Romans 9 ~ #11

WARNING: Please don't agree or disagree with this blog until you have personally checked it against the Bible for yourself. The Bible (not this blog) should be your final authority.  Regarding this blog, or any other blogs that I have written, if you find that I am in wrong, in whole or in part, I want to assure you that I welcome further discussion and correction.

For Starters

As mentioned in my previous blogs, when studying the Bible, it is critically important to always study the context of a particular Bible verse or passage. One of the most important areas of Bible study (after praying for understanding)  is to consider the context! This cannot be emphasized enough. We need to look at each verse in the context of the verses that surround it.  We need to consider the context of the book - the meaning - the audience, or who the book was written to, the historical back ground and time it was written in,  and the purpose, why was this book written. Also, we have to consider the context of the whole Bible.  In other words, is the meaning you are interpreting from one passage consistent with the message of the rest of the Bible.  What does the whole Bible say about this subject? All doctrine must be understood and explained by Scripture itself, not by human explanations (or even blogs like this). Scripture must interpret scripture. The Bible should always be the final authority when trying to understand important matters concerning truth and salvation and sometimes requires additional study so that we can gain a proper understanding of what God is trying to say to us. This is especially true when considering difficult Bible passages such as, the "hardening of Pharaohs heart" and "God hating Esau",  which are both found in Romans Chapter 9.

I mention these verses because some people (i.e. Calvinists) use Pharaoh and Esau as proof texts to substantiate the view that God predestines some to heaven and some to hell. They also use it to justify the position that God loves some and hates others, and that Jesus died for some instead of all. I believe this view is in direct opposition to Biblical truths, and that it grossly distorts the Bible's meaning and overall message. At the same time, this view redefines the true character of God that is described in the Bible.

So, for today's blog, I would like to consider these "proof texts" for Calvinism and answer the the difficult questions that follow: How can a loving and merciful God harden Pharaoh's heart without giving him the opportunity to choose good or evil? And, how could a loving and merciful God hate Esau before he was even born? To answer these tough questions, we have to put these verses into context and for these passages use related scripture verses to interpret their proper meaning. Otherwise, it would be very easy to walk away from these difficult passages with an incorrect interpretation. Also, bear in mind, there are other matters to consider before reading these texts, such as God's absolute sovereignty. Remember, God is not bound in the physical world (time) as we humans are, and He has the advantages of His sovereign attributes. Because God is sovereign, He has the benefit of foreknowledge, which means he has the knowledge of an event before it occurs. Knowing Gods attributes, as well as, letting scripture interpret other scripture  is essential for understanding the context of what God is trying to tell us in His  Word.

Hardening Pharaoh's Heart

Romans 9:17-18) For the 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.

Did God predestine Pharaoh to sin and rebel against Him?  Not at all! God, because He is sovereign, foreknew of  Pharaoh's choices before they ever took place and God foreknew that Pharaoh would never honor the true and living God.  So God used Pharaoh to fulfill His purposes as He released Israel from bondage in Egypt. Furthermore, we must not forget that Pharaoh hardened his own heart five times before God finally intervened.

(Exodus 9:16) It is not said that Pharaoh was born for, but was raised to the throne for a particular purpose. That purpose was so God could show His power. It also doesn't say that God raised Pharaoh up to destroy him. His power could have been shown by Pharaoh yielding to God, but unfortunately for Pharaoh, this would not be the case. Pharaoh's conduct made it necessary for God to punish him. Pharaoh's election is not of an individual to destruction, but of a man to be a king for a particular purpose. The destruction came upon Pharaoh because, in that position, he resisted God.

(Exodus 9:15) God shows mercy and compassion according to His own sense of right, not according to any human code. What must not be forgotten in the case of Pharaoh and what appears distinctly, from the whole narrative in Exodus, is that Pharaoh's hardening was at first his own act. Five times it is said that Pharaoh hardened, or made heavy his own heart (Exodus 7:13; 7:22; 8:15; 8:32; 9:7), after giving Pharaoh several chances, God eventually intervenes and hardens Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 9;12) and even after that it is said that Pharaoh hardened himself (Exodus 9:34); thus, Pharaoh closed his own heart to God's appeals which eventually grew harder by his stubborn resistance to God's judgments, until at last God, as a punishment for his obstinate rejection and rebellion, God gave him over to his mad folly. Pharaoh himself once said, “I have sinned; the Lord is righteous” (Exodus 9:27). If Pharaoh did not harden his own heart, the result would have been different.

Jacob & Esau

(Malachi 1:2-3) “I have loved you, says the LORD. But you ask, How have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ the LORD says. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.

(Romans 9:11) "Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:  not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger".(Romans 9:13) Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated". 

As mentioned above, the Prophet Malachi and the Apostle Paul are using the name “Esau" and these verses clearly state that God hated Esau. Again, just as we did with Pharaoh, we will have to interpret scripture with other scripture, while also bearing in mind the context of these verses and the absolute sovereignty and character of God.

Some back-ground first: Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, and later was renamed Edom (his descendants were called Edomites). Jacob, who was immediately born afterward, was later renamed Israel (his descendants were called Israelites). Before either man was born it is mentioned in Genesis 25:19-34 that "Two nations are in thy womb, … one people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder (people) shall serve the younger”.Since God has a purpose in everything He does (Romans 8:28) - we know God does not use His power in an arbitrary manner; thus, there has to be a reason why God would hate Esau and love Jacob, especially given the fact that neither was born and never had the chance to do good or evil. Because of  God's foreknowledge, He knew the choices that both men would make  in their lives before they were ever born (just like He did with Pharaoh) and  based on this fact, God looked ahead with perfect foreknowledge and saw that though Jacob began as a sly, devious person, would grow into a man who feared God. Of him God said, "I loved Jacob."   God also looked ahead through foreknowledge and saw Esau who spurned his birthright – the rights of the firstborn – by selling it to Jacob for a pot of stew Genesis - 25:26-34. Esau’s god, at that moment, was his stomach.  God foreknew Esau would dishonor Him, just as he did not honor his birthright; thus, looking ahead, even before the twins were born, God said "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated".

Also, bear in mind the births of Jacob and Esau fulfilled God's master design for establishing the nations of Israel and Edom. As previously mentioned in Genesis 25:19-34 it clearly states "..two nations are in thy womb… one people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder (people) shall serve the younger...”. The Edomites, descended from Esau and served the Israelites. The election here is the establishment of a nation. Isaac willed to bestow the blessing of the first born son onto Esau; however, Esau decided to sell his birthright instead; thus, God in His sovereignty chose Jacob to become the founder of the chosen people, and received the blessing to be the father of a great nation. 

So, considering the context and the nature of God, we know God's loving Jacob and hating Esau had nothing to do with their election unto salvation, but had everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and rejecting another man and his descendants. Putting Romans 9:13 into context makes it abundantly clear that loving Jacob and hating Esau was entirely related to which of them God chose to lead the nation of Israel. God in His sovereignty foreknew the  lives of both Jacob and Esau, while also knowing the Edomites would rebel against Him and become bitter enemies with the chosen nation of Israel.
(Malachi 1:2-3) God has the right to reject what nation He will, including the Jews, and to choose other nations if He wills it. This is shown by facts from history. God exercises His right of choice and foreknowledge when He chose Jacob as the chosen nation, instead of Esau. The facts are recited to show this. The language of Malachi, shows that that two nations are referred to. Verse 3 says, “I hated Esau and laid waste his mountains and his heritage.” This was not true of Esau as a person, but was true of his descendants. One nation was loved and the other nation was hated; however, there is not the slightest hint of electing some persons to eternal salvation and others to eternal damnation.

(Romans 9:10-13) The children (Jacob and Esau), yet unborn, were both Isaac's twin sons and both equally without works, neither having done good nor evil. Of His own will God chose Jacob, yet unborn, to become the head of His chosen people, rather than Esau. Here again, this election was not to eternal salvation, but to become the head of a people. As Moses, Samuel, and John the Baptist were raised up for a great work of God, so was Jacob.

Conclusion

Contrary to what Calvinism says, God does not arbitrarily save nor damn anyone, or elect/predestine certain people to eternal damnation.  God has set forth criteria in His Word for all to see, study, know, and obey.  Those who obey God's Son as their Lord are the objects of His love, compassion and mercy.  Those who disobey and who reject His Son, will still remain the objects of His love, but they will receive God's justice instead. God is sovereign.  He accomplishes His purposes not only through those whom He foresees will be obedient to His will but also through those whom He foresees will reject Him as was the case with Pharaoh and Esau.