Perhaps the bumpiest part of this ride is found in the paradox of God’s sovereignty in predestining some and human freedom to choose God (remember that a paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory statement that is actually true). Whenever we enter this topic, we need to hold both God’s sovereignty and human freedom together in tension. To emphasize one over the other will lead us to something not found in Scripture. In John 6:39-40, Jesus spoke both of the Father’s sovereignty and of human responsibility. We don’t have time to unpack this more so let me encourage us to leave room for mystery and to allow God to be the keeper of the secret things (Deuteronomy 29:29). Even so, let me offer a little Dramamine for some of what we will find.
When you reach 9:13-21, think about how “hate” is actually a statement about favoring one thing more than another. In the same way that Jesus advocated a greater love for God rather than an active hatred for one’s parents (Luke 14:26), so too Malachi (1:2-3) and Paul used this language to express the idea that one son was favored by God over the other simply as an act of God’s great mercy! It is not that God actually hated Esau; He simply favored Jacob more. Neither brother deserved the favor, but one received it.
This then begins what is, perhaps, the choppiest part of our trip as Paul covers the hardening of one’s heart (with Pharaoh as the poster child). If God is the one who hardens a heart, it might be asked, how is this not unjust for who can resist God? Here, again, we find mystery, and Pharaoh holds some clues. Exodus records that Pharaoh was the one who initially chose to harden his heart. It was only after rejecting God’s offer multiple times that we read how God gave Pharaoh what he had already chosen—a hardened heart. Consider how this might be connected to how “God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts” in the first chapter. Much can be written here but let me point our attention back to the big picture.
In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus was asked about some Galileans who died in a way that indicated that they must have been horrible sinners. Jesus replied by saying (and I paraphrase here), “Rather than trying to figure out how sinful others are, make sure you have repented, or you too shall perish.” While I invite questions and believe that honest and civil debate can bring great benefit, before we talk about who initiates the hardened heart, we first need to ask, “Where is my heart hard toward God and am I living in a pattern where I continue to harden my heart toward his invitation or command?” This is the more painful path, but it is the one that will bear the best fruit in the end.
As we read these choppy chapters, I hope we will hear God’s Spirit leading us away from questions about God’s character and the way He governs and into an action step that is open to everyone. Every one of us—as well as all people in the world—are invited to humble ourselves and come to God through Jesus. This is a profound grace that we dare not miss.
I’ll let Paul have the last word here from chapter 10 and then 11.
