Romans 9:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They all worshiped the calf, yet some were shown mercy and others were not. "I will have mercy," He says, "on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (Rom 9:15).

The same can be seen in those who are punished. What can be said about Pharaoh? Why was he punished and subjected to such great punishment?

Because he was hard and disobedient. But was he alone such a man, and no one else?

Why, then, was he punished so severely? And why, in relation to the Jews, did God not speak about the whole people?

Why did He not deem all worthy of the same honor? It is said: "Though they be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved" (Isa 10:22).

And why only a remnant? Do you see how many perplexities the matter under consideration raises?

And this is entirely natural. Whenever an opponent can be brought into difficulty, do not immediately offer the solution.

For if he himself is shown to be at fault in his ignorance, why should you expose yourself to needless danger?

Why do you make him more insolent by taking everything upon yourself? Tell me, Jew, on what ground do you trouble us with questions about the calling of the Gentiles?

You are in such great difficulties yourself and cannot solve even one of them. Yet I can certainly point out the true reason why the Gentiles were justified.

I can also show why you Jews were deprived of the promises. What, then, is this reason?

It is that they were justified by faith, while you wished to be justified by the works of the Law. Through such stubbornness you lost everything.

"For, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God" (Rom 10:3).

Briefly stated, in these words the blessed Apostle gives a general solution to the question. For greater clarity, however, we shall examine each word in detail.

We must keep in mind that blessed Paul's desire, through all that has been said, was to teach that God alone knows the worthy, and no man does.

Though men think they know well, they constantly err in their judgment. But He who knows the secrets already clearly knows who is worthy of crowns and who of punishment and torment.

Therefore He exposed and punished many who, in men's opinion, were good. He crowned many who were considered wicked, and testified that they were not such.

He pronounces judgment not according to the report of servants, but according to His own strict and impartial judgment.

He does not wait for the completion of the deed in order to judge one bad and another not.

Still, lest we again say something unclear, let us turn to the Apostle's words. "And not only so, but Rebecca also, having conceived by one man" (Rom 9:10).

Although I could, the Apostle reasons, point also to the children of Keturah, I do not speak of this.

In order to win the victory completely, I bring forward as an example those born from one father and one mother.

Both were born from Rebecca and Isaac, the lawful son of a blameless father who was preferred to all.

To him it was said: "In Isaac shall your seed be called" (Gen 21:12), and he became the father of us all.

If he is our father, then those who came from him should also have been fathers. But this was not so.

You see that this happened not only with Abraham, but also with his son. Everywhere faith and virtue shine forth, and they signify true kinship.

From this we learn that Abraham's children are called his children not only by birth, but because they are worthy of the virtue of him who begot them.

If they were called so by birth alone, Esau would have had to enjoy equal rights with Jacob.

For Esau too came from a deadened womb, and his mother was barren. But birth alone was not required; character also was required.

This is not a matter of chance, but serves for the edification of our life.

The Apostle does not say that, since one was good and the other wicked, the first was therefore preferred.

Otherwise someone would immediately object to him: How then? Who are better, those from the Gentiles or those from the circumcision?

Although the Apostle could have appealed here to actual experience, he does not do this. It seemed very harsh to him.

Instead he entrusted everything to the divine mind, against which no one can dare to fight, except perhaps one utterly senseless.

"For before they were born," he says, "or had done anything good or evil, it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger."

He proves that there is no profit in nobility according to the flesh. What is needed is virtue of soul, which God knows even before deeds.

"For before they were born, or had done anything good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger."

To choose from birth itself belongs to foreknowledge. He says this so that the election of God, accomplished according to will and foreknowledge, might be made manifest.

From the first day, God knew and foretold both the good man and the man who was not good.

Therefore do not tell me, the Apostle continues, that you have read the Law and the Prophets, and have served for so long.

He who knows and tests the soul also knows who is worthy of salvation. Therefore yield to what is incomprehensible in election.

He alone rightly knows whom to crown. How many there were who, judging by the outward testimony of deeds, seemed better than Matthew.

But He who knows secrets and knows how to test the capacities of the mind noticed the pearl lying in the mud.

Passing by the others and marveling at Matthew's beauty, He chose him. Adding His own grace to the nobility of Matthew's will, He showed him worthy.

Whoever can judge these temporal arts, or all other works, does not choose what the unskilled approve.

He chooses what he himself knows perfectly. He often rejects what the ignorant approve, and approves what they reject.

Those who train horses act this way in selecting them. So also does an appraiser of precious stones, and those skilled in the other arts.

How much more will God, the Lover of mankind and infinite Wisdom, who alone clearly knows all things, not follow human opinions.

Rather, He will pronounce judgment about everything according to His own wisdom, which is wholly exact and without stumbling.

Thus He chose the publican, the thief, and the harlot, while He delivered the high priests, elders, and rulers to dishonor and rejected them.

Everyone knows that the same thing happened with the martyrs. Many from among those utterly rejected by men were crowned during the persecutions.

Conversely, some who were considered great among the people stumbled and fell.

Therefore do not demand an account from the Creator, and do not ask why one was crowned and another punished.

He knows how to do all things justly. For this reason He said: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

You learned from the outcomes that this was just, but God clearly knew it before the end.

He requires not only the manifestation of deeds, but also a noble will and a prudent thought.

Such a man, even if he should sin at some time under the influence of some circumstance, will soon correct himself.

Even if he should happen to persist in vice, he will not be despised, but the all-knowing God will soon remember him.

Likewise, a corrupt man, even if he does something apparently good, will perish, because he does it with an evil disposition.

Thus David, after committing murder and adultery, soon wiped away his crimes, because he had been carried away by circumstances.

He did not act from attachment to vice. But the Pharisee, who had done nothing of the kind and even boasted of good deeds, lost everything through an evil will.

Death devours those who in this life strive for power and riches in order to rule over others. Yet after the resurrection they will be slaves, when the morning light shines forth upon the righteous.

Their type is Jacob, whom the Lord sets above his brother. Wretched slavery! At the very time when some are called to the radiance of glory and light, the glory of others grows old and is devoured by the darkness of Hades.

Rightly is it said of them that they have been cast out from their honor and glory, because that glory is temporal.

Before they have appeared in deed, the first is loved and the second is hated.

Or again, Isaac is understood as an image of God. He has two sons, the written law and the spiritual law. One is hairy and rough, the other smooth.

For the Law contains an innumerable multitude of prescriptions. It is hated because, in Isaiah’s words, “My soul hates your feasts and your Sabbaths”; Is 1:13-14.

The other is loved because it is smooth. The Gospel is smooth and concise, for it requires only sincere faith and a good conscience toward one’s neighbor.

Or again, according to the meaning of the names: hateful before God is everyone who despises piety and is negligent in it. For this is how the name “Esau” is interpreted.

Beloved is everyone who trips up evil, as the name “Jacob” is interpreted.

It is even despite the fact that “from them, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”; Rom 9:5.

Then the Apostle makes this observation: “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel; nor are all Abraham’s children because they are his seed.”

That is, “it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed,” the true seed of Abraham; Rom 9:6-8.

By the power of the promise only one son of Sarah was born; Rom 9:9. Therefore Abraham’s other children, for example those by Hagar and Keturah, were only his children according to the flesh. Concerning them God promised absolutely nothing.

From this it follows, although the Apostle does not state it literally, that the Jews, though descended from Abraham, still may not be counted in God’s judgment as true descendants of Abraham, the forefather of the Jews.

The Apostle explains this vividly by the example of Rebecca’s sons. Although both were born from her by one father, Isaac, and were even conceived at the same time; Rom 9:10.

God chose only one of them, and indeed the younger, even before their birth. The Apostle adds: “that God’s purpose according to election might stand, not from works, but from Him who calls” to one destiny or another.

So also it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”; Rom 9:11-13; cf. Mal 1:2.

In doing this, the Apostle speaks of everything almost literally in the words of the Old Testament. Then, as though penetrated by the severity and sharpness of Old Testament speech, he expresses the very teaching on predestination in a strict and sharp form: "Whom He wills. God has mercy on, and whom He wills, He hardens." Yet from the examples given we see that God loves, not those who are unworthy of this, but those who were righteous. Likewise, God did not withhold His special love from those who were meek and obedient, but from those who were disobedient and even cruel. Such was Pharaoh, whose cruelty was turned into punishment for him, in fulfillment of the word of Scripture: "By the things by which a man sins, by these he is tormented."

The chief force of the Apostle's thought is that both the calling to salvation and rejection depend on God, Who calls and has mercy, or rejects and punishes, and Who says: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," and so forth. In the words of His Grace Theophan: "Saint Paul introduced this saying so that those who were perplexed over why not all the Jews entered into possession of the blessings of the promised Deliverer would frame this perplexity, not according to external facts that catch the eye, but from the idea of God as all-righteous and all-good."

At the same time, both in the examples and in the whole course of the discourse, another important thought is suggested. God has mercy on the worthy, and rejects or punishes the unworthy. This second thought is not set forth as strongly as the first. Yet the holy Fathers and other interpreters direct their attention equally to both, lest anyone exaggerate the first and diminish the second.

Saint John Chrysostom, for example, says: "The chief intention of blessed Paul, through everything he said, was to teach that God alone knows those who are worthy. He Who knows the secrets of the heart knows perfectly who is worthy of crowns, and who is worthy of punishment and torment. He does not wait for the completion of the deed in order to recognize one as worthy and another as not. I give the example of those born of one father and mother. Both were born of Rebecca and Isaac, the lawful son of Abraham, who was approved by God Himself and became the father of those who were to inherit the promises. If he is the father, then those who came from him ought also to be fathers. But this did not happen, for Esau was separated from this rank. From this we see that Abraham's children are called his own children, not only by birth, but also because they are worthy of the virtues of their parent. If they were so called by birth alone, Esau and Jacob ought to have enjoyed equal rights. On the contrary, what was required was not only such birth, but character. Yet the Apostle does not say that, since one was good and the other wicked, the former was preferred. He presents divine foreknowledge as the only cause, against which only someone completely senseless would dare to argue. Do not, then, demand an account from the Creator. Do not ask why one is crowned and another punished. He knows how to observe justice in all things. Therefore He said: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated, that is, rejected. You know from what followed that this was just, but God knew it before it was fulfilled."

Explaining the meaning of the following words, Oecumenius writes: "If there is no unrighteousness with God, and yet, when all worshiped the calf, God says. 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,' this is certainly because He secretly entered the hearts of men with His eyes, and saw who was worthy of mercy and who was unworthy" (Isa 32).

With regard to the present Jews also, God does not act unrighteously. Even now those who are worthy are saved because they believe, and those who are unworthy perish because they do not believe. "If Moses did not know who were worthy and who were unworthy of punishment for taking part in the worship of the calf, is it for us to know the causes of what happens?" Therefore, although Esau wished to receive the promise and ran toward it, another was deemed worthy. Yet "one must will and run, and employ all one's strength in the work. At the same time one must remember that, without the will of God, neither he who wills nor he who runs reaches the goal, unless divine help comes. God has mercy on, and wills, the one who himself wills to be saved."

Why then do you marvel and stand perplexed, the Apostle seems to say, when you now see yourselves excluded, or rather having excluded yourselves, from the spiritual blessings given by the manifested Deliverer?

The words "the elder shall serve the younger" were not always fulfilled in fact. It was so from David to Joram; see 2 Sam 8:14 and 4 Kings 8:20-22. It was also so under the Maccabees. For the greater part, however, the descendants of Esau treated the descendants of Jacob with hostility and were as though alien to them. The servitude indicated here signifies, in general, a state of alienation from the inheritance, like the state of slaves, who have no portion in that inheritance.

The second includes the words: "that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not from works, but from Him Who calls." These are not parenthetical words. On the contrary, they are the chief words. They are inserted in the middle in order to hold the attention upon them with greater force. They point to that distinctive feature in divine actions which appears in the election of some to the inheritance of the promise, and in the exclusion of others from that inheritance.

Why did God declare to Rebecca that, of her two children, one would be the heir, while the other, like a slave, would be excluded from it before they were born or had done anything? He did this to show, not only to her, but to all, that when He resolves to choose one and exclude another, He does not do this on the basis of works already done by the one chosen or excluded. He does it of Himself, as belongs to Him Who chooses or calls.

The words "that the purpose of God according to election," and so forth, literally yield these thoughts. "The purpose of God" means God's decision, decree, or simply God's will. "According to election" means according to the act of election, or with respect to the election of this one to the inheritance and that one to exclusion from it. "Might stand" means that it might be known to all that such a purpose, will, and decree exists. "Not from works" means not from works already done by those whom this purpose concerns. This is seen in Jacob and Esau, concerning whom the decree was made before their birth. "But from Him Who calls" does not mean that it depends on Him or comes from Him, but that it exists. It exists, of course, as is fitting to Him Who calls, or in accordance with His attributes.

There is no thought here of an unconditional divine decree assigning some to the inheritance of the promise and others to exclusion from it, without regard to whether anyone is worthy or unworthy. The thought is only this: such a decree is not formed on the basis of manifested worthiness or unworthiness, but as it is fitting for Him Who establishes the decree. Or rather, He knows how and is able to establish such a decree apart from such manifestation, while still doing so in complete agreement with His attributes, righteousness and goodness.

Such a decree may be made, not according to worthiness or unworthiness already manifested, but according to what is foreknown. According to precisely such foreknowledge every purpose of God according to election takes place. Our interpreters chiefly dwell on this thought.

Chrysostom says: "Why is one loved and the other rejected? Is it because one was wicked and the other good? Yet one was honored and the other condemned when they had not yet been born. Before their birth God said: The elder shall serve the younger. Why, then, did God say this? Because He does not wait, as man does, for the completion of the deed in order to see who is good and who is not. On the contrary, He knows beforehand who is good and who is not."

We read the same in blessed Theodoret: "God did not await proof in deed. While they were still carried in the womb, He foretold their difference. He foretold it because He foreknew their disposition. This election is not contrary to justice, but agrees with the human disposition."

Photius, in Oecumenius, explains it thus: "The purpose of God signifies the will of God in election. 'Not from works' sets forth the greatness of God's calling and His grace, for He chooses and calls from among those who have not yet done anything. But you will say: How are those who have done nothing chosen? Election is made according to the distinctions among those chosen. What distinction can there be among those who have done nothing? Certainly this is so. Yet one must know that, to human eyes, since they have not yet done anything, they do not differ at all. But to divine foreknowledge, which sees what is to be as present, they differ very greatly from one another. One is pleasing to God, and the other is not. Thus here the will of God in election was not from works, but according to calling and grace. Nevertheless, it was righteous, although such righteousness is not evident to all men."

Ambrosiaster writes: "God's foreknowledge appears as the active force in these matters, because things cannot happen otherwise than as God foresees that they will be. Knowing what each of them would be, God said: the younger will be worthy, and the elder will not be worthy. Foreknowledge chose the one and rejected the other. In the one whom it chose, the purpose of God remains, because nothing else could happen to him except what God foresaw and purposed in him, namely, that he should be worthy of salvation, that is, of the promise. In the one whom it rejected, the purpose of God likewise remains, because it foresaw that he would be unworthy, as indeed later proved to be the case. Therefore, because of foreknowledge, God is not shown to be a respecter of persons. He condemns no one who has not sinned, and crowns no one who has not gained the victory."