Is. 50-52
The book of Isaiah is full of prophecy about Jesus. I see it in chapter 50. “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” (Is 50:6). There is a lot more, but that is one obvious example. And it is no accident that so many of these prophesies are a part of Isaiah’s prophecy of God’s redemption for His exiled people. Meaning within meaning. Layers. The Bible is full of them. And I know that there is meaning in there that I still cannot see. How wonderful it will be when I see God face to face and He reveals all of these secrets to me!
Rom. 9:16-33
The Bible is full of difficult concepts, because it reveals to us a God that we cannot possibly fully comprehend. But Paul points out one truth about God in this passage that we need to understand. God is sovereign. This means that He can do whatever He pleases to do and that whatever He does is not wrong. “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? (Rom 9:20a). If we see God’s actions as “wrong”, it is because our perspective is skewed. We cannot see the whole picture; God can. Thankfully, God is also righteous, holy, full of mercy and good. He uses His sovereign power for the good of those who are called by His name; for His beloved.
I may never be able to wrap my head completely around such concepts as “predestination” vs. “free will” but there are some things I can understand. I suppose this question is really, ‘God’s will or my will?’ So what I know is that God’s will always prevails, because He is God. But I also know that I still have personal responsibility in the choices I make. And I know there are times when God turns people over to their own will, always to their detriment. Furthermore, I know that I cannot be saved by my own will. “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Rom 9:16).
Something else about all of this I understand is that God is not bound by time, as we are. He operates from a completely different perspective than anything I am capable of seeing or understanding. What we see on a straight, time-based line, God sees on the circle of eternity. So maybe what we see as opposite things are really the same in His eyes. In the end, I don’t think it really matters if we choose God or He chooses us. Maybe we choose each other. What matters, though, is that we are His.