God’s Sovereign Choice

God’s Sovereign Choice Romans 11:33-36 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
      How unsearchable his judgments,
      and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
      Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
      that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
      To him be the glory forever! Amen. 

◦          These verses praise God for His sovereignty, meaning that God has an absolute right to do all things according to His pleasure without any external control.  God can have mercy on whomever He chooses; He can give life and take life whenever He pleases, and He does not need to explain Himself to us or anyone.◦          It should be comforting to us to know that God is supreme and sovereign and answers to no one higher, because He is a God that is good, merciful, and just and cares for His people and creation.◦          While we can know God more and more as we spend time with Him, we can never know all that He knows or understand all that He understands, because He created knowledge and understanding, and everything belongs to Him.  Therefore, we will not always understand the choices God makes, but we trust that He works all things for good.◦          What are some things we can know about God; what are some things that are too difficult for us to grasp?
GOD CHOOSES AS HE WILLSTherefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.  Romans 9:18 

He Chose the Promised Child

In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.  Romans 9:8

 ◦          While married to Sarah, Abraham had to sons: Ishmael and Isaac.  Ishmael was born of his concubine Hagar, who was Sarah’s servant.  Sarah was barren and could have no children, so she used her servant to bear her a son for Abraham.  However, God had promised them a son through Sarah, but they attempted to bring about His purpose in their own way.◦          God was still faithful to His word, though, and opened Sarah’s womb so she could bear Abraham a son, Isaac.  Even though Ishmael was Abraham’s first son, it was Isaac that God chose and through Isaac that God would fulfill His promise to Abraham.◦          Isaac was the promised child, and it would be through His descendents, not Ishmael’s, that God would bless all people in the world.  Isaac is considered the promised child, but Ishmael the natural child, because his birth came about by human will and action, not through God’s promise and power.◦          All those who place their faith in the Lord are spiritual descendents of Abraham, who was considered righteous because of his faith.  We, too, are chosen and belong to God because of our faith in His Son Jesus. 

He Chose the Younger Child

…not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  Romans 9:12

 ◦          Isaac married Rebekah, who was barren like Sarah.  When Isaac prayed to God for Rebekah, she conceived and carried twins.  The two babies within her wrestled, causing Rebekah great discomfort, so she consulted God about the issue.  God told her that she had two nations living within her and that the older son would serve the younger son, which is opposite of human customs at the time.◦          God chose the younger of the two boys to become the father of the nation of

Israel, the people who would belong to God.  Jacob received Esau’s blessings and birthright, normally reserved for the oldest son, because God wanted to show His people that it is through His power that His will is accomplished, and not through our own flesh or works.◦          Romans 9:11 says, “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand.”  The children had done nothing to earn or lose God’s favor; God simply wanted to show that He was in control. 

He Chose an Evil King

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  Romans 9:17

 ◦          Pharaoh sinned greatly, refusing to acknowledge the Lord God and oppressing God’s people the Israelites.  Even so, God had a purpose for Him in His plans for His chosen people.◦          In verse 18, God says that He will have mercy on whomever He pleases and will harden whomever He desires.  He chose to harden the heart of Pharaoh so that He could show His power and glory to the world and to His people the Israelites.◦          Everyone has a purpose in this life, even those who have completely turned their backs on God and rejected Him.  How much more does God have a purpose in mind for those who love Him? 

He Chose Those Who were not His

As he says in Hosea:  ”I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one…”  Romans 9:25

 ◦          Although God loved the Israelites and made a covenant with them to be their God, they rejected Him.  Therefore, God decided to have mercy on them by rejecting them and choosing a people for Himself from among those who were not His, who were not of the nation of

Israel.◦          How is this merciful?  God chose to reveal Himself to the Gentiles through the gospel, telling them that Jesus died for all people and that His sacrifice provided atonement for their sins as well.  When the Israelites realized that God had opened His kingdom up to the Gentiles, they would become jealous and turn back to God, and He would forgive them and accept them.

◦          Because of

Israel’s sin, God in His mercy opened His promise for eternal life up to the Gentiles, to people who did not belong to Him.  In this way, He fulfilled His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him.

Have a great day

John

This entry was posted on 11/11/2009 at 05:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.