I. PAUL'S CONCERN FOR HIS BRETHREN OF ISRAEL (1-5)
A. Paul Has Sincere Concern and Sorrow for His Brethren in
the Flesh. (1-3)
Paul emphasizes the truth of his commitment to his fleshly brethren
by invoking both the name of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Whether
this is an oath in the Biblical sense is open to speculation.
His feelings for his fleshly brethren is obvious through the use
of the words sorrow and pain. Paul would be willing to do almost
anything to save the Jews, even though most of his persecutions
had been at their hands, in and out of the church.
B. He Mentions Them By Name: the Israelites, Through Whom God
Gave the Promises and the Covenants. (4,5)
The "glory" here probably includes all manifestations
of God's care for them. Since Abraham, God had made covenants
or laws with no other people. The laws God gave Israel were tailored
to their needs. However, the greatest glory of Israel was the
distinction of being the lineage of Christ. Note that Paul emphasizes
that now Christ is over all.
II. THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE. (6-13)
A. The True Children of God are the Children of Promise, Not
the Children of the Flesh.(6-8)
Because fleshly Israel rejected Christ did not mean that the word
of God did not come to pass through Christ. Spiritual Israel would
have the promise fulfilled in them. Blood descent from Abraham
is not an automatic entitlement to the promise. Abraham had other
physical descendants beside Isaac, but his spiritual descendants
were chosen to come only through Isaac. Isaac was the only child
of promise, as Christians are now children of promise.
B. This is Seen Through the Example of Abraham's Descendants. (9-13)
1. Isaac vs. Ishmael: Gen. 18:10 shows us that physical descendency has never guaranteed that a person would be selected by God.
2. Jacob vs. Esau: Isaac had the twins by Rebecca. Argument might be made in point 1 that Sarah was Abraham's real wife, so surely the promise would come through Isaac. No such argument can be made here. Esau, as the first born was the natural heir of promise, but even before they were born God had selected Jacob. God has always selected His own means of working out His plans. See Gen. 25:23, Mal. 1:2f. In reality the selection of Jacob was a selection of his descendants as opposed to Esau's. Even in the statement "the older shall serve the younger" applied to the descendants, because as individuals Jacob came nearer serving Esau. As time passed the descendants of Esau did serve the descendants of Jacob. 1 Chr. 18:12,13.
III. GOD'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE HIS OBJECTS OF MERCY (14-33)
A. God's Privilege to Choose How He Shall Show Mercy. (14-21)
1. God will show mercy to whomsoever He will. God made righteous selections. He selected Isaac and Jacob because they were the best instruments to work out His plans. Israel should not be surprised to be rejected when they were unbelieving. Mercy is always God's choice (Ex. 33:12f, Pro. 28:13). Isa. 55:7 also shows why God would show mercy on Jew and Gentile alike, if either returned to Him. God has always followed the counsel of His own will, not man's. The promised seed turns out to be Christ, not the Jewish nation. Since God has opened the way of salvation through Jesus, the deciding factor in man's salvation is his own will.
2. The example of Pharaoh: God also has the right to endure and ultimately reject whom He desires. Exodus 9-16 describes the contest between God and Pharaoh. Pharaoh was God's chosen foe, because his defeat would send a message to the whole world concerning the power of Jehovah. God hardened Pharaohs heart by challenging him. God knew that Pharaoh would be against releasing the Israelites and his antagonism would grow with every plague.
3. God's right to chose in either case is the right of the potter to do what he wants with the clay. The created has no claim against the Creator. As far as justice is concerned man deserves nothing and of his own merits lay claim to nothing. The essentials of God's dealings with us are His will and mercy. Justice from God is only based on the covenant He has made with us. If God originally had mercy on Israel, why is He finding fault now? How can God find fault with people whose hearts He hardened? Paul uses verse 20 to rebuke those who raise such questions. Pharaoh made his own bad character. Having done so, God then chose him as His object of wrath to display His power. Man has control over what kind of vessel God will make of him (2 Tim. 2:20,21). The same is true of nations (Jer. 18:1-12). See also Isa. 45:9. God does not use His power to make man good or evil (1 Tim. 2:4). Moses and Pharaoh were chosen because of their individual faith or in Pharaoh's case lack of faith.
B. What God Has Chosen as the Objects of His Mercy. (22-33)
1. Some from among the Jews and Gentiles. From 2 Pet. 3:9 we know God wants everyone to be saved, therefore He is long suffering giving all sinners a chance to repent (Rom. 2:4-6; 2 Pet. 3:14-16). Vessels of wrath are fitted for destruction because they made themselves that way. The Jews had set themselves on the path of destruction long ago. Their journey culminated in the murder of Jesus. God was long suffering with the Jews until the time when the gospel could be taken outside the confines of Judea and planted among the Gentiles. Then and only then could God destroy the kingdom of Israel and Jerusalem itself without harming the church. Paul's preaching concerning the equality of the Jews and the Gentiles in God's eyes upset the Jews greatly. Even within the church, Judaizing teachers demanded the Gentile believers to submit to circumcision as a requirement for salvation.
2. Hosea foretold of the Gentiles. Paul uses the prophet Hosea to show that even though the Gentiles were not His chosen nation there were faithful among them that were loved by Him because of their faith. These prophecies concerning the gentiles were being fulfilled by the gospel of Christ.
3. Isaiah foretold of the remnant Jews. Only a small portion of the Jews would be saved. (See Isa. 10:22,23.) Yet it was hard for the Jew to see himself as a sinner. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because a few righteous people could not be found. During the captivity some Jews remained faithful, and through this remnant came the promised seed.
4. Gentiles chosen because of their faith. Righteousness is imputed to a man who is forgiven. Forgiveness is attained through an obedient faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When a Gentile obeys the gospel He becomes righteous (see Rom. 6:17,18).
5. Israel rejected Christ (except for the remnant) because they stumbled over the Stumbling Stone (Christ). Israel said they followed the Law of Moses, but they did not keep the Law. They transgressed the Law they professed to follow. The only hope anyone, Jew or Gentile, had of attaining righteousness was through faith in Christ. Because He was not what they expected, He was rejected by the Jews. Thus Paul portrays Christ as the "stone of stumbling" (1 Cor. 1:23). Jesus will not fail anyone who trusts Him (Mt. 11:6).