand this trial. God explained that the two children would found two nations, and that the nation descending from the older son would serve that of the younger. God clearly had chosen to bestow His blessing on the second son, Jacob, but not because of anything either twin had done or failed to do. After all, they were not yet born. This choice even went against the normal cultural practice of granting a greater inheritance to the oldest son. “There is nothing to explain this except God’s sovereign right to dispose of the destinies of human beings as He pleases, entirely apart from any rights thought to belong to us due to our age or other factors,” Boice writes.
Paul actually goes so far here as to say that God intended to reveal something of His ways with people by choosing Jacob over Esau. This is why the apostle, under the Spirit’s inspiration, tells us Jacob was chosen “that the purpose of God according to election might stand.” This example from Israel’s history proves beyond all argument that God elects, and that He does so not for any reason within people but simply on the basis of His own wise counsel.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Children raised by Christian parents may go separate ways, some believing and others not. Paul is arguing that the reason has to do with God’s choice. If you and your siblings parted ways in this manner, praise God for choosing you for grace. But pray for and reach out to your unsaved relatives until the finality of God’s choice is clear.
For Further Study
- Acts 10:24
- Acts 16:11–15, 24–34
- Acts 18:8
- Ephesians 5:25–27
- Ephesians 6:4