Romans 9:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For in the wilderness very many worshiped the image of the calf as God. Yet not all were punished. Some suffered punishment, while others were chastened by their penalties.

Thus, by punishing Pharaoh, God brought benefit to many through this. The divine Apostle set this forth, speaking thus: Rom 8:15, “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’”; Ex 33:19.

The opposite example of the Lord’s wrath and the future rejection of unworthy people is indicated by the Apostle in Pharaoh. Scripture says to him in God’s name: “For this very purpose I raised you up, that I might show My power in you”; Rom 9:16-18.

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."

“The righteousness of God’s decisions concerning our destinies escapes our mind. Yet to the Judge of all it is precisely and infallibly known that this, and not otherwise, must be decreed.

Believe, then, that although much takes place for causes unknown to us, and to some seems unfitting, it always takes place as the all-seeing eye sees and judges it to be righteous”; Oecumenius.

“After this the Apostle adds a new thought, darker than the preceding one. What is it?”; Chrysostom.