“14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles” (Romans 9:14-24)?

     God can execute His judgments upon any individual or any nation at any time that He chooses in any way He wants in alignment with His divine attributes and character because He is sovereign. He has already judged the original creation, condemned it to destruction, and put a death sentence upon lost mankind. Therefore, is there unrighteousness with God? Of course not. God is not unrighteous/unjust. The very fact that God has historically shown His longsuffering to both individuals and nations that live in continuing unbelief, reveals that God is not unrighteous. God is not unrighteous for the whenever He might choose to end His longsuffering and execute His curse. In fact the only reason God has not already executed His judgment upon the original creation is that He is in fact loving and longsuffering.

“5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:5-7).

“12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:12-15).

“18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (I Peter 3:18-20).

“9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Peter 3:9-10).

     God’s “longsuffering” is long, but nonetheless it is a measurement that has a limitation in time. God’s “longsuffering will one day come to an end at which time God’s announced judgment in His curse upon the original creation will be executed.

     Therefore, God is not unrighteous when the time of execution of His judgment arrives according to His choosing. Any time of waiting is of grace. We deserve the immediate execution of His wrath upon our sin. Neither is it unrighteous for God to choose certain lost people to accomplish His purposes or to glorify Himself. God can (and frequently has) intervened in history in some very miraculous ways to accomplish His purposes. God has intervened on numerous occasions to “preserve . . . posterity in the earth.” These instances are God’s interventions in the historical paradigms to preserve a remnant of faithful believers in the continuance of history and in God’s longsuffering. This is what God was doing in allowing Joseph to be sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. God was intervening in history to “preserve . . . posterity in the earth.”

“1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 45:1-8).

     We cannot take Paul’s statements in Romans 9:14-24 out of this historical context. God used the Gentile nation of Egypt and its pagan Pharaoh to “preserve” Israel “posterity in the earth.” The question of Romans 9:14 is whether or not God is unrighteous for preserving Israel “a posterity in the earth” by using this pagan nation of Egypt and its Pharaoh for this purpose and in the way He used them? God promised Abraham that He would build a nation from Abraham’s physical seed. Doing that would take many, many years and many, many generations. The natural process in generations is that children would grow up, marry, establish their own households, move away from their parents, begin new communities, and establish new cultures. The natural process in generations of family history is dispersal and various divisions. Uniquely, God would bring this family of believers into slavery in Egypt for 430 years (Ex. 12:40). This in fact was a specific detail of the Abrahamic Covenant.

“12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:12-16).

     Again, we cannot, and should not, take Romans 9:14-24 out of this historical context. These two texts (Genesis 45:1-8 and Genesis 15:12-16) are apparently what Paul is referencing in Romans 9:14-24. However, we must be careful to make the distinction that the text is not referring to individuals being chosen to be saved from damnation while others are chosen to eternal reprobation. Paul’s reference to God’s “longsuffering” in Romans 9:22 is an attribute of God universally applied throughout Scripture with many examples regarding both national Israel and other nations.

     We have already looked to this universal truth in II Peter 3:20 where we are told that the “longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” What was God waiting for? God was not waiting for Noah and his family to repent and believe. They were already saved people. God was waiting for the lost of the world to repent and believe. If the lost of the world were already reprobate and could not believe because they were not elect, why wait at all? There would be no equitable value to God’s longsuffering if there did not exist some possibility of sinners being able to repent and believe as the result of God’s longsuffering. The grace of God in His longsuffering is greatly perverted and distorted by Calvinism’s view of pretemporal reprobation (i.e., their view that God has not only chosen who can and will be saved, but He has also predetermined and reprobated the whole of the non-elect). Calvinism’s premise of pretemporal reprobation does in fact make God unrighteous.

     God’s longsuffering within the pagan nations is probably what is being referred to in the statement “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” in Genesis 15:16. Adam Clarke1 makes the following comment on this text:

     “In the fourth generation - In former times most people counted by generations, to each of which was assigned a term of years amounting to 20, 25, 30, 33, 100, 108, or 110; for the generation was of various lengths among various people, at different times. It is probable that the fourth generation here means the same as the four hundred years in the preceding verse. Some think it refers to the time when Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, came out of Egypt, and divided the land of Canaan to Israel, Jos 14:1. Others think the fourth generation of the Amorites is intended, because it is immediately added, The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full; but in the fourth generation they should be expelled, and the descendants of Abram established in their place. From these words we learn that there is a certain pitch of iniquity to which nations may arrive before they are destroyed, and beyond which Divine justice does not permit them to pass.” (Underlining added)

     It is clear from the Hebrew text that God’s interaction with Pharaoh through Moses is the precedent for Pharaoh’s hardened heart, but it was Pharaoh who hardened his own heart. He refused to repent of unbelief and his trust in his false gods and begin to believe in and trust the God of Israel. That unwillingness to repent with each new plague only hardened his heart further and further as the ordeal progressed. The Theological Workbook of the Old Testament2 states the following regarding the Hebrew word chazaq (khaw-zak’), translated “hardened” in Exodus 12:12:

     “The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is an old problem, one that is more theological than linguistic. The verb hazag is used twelve times in the narrative (Ex 4-14), mostly with the Lord as the agent (“Pharaoh’s heart was hardened”). Also, the verb kabed is used five times, both with the Lord as the agent, with Pharaoh as the agent, and in the passive sense. The verb qasha is used once with the Lord as the agent. There is no discernable difference here in the usage of these words. It is clear that Pharaoh was an unrepentant sinner at the start (chapter 5). It is perhaps enough to point this out and remark that all of God’s hardening of an obstinate sinner was judicial and done that God’s deliverance should be the more memorable. And this, too, was in God’s plan (Ex 9:16), though it is also inexplicably true that Pharaoh sinned freely and was therefore terribly guilty (cf. Acts 4:25-28).” (Statement by R. L. Harris)

     There is little doubt that the events of the plagues that God brought upon Egypt are what led/caused Pharaoh to harden his heart. It is also clear that God foreknew that the events of the plagues would harden Pharaoh’s heart because God says so many times prior to the plagues actually taking place. However, it is a major assumption to presume Pharaoh had no choice in the matter and that God was not allowing Pharaoh the opportunity to repent. It was Pharaoh’s choice to harden his heart to God’s workings. It is a major leap in logic to assume that is what God wanted or that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart could be the only way God could work to get Pharaoh to release His people. In fact, in the specific way certain plagues were administrated, it is clear that God could have selectively killed the whole nation of Egypt just as He did the “firstborn” in the last plague. God finally does annihilate the army of Egypt by closing the previously parted Red Sea upon them as they pursued Israel to bring them back into captivity. The fact that God did not do this immediately exemplified His grace and longsuffering with Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

     God’s plagues were primarily against the idols of Egypt in proving them false. The Egyptian Pharaohs believed they were personally the offspring of their gods. Therefore, for Pharaoh to accept the God of Israel as the only God, he would have to reject his own claim to deity and his right/authority to hold the position of Pharaoh. He had a great deal of incentive to reject the God of Israel. We can find a parallel and comparison in Romans 1:19-32 to what took place in God’s dealing with Pharaoh in that God deals similarly with all unbelievers as they resist His revelation of Himself and as they refuse to repent of their unbelief. It was Pharaoh’s own unbelief and refusal to repent that hardened his heart. To reject God in unbelief is actually an act of self-deification (just like Pharaoh).

“22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Romans 1:22-28; compare Romans 2:4-5 below).

     The fact that God’s withholds the execution of His wrath to any degree is a manifestation of His “mercy” (Rom. 9:15). No one deserves that mercy or one moment of time to repent. For God to choose some to salvation and the rest to reprobation is a contradiction against what God has already said in Romans 2:2-11. “There is no respect of persons with God.” The Calvinist would have us to believe that God merely chose certain individuals indiscriminantly to be saved (unconditional election) and that this merely means that God does not elect on the basis of any human merit or moral qualities.

“2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:2-11).

     To make the statement, “For there is no respect of person’s with God” mean that God merely selected certain individuals indiscriminantly to be saved is to take the statement out of its Jewish and historical context. The Jews at the time of Christ believed they were God’s favorite people because they were the descendants of Abraham. They thought God was a respecter of persons; i.e., THEM. They thought they were all destined for the Kingdom of God merely because they were God’s chosen people. Calvinists merely twist this to a degree to make elect Christians chosen indiscriminantly to be saved to replace the children of Israel. How does this twist align with the statement, “For there is no respect of person’s with God”? This interpretation is completely contrary to the context of what God is saying. This is the similar context of what the Spirit of God reveals to Peter in Acts chapter 10.

“19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21 Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius {a Gentile believer}; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. 25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. 26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together {other Gentile believers}. 28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? 30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. 33 Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. 34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen {the Apostles} before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:19-43).

     This is the same context in which we find Paul’s statement in Romans 2:11. That same context is carried throughout the epistle to the Romans (and the whole Word of God) into what Paul is saying in Romans 9:14-24. A.T. Robertson3 comments on Acts 10:34:

     “Respecter of persons (prosôpolêmptês). This compound occurs only here and in Chrysostom. It is composed of prosôpon face or person (pros and ops, before the eye or face) and lambanô. The abstract form prosôpolêmpsia occurs in Jas 2:1 (also Ro 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25) and the verb prosôpolempteô in Jas 2:9. The separate phrase (lambanein prosôpon) occurs in Lu 20:21; Ga 2:6. The phrase was already in the LXX (De 10:17; 2Ch 19:7; Ps 82:6). Luke has simply combined the two words into one compound one. The idea is to pay regard to one’s looks or circumstances rather than to his intrinsic character. The Jews had come to feel that they were the favourites of God and actually sons of the kingdom of heaven because they were descendants of Abraham. John the Baptist rebuked them for this fallacy.” (Underlining added.)

“7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:7-9).

     With this context established, we can look to what Paul is saying in Romans 9:14-24. Paul is referring in Romans 9:15 to what God said to Moses in Exodus 33:19.

“12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (Exodus 33:12-19).

     God chose the nation of Israel to be the vehicle of His remnant of believers for the perpetuation of His Truth in the original creation and through which Messiah (the Promised One) would be born. He did not choose any individual in the nation of Israel to be saved. In fact, as we have already seen in Romans 9:6, the vast majority of God’s elect people were not saved. Those individuals born within the nation of Israel had a greater opportunity to be saved because the nation of Israel was God’s chosen depository of the Scriptures, but no individual was chosen by God to be saved. God’s mercy was obviously given to a higher degree to national Israel in that God chose the nation of Israel to be His depository of Truth and through which He would maintain a faithful remnant. The application of God’s mercy in Romans 9:15 is upon nations, not individuals. The emphasis then is upon God’s sovereign right to execute judgment or compassion/mercy according to His own determinant will at any time He chooses. The emphasis of Romans 9:16 is that this choice is not according to man’s dictates or even according to the purposes of men, regardless of how noble those purposes may be. God’s choice in these matters are according to His purpose (Romans 9:17) and His timetable.

     I believe that the statement of Paul in Romans 9:15-16 quoted from Exodus 33:19 is often taken out of the historical context of Sinai because it is quoted before the reference to Pharaoh in Romans 9:17. These are two separate applications of the same truth. The first in Romans 9:15-16 is a positive example of God’s determinant mercy regarding the sin of national Israel at Sinai. The second is a negative example of God’s determinant mercy regarding Pharaoh and Egypt in the plagues. At Sinai, God extended mercy to Israel, while God did not extend mercy to Pharaoh and Egypt. William Newell4 comments on this text giving great clarity to its meaning and quotes J. N. Darby in his footnote adding even further clarity to the text:

     “Verses 14, 15: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Far be the thought! For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. We have only to remember the circumstances under which God thus spoke to Moses, to see the righteousness of God’s sovereignty in mercy. There had been the awful breach at Sinai: Israel had ‘changed their glory for the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.’ The eternal ineffably glorious Jehovah in His indignation had said to Moses: ‘Let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation’ (Ex 32:10). Moses pleads for the people, and the next day offers, if God will forgive them, to be himself blotted out of God’s book! He said to the people: ‘I will go up unto Jehovah; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin’ (Ex 32:30). Forty days and forty nights this devoted man lay on his face interceding for Israel, and God brought about, as we know, Moses’ mediatorship for Israel. (Study carefully Ex 33:1-23: especially Ex 33:12-17; 34:1, 27-28, 32.) God shows Moses himself favor; and finally extends it to all the people. And note, it is in this connection, and under these circumstances, and in answer to the personal request of His beloved servant: ‘Show me, I pray thee, thy glory,’ that Jehovah says, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy’ (Ex 33:18-19).

     Now who can find fault with that? Unless Jehovah shows mercy, Israel must all righteously perish. There was no resource left in man! God, whose name is Love, must come out to man and come in mercy, or all is over! And here we earnestly ask you to read the remarkable words of Darby, in the foot-note below. (1) It will accomplish in the heart which weighs it carefully that reconciliation of the sovereignty of God with God’s love and grace which is possible alone to faith; and it will also enlighten the mind concerning God’s dealings with Israel as recorded in these three great chapters of Romans.

footnotes

     1. Here the apostle shows Israel from their own history that they must leave God to His sovereignty or else they must lose their promises; and then that in the exercise of this sovereignty He will let in the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. If, says Paul, you Israelites will take your promises by descent, we will just see what comes of it. You say, we be Abraham’s seed, and have a right to the promises by descent; for these Gentiles are but dogs, and have no right to share with us in God’s promises. Well, if God has His sovereignty, He will in grace let in these Gentile dogs! But now I will prove to you that you cannot take the promises by descent. In the first place, ‘They are not all Israel which are of Israel’; yet if it is by descent you must take in all Abraham’s seed, And if you take in Abraham’s children, then you must take in Ishmael--those Arabians! Oh no, say they, we cannot allow that; what! Ishmaelites in the congregation of Israel, and heirs of promise? Yes, if by descent! You must take it by grace; and if it is by grace, God will not confine this grace to you, but will exercise it toward the Gentiles.

      ‘But now, to go further down in your history, you have Jacob and Esau; and if you go by descent, you must let in the Edomites by the same title as yourselves.

      But in verses 5 and 9, it says, ‘The children of the promise are counted for the seed’: so that it must rest on Isaac and Jacob, and Ishmael and Esau remain outside: therefore your mouth must now be closed as to descent, for your mouth is bound up by God’s saying, ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.’ He has chosen, according to His sovereign title, to bless you, and on that alone your blessing depends; as your own history shows, and your own prophetic testimony proves. You cannot rest it on a mere title by descent. But further, see how their (the Jews’) mouth is stopped: for when did God say, 1 will have mercy on whom I will have mercy'? When every Israelite had lost all title to everything God had to give, then God retreated, if I may use the expression, into His own sovereignty, that He might not cut them off.’ [See Ex 33:19, after the great breach made by Israel’s worshipping the golden calf, while Moses was standing in the mount with Jehovah!]

      ‘By this act, Israel had forfeited everything: they had cast off the promises, which they had accepted on the condition of their own obedience (Ex 19:8), and the God who made the promises, and who alone could fulfil them. Could God overlook this sin? Israel had undertaken to have the promises by their obedience; if God had dealt with Israel in righteousness, every one must have been cut off. What could God do, but retreat, as I said, into His own sovereignty? There He had a resource; for if any of them are to be spared, it must be in this way of mercy. ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.’ Man is entirely lost, so now God says, I will act for Myself. Taking a truth in connection with all other truth gives it its right and proper place, and its own Divine force.

     ‘Say now, you Jews, (and you, my reader, ask yourself the question), will you be willing to be dealt with in righteousness? No, you would not! Then do not talk about it, until you can go to God on that footing. But if you have such a conviction of sin as stops your mouth about righteousness, and so excludes all boasting, you will rejoice in the ‘mercy’ and ‘compassion’ of God, who retreats into His own sovereignty, that He may know how to spare; because in this sovereignity He can show mercy.’ ”

     Therefore, the context of Romans 9:14-24 is God’s sovereignty in dealing with nations, not individuals. God sovereignly chose to show mercy to national Israel at Sinai, but sovereignly chose not to show mercy to Egypt at the Red Sea. The mercy being spoken of here is not salvific. The mercy here is about God withholding or not withholding judgment that was rightly deserved. This was (and still is) a sovereign judicial decision God could righteously make according to His own will. This does not mean that God cannot execute His judgment upon individuals at anytime that He chooses to do. It simply means that Romans 9:14-24 is referring to God’s longsuffering in His judgment on nations. We should be careful not to change the context as it reveals God’s mercy in withholding judgment according to His will to impose a false supposition on the text that God has chosen to extend salvific mercy to some while withholding salvific mercy to others. That is not the context of Romans 9:14-24.