Romans 9:1-18

O Israel, my Jewish family, I feel such great sorrow and heartache for you that never leaves me! God knows these deep feelings within me as I long for you to come to faith in the Anointed One. My conscience will not let me speak anything but the truth. For my grief is so intense that I wish that I would be accursed, cut off from the Messiah, if it would mean that you, my people, would come to faith in him! You are Israelites, my fellow citizens, and God’s chosen people. To you belong God’s glorious presence, the covenants, the Torah, the temple with its required sacrifices, and the promises of God. We trace our beginnings back to the patriarchs, and through their bloodline is the genealogy of the Messiah, who is God over everything. May he be praised through endless ages! Amen! Clearly, God has not failed to fulfill his promises to Israel, for that will never happen! But not everyone who has descended from Israel belongs to Israel. Physical descent from Abraham doesn’t guarantee the inheritance, because God has said: “Through Isaac your descendants will be counted as part of your lineage.” This confirms that it is not merely the natural offspring of Abraham who are considered the children of God; rather, the children born because of God’s promise are counted as descendants. For God promised Abraham: “Now is the time! For in nine months your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Now, this son was our ancestor, Isaac, who, with his wife, Rebekah, conceived twins. And before her twin sons were born, God spoke to Rebekah and said: “The oldest will serve the youngest.” God spoke these words before the sons had done anything good or bad, which proves that God calls people not on the basis of their good or bad works, but according to his divine purpose. For in the words of Scripture: “Jacob I have chosen, but Esau I have rejected.” So, what does all this mean? Are we saying that God is unfair? Of course not! He had every right to say to Moses: “I will be merciful to whomever I choose and I will show compassion to whomever I wish.” Again, this proves that God’s choice doesn’t depend on how badly someone wants it or tries to earn it, but it depends on God’s kindness and mercy. For just as God said to Pharaoh: “I raised you up as ruler of Egypt for this reason, that I might make you an example of how I demonstrate my miracle power. For by the example of how I deal with you, my powerful name will be a message proclaimed throughout the earth!” So again we see that it is entirely up to God to show mercy or to harden the hearts of whomever he chooses.