Previously in Romans…

Paul takes us into a roller-coaster of ideas, first pointing out our fleshly desires that are in constant battle with our spirit. Then he also confronts us with the shortcomings of our beliefs. No matter how hard we try, if we are not guided by the Holy Spirit and let ourselves be led by Him, we are unable to stay firm in the path that Yahweh has predestined for us to walk on it from the beginning.

In chapter 2 and 3, he confronts both the Jews and us, the Gentiles, stating that we both need humility and repentance. The Jews first, because they have not understood that the Law was not given to us as a list of dos and don’ts to be checked out as following a set of instructions with lots of technical jargon we do not understand. They were supposed to be meditated and studied to produce the transformation of the heart, from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. And the Gentiles needed to recognize the need to relinquish the life of sin, set up by the dominion of the powers of heaven and the earth, to whom Adam’s actions put us under their authority.

From chapter 4 to chapter 7, Paul set a series of checks and balances that we need to focus on. We are to follow the law with love and mercy and faithfulness, and us Gentiles need to learn to walk under the authority of the Son of Yahweh, Yeshua the Messiah. Both Jews and Gentiles need Yeshua to be able to follow the law of Yahweh.

In chapter 8, Paul delineates the distinction between living under the influence of the lawless flesh and living under the authority of the Spirit of Righteousness. Evidence of submission to Yahweh’s authority is demonstrated when individuals live in accordance with the guidance of the Most‑High Elohim’s Spirit and acknowledge the sovereignty of Yeshua. Paul further highlights that this way of life is accessible to all who are under the Messiah’s protection and is extended to those willing to align their will with that of Yahweh.

With all this in perspective, let us begin.

Romans Chapter 9

Romans 9:1-5 (LSB) ~ I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

The heart of Paul is sad and broken for his people of Israel. He knows the promises of Yahweh to his people, and he trusts in faith that God will fulfill all the promises in its appointed time. In His mercy, Yahweh fulfilled the promise to restore the house of David, which from King Solomon’s time, the promise had been put on pause until Yeshua came into the picture. Because of Yahweh’s faithfulness, we know Yeshua the Messiah will fulfill all He has promised to the early followers of the new Way.

It is very sad that many today see the rejection of the Messiah by the chosen people of Israel as a failure, but it is unfortunate because it shows the danger of disconnecting the Hebrew Bible and the Brit Cha-Dashah (New Testament). Israel has rejected their calling many times before, but God has used their rejection to the advantage of the nations.

Romans 9:6-9 (LSB) ~ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: “through Isaac your seed will be named.” That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. For this is the word of promise: “at this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a Son.”

We should pause and reflect on these lines, taking care not to read into Paul’s words something he is not saying. Paul is pouring out his heart to help Jewish believers in the Messiah recognize how merciful our Elohim is. Even though a hardening has been allowed in the hearts of the chosen people, there remains a remnant among the Jews—such as Paul and the Apostles themselves—who do believe. What might appear to be a failure to us is, to Yahweh, simply another opportunity to fulfill His promise to Abraham. Whether through Israel’s victories or their failures, Yahweh is carrying out His will.

This reference to Genesis 21:12-13 brings into perspective what Paul is explaining to the audience of the letter of Romans. Being part of Abraham’s seed does not guarantee your place as the chosen people; alas, Ishmael was Abraham’s seed, but he was not the seed of the promise but Isaac. We, as well, by confessing through the public act of baptism, are grafted into the seed of Abraham, but it is our conviction and character who determine if we are aligning with Isaac or Ishmael, sort-of-speak.

It is our response to the calling of promise, are we to receive the promise made through Abraham, made complete through Isaac, and eventually perfected through Yeshua? Or are we operating under a promise of protection as a result of the faith of the Father, which eventually does not guarantee a covenantal relationship? Similar to Rivska’s (Rebekah) sons.

Romans 9:10-13 (LSB) ~ And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “the older shall serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Now that seems like a harsh thing to say: “Yaacov I loved, but Esav I hated”. Before jumping to conclusions about what this might mean, we must go back to the references Paul used here.

How does Yahweh show His “hatred” towards Esav? He made of him a nation, He blessed him and his descendants, but Yahweh did not have a covenant relationship with Esav nor did He walk with Esav. He did not reprimand him or disciplined him. In-the-long-run, from Esav came a sworn enemy of Israel, the Edomites. They continued to do what was evil before Yahweh’s eyes and never accepted the covenant of their own patriarch.

How does Yahweh show His “love” towards Yaacov? God disciplined him, tested him, disjointed his thigh and molded him into the image of Elohim, from whom a nation was born, the chosen nation of Israel.

Yaacov eventually was renamed, by Yahweh, to “Israel”, and even in him there are two nations, or two natures, sort of speak, one called —Yaacov—, and one that stays in covenant, called —Israel—. Strikingly, as to what Paul addresses in Romans chapter 7, and breaks down in chapter 8. We as Gentiles should be aware of which of this we align with. Are we accepting the covenant through the Messiah, as Israel, or are we deceiving ourselves as Yaacov? That is why it is important to receive the discipline of Yahweh with a heart of repentance. Our Elohim want to mold us as the nation He promised to Abraham, through Isaac, and Yaacov. The true nation of Israel. We do not replace Israel, we complete Israel, when we abide in the Messiah.

Yeshua has extended an invitation to a remnant that was not considered a nation to belong to a nation that is not of their own. Even Yahweh Himself will add some Gentiles to function as priests and Levites in the new Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Isaiah 66:19-21). They will serve Yahweh with all their heart, keeping all the statutes laid down from the beginning (Isaiah 56:6-7).

But Paul’s heart aches for the chosen people of Israel. He time and time again makes it clear to us that the calling and promises of Yahweh are irrevocable, and still, we can be depriving ourselves of its benefits if we do not follow and abide in Yahweh, keeping His commandments as He established them. Without tainted them with human traditions and faulty interpretations. As Israel was warned repeatedly before, now the congregation of Rome is witnessing how delicate is our faithfulness to God in the light of those who reject Messiah.

Paul wants us to realize that the ones to whom the promises belong are in a temporary time out because of their obstinance and ego, rejecting the Messiah. The chosen are suffering the consequences of their actions because Yahweh is just, and He laid out the consequences of rejecting Him, who brought them out of Egypt. This serves as a warning to us because we are not exempt from the consequences of our actions either.

Missing the Point

Romans 9:14-18 (LSB) ~ What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “for this very purpose I raised you up, in order to demonstrate my power in you, and in order that My Name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

The covenant made with Israel is the paragon to the Kingdom of God. We receive His mercy because of His love and as a gift from His faithfulness. We do not control the guidelines and we do not create our systematic doctrines. We follow the sound doctrine of Yahweh. He will show compassion with whom He shows compassion. Either we like the ones He is showing compassion to or not. That is where the prophet Jonah missed the point. Jonah was so blinded by his hatred against his enemies that he did not want Yahweh to show compassion to them. Jonah wanted to dictate over Yahweh to whom to apply His mercy.

You must put this in perspective. Nineveh was a city of Assyria, a nation that hated Israel, a nation feared by other nations because of their brutality and evil heart. Yahweh warned Israel that He was going to send them into exile to Assyria. From experience gathered by other nations, the Assyrians were not popular for their mercy. In the eyes of Jonah, going into enemy territory and bringing the mercy of Yahweh to them was an act of treason against his people. Still, Yahweh wanted to show them His mercy and His faithfulness. After all, that is what Yahweh promised to Abraham, that through His seed He was going to bless the nations.

Another important part you need to understand from the story of Jonah is this: it was common knowledge that the Assyrians used to torture and annihilate their adversaries and impaled them as signs of warning and terror to other nations. But haven’t you sat down and meditated on this? Hasn’t it come to our understanding that God is omniscient, and promised Israel that He will go before them and prepare the way for them? I’m pretty sure that His act of mercy contributed to the survival of the sons of Israel while in exile in Assyria.

We should humble ourselves to prevent our pride from taking us into the same behavior, determining and ordering Yahweh into whom He is allowed to show mercy or not. Are you merciful towards the blindness of Israel? Are you boasting of the blessing their blindness accomplished for you? It seems Paul reached the same conclusion—to ask us Gentiles questions that cause or drive us to repentance.

Romans 9:19-21 (LSB) ~ You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? will the thing molded say to the molder, “why did you make me like this”? Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

We are the clay in the hands of Yahweh, not the other way around (Isaiah 45:9-11). We have to see that we are not committing the same mistakes Israel committed, where pride and ego did not let them see their salvation, the time of their visitation.

The sons of Israel are under a temporary time of affliction. This should be a warning to us as well. Today I have seen how many believers in Yeshua cannot see past their pride and presumption of their interpretation of Scriptures, which do not allow them to see the mercy that is coming to Israel.

The Wrath Became a Blessing to Us

Romans 9:22-26 (LSB) ~ And what if God, wanting to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction, and in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory—even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ and her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ there they shall be called sons of the living God.”

Here Saul has introduced a character of Yahweh that is foreign to many believers today. This is because of the disconnect from the Hebrew Bible. Yahweh has established from the beginning what would happen if we obstinately let our presumptions and pride govern our lives, and not only that, but teaching others also to do so as well.

If we walk away from Yahweh, even when we assume we are doing what is right, but we harden our hearts, as the Pharaoh did, we will suffer the same fate. Yahweh might stop us from going too far, but the consequences will stand.

Understand this, Yahweh is merciful, slow to anger, and faithful. Even if some of the chosen people have not been able to see and recognize their Messiah, Yahweh will not let them run too far gone; as He did with us Gentiles in the plains of Shinar, in His mercy, He confused our language, but in His love, we are still in His plan of redemption. The same mercy He will show to Israel once more. But in the meantime, He is using their obstinance as a blessing for us.

And Paul reminds us of the promises made by Yahweh in the book of Hosea, but keep in mind, those promises were offered to the nation of Israel. Since they broke the covenant, they went into exile and were no longer a nation in the eyes of Yahweh. But at the same time, the promise is also for us, who were not a nation, neither a country, but an abomination in the eyes of Yahweh.

It seems that Paul also added a touch of the prophecy of Jeremiah when he included: “And her who was not beloved ‘beloved’”. Even though it seems like a misquote from Paul, he definitely knew the entire Tanach, all the promises he needed to memorize since he was 6 years old, as is the tradition.

Yahweh has always compared Israel with a woman, the wife who betrayed the husband, who will be redeemed in the end of the age. As we found in Revelation. Even though Yahweh might have despised her for a while, He will show compassion and love, as Hosea the prophet, Yahweh commanded him to redeem and love his unfaithful wife. As a sign of His love for Israel.

Romans 9:27-29 (LSB) ~ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; for The Lord will execute his word on the land, thoroughly and quickly.” And just as Isaiah foretold, “unless The Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Here Paul is quoting from various parts of the book of Isaiah to remind us, Jews and Gentiles, of the promises of Yahweh which are irrevocable, as said before. First Isaiah 10:21-22.

Then, Paul also add a portion of Isaiah 1:9.

So, even if we think everything is lost, or if Yahweh is done, with the people of Israel, Paul reminds us that they have a promise from Yahweh, who will restore them, even if it is just a remnant. A truth that is even true to us.

Yeshua made this observation as well, which we should keep in consideration, especially those who believe the doctrine of “saved-always-safe.” Yeshua was very clear when He said:

And this was spoken by Yeshua to those who call him ‘Lord’. These are not non-believers; these are those who think that they are in the light, but their light is darkness.

There are going to be many that think they were serving Yahweh, but they are the ones who have been deceived by the false teachers the Apostles warned us, even Yeshua. These “believers” will be praying for the sick, casting out demons, and doing miracles. But they have abandoned the way that Yahweh laid out from the beginning. Which is this way? —Torah. Those who walk in lawlessness are not of Him (Psalm 6:8).

Yeshua was very clear when He said:

Yeshua did not destroy or annul the Law of Yahweh, but instead He made it full. More of this will be discussed in the next chapter.

Romans 9:30-33 (LSB) ~ What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, laid hold of righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a Rock of Offense, and the one who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.”

The problem never was the Law of Yahweh; but our heart. The Torah was given to Israel, to set the way on how to teach the world the way to the Father, but many betrayed the covenant, and they followed the rudiments of the Law, but ignored the Spirit of the Law. And because of this, they have been exiled from the knowledge of Messiah for a while.

This should serve as a warning to us. We have believed for generations that we do not need to keep the Law of Yahweh today, caused by the doctrines of man we have allowed to corrupt the true sound doctrine of the Gospel. But Yahweh is calling a remnant, and many are waking up to the call. Through Yeshua the Messiah, Yahweh is circumcising the heart of many, while at the same time the heart of many others is being hardened because of their unbelief; they have grown too comfortable to the traditions of man that they do not want to let go (Mark 7:5-9).

As Paul quotes again from the Tanakh, this time from Isaiah 28:16.

The one who’s delight is to walk in Torah, as David said:

Saul (Paul) has never taught Gentiles that the new covenant involved walking away or replacing the Torah, which is the Law of God. He was always quoting from the Tanakh; that is where he based the Gospel he preached to us.

As Yeshua also said in the Sermon on the Mount:

Conclusion

Paul was broken inside, his heart suffered for the temporary moment of affliction that is lurking still until today in many of the chosen people, but this is not only among the Jews, is also happening to the Gentiles who profess believing in Messiah but despising or ignoring the injustice against Israel. Crying to the four winds that Israel should not exist.

All the promises of Yahweh are always directed to Israel, especially the promise of the new covenant. And this is intentional. At the end of the day, Yeshua has called us to be a holy (set-apart) nation, as He did with Israel. He had called us into His Kingdom, His nation. And we have been drafted in, into the nation of Israel. If we deny this fact, then we are denying and rejecting the promise of the new covenant. Hence, rejecting Yeshua’s work at the cross.

The farther we walk away from Yahweh, the closer we are to death and destruction. Let’s learn humility, and let’s open our hearts to receive this fact. Yahweh is wanting to unite us Jews and Gentiles as one nation under Yahweh.

Let us not make the same mistake as the leaders of Israel in the time of Yeshua did, provoking many to reject Him today; or we might suffer the same fate, having our eyes blinded, not able to see the truth, for missing the day of our visitation.

And this is what Paul is warning about to us in the letter to the Romans.

“May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May Yahweh lift His face towards you and grant you peace.”

Shalom.