Romans 9:14-18 Commentary

 

 

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Romans 9:14-18 Commentary

Romans 9:14  What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
Greek: Ti oun eroumen? (1PFAI) me adikia para to theo me genoito; (3SAMO
Amplified: What shall we conclude then? Is there injustice upon God's part? Certainly not!
ESV: What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
ICB:   So what should we say about this? Is God unfair? In no way.
NIV: What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
NKJV: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
NLT: What can we say? Was God being unfair? Of course not!
Philips:  Now do we conclude that God is monstrously unfair? Never!
Wuest
: What shall we say then? There is not unrighteousness with God, is there? Away with the thought.
Young's Literal: What, then, shall we say? unrighteousness is with God? let it not be!
REFERENCES

Albert Barnes
Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber
John Calvin
Alan Carr
Alan Carr
B H Carroll
Rich Cathers
Thomas Constable
Bob Deffinbaugh
Bob Deffinbaugh
Bob Deffinbaugh
Jonathan Edwards
Explore the Bible
Explore the Bible
Tony Garland
Frederic Godet

Bruce Goettsche
Bruce Goettsche
Bruce Goettsche
Scott Grant
Scott Grant
David Guzik
Robert Haldane
Richard Halverson
Matthew Henry
Daniel Hill
Charles Hodge
F B Hole
Jamieson, F, B
S Lewis Johnson
William Kelly
Keith Krell
Keith Krell
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
Middletown
Robert Morgan
H C G Moule
William Newell
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
Ray Pritchard
Ray Pritchard
A T Robertson
Rob Salvato
Ray Stedman
Ray Stedman
Marvin Vincent
Drew Worthen
Drew Worthen
Drew Worthen
Drew Worthen
Precept Ministries

Romans 9 Commentary
Romans 9:1-3: The Attributes of God
Romans 9:1-5: Israel: A Privileged People
Romans 9:6-13: Israel: A Proud People

Romans 9:14-19: God is a God of Purpose
Romans 9:19-24: God is God of Purpose-Pt2
Romans 9:30-10:5:Righteousness Precious Possession

Romans 9 Commentary
Romans 9:1-5 Burdened For A Lost People
Romans 9:6-33 Bound By The Lord's Purposes

Romans: Studies (1935)
Romans Sermons
Romans Expository Notes
Romans 9:1-13 Man Opposes; God Disposes

Romans 9:14-23 Divine Election is Questioned

Romans 9:24-33 Israel’s Failure Is the Scripture’s Fulfillment
Romans 9:18: The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
Romans 9:1-29 Need for Mercy
Romans 9:30-10:21 Call to Faith

Romans 9-11 What Will Happen to Israel- Recommended
Romans Commentary online
Romans 9:1-9 True and False Believers

Romans 9:7-21 God's Choice and Salvation

Romans 9:22-33 God's Patience and Mercy
Romans 9:1-29 The Stage for Christ

Romans 9:30-10:21 has God Proved Himself?

Romans 9 Commentary
Romans 9 Commentary
Romans Commentary: Prologue to Prison (1954)
Romans 9 Commentary
Romans Notes - Verse by Verse
Romans Commentary online
Romans Commentary
Romans 9 Commentary
Romans 9:1-5, Romans 9:6-13, Romans 9:14-33
Romans Commentary
Romans 9:1-13 The Roller Coaster Ride
Romans 9:14-29 The Great Brain Teaser

Romans 9-11 Is God Finished With Israel, Part 1

Romans 9-11 Is God Finished With Israel, Part 2

Romans 9:1-4 The Sorrowful Unbelief of Israel, Part 1

Romans 9:4-5 The Sorrowful Unbelief of Israel, Part 2
Romans 9:6-13 Is Israel's Unbelief Inconsistent with God's Plan? 1
Romans 9:14-18 Is Israel's Unbelief Inconsistent with God's Plan? 2

Romans 9:19-24 Is Israel's Unbelief Inconsistent with God's Plan? 3

Romans 9:25-33 Is Israel's Unbelief Inconsistent with God's Plan? 4

Romans 9
Romans 9, 10 & 11 What's Ahead for Israel?
The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Romans 9 Commentary
Romans 9:1-5  The Absolute Sovereignty of God: What Is Romans Nine About
Romans 9:1-5 My Anguish: My Kinsmen Are Accursed
Romans 9:1-5 How Great Is the Honor of Israel
Romans 9:6-12  God's Word Stands: Not All Israel is Israel, Part 1
Romans 9:6-12 God's Word Stands: Not All Israel Is Israel, Part 2
Romans 9:6-13 Unconditional Election and the Invincible Purpose of God
Romans 9:8-17 The Hardening of Pharaoh and the Hope of the World

Romans 9:14-18 The Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election
Romans 9:14-18 The Fame of His Name and the Freedom of Mercy
Romans 9:19-23 How God Makes Known the Riches of His Glory
Romans 9:17 A Passion for the Supremacy of Christ--Where He Is Not Named
Romans 9:23,24 God's Ultimate Purpose: Vessels of Mercy
Romans 9:24-29 The Gentiles Are Included
Romans 9:30-33 The Gentiles Have Obtained Righteousness by Faith
Romans 9:30-10:10 Believe in Your Heart that God Raised Jesus

Romans 9:6-18 God's Freedom
Romans 9:6-18 God's Word Has Not Failed

Romans 9 Word Pictures in the New Testament
Romans 9:1-33 Jacob I Have Loved
Romans 9:1-29: Who Chose Whom?

Romans 9:14-33  Let God Be God
Romans 9 Greek Word Studies
Romans 9:1-8 For They Are Not All Israel, Who Are Descended From Israel
Romans 9:9-13 Jacob I Loved, But Esau I Hated
Romans 9:14-23 What Then Shall We Say? Is God Unjust? Not At All!
Romans 9:24-33 I Will Call Them My People, Who Were Not My People
Romans 9-11 - Part 3 Download Lesson 1

ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans
1
:18-3:20
Romans
3:21-5:21
Romans
6:1-8:39
Romans
9:1-11:36
Romans
12:1-16:27
SIN SALVATION SANCTIFICATION SOVEREIGNTY SERVICE
NEED
FOR
SALVATION
WAY
OF
SALVATION
LIFE
OF
SALVATION
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION
WORK
OF
SALVATION

 

Summary of
Romans 9-11
Romans 9 Romans 10 Romans 11
Past
Election
Present
Rejection
Future
Reception
God's Sovereignty
Israel's Election by God
Man's responsibility
Israel's Rejection of God
God's Ways Higher
God Not Rejecting Israel


Related resources
...

Summary on the Attributes of God
Spurgeon on the Attributes of God

Israel of God - Is God "Finished" with Israel in His prophetic plan?

Off Site - Table Comparing/contrasting Israel & Church
Off Site - Does the Church Fulfill Israel's Program? - John Walvoord

The Jewish People, Jesus Christ and World History - S Lewis Johnson

Are you confused about God's plan for Israel? Then I highly recommend Tony Garland's 12 Hour Course on Romans 9-11 in which he addresses in depth the question of  What Will Happen to Israel?  (click) or see the individual lectures below)

Romans 9:1-5 Paul's Sorrow Concerning Israel
Romans 9:6-13 Children of the Promise
Romans 9:14-24 The Potter and the Clay
Romans 9:25-33 A Remnant Will be Saved
Romans 10:1-13 The Righteousness of God
Romans 10:14-21 Has Israel Not Heard?
Romans 11:1-6  God Has Not Cast Away The Jews
Romans 11:7-15 Life from the Dead
Romans 11:16-24 Two Olive Trees
Romans 11:25-36 The Salvation of Israel

Note that when you click the preceding links, each link will in turn give you several choices including an Mp3 message and brief transcript notes. The Mp3's are long (avg 70+ min) but are in depth and thoroughly Scriptural with many quotations from the Old Testament, which is often much less well understood than the NT by many in the church today. Tony Garland takes a literal approach to Scripture, and his love for the Jews and passion to see them saved comes through very clearly in these 12 hours of teaching! Take your home Bible Study group through this series if you dare! Take notes on the tapes as the transcripts are a very abbreviated version of the audio messages. This course is highly recommended for all who love Israel! I think you will agree that Tony Garland, despite coming to faith after age 30 as an engineer, clearly has been given a special anointing by God to proclaim the truth concerning Israel and God's glorious future plan for the Jews. Garland has also produced more than 20 hours of superb audio teaching in his verse by verse commentary on the Revelation (in depth transcripts also available) which will unravel (in a way you did not think was possible considering the plethora of divergent interpretations) God's final message of the triumph and return of the our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords! Maranatha!

WHAT SHALL WE SAY THEN THERE IS NO INJUSTICE (unrighteousness) WITH GOD IS THERE: Ti oun eroumen (1PFAI) me adikia para to theo: (Ro 2:5; 3:5,6; Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Job 8:3; 34:10-12,18,19; Job 35:2; Psalms 92:15; 145:17; Jeremiah 12:1; Revelation 15:3,4; 16:7)

Paul anticipates a human reaction to God's choice of Jacob over Esau. Paul anticipates men judging God and accusing God of unjust. And yet we know from studying God's attributes (see discussion of God's attribute of Justice), that He is always fair. He is never unjust in His essence. So here we see where human logic comes to a "logical" but wrong conclusion.

Injustice (93) (adikia [word study] from a = negates what follows + dike = right) describes the condition of not being right. Adikia describes unrighteousness of heart and life resulting in wrongdoing. It can describe a  deed violating law and justice.

He is going to say that it is not a matter of injustice but a matter of mercy. God sovereignly (See God's attribute Sovereignty) has mercy (see God's attribute Mercy) on who He will although all deserve His wrath (see God's attribute Wrath).

MAY IT NEVER BE: me genoito (3SAMO):

The idea is "Away with the thought. Perish the thought. By no means! Certainly not!"

Phillips renders it

“Do we conclude that God is monstrously unfair? Never!”

 

Romans 9:15  For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION."

Greek: to Mousei gar legei, (1SPAI) Eleeso (1SRAI) on an eleo, (1SPAS) kai oiktireso (1SFAI) on an oiktiro. (1SRAI
Amplified: For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion (pity) on whom I will have compassion.(7)
ESV: For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
ICB: God said to Moses, "I will show kindness to anyone I want to show kindness. I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy."
NIV: For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
NKJV: For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."
NLT: For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose."
Philips: God said long ago to Moses: 'I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion'.
Wuest: For to Moses He says; I will have mercy upon whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.
Young's Literal: for to Moses He saith, 'I will do kindness to whom I do kindness, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion;'
FOR HE SAYS TO MOSES I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY: o Mousei gar legei, (1SPAI) Eleeso (1SRAI) on an eleo, (1SPAS): (Ro 9:16,18,19; Ex 33:19; 34:6,7; Isaiah 27:11; Micah 7:18)

The connection and the argument are obvious:

It is not unjust for God to exercise his sovereignty in the distribution of his mercies, for he expressly claims the right.

Paul quotes the Septuagint (LXX) of (Exodus 33:19)

Paul has already shown us that all mankind is under sin (Romans 3:9, 10-note, Ro 3:19-note, Ro 3:23-note Ro 6:23-note) and justly deserves God's righteous wrath (Ro 1:18-note). But God who is rich is mercy (see His attribute Mercy)  looks down and has mercy on some and compassion on some. He has mercy and compassion on whomever He chooses. This should cause us to fall on our face and cry out

"Have mercy on me when I justly deserve hell."

What awesome truth this is.

Mercy (1653) (eleeo [word study] from eleos [word study]) means “to feel sympathy with the misery of another, especially such sympathy which manifests itself in action, less frequently in word.” It describes the general sense of one who has compassion or person on someone in need. Eleeo indicates that one is moved to pity and compassion by tragedy and includes the fear that this could happen to me (although this latter obviously does not apply to God). The idea of this verb is to see someone in dire need (including one who may not deserve the misfortune), to have compassion on them, and to give help to remove the need. Specifically in context eleeo means God extends help for the consequence of sin. He has compassion on sinners who are in unhappy circumstances (that's stating it somewhat euphemistically!).

Mercy implies that there is absolutely nothing within us that caused God to bestow His mercy upon us. It is simply according to His good pleasure. There was nothing in us to commend us to God. We could do nothing to help ourselves (Ro 5:6-
note, Ro 5:8-note, Ro 5:10-note). Mercy also implies that the one bestowing the mercy has the means to meet the need. Here God meets the need of those He chooses.

NIDNTT writes of the root word eleos that in classical Greek...

It is “the emotion roused by contact with an affliction which comes undeservedly on someone else” (R. Bultmann, TDNT II 477), viz. compassion, pity, mercy. These feelings are the reverse of envy at another’s good fortune. There is also an element of fear that one might have to suffer in the same way. Aristotle in his Poetics stated that tragedy aroused pity and terror and these caused katharsis, purging. From Plutarch onwards we find the expressions eleon echo, to find mercy, and kat' eleon, out of compassion. eleos was used as a technical term for the end of the speech for the defence, in which the accused tried to awaken the compassion of the judges. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan

Vincent writes that eleeo means

to succor or to show compassion...The (root) word (eleos) emphasizes the misery with which grace deals; hence, peculiarly the sense of human wretchedness coupled with the impulse to relieve it, which issues in gracious ministry. Bengel remarks, “Grace takes away the fault, mercy the misery.”

Vine writes that eleeo means...

signifies, in general, "to feel sympathy with the misery of another," and especially sympathy manifested in act, (a) in the Active Voice, "to have pity or mercy on, to show mercy" to, e.g., Matt. 9:27; Matt. 15:22; Matt. 17:15; Matt. 18:33; Matt. 20:30, 31 (three times in Mark, four in Luke); Rom. 9:15, 16, 18; Ro 11:32; Ro 12:8; Phil. 2:27; Jude 1:22, 23; (b) in the Passive Voice, "to have pity or mercy shown one, to obtain mercy," Matt. 5:7; Rom. 11:30, 31; 1Cor. 7:25; 2Cor 4:1; 1Tim. 1:13, 16; 1Pet. 2:10. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

Eleeo - 29x in 26v in NAS - Matt 5:7; 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 18:33; 20:30, 31; Mark 5:19; 10:47, 48; Luke 16:24; 17:13; 18:38, 39; Ro 9:15-note, Ro 9:18-note; Ro 11:30-note, Ro 11:31-note, Ro 11:32-note; Ro 12:8-note; 1Cor 7:25; 2Cor 4:1; Phil 2:27-note; 1Ti 1:13, 16; 1Pe 2:10-note. NAS =  found mercy(1), had mercy(4), has mercy(2), have mercy(15), mercy(1), receive mercy(1), received mercy(3), show mercy(1), shown mercy(3), shows mercy(1). 

AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION: kai oiktireso (1SFAI) on an oiktiro (1SFAI):

Compassion (3627) (oikteiro) is used only here in Scripture and means to exercise pity or to have compassion on as one is moved or motivated by sympathy

Mercy (eleeo) expresses the heart motivation and compassion  (oikteiro)  the manifestation of that feeling.

The reference in Ex 33 deals with Israel’s idolatry while Moses was on the mount receiving the Law (Ex 32:4ff). The whole nation deserved to be destroyed, yet God killed only 3,000 people (Ex 32:27-28) not because they were more wicked or less godly, but purely because of His grace and mercy.

In other words, His sparing the people and continuing to guide and protect them was purely reflective of His mercy and grace. He had the absolute right to condemn or to save as He divinely saw fit. God’s sovereignty and His grace not only are compatible but are inseparable.

Spurgeon comments...

 It is equally true that he wills to have mercy, and has already had mercy on every soul that repents of sin and puts its trust in Jesus.—13.309

If there is one doctrine in the world which reveals the enmity of the human heart more than an-other, it is the doctrine of God's sovereignty. When men hear the Lord's voice saying, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," they gnash their teeth and call the preacher an An­tinomian, a High Calvinist, or some other hard name. They do not love God except they can make him a little God. They cannot bear for him to be su­preme. They would gladly take his will away from him and set up their own will as the first cause

Spurgeon writes in his devotional that...

This means that God’s mercy and compassion cannot be subject to any cause outside his free grace. God had mercy on the Israelites (not destroying them for their idolatry), not because they deserved it, but simply because he chose to be merciful.

In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins—and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill desert, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall for ever bless his name.

How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord’s will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it. (Morning and evening : Daily readings. November 25 PM)

 

Romans 9:16  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

Greek: ara oun ou tou thelontos (PAPMSG) oude tou trechontos, (PAPMSG) alla tou eleontos (PAPMSG) theou. 
Amplified: So then [God's gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God's mercy. [It depends not on one's own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God's having mercy on him.]
ESV: So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[2] but on God, who has mercy.
ICB:  So God will choose the one he decides to show mercy to. And his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.
NIV: It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
NKJV: So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
NLT: So receiving God's promise is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses.
Philips: It is obviously not a question of human will or human effort, but of divine mercy.
Wuest: Therefore, then, it [this being the recipient of God’s mercy] is not of the one who desires nor even runs, but of the One who is merciful, God.
Young's Literal:  so, then -- not of him who is willing, nor of him who is running, but of God who is doing kindness:

SO THEN IT DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE MAN WHO WILLS OR THE MAN WHO RUNS: ara oun ou tou thelontos (PAPMSG) oude tou trechontos (PAPMSG):

This is a picture of human thinking and striving as seen in John's description of those who became children of God by faith and...

who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12,13)

Did you come to God because you wanted to come to God? You would not have even wanted to unless God had placed that desire in your heart to even want Him. So it is not because you actively willed & purposed or resolved to come to God.

BUT ON GOD WHO HAS MERCY: alla tou eleontos (PAPMSG) theou: (Ro 9:11; Genesis 27:1, 2, 3, 4,9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Psalms 110:3; Isaiah 65:1; Matthew 11:25,26; Luke 10:21; John 1:12,13; 3:8; 1Corinthians 1:26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; Ephesians 2:4,5; Philippians 2:13; 2Thessalonians 2:13,14; Titus 3:3, 4, 5; James 1:18; 1Peter 2:9,10)

God Who has mercy - The present tense signifies He never lacks for mercy. It a continual attribute of His character

It is not man’s choice or pursuit but God who initiates mercy for the sinner. Salvation is never initiated by human choice or merited by zealous human effort. It always begins in God’s sovereign, gracious, and eternal will. Those who receive God’s mercy receive it solely by His grace.

Ishmael desired ("the man who wills") the blessing but failed to receive it. Esau ran ("the man who runs") for the blessing, as it were, but also failed to receive it (Ge27). Esau received a blessing from his father but not the blessing he sought with tears, because he was ungodly and sought the blessing without repentance or faith (Heb12:16, 17-
note).

Paul writes of God's mercy on those dead in their trespasses and sins...

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (Eph 2:4, 5- note)

And again in Titus God showed mercy on those who were foolish , disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending their life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another, Paul recording that...

when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:4, 5-see notes on Titus 3:4 Titus 3:5)

Finally Peter says

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (see notes on 1 Peter 1:3)

G Campbell Morgan writes that Paul...

does not mean that we are not to will, that we are not to run. Neither does it mean that we enter into the blessings of salvation apart from willing, apart from running. We must will to do, and we must run well, allowing nothing to hinder. It does most clearly mean that no willing on our part, no running of our own, can procure for us the salvation we need, or enable us to enter into the blessings it provides. It means more than that. Of ourselves we shall have no will for salva­tion, and shall make no effort toward it. Everything of human salvation begins in God. His will is to have mercy. His work enables Him to do so. It is only as that will is made known to man, that he wills to receive the mercy. It is only as that work operates within man, that he is able to work out his salvation. Our wills must be exercised, our running must be positive; but we enter into salvation, and shall at last reach the crowning at the goal, only because of the everlasting mercy of God. There is neither merit nor cause for glorying in our choice or our effort. If God had not willed our saving, neither should we. If God did not work within us, we should work nothing out. Even if, of our service, we can ever say we laboured abundantly, we shall have to add: Yet not we, but the grace of God which was with us. (Morgan, G. C. Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible)

 

Romans 9:17  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH."

Greek: legei (3SPAI) gar e graphe to Pharao hoti eis auto touto exegeira  (1SAAI) se opos endeixomai (1SAMS) en soi thn dunamin mou, kai opos diaggele (2SAPS) to onoma mou en pase te ge
Amplified: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in [dealing with] you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over.
ESV: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
ICB: The Scripture says to the king of Egypt: "I made you king so I might show my power in you. In this way my name will be talked about in all the earth."
NIV: For the 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."
NKJV: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
NLT: For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you, and so that my fame might spread throughout the earth."
Philips:  The scripture says to Pharaoh: 'Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name shall be declared in all the earth' .
Wuest: For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this same purpose I raised you up, in order that I may demonstrate in you my power, and in order that there may be published everywhere my Name in all the earth.
Young's Literal: for the Writing saith to Pharaoh -- 'For this very thing I did raise thee up, that I might shew in thee My power, and that My name might be declared in all the land;'
FOR THE SCRIPTURE (personified) SAYS TO PHARAOH: legei (3SPAI) gar e graphe to Pharao: (Romans 11:4; Galatians 3:8,22; 4:30)

Scripture (1124) (graphe from grapho = to write; English = graphite - the lead in a pencil!) means first  a writing or thing written, a document. Graphe is used in such a way that quoting Scripture is understood to be the same as quoting God! And here Scripture "speaking" to Pharaoh is tantamount to God speaking to Pharaoh.

Being an absolute monarch, Pharaoh assumed that, certainly within his own realm, everything he said and did was by his own free choice to serve his own human purposes. But the Lord made clear through Moses that Pharaoh was divinely raised up to serve a divine purpose, a purpose of which the king was not even aware.

FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU: hoti eis auto touto exegeira (1SAAI) se opos endeixomai (1SAMS) en soi ten dunamin mou:

Paul quotes the Septuagint (LXX) of (Exodus 9:16)

Paul does say "for this very purpose I created you". Out of a mass of unregenerate mankind God raises up a man who had suppressed the truth, who refused to give God thanks and honor, exchanging His truth for the lie and who was therefore without excuse (Ro 1:20, 21 -note).

God This is who God called forth (almost as one would do in a play) on to the stage of world history (His story) saying in essence "I will use you to demonstrate my power." It is not as if Pharaoh had said I want to believe in You and be saved. In fact when Pharaoh is faced with the clear demonstration of God's power and refuses to bow down, instead becoming becoming hardened. And Pharaoh is used for God's purposes to deliver many from bondage.

Raised up (1825) (exegeiro from ek = out + egeíro = to raise) carries the idea of bringing forward or lifting up and was used of the rise of historical figures to positions of prominence.

The only other NT use is also by Paul in the context of the resurrection...

1 Corinthians 6:14 Now God has not only raised (egeiro) the Lord, but will also raise (exegeiro) us up through His power.

Exegeiro is used 61 times in the Septuagint (LXX). - Gen 28:16; 41:21; Num 10:35; 24:19; Jdg 5:12; 1 Sam 26:12; 2 Sam 12:11; 19:18; 23:18; 1 Kgs 16:3; 2 Chr 36:22; Ezra 1:1, 5; Esther 8:4; Job 5:11; Ps 3:5; 7:6; 35:23; 44:23; 57:8; 59:4; 73:20; 78:65; 80:2; 108:2; 119:62; 139:18; Prov 25:23; Song 2:7; 3:5; 4:16; 8:4f; Isa 38:16; 41:2; 51:9, 17; 52:1; Jer 6:22; 31:26; 50:41; 51:1, 38; Ezek 21:16; 23:22; Dan 11:25; 12:2; Joel 3:7, 9, 12; Jonah 1:4, 11, 13; Hab 1:6; 2:19; 3:13; Hag 1:14; Zech 2:13; 4:1; 11:16; 13:7. Here are some representative uses...
 

Speaking through the prophet Nathan, the Lord told David that, because of his murder of Uriah and taking his wife, Bathsheba, for himself,

“I will raise up evil against you from your own household” (2Sa 12:11).

One of Job’s “comforters” rightly said of God that

“He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety” (Job 5:11)

In much the same way that He raised up Pharaoh, the Lord also raised up “the Chaldeans” to do His will, Habakkuk recording God's declaration...

"behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs." (Hab. 1:6)

Zechariah records that one day will

“raise up a shepherd [Antichrist] in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs” (Zec11:16).

All of these events (and others too numerous to mention) underline the truth that God is sovereign over history. (See attribute  Sovereign)

Demonstrate (1731) (endeíknumi [word study] from en = in, to + deíknumi = make known the character or significance of something by visual, auditory, gestural, or linguistic means) means to point out, to demonstrate, to put on display, to prove, to show proof, to show forth, to show oneself, to give visible proof, to show in anything and implies an appeal to facts. The preposition (in) in the compound suggests more than the simplest demonstration. It is like laying the index finger, as it were, on the object. It means to to show something in someone. It can mean to do something to someone, as Alexander the coppersmith did (endeíknumi) Paul much harm (see 2Ti 4:14- note). In the papyri it could have a quasi-legal sense of proving a petition or charge or of proving that a charge was wrong. Josephus used endeíknumi to describe Herod Agrippa’s display of generosity to those of other nations (Josephus, Antiquities, 19:330).  

Endeiknumi - 11x in 11v - Ro 2:15; 9:17, 22; 2 Cor 8:24; Eph 2:7; 1Ti 1:16; 2Ti 4:14; Titus 2:10; 3:2; Heb 6:10, 11. NAS = demonstrate(4), did(1), show(4), showing(2), shown(1).

AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH: kai opos diaggele (3SAPS) to onoma mou en pase te ge: (Exodus 10:1,2; 14:17,18; 15:14,15; 18:10,11; Joshua 2:9,10; 9:9; 1 Samuel 4:8) (John 17:26)

Proclaimed (1229) (diaggello from diá = through + aggéllo = to tell, declare) means to herald thoroughly, to declare fully or far and wide and so to declare plainly, fully and exactly.

Thayer

to carry a message through, announce everywhere, through places, through assemblies of men, etc.; to publish abroad, declare

Diaggello - 3x in 3v - Luke 9:60; Acts 21:26; Rom 9:17. NAS = giving notice(1), proclaim everywhere(1), proclaimed(1).

The psalmist Asaph appeals to God not to remain silent or still as His enemies exalt themselves pleading with Him to...

Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever; and let them be humiliated and perish, that they may know that Thou Alone, Whose Name is the LORD, art the Most High over all the earth. (Psalms 83:17,18-note)

In Isaiah King Hezekiah appeals to the Lord (for Israel's deliverance) that His name might be proclaimed...

"And now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, LORD, art God." (Isaiah 37:20)

Solomon writes that...

The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. (Proverbs 16:4)

 

Romans 9:18  So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

Greek: ara oun on thelei (3SPAI) eleei, (3SPAI) on de thelei (3SPAI) sklerunei. (3SPAI
Amplified: So then He has mercy on whomever He wills (chooses) and He hardens (makes stubborn and unyielding the heart of) whomever He wills.
ESV
: So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
ICB:  So God shows mercy where he wants to show mercy. And he makes stubborn the people he wants to make stubborn.
NIV: Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

NKJV: Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
NLT: So you see, God shows mercy to some just because he wants to, and he chooses to make some people refuse to listen.
Philips
: It seems plain, then, that God chooses on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will harden in their sin.
Wuest
: Therefore, then, upon whom He desires, He shows mercy; and whom He desires to harden, He hardens.
Young's Literal: so, then, to whom He willeth, He doth kindness, and to whom He willeth, He doth harden.

SO THEN HE HAS MERCY ON WHOM HE DESIRES (on whomever He chooses, on whom He wants to have mercy): ara oun on thelei (3SPAI) eleei (3SPAI) on: (Ro 9:15,16; 5:20,21; Ephesians 1:6)

Haldane

Here the general conclusion is drawn from all the Apostle had said in the three preceding verses, in denying that God was unrighteous in loving Jacob and hating Esau. It exhibits the ground of God's dealings both with the elect and the reprobate. It concludes that His own sovereign pleasure is the rule both with respect to those whom He receives, and those whom He rejects. He pardons one and hardens another, without reference to anything but His own sovereign will, in accordance with His infinite wisdom, holiness, and justice. 'Even so, Father,' said our blessed Lord, 'for so it seemed good in Thy sight.' God is not chargeable with any injustice in electing some and not others; for this is an act of mere mercy and compassion, and that can be no violation of justice.

That mighty act of God in delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt demonstrated two great truths. He delivered Israel to exhibit His sovereign mercy on [those] whom He desires, and He raised up and destroyed Pharaoh to exhibit the corollary truth that He hardens those whom He desires. Only His divine desire determines which it will be.

Moses was a Jew, whereas Pharaoh was a Gentile; but both of them were sinners. Both were murderers, and both witnessed God’s miracles. Yet Moses was redeemed and Pharaoh was not. God raised up Pharaoh in order to reveal His own glory and power, and God had mercy on Moses in order to use him to deliver His people Israel. Pharaoh was a ruler, whereas Moses’ people were slaves under Pharaoh. But Moses received God’s mercy and compassion, because that was God’s will. The Lord’s work is sovereign, and He acts entirely according to His own will to accomplish His own purposes. The issue was not the presumed rights of either men but rather the sovereign will of God.

AND HE HARDENS WHOM HE DESIRES: de thelei (3SPAI) sklerunei: (Ro 1:24, 25, 26, 27, 28; 11:7,8; Exodus 4:21; 7:13; Deuteronomy 2:30; Joshua 11:20; Isaiah 63:17; Matthew 13:14,15; Acts 28:26, 27, 28; 2Thessalonians 2:10, 11, 12)

Hardens whom He desires - Compare with His divine judicial activity in Romans 1 where 3 times God gives sinners over to their depraved natures (Ro 1:24-note, Ro 1:26-note, Ro 1:28-note)

We see a similar "spiritual" judgment in the time of the antichrist's rule where Paul writes that...

And then that lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth (What does this clearly imply? That the truth was offered/available) so as to be saved. 11 And for this reason (What reason?) God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness (Which is why they did not love the truth, for the truth called them to righteousness and light and they loved unrighteousness and darkness). (2Thessalonians 2:8-10)

Hardens (4645) (skleruno [word study  from skleros = hard, dry, hard, rough <> from skéllo = dry up) means to make hard or stiff and is used only figuratively to refer to the heart or mind. In the active skleruno means to harden and in the passive sense, to grow hard.

The NT uses are only figurative (metaphorical) and mean to cause one to become unyielding, obstinate or stubborn (carried on in an unyielding or persistent manner) Skleruno was a medical technical term (first attested by Hippocrates) in Greek writings describing something becoming hardened or thickened. Our English word "hardening" of the arteries is known as "arteriosclerosis". This is a serious, potentially fatal physical condition, but here in Hebrews the danger is even more ominous, for spiritual hardening can lead to eternal death and damnation of one's soul, not just loss of their physical life!

From the uses of skleruno in Exodus, one observes two important aspects of hardening: (1) Man can repeatedly harden his heart, until finally God does the hardening, with the implication that the latter is irrevocable. (2) One effect when one's heart is hardened is not listening to God. 

Is Paul saying that God hardened Pharaoh's heart? Is Paul saying that God purposely choose Pharaoh to be an evil man? Pharaoh knew God and suppressed the truth. He did not want God. He saw God's power and hardened his heart. Yet God used him for His purposes to deliver many from bondage

The Exodus account of Moses’ confrontation with Pharaoh speaks of God hardening Pharaoh's heart (Ex 4:21 7:3), but Moses also records that Pharaoh hardened his own heart as in the following verse...

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. (Exodus 8:15) (cf Ex 7:13; 7:22;8:32 9:7 9:34).

A study of these passages in Exodus emphasizes the tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. As already discussed, Esau although rejected by God before birth, chose to reject his inheritance as the firstborn. Similarly, before he was born, Judas was appointed to betray Christ, Luke recording Peter's words...

"Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus." (Acts1:16)

The apostle John also records God's sovereignty in Judas' betrayal recording that...

Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him. (John 6:70,71).

And although clearly appointed by God for their place and purpose in history, both Esau and Judas, personally and willfully chose to follow sin and unbelief.

In some mysterious way, our human decisions for which we bear full responsibility have also been God's decisions, and vice versa. This is beyond our finite comprehension and we should not try to rationalize it by some human device of reasoning. What God does is right, by definition, Moses recording

"Far be it from Thee to do such a thing (not spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were 50 righteous in it), to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Ge18:25)

The psalmist echoes this truth recording that...

For the word of the LORD is upright; and all His work is done in faithfulness. (Ps 33:4)

Indeed, Jehovah's ways are "unsearchable" (Ro11:33, cf David's declaration regarding God's knowledge and care for him -- "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it." Ps139:6).

We must simply bow our knee and trust Him in whatever He does, knowing that He always right and is always accomplishing His own eternal purposes thereby.


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Last updated: 01/01/11.

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