Mercy or Wrath

In his commentarial writings (re the Tanach/Old Testament), Paul describes in Romans chapter 9 his great burden for "his kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israel" (referring to the whole house of Israel and not just to Judah, that is, the Jews). He explains there that out of the seed of Jacob will come forth vessels of mercy, but also vessels of wrath. Paul uses the analogy of the "one lump" (Jacob) of clay: "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if Elohim, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles [nations]?" (Romans 9:21-24. See also Jeremiah 18:4-6).

Paul then goes on to specifically clarify who these called-out ones are from the nations, by drawing from the prophet Hosea: "As He says also in Hosea: 'I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved'" (2:23). "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called 'sons of the living Elohim'" (1:10). It is clear, of course, who the prophet was addressing. Paul then switches back to Isaiah and draws our attention to even more details: "Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: 'Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved; for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because YHVH will make a short work upon the earth'" (Isaiah 10:22; Romans 9:21-27 emphasis added).
Here Isaiah uses the word "remnant." Thus, out of the multitudes of the descendents of Jacob, YHVH will have only a certain number of "lost Israelites/"wild olive branches" upon whom He will bestow mercy. He will bring (or graft) that quota, through the new covenant in Messiah, back into the olive tree of Israel, as there is only one root (Jesse/through Yeshua) out of the twelve that connects them to the covenants with the forefathers.

In their writings, when quoting the prophets, the apostles always kept the original text in its context. They knew who were the called, chosen, and foreknown of YHVH. They all understood that the promised seed would come out of Sarah's dead womb, and that YHVH's chosen nation would also be birthed by another barren mother, Rebecca (see Romans 9: 9-10).

Paul sums up his explanation at the end of chapter 10 by quoting (again) from Isaiah 65: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me. But [literally, moreover] to Israel He says [or, He says to Israel]: 'All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people'" (Romans 10:20-21; Isaiah 65:1-2). Notice that the translators' preconceived idea has led all of them to translate the Greek word deh, as it appears here, as "but" (whereas in the previous verse, where that word is also to be found, different Bible versions have rendered it in a variety of ways). Thus, it seems that one could read Romans 10:21: "Moreover, he says to Israel…" – meaning that the ones who "did not seek" Him (mentioned in verse 20) are the same ones that are cited in this verse (21). Knowing the history of the northern kingdom, this shoe certainly fits.

Then without taking a breath, Paul continues (in the next chapter), combining what he had said in Romans 9 and 10: "I say then, has Elohim cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite (notice he did not say Jewish in this context, because he is identifying himself with the whole house of Israel) of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. Elohim has not cast away His people whom He foreknew" (Romans 11:1-2). This statement connects us back to what the apostle said in chapter 8: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8: 29-30).

It is commonly and traditionally contended that Romans chapter 9 through 11 make up a kind of parenthesis in Paul's letter to non-Israelite Gentiles in Rome. But if we can switch from Constantinian ('universalistic') thinking, we will notice that Paul was sent to the nations in order bring in the "mercy vessels" out of the multitudes of the sand-of-the-sea Israelites; some of whom were appointed for wrath and some for grace. This is why the apostle makes his point by quoting from the Torah: "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.' So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of Elohim who shows mercy" (Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15-16).

Ephraim 06/08/2010