Romans 9:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

NIV: not by works but by him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.'

NASB: it was said to her, 'THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.'

CSB: not from works but from the one who calls--she was told, The older will serve the younger.

NLT: he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, 'Your older son will serve your younger son.'

KJV: It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

NKJV: it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”

This verse completes the long sentence begun in verse 10. Paul wants us to see that God's choice about which of Rebekah's twin boys would receive the covenant promises had nothing to do with their merits or their attributes. It was not about their works, since God declared His decision before they were born. It was not about their parents, since they came from the same two people.

And, now, Paul quotes what God said to Rebekah before the twins were born (Genesis 25:23): "The older will serve the younger." That means that God's choice to give the covenant promises to Jacob was also not about birth order. God simply chose to serve His own purposes before any human factors came into play.

Paul is building toward the argument that God decides who will receive His promises and who will not. His election, as mentioned in the prior verse, is something subject only to God's own sovereignty. Paul will use this concept to explain not only that God has the right to choose whom to save, but that He has the right and ability to save those who are not ethnically part of Israel: the Gentiles.

Romans 9:1–18 finds Paul heartbroken over the rejection of Christ by his people the Jews. They have been given so much as God's chosen people, and Paul insists that God will keep His promises to Israel. Not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel, though, Paul writes. Specific examples are given to show that God does, in fact, choose those who will receive His blessings. The following passage tackles whether this choice, by God, is fair.

Romans 9 begins with Paul describing his anguish for his people Israel in their rejection of Christ. After describing all the privileges God has given to the Jewish people as a nation, Paul insists that God will keep those promises. However, not every person born to Israel belongs to Israel, he writes. God reserves the right to show mercy to some and not others, as Paul demonstrates from Scripture. God is like a potter who creates some vessels for destruction and others for glory. God has called out His people from both the Gentiles and the Jews to faith in Christ, the stumbling stone.

Romans 8 ended with Paul's grand declaration that nothing can separate those who are in Christ Jesus from the love of God. Romans 9 turns a sharp corner and finds Paul heartbroken that his people, the Jews, have rejected Christ. He insists that God will keep His promises to Israel, but that not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel. God will show mercy to whomever He wishes, calling out His people from both the Jews and the Gentiles to faith in Christ. Romans 10 will find Paul discussing how Jewish people can be saved.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.