Romans 9:9 – The Promise Keeper
For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
Truth to Learn
God always keeps His promises to us.
Behind the Words
“At this time” is translated from kata ton kairon touton. The word kata means “down” but metaphorically it is used to express the relationship one thing has toward another. In this use it is often translated “according to.” The word kairon expresses “a period of opportunity.” It really has no English equivalent but can loosely be translated here as “an opportune time” or “a season.” Hence, a literal translation of this phrase could be, “according to this opportune time” or “according to this season.” We can interpret this to mean “at about this time next year.”
Meaning Explained
Paul is explaining that even though the Jews had all the special privileges as the children of Israel (Jacob), they were not all righteous. This is because that righteousness does not come from lineage but from the imputation of righteousness by God’s own choosing. The children of the flesh are not the children of God, the children of the promise are.
Paul now reminds his countrymen of the promise that was made to Abraham. A more literal translation of the open phrase of this verse is “this word is one of promise.” In other words, this is not THE promise made to Abraham, but it is one example of a promise that God made to him and it certainly ties into the earlier promise:
Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2)
In keeping with the promise to make the name of Abraham great and to make him a blessing, God later promised Abraham a son. That son, however, was not to come for nearly twenty-five years. After twenty-four years, God again told Abraham that he would have a son (in addition to Ishmael) and Paul quotes this promise from Genesis 18:10 which says;
And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
It was about a year later that Sarah gave birth to Isaac. A living son brought forth from a dead womb. As a result we see that the child of Sarah (conceived through faith), not the child of Hagar (conceived through works), was the one God promised Abraham he would have. Abraham was about one hundred years old when this promise was made and Sarah about ninety. She was past the age of childbearing and he was too old to produce offspring himself. God is able to fulfill his promises to us even when it seems physically impossible. He can do the impossible, like saving condemned sinners like you and me.
Application
God has made many promises to us in the New Testament such as: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”(Romans 10:9) and “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b). Like Abraham, we can trust His word because God keeps His promises. Always!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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