3c - The Flow of Argument Regarding Election [9:6-23]

• The problem the Jews has was that they regarded God’s blessing at their birthright
  • God owed it to them to bless them
• In order to deal with them, Paul needs to point out the difference between
  • what is a free gift and what is a right
  • If someone gives a gift, then they can chose whom to give it to
• Abraham was given a promise and this was to apply to his “seed” as well
  • But God is free to chose which child to give the gift to
  • If this were not true, then it woundn’t really be a free gift, but earned
• We must be very clear that God was extremely kind to Esau and blessed him massively
  • (This is also true of Ishmael)
• So the expression “Esau I hated” must be taken as comparative with Jacob, for the sake of emphasis

The argument flows like this:

1. Because of the Jewish misconceptions, Paul needs to discuss election
   • otherwise it looks like God’s promises have failed
2. The promise to Abraham didn’t apply to all his physical children
   • only the promised one, Isaac
3. The promise then fell on Jacob
   • but this was nothing to do with his performance else it would be works, not grace
4. This raises the question: Is God unjust not to treat everyone the same?
   • No, God has a right to give out his gifts of mercy to whomever he desires—it is his gift
5. If God choses not to show mercy on someone, then they become “hard”
   • the way it is written could look like God’s fault that Pharaoh is hard
     • this is the hardest bit of the whole passage!!!
   • but Exodus tells us he hardened himself willingly
     • Here we up against the mystery of Pharaoh’s free will, and God’s overall sovereignty
     • both of them are true—God never compelled Pharaoh in any way, but showed only grace to him
     • however God is said to have “hardened him” —God “gave up” communicating with him in the end, which allowed him to go his own way
     • Parents might reluctantly give up trying to discipline a rebellious teenager
       • This action could cause the teenager to go into sin, but they are still responsible
   • Nobody forced Pharaoh to take the actions he did—it was from his own free volition
     • Yet doing what he did allowed God to give Israel the greatest picture of freedom from Satan’s power
   • There was a free choice about who was on the ark or not—Noah didn’t have to turn anyone away
     • God punished them all with destruction, but it was their own fault
     • Yet it was all in God’s plan
6. In God’s sovereign plan, even rebellious people end up by causing good things to happen
   • Just because God used Pharaoh’s evil to accomplish so much good, doesn’t mean Pharaoh should be rewarded
   • e.g. Judas!
   • The same logic would reward Satan for his evil which allows God’s love to shine so brightly
7. How then can God punish such a person, since good came of it?
   • God has a right to do what he likes, just like a potter
     • But God is not actually a hard-hearted potter (although he has a right to be), but is longsuffering.
   • Some people have come up with the idea of “double predestination”. Two reasons why not taught here:
     
     1. Paul does not say “God Does”, but “what if God”
     2. different words are chosen to describe the two groups.
        • The first is prepared (Greek: made-ready) for destruction
        • while the second is prepared beforehand, a different word in Greek.
     • Although the effect of God choosing some must mean that others are damned, it is not the same as saying that God has chosen some for damnation.