Wed.’s Devo - God’s Great Mercy

Read Romans 9:17-33 We are continuing yesterdays thought. Pharaoh was raised up for God’s glory to be seen throughout the earth. Unfortunately for Pharaoh, his role was the bad guy. Nevertheless, God used him in a powerful way. I wonder how it felt to have your heart hardened so that you couldn’t make wise decisions. I wonder if he didn’t repent when it was all over with and turn to God. The whole world was looking at Egypt, the mightiest kingdom in the earth at the time. God used Egypt and its fall to show everyone that He was stronger and more powerful. I’m sure many, like Rahab turned to God through the stories they heard of what happened in Egypt. So the question is: If God chooses and rejects, pardons and punishes, whom He pleases, why are those blamed who cannot help sinning? God finally ends the argument over wills by saying that he is the potter and we are the clay and he decides if he shapes us into a vessel of value or shame. Then Paul asks a hypothetical question: What if God, after much patience on the vessels of wrath that are doomed to destruction, shows his power over them in order to contrast it to the mercy he will give to those who he had prepared for glory. Then Paul focuses on God’s great mercy that he would allow the Gentiles to be included in his mercy even though they weren’t the original “called” ones. God promised this extended mercy in Hosea 2:23. Hosea was the prophet that God told to go and marry a harlot as a picture of what God was going to do to Israel. He was going to bring judgment down on Israel that had become harlots with other gods, but then, after a while, he was going to extend mercy to her again and bring her back into the fold. God’s mercy triumphs over his judgment. Isaiah also prophecies about a remnant that will be saved. He likens it to a seed of righteousness that God allowed to live, that has kept the world from being destroyed because of their wickedness (just like Job was spared during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha). This is fulfilled in the Gentiles who receive salvation strictly by faith, not by following the law as the Jew did but did not have faith. They stumbled over the very rock of the Law - Jesus - where the Gentiles fell on it and were saved. Lord, I have to admit this is over my head in understanding but I just choose to believe you know what you are doing by faith. I totally trust in your plan.