Romans 9 is about righteousness through faith, just like every other chapter in Romans.

Chapter	Verses	Theme / Note
1	16–17	Gospel reveals righteousness of God through faith; “The righteous shall live by faith.”
2	13, 26, 29	Allusion: true righteousness comes from inward faith/heart, not external law.
3	21–22, 26, 28, 30	Righteousness apart from the law, through faith in Jesus.
4	3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20–22	Abraham justified by faith, not works or circumcision.
5	1, 17–19	Justified by faith; righteousness is a gift through Christ’s obedience.
6	13, 16, 18, 19	Believers freed from sin, now slaves to righteousness (fruit of faith).
7	6	Serve in the Spirit, not by the written code—faith replaces law.
8	3–4, 10, 30, 33	Righteous requirement fulfilled by faith; justification secure in Christ.
9	30–33	Gentiles attained righteousness by faith; Israel stumbled by works.
10	3–4, 6, 8–10	Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe.
11	5–6, 20, 23	Remnant chosen by grace; stand by faith, not works.
12	3	Each given a measure of faith by God.
13	11–14	Put on Christ—righteousness lived out by faith, not law.
14	22–23	Whatever is not from faith is sin; righteous life flows from faith.
15	13	God fills believers with joy and peace “in believing.”
16	25–26	Gospel revealed to bring about the obedience of faith.

What Paul is doing is building the case for faith for the Gentiles in Romans 9.  The Jewish people relied so much on the law for righteousness that they missed the point of the Law.    For the Jews, it was all about their Jewish identity and bloodlines traced to Abraham and more about following the Mosaic Law than anything else.  Paul was going to show them the bigger picture, starting with Abraham.

Paul Loves His People

First he laid the foundation that he loved the Jewish people.  So much so that he would give up his eternity for their salvation.

It is necessary for him to write this so that they realize his heart.  It isn’t to put the Jewish people down.  He himself is Jewish.    He has already shown how they are unique and special to God (Romans 3).   But he needs to guide them to see the bigger picture.  That righteousness is by faith and because of that, even the Gentiles, the non-Jews, are included in that salvation.

Isaac is the Promised One, Not Jacob, therefore Faith is What Matters, Above the Law 

He begins by setting the foundation that is their own history.  God made a promise to Abraham that he would bear an child.  It was an impossible promise given to an elderly couple.  How could this even happen?

It didn’t for a long time.  So Sarah had Abraham sleep with her servant, and she gives birth to Ishmael.  But Ish was not the son of the promise.  This was the way of man’s effort to make God’s promises happen.

God told them plainly, he is not the son of the promise.  The son of the promise is coming.  And that son did eventually come.  They named him Isaac.  He was the son via the promises of God, and the one God said there would be blessing of Abraham.  The descendants would be as the sand of the seashore, and the promised Messiah would come through that son.

Isaac was not the oldest son via the Law, but he was the son of the promise.  It’s iimportant to note that Isaac is called his “one and only son”  three times in Genesis 22.

• Genesis 22:2 – “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’”

• Genesis 22:12 – “Do not lay a hand on the boy… Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

• Genesis 22:16 – “…because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son…”

Just as it was the son of the promise who was Abraham’s child,  and not the son of the law by birth, so it is those who are of faith that are the children of Abraham, and not the sons of the Law.

“This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Rom 9:8).

So in their own Jewish history, it is by the promise that matters.  And the faith that comes within that promise.  A hard pill to swallow for Jews, but it was undeniable, and Paul is just getting started.

Esau would Serve Jacob, by God’s Election.  

“Not only that” is how Paul begins the next section.  He is getting ready to demonstrate that God does things as He decides.

In this case, it is about Isaac’s children.  The twin boys.  Esau was older.  Jacob was the younger twin.  Culturally, Esau was to received all the rights, responsibilities and privileges as the older son.  The younger son was expected to serve him.  But God said it was the opposite.  The older would serve the younger.  Esau would serve Jacob.

Why?  To show that it was “not by works but by him who calls” (v. 12).

Paul is making the point that righteousness is not by works, but by faith in Him who calls.

When God chose Jacob over Esau, it was before they were born.  Before either had done anything right or wrong.  Because God was laying out a way of doing things, and that was not dependent on law or birth order but by his choosing.

But Pharaoh .  

Pharaoh was cruel to the chosen people of God.  He did not know the history of how they had rescued Egypt so instead of honoring then, he cruelly oppressed them (Exodus 1).  He did evil to the people of God because his heart was hard against them.

It appears then that God declared judgment upon him.  Because this is the first word for “prepared for destruction” in Romans 9.  It is a descriptive word rather than the traditional “prepared” that we see when used for “prepared for mercy.”

God’s hardening was just an increase of what was already in Pharaoh’s heart.   But for Pharaoh, it does appear that God had passed judgment.  He was slated for destruction.  He could have had him removed or killed in that moment which happened all the time to Pharaoh’s and leaders – assassination, sickness, etc…  Instead, he had “great patience” with Pharaoh because he wanted to use him for a greater purpose.

What was that purpose?  To show to the entirety of the world God’s power and proclaim His name among the Gentiles.  And that’s exactly what happened.

Pharaoh hardened his heart.  God increased that hardening.  Until finally, in a superlative act of deliverance, the Israelites were set free.

As we see in more than a dozen Psalms, this event rocked the world.  And it created a fear of God to all the nations that heard of this event.  Not just that the Israelites were freed from Egypt, but also that God parted the Red Sea.  The whole earth at that time heard of the name and power of the God of Israel.

Thus the Gentile Inclusion

That meant that the Gentiles heard about Yahweh and could put their faith in him as the greatest of all Gods.  Those who were not the chosen people of God were found by God and He called them their own.

It was always the plan of God to include the Gentiles.  The Jewish people had a hard time believing this.  But it was right there in the Scriptures.

But what about the Jews?

The Jews thought they were safe because they were the chosen people of God, which they are.  But it isn’t and wasn’t enough.  Isaiah says only a remnant will be saved.  And that remnant was of God’s mercy who gave them descendants.

The irony is that the Jews had everything to point them to faith and to point them to Jesus.  But instead of seeing the purpose of the Law, they saw it as an end.  And in their pride and stubbornness have believed that good works have led them to salvation.  They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”

But the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame – Jew and Gentile alike.