Scripture Workings
16 “So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”[a] 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.”
Romans 9:16-24 NLT
Devotional
In Romans 9:16-24, what is Paul actually trying to tell us? One answer has been that he wants to teach us about the disobedience of the Jews; but it is much more complicated than that.
Given this passage, many have noted conflicting themes of divine predestination come into play. Divine predestination is “the doctrine that God has eternally chosen those whom he intends to save.” – Britannica. In other words, God chooses to have full control over whether you receive God’s mercy and are adopted into his family… or not. When I first read this, it confused me why God was portrayed as a spiteful and self-centred God. In verse 17, it talks about an example of God using a person without mercy, which was Pharaoh, “For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth”. This goes back to the verse of Exodus 9:12, “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses”. This shows God deciding that he would use Pharaoh for is own purposes, including perhaps to display his power. But why would God harden someone’s heart? Does that not go against his ever-flowing love for all? See, God only hardens the hearts of those who have already been hardened, as seen in James 1:13.
Another key point of this passage is to show that God’s sense of justice is not the same as a human’s standard. God does what he wills in showing mercy to some and hardening others. No matter what a human does, good or bad, he can not determine his fate but only God. It is only by God’s grace and mercy that enables us to “run” as we should; as all human sin leads us to condemnation as shown all throughout the Bible. No human can understand the theodicy of God, for God’s ways go beyond human understanding more than tenfold. For God does not gauge things by human standards (human minds) but by his own theology.
So, you see, in this passage, it is not merely addressing the disobedience of God’s people in that time, but it is also addressing the mystery and majesty of God’s plan. In this passage, Paul displays to us that God’s ways are beyond our human understanding and that His mercy and justice do not follow the patterns we might expect. While we wrestle with our questions about predestination, hardening and divine will, the passage ultimately calls us to humility and trust. We may not always understand why God allows certain events, or why He shows mercy to some and not others, but we can rest in the truth that He is just, sovereign and ultimately good. Our role is not to determine answers our minds cannot grasp but to respond in gratefulness, faith and obedience, trusting that God’s purposes, even in our confusion, are always aimed towards His glory and our ultimate redemption.