Nothing is more difficult for us to understand than this: God works, and He works independently of me. This is precisely what Paul is demonstrating here in Romans 9. The sovereignty of God is shown in His independent working and choosing.

“For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad (that God’s purpose might remain as election, not of works, but of Him who calls), then was it assured: The greater will slave to the lesser. Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated (Mal. 1:2-3).
Rom 9:11-13

Let’s pay attention to what this is all about. Not everything we read out from our vantage point in today’s world must have been meant then. Premature conclusions about the text should be avoided as much as possible if you want to understand the text better.

What it is not about

The following short list shows things that the text is not about.

• God determines, so we are at His mercy for better or worse?
• One might stumble over a term like “slave” and think Paul is advocating slavery. But that is not the issue. Slavery was known in his time, which is why he can refer to it, but that does not mean that he was in favor of it (cf. 1Cor 7:21). This is about a visual language, with the purpose of explaining something else. Let’s not make imagery the main issue.
• We can also stumble over the fact that “God’s purpose” is spoken of here, and we cannot imagine such a thing or even directly reject it. Does Paul mean to say here that we are now puppets in a macabre game of God? That too would be a hasty conclusion and not the issue Paul is addressing here.
• We read that God “loves” one and “hates” the other. If we fill in our present-day terminology there, something of the original story is also lost. A God who hates certain people seems inconceivable. Do we not quickly end up with double predestination, in which God predestines man for hell or for heaven?

God calls

It is about God who calls. If these words worry us at first, we still leave the meaning unanswered. When interpreting a text, we must first extract the essence of the message, with the words the writer uses. It is first about understanding the text, not about interpretation, interpretation, explanation.

In this passage, Paul references after a story in the Old Testament. Based on the text, he describes God acting before humans were even born. The story quoted is an example, that is, a figurative explanation of what the apostle wants to express here. With regard to Jacob and Esau, it was said, “The greater will serve the lesser (as a slave)”. The reprimand came before the two were born.

“And Yahweh said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two nations shall separate from within thee; and one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.”
Gen 25:23

God’s purpose

It would be easy to conclude from the previous verses that God would be unjust. The children were not even born when God already determined their lives. They could not even do good or bad, there was already a verdict? But no, this is not about arbitrariness or judgment. It’s about something else. Paul describes it as follows:

“What do we want to bring forward now? But not, there is injustice with God! May this not be inferred!

For to Moses He says

“Have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex. 33:19). Therefore, it is not up to the willing nor the running, but up to the God who has mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh:

“For this very reason I have raised you up, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be made known in all the earth” (Ex. 9:16).”

Rom 9:14-17

Paul writes a letter. He does not yet know how the audience will react. Here he tries to take the wind out of the sails of any objections in advance. The first example spoke of love and hate, and possibly people concluded that God acts arbitrarily or even reacts unpredictably according to the current mood of the day. He counters this possible objection with two further examples that should help to set the focus correctly.

In the first example, he quotes from the story with Moses. There it is about the mercy of God. Mercy and compassion are shown by God just because He decides so. Therefore, if God should act arbitrarily, then this would also apply to His mercy. It is not about condemnation (1st example), but from other examples it turns out that it can also be about mercy and compassion (2nd example). What is already shining out in the meantime is this: God acts sovereignly, and that need not be a bad thing. It is about the sovereignty of God, more than other things.

It is about the sovereignty of God, more than other things.

The third example is about Pharaoh. It is a reference to the time when the people of Israel were in Egypt. Israel was in Egypt for 430 years and was last kept there as a nation of slaves. Moses was called to rescue the people from Pharaoh’s hand and lead them to the land He had already promised to Abram. It is now about a statement addressed to Pharaoh. He is told that he was called with a specific purpose, “that I might display My power in you and that My name might be made known throughout the earth.” It is another example of God acting sovereignly in this world.

These examples all confirm what Paul already said at the beginning:

“(So that) God’s purpose may remain as election,
not of works, but of Him who calls)”
Rom 9:11

God’s purpose corresponds to what He does, who He calls, how He acts and decides. This is the focus that Paul defines here with examples. Let’s keep in mind that this statement first applies to his actual subject, which he started with chapter 9: What is the state of Israel now?

Step by step he explains how the people of Israel are. Of course, there is much more to it than that, as will become clear from the further course of chapters 9-11. However, here, in these verses, a significant clue is provided: God acts sovereignly. This applies to the examples mentioned, but in consequence also to Israel, and of course likewise to the nations.

Not from works

The sovereignty of God knows another component: our actions are not decisive. It is not as if we can earn God’s favor. If you read the Epistle to the Romans in the previous chapters, it is again and again about own effort and how useless it is. “No one seeks God” we read in chapter three. But God is looking for us. That is a big difference.

Paul therefore emphasizes:

“That God’s purpose might remain as election, not of works, but of Him who calls.”
Rom 9:11

Obviously it was necessary to emphasize this particularly: Not from works! God’s purpose is not merely a reaction to our actions, but God acts, He acts. This is what it’s all about. Because it contrasts with our effort, it may make us humble. Humility is appropriate because God acts. The examples speak for themselves.

A resolution of the eons

In Ephesians, Paul also speaks of the purpose of God. There he mentions it as follows:

“To me, by far the least of all the saints,
was given this grace,
To proclaim to the nations the inexpressible riches of the Christ as gospel
and enlighten everyone about it,
as far as the management of the secret is concerned,
that had been hidden in God from the eons,
who created the universe,
so that now through the called out community
the princes and authorities in the midst of the superhumans
the manifold wisdom of God is made known,
according to the intention of the eons,
which He has grasped in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph 3:8-11

God’s purpose is great. It covers several eons (or: ages). It is a long story that unfolds here little by little. The whole history runs in the eons and was “captured in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These lines give a glimpse of a much larger context than we commonly think. It’s not just about our current experience. It’s not just about the church, or just about Israel. That would be just the beginning. It goes much further. It is about an all-encompassing plan, a resolution of the eons, which He has made in the Son of His love, in Christ Jesus.

The current section of the Epistle to the Romans deals with only a small section from this much larger resolution. At the conclusion of chapters 9-11, however, Paul draws the circles in full size when he writes:

“For God includes all [Israel und die Nationen] together in contumacy, that He may have mercy on all.

O depth of the riches, wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has become His counselor? Who gave Him something first, so that it will be repaid to Him? For from Him and through Him and to Him is the All! To Him be the glorification for the eons! Amen!”
Rom 11:32-36