Author: Will

Romans 9:19 – No Fault Sovereignty

Posted on by Will

You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?"

Truth to Learn

It is completely fair for God to do as He decides.

 

Behind the Words

The Greek verb translated “find fault”  is memphomai, meaning “to find fault, to blame, or to censure.”

“Resisted” is translated from anthistēmi. This is a compound word made up of anti, meaning “against” and histēmi, meaning “to stand.” So, quite literally, this word means “to stand against.” Understand, however, that the emphasis of this word is on the result rather than the process. In its usage here, Paul is not saying, “who has put up a fight against God’s will” but “who has prevailed against His will.”

“Will” is from boulēma. This is the noun form of boulomai, which we compared with thelō back in verse sixteen. It refers to “intention or purpose.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has been very methodically and meticulously describing God’s sovereignty in choosing some and not choosing others. Every Jew knows that God chose Abraham and called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. From there Paul showed that Isaac was the chosen son of promise rather than Ishmael, the first born of his flesh. He then gives the example of Jacob and Esau. Even though Esau was the first born, God said “Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated.” And He did so without taking into account anything either of them did in their lives.

His next example is Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a hardened heart toward God and His chosen people as a result of his sin nature (which we all have). But God hardened Pharaoh’s heart even further so that He (God) might receive praise and glory. Thus Paul declares

He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

From our human perspective we look at this and say, “That’s not fair!” This is the first objection most people have to God’s sovereignty. Paul now gets to the other objection. If God is in total control and no one can resist His will in election, then why does he condemn sinners? Why doesn’t He just forgive everyone their sins and not send anyone to Hell for being a sinner?

Actually, this is just another way of saying, “That’s not fair! God shouldn’t choose some to go to Heaven and allow others to go to Hell.” Paul will address this in his response in the next verse. So as not to take all the wind out of his sails, let me simply state that the problem with this objection is that it assumes that we know better than God. But, how can we who are finite beings with a sin nature ever suppose that we know better than an infinite, loving, holy, righteous God.

 

Application

We have no right to criticize God for the way He chooses to run His creation. Instead of complaining and fighting His will for us, we need to better understand Him and His will for us. As we do, we will fall on our knees asking for forgiveness for even questioning His will and His sovereignty.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:18 – God and God Alone

Posted on by Will

So, then, He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

Truth to Learn

God makes the decisions regarding whom He shows mercy to.

 

Behind the Words

The word “mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in verse fifteen. It refers to God’s action of showing mercy, not just His feeling of compassion.

“Determines” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which we looked at in verse sixteen. It refers to God’s determined will and so we translated it as “determine.”

The Greek verb translated “hardens” is sklērunō, which is based on the noun sklēros, meaning “hard.” In reference to a person, it carries the idea of being “stubborn, unyielding, or unmoved by persuasion.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now makes his second summary statement regarding God’s sovereignty and his purpose in election. He has just shown that it was God who controlled the heart of Pharaoh after he had hardened his own heart against the Israelites and their God. And, Paul has shown in the previous verses that God chooses whom He will love and whom He will hate. Paul has quoted the Old Testament where God said,

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Exodus 33:19b)

Paul then used Pharaoh as his example of this declaration. He now restates it as a summary statement of fact:

Therefore He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

If you read the previous verse explanation and all the verses quoted, you will see that it was Pharaoh who initially hardened his own heart out of his own sinful and prideful nature. But eventually, God took over and caused him to harden his heart even more. There are two principles to understand here. The first is that we are all sinful, and left to our own devices we will commit sinful acts against God. The second is that God is overall sovereign and will, at His own choosing, either pardon that sinfulness and declare us righteous through the blood of Christ, or He will allow our sinfulness to send us to everlasting punishment in Hell, which is what we all deserve.

“But what about man’s free will?” you may ask. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that unregenerate man has a free will. That is a concept of theologians and others who don’t think it is fair for God to make all the decisions regarding our eternal future. The only free will that is spoken of in the New Testament is the free will that born-again Christians have regarding how they behave after salvation. As children of God, Christians can choose to obey God or to obey their sin nature.

 

Application

God is ruling all of creation, including you and me. If you are a born-again Christian, do you choose to submit to Him, or do you want to be in control?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:17 – A Hardened Heart

Posted on by Will

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Truth to Learn

God chooses to do what He does to bring glory to Himself.

 

Behind the Words

“Says” is from the Greek verb legō, which means “to lay forth, declare, or proclaim.” It is expressed here in the present tense not the past tense (the Scripture said to the Pharaoh …), thus underscoring the eternal nature of God’s word.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has demonstrated that it is God who directs the destiny of mankind. All of us deserve eternity in Hell because we are sinners; we are not righteous. God on the other hand cannot sin and cannot allow sinfulness to be in his presence. Therefore, the only way for God to have any fellowship with mankind is to choose to declare some of us righteous even though we don’t deserve it and can’t do anything to earn it.

But God’s sovereignty goes even further than choosing whom He will show His mercy to, whom He loves, and whom He hates. In order to demonstrate his sovereignty and power, God allows some to fully demonstrate their sinfulness.

God instructed Moses to go into Pharaoh’s presence and demand that he allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God. However, Pharaoh wouldn’t allow them to go. Moses then told Pharaoh that God would visit various plagues upon Egypt. But he still would not let the Israelites go because his heart was hard. In chapters seven through fourteen, we repeatedly see the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart:

Exodus 7:14 Pharaoh's heart is hard.

Exodus 7:22 Pharaoh's heart grew hard.

Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw … he hardened his heart.

Exodus 8:32 Pharaoh hardened his heart.

Exodus 9:12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

Exodus 9:34 And when Pharaoh saw … he hardened his heart.

Exodus 10:1 the LORD said … I have hardened his heart.

Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Exodus 10:27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Exodus 11:10 and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Exodus 14:8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

We can see from these verses that God did not make Pharaoh evil; that was Pharaoh’s own doing (his sin nature). God simply chose not to change Pharaoh’s heart; instead, He hardened it further. It was not out of spite or malice on God’s part, it was done so that He would be glorified. That’s what Paul is referring to in the current verse when he says,

For this very purpose I raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Compare this to Isaiah 65:1 where God says,

I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' To a nation that did not call on My name.

 

Application

God can harden the heart of whomever He wants. But He can also open the spiritual eyes of a lost sinner, allowing him or her to see and believe that Christ died on the cross to pay for his or her sins. And He gets all the glory!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:16 – All His Doing

Posted on by Will

So then it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of God who shows mercy.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all the praise and glory for our salvation.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “willing” is a form of the Greek word thelō, which we have looked at before. It refers to a person’s will. But there is another Greek word which also refers to a person’s will. That word is boulomai. Thelō refers to a person’s determined will, whereas boulomai refers to a person’s desirous will. It is like a child being sent into a candy store with a limited amount of money. His (or her) desirous will is to have everything in the store. But the child determines (decides) to purchase what can be acquired with the money he or she has; this is the child’s determined will. The current verse uses thelō indicating that it is not the one deciding (determined will).

The word translated “running” is the Greek word trechō, which means “to run” or “to walk hastily.” By implication it means “to run a course in an effort to achieve an objective.”

“Shows mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in yesterday’s verse. It refers to the act of showing mercy.

 

Meaning Explained

In the preceding few verses Paul talked about God’s loving some people and hating others, about God having mercy on some and not on others. He has made the point that God does so in complete righteousness because He is a holy and a righteous God who can do no evil. Paul now makes his first summary of these points. He says that the choosing is not about the one willing, nor the one running, but of God, the one showing mercy. It’s not about the person who determines or decides to get saved. Neither is it about the one who works hard to keep all the rules. It’s all about God determining who He will show mercy to.

In other words Paul is saying that salvation is not based on someone choosing to be saved nor is it about someone keeping all the rules or completing a course of action to earn righteousness. You see, both of these imply that a person deserves salvation because they did something to earn it. Instead, according to Paul, it is based on God showing mercy on someone who does not deserve it.

Here’s what Albert Barnes said about this:

Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him. He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases. All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts. The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.

But Paul does not stop here. In the next verse he will use Pharaoh as an example of someone whose heart God hardened so that He could demonstrate His power.

 

Application

What we need to see in these verses is that God chooses some and not others so that He alone will get the glory. If salvation is in any way our doing, then we can take some credit for it. If we did something to obtain it, then we should get at least part of the credit. But God says that He wants to get all the credit. He wants all the glory and all the praise. Let’s give it all to Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:15 – Sovereign Over All

Posted on by Will

For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

Truth to Learn

God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all.

 

Behind the Words

“I will have mercy” is translated from the verb eleeō, which means “to have compassion or mercy on a person in wretched circumstances.” The emphasis of this verb is on the intent to take action. It refers to the showing of mercy rather than the feeling of compassion.

The Greek verb translated “I will have compassion” is oikteirō. This verb also refers to having compassion or mercy, but the emphasis is on the tender feeling of compassion rather than the intent to take action.

 

Meaning Explained

By way of further explanation of his current rhetorical question (Is there unrighteousness with God?), Paul is going to show a few examples of God’s sovereignty over mankind demonstrated through His actions. The first example involves the Israelites and Moses.

Allow me to set the background for today’s quotation from the book of Exodus. God has led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and up to Mount Sinai. There, Moses was called by God to come up the mountain where he remained for forty days to receive the Law.

While Moses was up on the mountain, however, the Israelites got impatient with him and his God. They demanded that Aaron, Moses’ brother, create a golden calf for them to worship. On coming down from the mountain, Moses saw the golden calf and the people celebrating and worshipping their false god. He became so angry that he broke the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments.

After this, Moses went before God and confessed the sins of the Israelites asking that they be forgiven. As he met with God in the tabernacle in the wilderness, a pillar of smoke appeared before the door of the tabernacle. Moses was speaking to God face to face but could not see him because of the smoke. God proclaimed that Moses had found favor in His sight (Moses was chosen) so he pleaded

Please, show me Your glory. (Exodus 33:18)

This is the point at which God proclaimed that it was His choice alone to show mercy to whomever He chose, and that He would feel compassion on whomever He chose.

The Jewish Christians in Rome would have recognized this quotation of the Old Testament as a proclamation of God’s righteousness and His sovereignty over all of mankind, to do as He pleases without violating anyone’s righteousness. He was refusing to show mercy to all the Jews but was expressing his feeling of compassion toward Moses by His own choice and thus allowed Moses to behold some of His glory.

 

Application

Before we put God in a box and expect Him to do whatever we ask (or tell) Him to do, let’s recognize that God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:14 – The Righteous Choice

Posted on by Will

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Absolutely not!

Truth to Learn

God’s choosing of some to be saved is totally right.

 

Behind the Words

Paul asks the question, “Is there unrighteousness with God?” However, the Greek text says “Is there not unrighteousness with God?” In Greek, the double negative is not as it is in English where they cancel each other out. A double negative in Greek is a statement of emphasis of the negative. So this verse could be read, “Is there any unrighteous at all in God?”

“Absolutely not!” is translated from mē genoito. A literal translation of this would be, “May it not be!” In our vernacular we might say, “No way!”

 

Meaning Explained

Now that Paul has very clearly stated the case for God’s choosing (election) of those whom He wishes, he asks another of his rhetorical questions. He is doing this in anticipation of the expected objection to election, namely that it isn’t fair. To say that it isn’t fair is to say that it is not right, that it is unrighteous. Is there any unrighteous at all in God?

We tend to think from the human perspective that some deserve God’s divine grace and others don’t. That is, we think that those of us who “accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” deserve God’s grace and, therefore, are chosen. But that’s not how it is from God’s perspective. From His perspective none of us deserve His grace. Here’s what Paul said in chapter three:

 

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12)

In other words, none of us deserve God’s grace. We all deserve eternity in Hell! We are unrighteous but God is righteous. That’s why Paul proclaims once again regarding God being unrighteous, “May it not be!”

You may recall Abraham’s conversation with God when God told him that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy the righteous people along with the wicked people. Here’s what Abraham said.

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)

Abraham recognized that God always does what is right; therefore, he pleaded for the righteous inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (even though we know in reality that there is none righteous). The bottom line is; we are totally unrighteous and God is totally righteous.

 

Application

None of us deserves God’s grace and God is not obliged in any way to show mercy to any of us. We are not chosen because we have accepted Christ as Savior; we accept Christ as Savior because we are chosen. That is why all of us who are born again Christians should proclaim

Thank you, God, for choosing me!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:13 – Love and Hate

Posted on by Will

As it is written, "I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau."

Truth to Learn

God chooses whom He loves and whom He hates.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “loved” is from the verb agapaō, which refers to a self-sacrificing love.

“Hated” is from the Greek verb miseō, which refers to “an active hatred that is made evident in words and actions.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now quotes another Old Testament passage for his Roman Jewish Christian readers to consider. It is quoted from Malachi 1:2, 3

"I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the LORD.

"Yet Jacob I have loved;  But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness."

Now, I can just hear some of you saying, “But that’s not fair! God is love, according to I John 4:8, 13, so how can He hate anyone?” Perhaps from our human perspective it does not appear fair, but we know that God is righteous, that is, He always does what is right. Therefore, if He says that he loved Jacob and hated Esau then we have to accept that it is righteous love and righteous hatred.

Let’s look at a couple of things the Bible says about God:

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, Jehovah your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:1,2)

God is a Holy God, that is, He is set-apart from all sin and sinfulness. He is pure and without sin! He always does that which brings glory to Himself. He is holy!

because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah, ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without evil; just and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:3,4)

According to this verse, all of God’s ways are just; they satisfy perfect justice and they are absolutely right. He is without evil; He is just and upright.

God does not always tell us why He does things, but if we believe that He is a holy and just God and if He is without evil as these verses proclaim, then God’s choosing is without sin and it is right and just. He cannot do otherwise.

So … even though we don’t understand how or why He chooses some to righteousness and not others, we have to believe that His choosing is right, and just, and holy!

 

Application

Paul is very clear in his teaching that God had a love for Jacob that He did not have for Esau. And, he already made it clear that this distinction was made independent of the actions of either of them. God’s choice is always right and without sin. Who are we to argue with Him?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:12 – God’s Choice, God’s Reason

Posted on by Will

it was said to her, "The greater shall serve the lesser."

Truth to Learn

God’s choice is not dictated by human characteristics.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “older” is meidzōn, which is the comparative form of megas, meaning “great” or “large.” Meidzōn appears in forty-four different passages in the New Testament and in none of them does it carry the meaning “older.” It means “greater in stature, power, quality, or importance.”

“Younger” is from the Greek word elassōn, which is the comparative of mikros, meaning “inferior in worth, quality, size, or age.”

The word “serve” is translated from the verb form of doulos, indicating one who is a slave to another.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now continues with his example of election. His reference here is to a passage in Genesis 25:21-23:

Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is right, why am I like this?" And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her: "two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger."

In today’s verse, as well as the Old Testament passage that is quoted, the language that is used indicates that the greater of the two (Esau) will be a slave to the lesser (Jacob). Age does not appear to be the distinguishing characteristic as much as power and importance (from a human perspective).

While they were still inside Rebekah, God declared that Esau would serve Jacob. This reference is not specifically to the persons of Esau and Jacob, but to their descendants, for Esau never was a slave to Jacob; rather, it is a reference to their posterity. While the descendants of Esau (the Edomites) were a larger and stronger people than the descendants of Jacob (the Israelites), they were defeated and finally subjugated by Israel.

If we read the Old Testament accounts in Genesis 25, 27, 29, and 30, we see that Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright and out of his parental blessing from their father Isaac. We also see that Jacob conspired against his father-in-law Laban to gain the stronger and better of Laban’s sheep. Jacob was constantly scheming to get the better of others. But all along, his success was not because of his cleverness; rather, it was because God chose to bless him. And it clearly was not because Jacob deserved God’s blessing; it was strictly because God chose to bless Him.

 

Application

The really incomprehensible part of God’s election is His reason for choosing some unto blessing and not others. It is reasonable to believe that God has some basis for his choosing, but we are never told what it is. What we do know about this election is that it is based on God’s choice, not ours. That’s Paul’s point throughout this entire passage in the book of Romans.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:11 – God Says Election

Posted on by Will

(for they not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),

Truth to Learn

The important thing is God’s choice, not our works.

 

Behind the Words

“Not yet” is from the Greek word mēpō. It is made up of mē, the qualified negative and pō, which means “even” or “yet.” It specifically refers to action that has not yet happened.

The word translated “election” is eklogē. This word is made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and a form of legō, meaning “to choose or select.” Thus we see that eklogē means “to choose out” or “to select from.” The Complete Word Study Dictionary defines eklogē this way:

Election, the benevolent purpose of God by which any are chosen unto salvation so that they [the chosen ones] are led to embrace and persevere in Christ's bestowed grace and the enjoyment of its privileges and blessings here and hereafter.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has been talking about who the real “children of God” are, that is, who the ones are that are chosen for righteousness. This choosing is based on God’s decision and actions, not on ours. In the previous few verses Paul talked about Isaac being the son of the promise, not Ishmael. Even though Ishmael was the first son born to Abraham, he was not the one to receive God’s blessing because he was not the son of promise.

Paul is now talking about Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac. In this and the following verses Paul will make it clear that God chose Jacob and not Esau (Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated). But, so that the argument can’t be made that the choice was due to Jacob’s obedience and Esau’s disobedience (which certainly is not the case since Jacob was clearly the more deceptive of the two), Paul declares here that the choice was made before either of them was born. Not only does Paul point out that God’s choice occurred before they were born, but he makes a special point of the fact that neither one of them had done any good or evil. The major point in this verse is that God’s choosing of Jacob over Esau was according to God’s election, and it was not based on obedience or any other thing that either of them did.

Paul says that it was God’s purpose to choose Jacob, not based on his works. There are Christians who believe that God “foreknew” who would accept Christ as Lord and Savior and, based on this, chose them to be saved. (See our study on Romans 8:29 to understand the problem with this false thinking.) But, according to Paul in this verse, this cannot be the case because it says that the purpose of God in His election is not based on a person’s works but on God’s calling. He says that it was God’s choice not Jacob’s actions that resulted in his being chosen.

That’s God’s sovereign election! He chooses us. We do not choose Him. As hard as this is to accept by many of us, it is exactly what the Bible teaches!

 

Application

Believe what you may about man’s free will versus God’s election, Paul very clearly teaches it is God’s choice that matters. Since the book of Romans is part of God’s inspired word, it is God’s teaching. As for me, regarding election:

God said it. I believe it. That settles it!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:10 – Sovereign Above All

Posted on by Will

And not only so, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, Isaac our father

Truth to Learn

God is absolutely sovereign. His choices are His alone.

 

Behind the Words

The expression “by one man” is translated from ek enos koitēn. Ek means “out of,” and enos is the number “one.” The word koitēn is derived from the verb keimai, meaning “to lie down.” Koitēn refers to “a bed” and metaphorically refers to “the marriage bed.” By extension, it refers to “the man or his seed responsible for conception of a child.”

“Conceived” is translated from the Greek word echō, meaning “to have or to hold,” implying possession. Hence, a literal translation of the phrase “Rebecca also had conceived by one man” would be, “Rebecca also took possession from one bed.” However, in English this does carry the meaning intended. This is an example where a literal word-for-word translation is less appropriate than a paraphrase which carries a more accurate expression of the idea in English.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us that Isaac was the son of the promise whereas Ishmael was not. Ishmael, the first born of Abraham, should have received the blessing and should have been the heir of Abram’s lineage, but he was not because God does not honor the fleshly lineage but the spiritual lineage, which only He can determine. God chose Isaac; He did not choose Ishmael.

It could be argued, however, that Ishmael was not the son of Abram’s wife but of her maid servant. Since he wasn’t the first son by Abraham’s wife, God choose to reject him. That is, his rejection was based on lineage after all. It could also be argued that perhaps God chose Isaac because Ishmael displayed jealousy and mocked Isaac when he was circumcised. We read about this in Genesis chapter twenty-one:

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:8, 9)

So we see that some could argue that God saw what kind of a person Ishmael was going to be and therefore did not choose him.

To counter these two potential arguments, Paul now highlights another situation among the patriarchs in which not only did God choose contrary to natural lineage, but He chose while the two were still unborn and had not demonstrated their character yet. This example will be of Jacob and Esau who were twins. Esau was the firstborn and, therefore, the rightful inheritor of the line of Isaac, but, as we will see in the next two verses, God chose Jacob.

 

Application

God is sovereign and He answers to no one; that is, He has supreme power and authority. He doesn’t have to answer to us and He doesn’t have to play by our rules because He makes all the rules Himself. He always does that which is right and which will bring praise and glory to Himself no matter what we think is right. If He chooses to bless one person over another, there’s nothing we can say or do about it. God is sovereign above all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved