When God split the line of Abraham’s descendants and decided to have mercy on Jacob’s lineage and not on Esau’s, a separation was made so that when the Canaanite woman (a descendant of Esau) walked up to Jesus as the disciples watched, she made it known that she was a dog and that Jesus was a son of David (a descendant of Jacob).
- See Matthew 15
- Suddenly, we see Jesus say something peculiar…that “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
- Jacob obtained mercy as written in Romans 9, because the Lord Jesus was actually sent to his lineage and not to Esau’s
- Jesus gives us a glimpse of his longsuffering toward those without mercy when he sees her faith as she asks metaphorically about the bread of life even extending to the dogs.
*Romans 9 and Matthew 15 are linked, but considered hard to understand. It is quite common to attend church for years and never be shown the link.
This is only the beginning of a whole slew of thoughts since we Gentiles aren’t mentioned until verse 24 of Romans 9. Until verse 24, it’s all about those of the lineage of Esau not being included in the 12 tribes of Israel.
- who is man that he can reply against God?
- specifically, who are the Gentiles who may reply against God for having mercy on Israel and who are the Canaanites who complain that Esau should have been given mercy.
- This choosing was a slap in the face to tradition since Esau was the eldest, but God isn’t traditional and is instead new.
- The younger boy was given mercy and the inheritance, while the eldest was stripped of his birthright. Imagine being the first born of the lineage of Abraham only to have that status passed on to your younger brother.
Romans 9 has been a historical stumbling block to many since they keep thinking the entire chapter is about themselves, but Paul had been an academic Pharisee in his past religion who transitioned from people group to people group as he wrote. He provides new introductions to his paragraphs like verse 4 of Romans 9.
Text analysis using G&S reveals the truth that Paul’s brethren were the Jews who were his kinsmen according to the flesh as the firstborn of God…and the following verses up to verse 24 are all about them.
G&S = Grammar and Syntax 🙂
bibleG&S 