Have you ever witnessed someone who seems to have it all, waste their life away? Someone who has been given every opportunity, been loved and encouraged unconditionally, and yet, they reject it all and seem to be going nowhere. 

That’s how Paul saw the Israelites: they were God’s chosen people, but when the Messiah came to them, they rejected Him. Why? Why did God allow it to happen? How does God choose who is saved and who isn’t? Or is salvation our choice? That’s what we’re going to study this week. 

Read Romans 9:1-18 and journal through the following questions this week: 

• What was given to the Israelites as a birthright? (v.4)

• Paul tells the Israelites that just because they were born of Abraham, doesn’t mean they’re children of God. Why? (v. 6-9)

• To support his argument, Paul relies on two Old Testament examples that his readers would have been intimately familiar with: Abraham had two children, Ishamel and Isaac, but only one was part of God’s people (v. 7-9). Rebekah and Isaac had twins, Esau and Jacob, and again only one was part of God’s people (v.10-13). 

  • What was the difference between Esau and Jacob? (v. 11)

  • Read Malachi 1:2-3. How did Jacob get to be the beloved one? (v. 11)

  • So, what did this mean for Esau and his life? Read Genesis 33:8-16 and Genesis 36. God hated Esau in regard to inheriting the covenant, not in regard to blessing in this life or the next.

  • When was the choice between Esau and Jacob made? (v. 11)

  • What was the choice between Esau and Jacob based on? What is not based on? (v. 11-12)

  • This is known as the doctrine of election (for more on this doctrine, read this article by Timothy Keller). Now, apply that to a bigger scale: why was not all of Israel saved? 

  • Note, this is a similar point that can be made today: “Not everyone who is called a Christian is truly a follower of Christ.” Why is that a true statement? 

• Read the parable of the landowner in Matthew 20:1-16. What does this passage tell us about God’s right to show mercy? 

• What does mercy and salvation depend on? What does mercy not depend on? (v. 15-16)

• What did God say to Pharaoh? (v. 17) If you need a refresher, this is in context to the story found in Exodus 4-14. 

• Was Pharaoh in any way contributory to the state of his hardened heart? If yes, how? See Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7, and 9:34.

• If someone told you, “God is unfair to save some and not others,” how would you use what we studied this week to answer them? (v. 16-18)

Reflect & Respond

• What does this passage teach me about God?

• How does this change the way I live? 

Scripture to Memorize

“Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” -Romans 9:18

Catch up on previous weeks here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yelena is the founder and editor in chief Tirzah. Yelena works as an attorney in tax and in her spare time, she is working on her first book for unmarried twenty-something women in extended waiting seasons and running Tirzah. She has a passion for pointing young women to Christ, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her family. Yelena lives in Indiana with her husband, Daniel.