How could I possibly say something so mean, so unfair as that? Well, let me start this off softly, and see how we go from there.
Although all of Romans the 9th chapter is very applicable, let's chew on the section from 9:6 through 9:13....
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
For this [is] the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. And not only [this]; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac;
(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. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Rom. 9:6-13
For this [is] the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. And not only [this]; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac;
(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. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Rom. 9:6-13
I broke this passage up a bit to help us break things down a bit.
The first section shows us a bright shining truth. The summary is, "they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel." Now, this could get confusing if we let it, but we don't need to panic. Paul is telling us that the groupings and labels of this earth don't necessarily apply to things of God's. Just because a person is a Jew doesn't make them a Jew in God's eyes. A lot of people have converted to the Jewish faith, but that means nothing to God. Nothing of man's doing has any bearing on what is real in accordance with God's standards.
So, point one is: What you think you are means nothing when compared to what God says you are.
Second section is a reminder of how God had told Abraham and Sarah that He would provide them a son. But, they decided that God wasn't going fast enough, or maybe God had forgotten or who knows what they were thinking. But, the key is that they tried to take steps that were never given to them to take. Sarah had Rebecca go in to Abraham, and to make with the baby thing *smile*. So, the result was that two sons were born of Abraham's blood.
Now, let's jump over the third section and see what the last part says.
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" is the biggie here. This verse is powerful to the point where many Christians refuse to give it the respect due it. How? Simple. The next time someone starts talking about how God loves everyone, or how God could never hate a person enough to let them go to hell, or other such questionable ideas, ask them why God loved Jacob and yet hated Esau. If a person believes in the free will of man, the God is love doctrine or other false doctrine, this verse is a bear trap. Under those types of doctrines, there is no good answer. However, for those who have had their eyes opened a bit, the reason is in the third section. So, let's jump backwards to the part we skipped and see if this clears up things for us.
Ah, HA! The answer is there. But, if that last little Jacob/Esau thing was Biblical dynamite, this verse is pure Uranium-238! The key ingredient here is....
"....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...."
So, why did God hate one and love the other. Well, it isn't because one was good and the other was not. Like it says, neither has done good or evil. It also says that it had nothing to do with works. It WAS so that God's purpose would stand. And, it WAS due to Him that calleth. So, we see that God made these final choices as He saw fit, completely based on His reasons, so that His purpose "according to election" would stand.
Now, we have it almost figured out. Just one more tidbit to work out, then we can assemble the puzzle.
"According to election." What does that mean? In the Greek, it would be rendered as "by divine selection." The word for election is "ekloge" (εκλογην). It can also mean choice. So, let's tie the threads together.
In this passage we learn that a person is only properly defined by what God wants them to be, irregardless of their heritage, their position, their titles or any other man-based thing.
We see that God's will is always going to be done, no matter how much we try to put our own thumbs into the pie.
Finally, we see that we are called by God to fulfill a place in His will. This placement has nothing to do with us, what we are, who we are...nothing. It is also without any care to what works we may or may not do. We do what God has planned for us to do strictly because us doing what we've been chosen to do presents God's purpose in such a way that He receives all the glory and praise that comes from the actions we take.
Once again, when we look at God's Word, we see that everything is following His will exactly.
Grace and Peace....
The first section shows us a bright shining truth. The summary is, "they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel." Now, this could get confusing if we let it, but we don't need to panic. Paul is telling us that the groupings and labels of this earth don't necessarily apply to things of God's. Just because a person is a Jew doesn't make them a Jew in God's eyes. A lot of people have converted to the Jewish faith, but that means nothing to God. Nothing of man's doing has any bearing on what is real in accordance with God's standards.
So, point one is: What you think you are means nothing when compared to what God says you are.
Second section is a reminder of how God had told Abraham and Sarah that He would provide them a son. But, they decided that God wasn't going fast enough, or maybe God had forgotten or who knows what they were thinking. But, the key is that they tried to take steps that were never given to them to take. Sarah had Rebecca go in to Abraham, and to make with the baby thing *smile*. So, the result was that two sons were born of Abraham's blood.
Now, let's jump over the third section and see what the last part says.
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" is the biggie here. This verse is powerful to the point where many Christians refuse to give it the respect due it. How? Simple. The next time someone starts talking about how God loves everyone, or how God could never hate a person enough to let them go to hell, or other such questionable ideas, ask them why God loved Jacob and yet hated Esau. If a person believes in the free will of man, the God is love doctrine or other false doctrine, this verse is a bear trap. Under those types of doctrines, there is no good answer. However, for those who have had their eyes opened a bit, the reason is in the third section. So, let's jump backwards to the part we skipped and see if this clears up things for us.
Ah, HA! The answer is there. But, if that last little Jacob/Esau thing was Biblical dynamite, this verse is pure Uranium-238! The key ingredient here is....
"....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...."
So, why did God hate one and love the other. Well, it isn't because one was good and the other was not. Like it says, neither has done good or evil. It also says that it had nothing to do with works. It WAS so that God's purpose would stand. And, it WAS due to Him that calleth. So, we see that God made these final choices as He saw fit, completely based on His reasons, so that His purpose "according to election" would stand.
Now, we have it almost figured out. Just one more tidbit to work out, then we can assemble the puzzle.
"According to election." What does that mean? In the Greek, it would be rendered as "by divine selection." The word for election is "ekloge" (εκλογην). It can also mean choice. So, let's tie the threads together.
In this passage we learn that a person is only properly defined by what God wants them to be, irregardless of their heritage, their position, their titles or any other man-based thing.
We see that God's will is always going to be done, no matter how much we try to put our own thumbs into the pie.
Finally, we see that we are called by God to fulfill a place in His will. This placement has nothing to do with us, what we are, who we are...nothing. It is also without any care to what works we may or may not do. We do what God has planned for us to do strictly because us doing what we've been chosen to do presents God's purpose in such a way that He receives all the glory and praise that comes from the actions we take.
Once again, when we look at God's Word, we see that everything is following His will exactly.
Grace and Peace....
