14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 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." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. ~ Romans 9:14-18
Today, we continue our study of Romans 9 wherein the Apostle Paul chronicles Israel’s past relationship with the God of the Bible. In context, the Apostle is expounding more deeply upon the doctrine of election and why it is so important. Due to the fact man utterly rejected God and His culture, we were totally walled off from God. This is what the Bible refers to as spiritual death. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we were born dead to God due to our spiritual death in Adam.
In v.14-15 of today’s passage we read, "14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
God is by nature, love, but man was separated from God by our sin. This meant we could not access God’s love. It was our sinful condition that had caused God’s presence to be hidden from us so that we could not be in His presence. Our sin gave the devil domain over our existence. One day, the Pharisees came to the Lord Jesus and said, “Our Father is God.” To which the Lord Jesus responded, “If God were your Father you would love me. For I came from God. You do not understand my speech because you're not able to listen to my word? You are of your father, the devil.”
After this the Lord Jesus informed the “religious leaders” that there is only one way to become a child of God, and that is by receiving God's Son as Savior. The Lord Jesus is the only way into God’s family. In John 1:12-13 we read, “As many as received him to them he gave the power, the right, the authority the privilege to be called sons of God to those who believe in his name.”
In v.15, the Apostle Paul quotes Exodus 33:19 which records the words God spoke to Moses who had been on the mountain with God for forty days and nights. While Moses was up on the mountain, the children of Israel were down at the foot of the mountain worshipping a golden calf. In fact, they danced around the golden calf, stripping off their clothes until they were naked. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Law in his hands, he was furious. As a result he broke the Law into pieces and went up to the top of the mountain again where he discovered that God, too, was angry. Moses began to intercede, and God pointed out that even Moses could not intercede for the people. It was in that context that God said to Moses, “I will bless whom I will bless, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I want to show compassion.” It is very important to note that God's election operated with a backdrop of utter failure on the behalf of Israel.
In v.16-17 of today’s passage we read, "16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 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."
While Moses and the story of Israel at Mt. Sinai are used to show how God shows mercy upon whom He will, Pharaoh is used to show that God hardens whom He will. In fact, the scriptures tell us that God raised Pharaoh up for this very purpose. It doesn’t mean that He caused him to be born in order that he might be lost but He put him on the throne in order that Pharaoh’s stubbornness would be the backdrop by which God’s power and grace would be on display. Over ten times in the Old Testament it says, "Pharaoh hardened his own heart" long before God hardened his heart. Pharaoh was lost because God did not choose to show mercy on him, and Pharaoh chose not to believe. Moses and Pharaoh were equally guilty before God.
In James 4:6 we read, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." The problem with humility is that brokenness precedes it. And people like Pharaoh and Esau didn't want to be humbled.
In v.18 of today’s passage we read, “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”
God’s mercy and compassion are not rights that anyone deserves, these are favors graciously bestowed upon the willing by God. This is why God can show mercy to whom ever He pleases. God did not create hell for any human being, but He lets rebellious man go there if he chooses to. Anyone who wants nothing to do with God on this earth and pushes God away, He will allow that. It would be cruel if someone wanted nothing to do with God, and God made them come into heaven. God makes a sovereign, independent choice to show mercy, to be compassionate, on whom He wills. God's not willing, the Bible says, that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The question is: Will you believe?
