ROMANS 9: IS GOD UNJUST AND UNFAIR

So we continue with the questions from Romans 9.  We stopped at verse 13 the last time so we continue from 14 today.

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
Romans 9:14 NIV

What inference do we make from the explanations in Chapter 1 to 13. Do we say that God gives unequal privileges to people? Is He unjust in His dealings with men? Not at all!: This is untrue of God. He is Just!

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Romans 9:15 NIV

When we hear this statement, most times we take it as God will be good to whoever He chooses to and do bad as He pleases. This is wrong interpretation.

Remember, this verse is also a quote.

So let's go to the original text of this quote.

"God said to Moses"

Why did God say this to Moses?
What happened before He did?
What were the circumstances surrounding this statement?

The text is in Exodus 33:19.

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Exodus 33:19 NKJV

Here we see God tell Moses the statement quoted by Paul in Romans 9.

God did not just stand in the sky and tell this to Moses, there was a conversation and situation leading to it.

To understand this verse, we take it in the context it was spoken in. In Exodus 32, the people tired of waiting for Moses who had gone up to the mountain to meet the Lord had made gods for themselves

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Exodus 32:1 NIV

God had been really good to these people, bringing them out of Egypt, providing manna, etc. But despite all what God did for and in their midst, they committed idolatry

God was not supposed to show them any mercy. That was His cue to abandon them.

Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
Exodus 33:3 NIV

Here we see the mercy of God at play. Though these people had sinned greatly, God was still willing to keep His promise to Isreal. As the conversation continued, Moses asked that God should still go with them. They couldn't go on their own

God actually agreed that He'd go with them even after all they did.

Then Moses says this:

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Exodus 33:18 NIV

Note that this is what Moses said that brought the reply we are examining

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Exodus 33:19 NIV

Here is what God is saying,  you people have done the most terrible thing ever. You are not one bit deserving of my mercy but I the Lord will be making a display of my goodness before you._
_You will see it and know that this is true of my nature and name. Though you are unworthy, I'm about to let you know that my mercy (my benefits and blessings) are dispensed regardless of what you've done. It has never been based on human merit.

Let's note that Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Nah. Mercy is getting something we are undeserving of. Mercy is nobody's right, it is God's goodness displayed before us all.

Let's equate this in Romans 9.

Remember the Jews were angry and jealous of the Gentiles cos they also had received the gospel and they felt they were undeserving cos the promise was made to them alone.

Paul quoting this scripture is trying to respond to them that God will extend (and has already extended) His mercies towards anybody no matter how undeserving we feel they are. The Jews did not get the mercy of God because they were deserving. So the Gentiles will not be asked to deserve God's mercy to get it

He gives His mercies and compassion as He wills (regardless of what man has done)

Now, let's still go back to Moses' question.

Lord, show me Your Glory

Remember this statement: Christ in me, the Hope of Glory

God's response of Mercy and Grace, He satisfied in Christ. Though the world is undeserving, every single one of us, yet God still reveals His Glory to us, in Christ. His Mercy and Graciousness is Christ given to all men

So whenever we read or quote "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy upon and be gracious to whom I will be gracious too....", have it in mind that this is already satisfied in Christ. It is a case of some very special favor unmerited but it is not about one man as we love to think or unfairness by God, nah. This is God reaching out to man undeserving with Himself.

Again, let's stop quoting this verse to support God loving one person more.

God is not unjust or unfair. He loves everyone uniquely. Not one person more than the other

It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Romans 9:16 NIV

After that quote, Paul concluded with this. We see we are on the same page with him now

For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Romans 9:17‭-‬18 NIV

God raised Pharaoh just to harden his heart? No.

Pharaoh's heart was hard right from the beginning, we could see it in the way he treated the Israelites long before Moses was sent. All of this period, God watched. Pharaoh grew in hardness, wickedness, and power, God watched

God did not interfere in Pharaoh's rise to power. Looking at it sef, if God killed Pharaoh in His sleep another wicked Pharaoh will arise

Also, the Israelites would never have understood what was happening. They'd never have been reminded of the promise and would have preferred to stay in bondage if it happened another way

So God had to come in at such a time when Pharaoh had risen to power and save the way He did.
In so doing, the Israelites were reminded of their identity (who they meant to God) and His promise

He hardens who He wants to harden

Read as he allows the hardness of a man.

God didn't bring a kindhearted Pharaoh and changed his heart.

Pharaoh's heart was wicked, God did not interfere with it. He simply allowed his desires to come to play

One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?  What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?
Romans 9:19‭-‬22 NIV

Here we see Paul quote what might be on the mind of the Jews. If God saves whomever He wants and can add the Gentiles as He pleases, why then have we been saddled with certain responsibilities as the chosen ones.

Paul's response is that the question is disrespectful. God is the Potter, He made us and has power over us.

Though He has chosen to extend mercy to not just the Jews but also the Gentiles, this doesn't mean anyone is exempted from right living. We should not say we can live as we want since God extends His mercy as He wishes

Now here is what I see, the Jews had thought so highly of themselves, like so highly.

So appaz, was a really great shock to see that God can give what He gave them to others.

They believed it was by what they did that they were special in the sight of God

And God burst their bubbles. He reduced all of their works to nothing by offering the gift of salvation which they saw as a reward to the Gentiles

This is seen in the response above

Sebi God didn't choose us based on anything we did or do. All of the laws we've been observing, everything is meaningless. We can as well live as we want

His will will always come to play since it's this way.

It is the same way with what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to let people see his power. But he patiently endured those he was angry with—people who were ready to be destroyed. He waited with patience so that he could make known the riches of his glory to the people he has chosen to receive his mercy. God has already prepared them to share his glory. We are those people, the ones God chose not only from the Jews but also from those who are not Jews.
Romans 9:22‭-‬24 ERV

On the question of God choosing people or some predestined to be saved, so no matter what you do if God did not choose you it is all effortless. Well, this is a lie.

The wrath of God is just and every man deserved it, both the Jews that taught God was sleeping and waking up by their side alone and the Gentiles that were seen as rejected by God. But we see that God waited patiently (still waiting patiently), to make known His glory to the people He has chosen to receive His mercy

Who has He chosen to receive His mercy?

(We explained this with the story of Jacob and Esau in part 1.)

The answer is those who accept His promise. And what is this Promise? Christ

And this is what Paul was trying to explain, that God has chosen both Jews and non-Jews, all men actually, to make known His glory. This is actualized in their belief in Christ. So if the Gentiles believed, then they were as much chosen as the Jews.

So the explanation that people have of the verses are wrong.

God is not mean, unjust or unfair.

If He has already chosen who He wants in His heaven in this manner you stated, then it is probably a waste of time for all of us.

That's not what Paul was saying

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
Romans 9:30‭-‬32 NIV

Isreal believed that they were special and chosen but it is their works that made them special

The Gentiles, on the other hand, understood that they were undeserving of whatever God is giving and rested in the promise by belief in Christ.

Also, note that God told Isreal they were special and chosen (The messiah was to come from amongst them).

But Isreal didn't understand what it truly meant to be chosen. NIV said they stumbled over the stumbling block

Isreal had to stop thinking that they were chosen and are saved regardless or by works.

Like the Gentiles, everyone is chosen/saved through the same route: Belief in Christ

And this is made available to all men by God's mercy and Grace (not one person deserving of it)

ROMANS 9: "JACOB I HAVE LOVED, ESAU HAVE I HATED"

So I will just take time to explain Romans 9 from the very beginning, as a start. We progress from there.

Now, here is the background to Romans 9

The Jewish Christians had an issue with the Gentiles being accepted into God's kingdom. They felt like it was all too easy for these Gentiles. They were jealous of the Gentiles and it was beginning to bring in resentment.

the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs is the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Romans 9:4‭-‬5 NIV

This is the legacy of Isreal, that the Messiah comes from amongst them.

But when the Messiah came, Isreal wasn't receptive of Him but the Gentiles were

This is where the mumbling begins

It is us God gave the Messiah (the one we refused to accept), why are the Gentiles now getting access freely?

Is it that God doesn't keep to His word? The promise was meant for Isreal so if this Messiah is truly the promise, the Gentiles shouldn't be getting it this way.

Here is Paul's response to this:

I don’t mean that God failed to keep his promise to the Jewish people. But only some of the people of Israel are really God’s people.
Romans 9:6 ERV

It looks like the Israelites have missed their Messiah by not accepting Him but does this now mean that God failed in His promises to them? Paul says NO! Last year while we studied this chapter, I read somewhere that Isreal also means those who are ruled by God.

It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
Romans 9:6 NIV

By that definition above, not all who are descendants of Isreal are ruled by God. ERV already broke it down. Not all of the people of Isreal are really God's people (that is ruled by God)

This means that not all of Abraham’s descendants are God’s true children. Abraham’s true children are those who become God’s children because of the promise he made to Abraham.
Romans 9:8 ERV

Anyone who walks in the footstep of Abraham (Faith) is a true child of Abraham and God, for it is by this Faith the promise is received.

Now, the promise made to Abraham was broken down in the next verses (from verse 9), we see how Sara gave birth to a son and how Rebecca also conceived. I believe this is where the questions start (please follow from the start carefully so we take nothing out of context)

(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;)  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Romans 9:11‭-‬12 KJV

The elder shall serve the younger. Why? For the purpose of election, that it wouldn't be by works or by birthright

Remember Paul was trying to clear the entitlement of the Israelites in this chapter which is why he referenced Rebecca. Even Isreal (Jacob), your father wasn't chosen because He was the firstborn (Firstborn sons then had a right of inheritance).

He was also not chosen because he worked or did something to be chosen. He was chosen before he was born. And Paul was very careful to mention that both children had not done good nor bad, so this is to state that God's election wasn't based on what bad anyone of them has done or will do

He did this so His purpose according to election might stand. It is by that purpose according to Election the Israelites became and were to not speak against the Gentiles becoming God's people. It is also by that purpose according to the election (Grace, Mercy), that you and I are called children of God, because none of us are relatives of Abraham.

We've examined God's purpose of election and interpreted with context what Paul was trying to say to the Israelites (you can scroll up and read again).

QUESTION - I'm sorry but I don't know why election is sounding like picking some and excluding some to me

ANSWER - The purpose of election here is not to pick one and exclude another (we will see it that God actually blessed Esau). Rather this purpose of election is to make all worthy

This was like a foreshadowing of what is to come in the future, where men who do not belong to the line of Abraham, who had no right to the inheritance would have access to it. The purpose of election is not that of pick one and drop one, it is that of inclusion

Everyone not worthy by works or birthright brought in by the mercy of God. It is this purpose of election that has us standing as children.

The Jews would never have accepted you and I

By birthright, Jacob was not entitled to the inheritance, neither was he by works.

Paul stated clearly that God chose even while they were without sin and it wasn't based on the future (maybe God looked and saw their sin). The criteria were not works. Now, if Jacob was first born and Esau the younger brother, Esau would have been chosen for this purpose of inclusion in this place too. So it wasn't about persons now but God's plan to include all men in the promise [ANSWER ENDS]

Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:13 NIV

I believe this is where the questions start flowing.

How is God who is so full of love, all good and no evil, how is He hating somebody? An unborn child for that matter? Now, this is where we pause and throw whatever we have deduced from this scripture away totally.

Let's branch to comprehension passages in the English language a bit. You know the question of
"Who said this? To whom was it said? When was it said? Why was it said according to the passage?" We apply it while studying scripture also

First, let's check this statement as written in context with the rest of the passage. We already went through what Paul was trying to say and where He is coming from. To judge this sentence which is a quote (we will address the quote too after) in the context it has been used, we see that what Paul was trying to say to them was this: God's purpose in loving Jacob is that of choosing Him to become the heir of the covenant.

Though Jacob never deserved. And since your father, Isreal never deserved also, why then do you stand against the Gentiles and say they are undeserving?

Do you not know it is God who chooses?

And in the same way He chose you, He has chosen the Gentiles. So this statement is that of acceptance (Jacob have I loved..) But what did Paul mean when he quoted Esau have I hated?

Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:13 NIV

We will come back here.... "Just as it is written.." Where did they write it?

Mal.1.2 - I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say, How and in what way have You loved us? Was not Esau Jacob 's brother? says the Lord, yet I loved Jacob (Israel),

Mal.1.3 - But [in comparison with the degree of love I have for Jacob] I have hated Esau [Edom] and have laid waste his mountains, and his heritage I have given to the jackals of the wilderness.
AMP

“The LORD says to his people, “I have always loved you.” But they reply, “How have you shown your love for us?” The LORD answers, “Esau and Jacob were brothers, but I have loved Jacob and his descendants, and have hated Esau and his descendants. I have devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned the land to jackals.””
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭GNBDC‬‬

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved, But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.”
Malachi 1:2‭-‬3 NKJV

Before I explain the verses here in Malachi, let's note that This is the first mention of Love and hate towards Jacob and Esau. Both men were already dead here, they had lived and their works judged.

This particular statement was not made while they were in the womb.

Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.
Genesis 36:7 NIV

Esau was greatly blessed by God. He had so much possession that the land could not contain

So this is the first time God is mentioning Esau and Jacob using such strong words

We already ruled out that this is how God felt about them before He chose Jacob

This was much later.

And this statement was made loooooooong after both were dead.

Also, note that Esau and Jacob became nations before they died (both greatly blessed by the Lord)

Esau: Edom
Jacob: Isreal

What is the context of Malachi? What made God say that He loved one person and hated the other?

If we study Malachi well, we see that the grumbling from the Jews about the Gentiles concerning the Messiah had somewhat played in earlier times (Malachi). Isreal in the Malachi context is complaining to God that He doesn't love them anymore. According to them, God was not blessing them the way He should. Sebi it is Isreal God chose, why was it looking like they were no longer accepted

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,
Malachi 1:2 NIV

This is God's reply.

Esau was Jacob's brother, yet I have loved Jacob. What is God telling them here? The Jews have always been God's chosen people. He chose them even when they were not deserving.

The problem was not that God stopped loving them. Rather that they had not been faithful to Him

It becomes clearer as we read chapter 1 to 3

Now let's go to Esau (Edom)

Note that we established that Jacob referenced to the Israelites in God's statement was as a nation not individual. So that Same angle for Esau (Edom) Why did God hate Esau (Edom, the nation)?

Though Esau was greatly blessed by God, he and his descendants did not live in faithfulness to God. To see the sin of Esau (Edom), let's go to Obadiah. Sorry, we will be using scripture to explain scripture. This is so we understand everything In context

Obadiah is just 21 verses but please let's all read

It is the answer to what we are looking for. This is where we see what Esau (Edom) did wrong that made God say I have hated Esau

How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
Obadiah 1:6 KJV

All the hidden things about Esau searched out and laid bare in this chapter. We get to see exactly what he did wrong,  the true side to the story

God blessed Esau and made him into a nation, Edom. From having nothing to having all but this inflated Edom's ego

Esau, their father lived a life contrary to God's will and his descendants took it up from there

Like they did worse

God never said he hated or loved Jacob until long after both men had become nations and died.

Isreal, the nation, allowed themselves to be used by God mightily, of course with flaws/disobedience here and there but in all of these, they still had one or 2 men whose hearts were after the Lord. Moses, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, Samuel, Hezekiah, etc came from Isreal. Edom on the other hand, though made great by God, became a godless nation.

They counted God as nothing

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Obadiah 1:3 KJV

They lived in false security. It was a "We don't need God" brag. Obadiah has a long list of sins but the major one was this

For thy violence against thy brother, Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever.
Obadiah 1:10 KJV

The reasons God hated Esau was because this nation Edom was opposed to Isreal and God's promise. Now, remember we didn't translate Love in its literal English meaning but rather based on usage meaning. Hate here means to not give special privilege or protection to Edom/Esau. Remember love for Jacob implies special privilege and inclusion where we do not belong

Hate for Esau is cutting off special privileges (in other words, Mercy). Why? Because Esau stood against the Promise which was God's Mercy foreshadowed

Let's fix all of these in the passage.

Before I move on, let's not forget the captivity of the Israelites at Babylon. Edom was involved

Back to Romans 9 and Malachi 1
(we fix in the passage)

The Israelites accused God that He didn't love them I.e they were not favored.

He says He has loved (favored/Chosen) Jacob but hated Esau

He hated Esau because Esau stood against the Promise of the Lord. This is to say those who stand against the Promise of the Lord are not chosen by God.

This promise of God to Abraham is Christ. Jesus is the blessing of Abraham

Back to Paul and the Jews.

Again, the story is they complained about the Gentiles being accepted into Christ, that they had missed the Messiah. Perhaps the Lord did not love them anymore.

So Paul's response in quoting is that God's word didn't fail. Isreal is not just the nation but those who allow God's rule. For the believer in Christ, allowing God rule is accepting the promise of God, Christ!

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Romans 9:13 KJV

This statement from all the explanation is not that of literal hate

Far from it because God really loved Esau (the man) and blessed him greatly. Rather, it is that of God's chosen people. The ones inside of His promise.

Jacob I have loved:

The ones who have accepted my promise and are in my promise, I have loved them (they are my chosen people)

Esau I have hated:

The ones who stand against my promise are not my chosen people

So if the Jews felt they were chosen and the Gentiles had no place, then they should know it wasn't just about being from the nation Isreal but rather the promise in the nation, Isreal and being in it by Faith.

So this is the explanation for Romans 9: 1-13.

QUESTION - And also can we actually be punished by our father when we do something wrong

ANSWER - Only in the sense of loving discipline. Christ already took all of our punishments. No believer stands condemned [ANSWER ENDS]

QUESTION - Is it not understandable that Esau will hate Jacob & Edom hate Isreal? This guy stole his blessing with the help of their mum?

ANSWER - For this, what exactly did Jacob steal? Note that it is not the blessing(s) of God or the inheritance. God wasn't in support of this also. This was Rebecca and Jacob's doing. She was trying most likely to bring the prophecy to pass.

So Genesis 27

If we read through, we see that Esau was blessed also but Jacob received that of the firstborn. If we move further to life after Jacob ran away when he was coming to beg for forgiveness. Before he even got to Esau, Esau already forgave him. He was already greatly blessed also and he moved on from this hurt

It wasn't this stolen blessing by Jacob that Edom was angry about or fought against, it is that of the Lord; the promise. [ANSWER ENDS]