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Himself "afore prepared them". In connection with the vessels of wrath the Apostle
speaks of God, "willing to show His wrath and make His power known"; but in
connection with the vessels of mercy, "that He might make known the riches of His
glory". He does not speak of the "riches of His wrath".
It is utterly impossible to teach that God "endured with much longsuffering" vessels
that of His own sovereign will He had Himself fitted to destruction.
The passage which the Apostle quotes in support of this argument is taken from
Hos. 2:, where again Israel are clearly in view. The Apostle knew this, and so did his
Jewish opponent. The point that he makes is this. If God can confer the title of "My
people" upon those who were "Not My people" when dealing with one nation, namely,
the Jews, there can be no objection if, in the sovereignty already established in the
preceding verses, He should take as "vessels of mercy" some from among the Gentiles.
The Apostle does not follow up this argument as He does in Rom. 4: 9-12, or in
Gal. 3: 27-29, for he is not here concerned with the doctrinal aspect of the subject.
Moreover, it is entirely foreign to the Apostle's intention to read unto Hos. 2: any
reference to the "Church". He is simply using the passage to establish his argument
concerning the sovereignty of God.
The Apostle concludes with further quotations from Isaiah concerning the place and
purpose of the remnant that should be saved. The rejection of the Jewish people in the
Apostle's own time was no more contrary to the promises of God than the rejection of the
ten tribes who were carried away into captivity by the Assyrians; for though the number
carried away were like the sand in multitude, a remnant returned. Instead of reproaching
God with the smallness of the remnant, the Apostle says that we should rather be glad to
think that a remnant had been spared at all, for, as Isaiah has already said, the people had
become like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord, apart from His sovereign Will, might
have left them also to perish.
Before concluding, let us review this intensely difficult passage in broad outline.
Romans 9: 6-29.
First Proposition.
God's promise has not been broken by the failure and rejection of the bulk of Israel (6-13).
(a) The children of ABRAHAM (7-9).
Everything depends upon what we understand by "Israel". We have
Abraham's children, Ishmael and Isaac, but in Isaac the seed was called.
(b) The children of ISAAC (10-13).
The purpose of God according to election was signally manifested in the
choice of Jacob and the rejection of Esau.
Second Proposition.
God is therefore just when He shows mercy on some, and allows others to go the
natural road to perdition. This is later proved by the argument from "the same lump"
(14-18).
(a) As to MERCY.--This prerogative is claimed by God Himself in Exod. 33:
(b) As to HARDENING.--This is written large in His dealings with Pharaoh.