CSB Study Bible Notes on Romans 9 v 10-16: "God does not owe mercy to anyone."

9:10–11 The case is clearer with Rebekah because she had twins. God’s choice of the younger twin before their birth showed his gracious election and indicated again that God’s blessings are his to hand out and that they were not an automatic birthright of all ethnic Jews; see note at v. 6.

9:12–13 The divine purpose was revealed from the beginning of the Hebrew nation when God chose one twin over the other. The prophet Malachi traced God’s differing treatment of two nations to this divine choice (Mal 1:1–5). Both nations were punished for their sins, but only one received grace. I have loved Jacob means God chose or elected his descendants (the nation of Israel), whereas I have hated Esau means that God rejected the nation that stemmed from him (Edom).

9:14–15 Is there injustice with God? is a rhetorical question, inspired by the fact that it is difficult to grasp the fact that God does not need to treat all sinners the same in order to be just. Jesus taught the same truth in the parable of the vineyard workers (Mt 20:15: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine?”).

In his first sermon in Nazareth, Jesus pointed out that God gave grace to a widow in Sidon and healed only Naaman the Syrian when there were many needy people in Israel (Lk 4:24–27). His comments enraged the audience, but careful consideration reveals that a just God is perfectly free to make such choices. If you forgave one debtor but not another, would you be unjust? Of course not. You chose to be gracious to one when you could have justly chosen to be gracious to none. God does not owe mercy to anyone. Paul quoted Ex 33:19 to this effect.

9:16 Salvation does not depend on human will or effort. Salvation is based on God’s mercy. The situation is not that people want to be saved but cannot be (2Tm 2:25–26), or that they are running after God but cannot find him. Apart from God’s drawing them, none is seeking the one true God—not a single one (Rm 3:11–12).

See Edwin A. Blum in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1795–1796.

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