ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Romans 9

Rom. 9:1–11:36 God’s Righteousness to Israel and to the Gentiles. Paul has made it clear that God’s saving promises have been fulfilled for the Gentiles. He now asks whether the promises God made to ethnic Israel will be fulfilled. If his promises to the Jews remain unfulfilled, how can Gentile Christians be sure that he will fulfill for them all the great promises in ch. 8? Paul answers that God is faithful to his saving promises to Israel (9:6) and that he will ultimately save his people (11:26).

Rom. 9:1–29 God’s saving promises to Israel are irrevocable since they are based upon his word of promise and his electing grace.

Rom. 9:1–3 Paul suffers great anguish because his Jewish kinsmen are unsaved (see also 10:1). Indeed, if it were possible, Paul might almost choose to be accursed (to suffer punishment in hell) so that his fellow Jews would be saved (see Moses in Ex. 32:30–32).

Rom. 9:4 Israel had great privileges. The Israelites became God’s adopted people when God saved them from Egypt. Glory here probably refers to the glory of God in the tabernacle and temple. Israel received the covenants in which the Lord promised to save them. God gave his people his law at Mount Sinai. He directed their worship in the Mosaic law, and he gave them his saving promises.

Rom. 9:5 The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) come from Israel. Most important, Jesus the Christ is a man from the Jewish people. He is also fully God, and to be praised as such.

Rom. 9:6–7 Though many Jews have failed to believe, God’s promise to them has not failed. It was never true that all of the physical children of Abraham were part of the people of God. Genesis 21:12 teaches that the line of promise is traced through Isaac, not Ishmael.

Rom. 9:9–10 The promise (Gen. 18:10, 14) was not given to Hagar (Genesis 16), but specifically to Sarah and her offspring. The birth of Esau and Jacob is further evidence that God did not promise that every person of Jewish descent would be saved. They had the same parents, yet God chose Jacob and not Esau.

Rom. 9:11–13 God did not choose Jacob on the basis of anything in Jacob or Esau’s life. He did so to fulfill his purpose of election. For the OT background to “election,” see Gen. 18:10; Ex. 33:19; Mal. 1:2–3. See also Eph. 1:3–6.

Rom. 9:14–16 God is just in choosing one over the other because no one deserves to be saved (see 3:23). The salvation of anyone at all is due to God’s mercy alone, as the words taken from Ex. 33:19 affirm.

Rom. 9:17 Paul quotes Ex. 9:16 to show that God is sovereign over evil as well as good. Even the wrath of man praises God (Ps. 76:10). For example, God installed Pharaoh as ruler and hardened his heart so that God’s own saving power and glorious name would be spread throughout the whole world.

Rom. 9:19 who can resist his will? If salvation ultimately depends upon God, and he either has mercy on or hardens whomever he pleases, then how can he charge anyone with guilt?

Rom. 9:20–21 Paul does not resolve the problem presented in v. 19 on the basis of human free will. Rather, he insists that human beings should not rebelliously question God’s ways. Like a potter (see Jer. 18:1–6), God has the right to do what he wishes with his creation. The honorable and dishonorable vessels represent those who are saved and those who are not saved. Paul affirms that humans are guilty for their sin, but he offers no explanation as to how this fits with divine sovereignty. He insists that God controls all that happens (see Eph. 1:11). God does not sin, and he is not morally responsible for sin.

Rom. 9:22–23 The salvation of any person is due to the marvelous grace and love of God.

Rom. 9:25–26 Paul quotes Hos. 2:23 and 1:10 to illustrate God’s amazing grace. Those who are not my people . . . will be called “sons of the living God.” In calling the Gentiles to salvation, God calls sinful people to himself. He did the same with Israel.

Rom. 9:27–29 Isaiah 10:22–23 notes that only some of Israel would be saved. Most of Israel was judged. Only a remnant experienced salvation. Indeed, as Isa. 1:9 says, Israel deserved to be wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah, but God had mercy and spared some.

Rom. 9:30–11:10 God’s sovereignty is compatible with human responsibility. Israel should have believed the gospel and trusted in Christ, but the majority refused to do so. Still, God’s saving promises will be fulfilled.

Rom. 9:32 Following the law to try to establish righteousness led Israel to stumble over the stone (Christ). If obeying the law can save them, they see no need to believe in Christ.

Rom. 9:33 stumbling. See Isa. 28:16. Those who trust in Christ will not experience shame on the day of judgment.