Israel’s Rejection and God’s Purpose
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What Does Romans 9:7 Mean?
Romans 9:7
In Matthew 3:9 and Luke 3:8, John the Baptist tells the Jews gathered to hear him not to think that they had it made because they were sons of Abraham, for God can raise children up out of the very stones. In John 8, Jesus encountered the same argument from the Jews, and He said, "Don't think because you are descendants of Abraham that you are Abraham's heirs. He never did the things that you're doing. You want to kill me. Your father is Satan the Devil, not Abraham" (see John 8:37-44).
What we see in Romans 9 is a much bolder and clearer explanation of the same pattern. Paul is explaining what God has been doing all this time and why He will continue to work through Israel. He is not all that concerned about the physical nation. Perhaps He is to some degree, but only because within the physical nation He established through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the real Israel.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eleven)
Romans 9:7-13
"The children of the promise are counted for the seed" means Abraham's seed, and "the children" are Esau and Jacob. Jacob was chosen or elected by God, but Esau was not. So through whom would God work? Obviously, it was Jacob, who on the surface was the weaker of the two—perhaps in character and certainly bodily. The question immediately arises, "Is it fair of God to do this?"
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eleven)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Romans 9:7:
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John the Baptist warned the Jews not to presume security simply because they descended from Abraham, for God can raise children even from stones. Jesus confronted the same argument in John 8, telling the Jews that physical descent from Abraham did not make them his true heirs, since their actions—seeking to kill Him—revealed their father to be Satan the Devil, not Abraham. Romans 9 presents a bolder, clearer explanation of this same pattern. Paul shows what God has been doing throughout time and why He continues to work through Israel—not primarily the physical nation, but the real Israel established within it through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The children of the promise are counted as Abraham's seed, demonstrated through God choosing Jacob over Esau.