Read Romans 9 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Greek Testament has no Hebrew paragraph divisions. This is my outline of of Romans so far:
1:1-7, Greeting and benediction;
1:8-15, Desire to visit Rome;
1:16-17, Theme of the letter: the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God;
1:18-5:21, Justification and the righteousness of God;
6:1-8:39, Sanctification and the righteousness of God;
9:1-11:36, God’s righteousness and Israel;
9:1-10:1, God is righteous to show both wrath and mercy to whom He wills, both Jew and Greek;
12:1-15:13, Practical application of God’s righteousness;
15:14-16:27, Conclusion.
Romans 9:1-10:1 Chiastic Structure:
(And here is the Romans 9:25-33 Chiasm).
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him who calls;) Rom 9:11
Election is Strong’s G1589, eklogay, ἐκλογή, an abstract concept meaning, “the act of picking out, of choosing.” It comes from a Greek root verb which the Septuagint translators used to translate the Hebrew Strong’s H977 בחר bachar, a primitive verb meaning, “to choose.” The ancient pictographs are bet + chet + resh.
bet ב = the house, thus house, household, family, in, within
chet ח = the wall, thus outside, divide, half
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The cognate words will help us find the parable being told. Two of them are slaughter, and knife. Thus beyond the house (bet) is the wall (chet), a metaphor for work that is done outside. Slaughtering an animal was a task performed outside the house. The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is of slaughtering (bet + chet) that which is chiefest or choicest (resh), that is, the sacrifice to YHVH. Its meaning as a concrete noun is the firstfruits offering; but its meaning as a verb involves the examination to determine the choicest, thus to choose.
There is a doctrinal debate in theological circles between election and free will (see the link at the bottom). The example which Paul gives in this chapter, is of YHVH hardening Pharaoh’s heart (vs. 17); does that mean He took away Pharaoh’s free will? I believe that God is sovereign, and that men have free will, and that this is one of the Bible’s seeming conundrums: two concepts which seem to be opposites, so that to man’s finite way of thinking, they are contradictory. Biblical doctrine is full of these seeming opposites: God’s sovereignty (election) or man’s free will; faith or works; grace or Law; the Spirit or the Word, to name just a few.
Scripture teaches us however that it is not one or the other. It is God’s sovereignty AND man’s free will; faith AND works; grace AND Law; the Spirit AND the Word. They are two sides of the same coin. God is so great, in fact, that He can act in perfect sovereignty as this passage shows, while man still acts in perfect free will; so that through man’s free will, it is His will is accomplished in the earth. Pharaoh chose to harden his heart, and God chose to use that characteristic in Pharaoh to show forth His great glory.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Romans 9, The principle of the seed – Christine Miller
Election vs. Free Will – Bob Hallman
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