Month: June 2020

1.  Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph  was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.            41:50-52                                                                                                                                                    2.  And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed.

  Seventeen years have now passed since Jacob first came into the land of Egypt, and he is now one hundred and forty seven years old. Joseph is the first son to appear before Jacob, and he brings his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him so they could be blessed by him before his death. “And the old man Jacob, before his name was changed, is used here in the beginning of verse two, to distinguish between what he once was: supplanter, deceiver (H3290), to how far he has come now. to be called Israel (H3478), the one who wrestled with both man and God and prevailed to become the spiritual man he is this day, who strengthens himself on his staff to bless the sons of Joseph’s in worship of the one true God (Heb. 11:21), we in the church upon our baptism kill the old man of the flesh, as we rise out of the water we put on the new man, the spiritual man, and walk in the newness of life, (Rom. 6:4). the days of the life of Jacob and his pilgrimage have been one hundred and forty seven years, and now upon his death bed, the old man, sown in corruption will be raised up incorruptible ( 1 Cor. 15:42),and his name… is Israel.

3.  Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.                                                                                                                4.  “and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’                                                     28:13; 35:6-12           

  Leaning upon the top of his staff in worship (Heb. 1:27), he reflects back upon the dream he had as he was running from his brother, where the Lord first appeared to him as he saw angels ascending and descending upon a ladder that was set on the earth, it’s top reached heaven, and the Lord stood above it (Gen. 28:10-14), it was at this moment that God told him he would be fruitful and multiply, and give the land of Canaan to his descendants. 

5.  “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.                                                      Josh.14:4   

  Jacob in essence adopts Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. They are to be sons to Jacob just as Rueben and Simeon are his sons, and therefore they each will be included as heads of their own tribe in the nation of Israel. by this adoption Joseph is given a double portion of the inheritance than his brothers, meaning that Joseph is receiving the birthright blessing from Jacob, by tradition it is the firstborn to whom the birthright blessing is given, and part of the birthright blessing is that  the firstborn gets a double portion of the fathers inheritance as well as also having authority and superiority over the family, this according to Adam Clarke’s commentary. Typically with this birthright also comes the listing of the genealogy of the promised seed in which all nations of the earth would be blessed. However as it is explained in 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 that the genealogy is not to be counted in the birthright blessing given to Joseph, but instead to be passed down to Judah because he prevailed over his other brothers, so the promised seed will be handed down to Judah, yet Joseph gets all the other blessings that go with the birthright as explained in Adam Clarke’s commentary above. (1 Chr. 5:1-2). I would like to add my opinion as to why  Joseph was given the birthright blessing that was not explained in 1 Chronicles. 5:1,2: or anywhere else in the scriptures. Jacob had four wives, but it was Rachel who he loved the most, and Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel and Jacob, just as Isaac was the firstborn and only son of Abraham and Sarah. And I believe that God honored Jacob in his love of Rachel in this way, by given Joseph the birthright blessings of everything but the promised seed in which all nations of the earth will be blessed. Notice to that Jacob identifies Manasseh and Ephraim as being like his two firstborn sons Reuben and Simeon. In the following verses we will see that the blessings Jacob gives to Manasseh and Ephraim are the blessings of the first and second born sons traditionally. 

6.  “Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

  There is no mention in the bible that Joseph had any other sons than Manasseh and Ephraim, but Jacob, supposing if he did, then those sons would be Josephs, and their names, as far as any inheritance is considered will be included in the names of Manasseh and Ephraim.

7.  “But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is Bethlehem).”         35:9, 16-20       

  Whose name does Jacob call out to in memory? None other than the woman he loved the most, Rachel, the woman who stole his heart over a hundred years ago, she may have been dead for a long time, but she has never been far from Jacobs heart. All of Jacob’s wives have since passed, how, when, and where? The scriptures do not say. This is a testament to the legacy of Rachel, not only in the heart of Jacob but also of God, who I believe honors Jacob by honoring his wife: memorializing  her passing at the time of her death (Gen. 35: 16-20), over the deaths of all of Jacob’s other wives, and then again now at the end of Jacob’s life.  Rachel is also honored thru the sons she bare to Jacob (Mainly Joseph), by the blessings Jacob gives to the sons of Joseph. In the book of Jeremiah God calls Ephraim his firstborn son  (Jer. 31:9), Rachel died in what is believed to be on the outskirts of Bethlehem. she died giving birth to Benjamin (Jacobs last son). In this honor God has bestowed to Rachel we see that the land inheritance given to the  descendants of Benjamin are in the same area in which Rachel died and was buried. It is also in the area of Israel where the Lord Messiah was born of a virgin mother. These two mothers are blessed women in the scriptures, who both bore sons that became the salvation to the world, one..(Joseph), the type of the One to come, saved the then known world from a great famine, and the other who also saves the whole world from eternal death through His sacrifice, from the famine of the Holy Spirit. By his death the spirit is now offered to all who believe and accept Jesus as Saviour thru His precious blood. Rachel is honored to this day by two of the three major religions: Christianity and  Judaism, her tomb is carefully guarded to this day. Joseph like Jesus was born almost miraculously himself, for Rachel was barren for years before she finally gave birth, and then of course the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ born of a virgin. 

8.  Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”                                      9.  And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”   And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”                                                                                                                                      27:4                                   10.  Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.                                                                                                                                            27:1                               11.  And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”                                                                                  12  So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.     37: 9-11                                                                                                             

  Joseph has brought his sons to see Jacob and to receive the blessings of Israel. In previous verses Jacob has already declared the Manasseh and Ephraim have been adopted by him equal to all his other sons. Jacob is one hundred and forty seven years of age now and his eyesight has become so poor that he doesn’t recognize Josephs s sons in front of him. Undoubtedly this isn’t the first time Jacob has seen Manasseh and Ephraim, because he has been living in Egypt for seventeen years now. these sons of Jacob were born before the famine during the times of plenty (Gen. 41:50-53), by the time that Jacob and his family entered the land Joseph’s sons were between the ages of one to six years old. Jacob was one hundred and forty years of age when he entered into Egypt, and he is now one hundred and forty seven years old. This would make Ephraim and Manasseh between the ages of eight and fourteen years of age. Joseph presents his sons to his father, and Jacob embraces his adopted sons and gives them a kiss, during this time Jacob reflects back to the past and remembers when he mourned for his son Joseph, thinking he was dead and unable to look upon his face in this lifetime ever again. But now his sorrow has turned to gladness, for not only was he able to once again see Joseph and embrace him, but he acknowledges to both Joseph and his sons that it is the most High God who has also blessed him to also see the children of Joseph before he die. Joseph in turn backs away from his sons and father just far enough to bow himself before his father out of reverence towards him.

13.  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand towards Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.

  Manasseh is the eldest of the two sons, and it is customary that the eldest son get the higher degree of blessing from the father. as we read in verse five Jacob has declared that Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim  are as his firstborn sons Reuben and Simeon. In my opinion: because of Reuben and Simeon s past sins they have lost the blessings of the first and second born sons of Israel, to the sons of Joseph. However there is one blessing that is not handed down to Manasseh and Ephraim, and that is the birthright blessing of the promised seed in which all nations of the earth are blessed. As we will see in the following chapter this birthright blessing belongs, and is given to Judah. 

14.  Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s  head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was firstborn.                                                    v.19                       

  Israel may be of old age and his eyes dim, but it is the Spirit of the Almighty One who guides his hands, and gives him sight that he may see what the future holds for the sons of Joseph and their descendants. For prophecy does not come to man by their own thoughts, or interpretations, but given to holy men of God who spoke being borne along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet. 1: 20-21), Jacob, once the supplanter, deceiver, Whose name was changed to Israel has God’s name (El), included in his new name given by God Himself, and with this name bares witness of the Holy Spirit in Israel. The Spirit of God who has guided him all his life now guides him in the blessings of Joseph and his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

15.  And he blessed Joseph, and said:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     “God, before whom my fathers                                                                                                      Abraham and Isaac walked,                                                                                                              The God who has fed me all                                                                                                                   my life long to this day,                                                                                                      16.  The Angel who has redeemed                                                                                                          me from all evil,                                                                                                                                    Bless the lads;                                                                                                                                        Let my name be named upon them,                                                                                            And the name of my fathers                                                                                                            Abraham and Isaac;                                                                                                                              And let them grow into a                                                                                                                 multitude in the midst of                                                                                                                    the earth.”                                                                                                                                                            13:16; 26:24            

  In blessing Manasseh and Ephraim Jacob is also blessing Joseph by proxy. In the next chapter the blessings given in this chapter to the sons of Joseph are expounded in greater detail. Jacob calls out to the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, acknowledging that their God is his God, just as he promised many years ago to the Lord; that if He would be with him, clothe him, feed him, and protect him,   then the God of his fathers would be his God (Gen. 28:13; 20-21),
I have to go out of the box for a minute and share God’s presence here, right now this very moment: As I meditate on the verses above and the words from Genesis 28 20-21, Lauren Daigle’s song “Everything” is playing in the background, and it is so fitting, so much so that I felt God’s presence with me at this very moment, talking to me as only He can.   But I digress.                                   The Angel that redeemed Israel from all evil is none other than Jesus Christ. For God is the Almighty God, and not to ever be spoken of as anything lower than His divinity. even though the Father and the son are one, or as one if you will, Jesus always submitted to the will of God and pointed to the Father above him    ( Matt. 19:16-17; Luke. 22: 41-42).                                                                                                    “Let my name be named upon them,                                                                                            And the name of my fathers                                                                                                            Abraham and Isaac;”                                                                                                                   

  In this blessing to the the sons of Joseph (Guided by the Spirit), Israel declares that these sons would inherit all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when it comes to the birthright blessings of great wealth, the fruits of the land inheritance of milk and honey, protection from all enemies, blessings of the womb of many descendants numbering as the sands of the sea, authority over all the other nations of the world who will serve and bow down to them. These are the blessings that God promised to Abraham Isaac and Jacob, (Gen. 22:17; 26: 3-4, 24; 27: 28-29;  28: 3-4, 14), Which Israel declares let my name be named upon them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.” The only blessing that is not given to Manasseh and Ephraim is that of the promised seed in which all nations would be blessed. That promise is reserved to Judah (Israel’s fourth born son of Jacob and Leah), as we will see in the blessings of Judah, and the rest of Israel’s sons in chapter forty nine. If we follow the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim, as recorded in the bible, we will see that they do in fact become greater than all the other sons of Israel, but they never reached their full blessings while living in the land of Canaan, (or Israel if you will). Neither sons descendants ever multiplied their seed throughout the midst of the earth, nor did all nations bow down to them or serve them, or did they possess all the gates of their enemies. This said, these blessings are meant not only for the time that they lived in the land of Canaan, and on the other side of the Jordan river, but also a much later fulfillment a few thousand years later up until the end of the age, and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we follow the history of the descendants of the sons of Joseph we can see that this blessing has also been fulfilled through the two greatest countries the world has ever known: Great Britain, and the United States (which are the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim). I will discuss this history of the two sons of Joseph, and all sons of Israel in greater detail in my prophecy section of my web page (Which is a work in progress).

17.  Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head the Manasseh’s head.                                                                            18.  And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”                                                          v.14       

  Joseph had placed Manasseh to Jacobs right arm so that Israel would bless him with his right hand, and Ephraim being the younger son would be blessed with Israel s left hand. When blessings are given, it is the right hand which is used. the use of the right hand signifies the greater blessing when there are more than one person who is being blessed. This person will be blessed in riches, authority, the fruit of the womb, and of power and strength over the other. The right hand also represents strength and power.  (Gen. 48: 19-20; Exo. 15:6, 12; 1 kings. 2:19; Psalms. 16:8; 17:7; 18:35; 1 Pet. 3:21-22), Even as our Lord and savior sits at the right hand of God to this day. Seeing that his father placed his right hand on the younger son Joseph went to correct him, thinking that Israel was to blind to see where his hands were laid.

19.  But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”                                                                                                                                               25:23                   Israel was being guided by the Spirit of God who was showing him what would become of these two sons descendants, and by faith he blessed the lads according to the Spirit (Heb. 11: 21). The younger son Ephraim will one day become Great Britain who colonized most of the world and thus became a  multitude of nations. Manasseh’s descendants would become the United States, which has become a great people, founded on the Judeo Christian values. See The United States and Britain in bible Prophecy  published by the United church of God. for more understanding on how these two countries are the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh.

20.  So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.                                                                                                                                               

  In the beginning of this chapter the sons of Joseph were listed in order of the oldest first then the younger. But in the blessings Israel gave to the two lads he puts the younger (Ephraim), before his older brother Manasseh. 

21.  Then Israel said to Joseph, :Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.                                        28:15; 46:4                   

 In chapter forty seven Jacob makes Joseph swear to him that when he (Jacob), dies that Joseph will take him back to the land of Canaan and bury him with his fathers Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 47: 30-31), in Hebrews we are told that after Israel blesses the lads he leaned his head upon the top of his staff and he worshiped. In this worship (while still guided by the Spirit), Israel tells Joseph that God will be with him, and that one day he will be reunited with his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In my opinion this is done to help comfort Joseph that he will one day be with his fathers, in the land of promise. Upon his own death bed, by faith, Joseph brought the descendants of Israel and took an oath to them saying,”  God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”(Gen. 50: 25; Exo. 13:19). In my humble opinion I believe this blessing of Joseph is a duel prophecy: In the resurrection the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will be resurrected in the land of promise, and Joseph will be reunited with his fathers, what a glorious! day that will be. 

22.  “Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of of the Amorite with my sword and bow.”

  Joseph received his land inheritance through his sons Manasseh and Ephraim, this is the double portion above his brothers that Israel spoke of. Ephraim would be the son that would inherit the land in which Jacob describes as being taken “from the hand of the Amorite.” Most Scholars agree the land Jacob is referring to is the parcel of land that Jacob purchased from Shechem (Gen. 33: 18-19) upon returning from Padan Aram after meeting his brother Esau and reconciling with him. However the full sentence, ” Took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and bow,” is not as conclusive amongst the commentators and scholars. Some say this is referring to the two sons of Jacob (Simeon, and Levi), when they killed all the males of Shechem and took all the cattle, and wealth, took captive the little ones and women with the sword by deception after their sister dinah was defiled by Shechem, son of Hamor (Gen. 34:26-29), but Jacob said it was taken by his sword and bow, not that of his sons. Another conjecture is that after Simeon and Levi killed the people of Shechem, all the people from around the country took the land back from Israel, and Jacob had to fight them off. However this cannot be so either because it is written that the terror of God fell upon all the land around the area and they did not pursue Jacob (Gen. 35:5). I myself lean towards the argument that Israel is speaking about the time his two sons Levi and Simeon killed all the male and their cattle, and took the women captive. Even though Israel had no part in the slaughter, it’s as if he did because it was his flesh and blood who committed this act, Israel being the patriarch is responsible for the acts of his sons and therefore is to blame as well. I would venture to guess that all the surrounding peoples and cities looked towards Israel and not his sons as the aggressor. 

1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.                                                                                                                                               v.8:34;   14:3-4

Anyone who walks after the Spirit and not of the flesh, Jesus(God) finds no guilt in them. Because We no longer want to walk in the lust of the flesh                                                                                                               (Gal 5:19-23).

2. But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

The Spirit of Jesus that dwells inside us sets us free from the death penalty of the law of God, which requires Death to all who sin. 

3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; Acts. 13:39

The law could not bring eternal life because the flesh, in it’s weakness, could not keep the law. However God sent His Word in the flesh to earth, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten Son (John, 1:1-2; John 1:14 ), who left His divinity behind and became flesh in all ways including the sin nature. Yet He never sinned while in the flesh. Through the sacrifice of Christ and His precious blood God washed away all sins past, present and future, condemning sin in the flesh.

4. That the righteousness requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The righteous part of the law for sin was the shed blood of an animal; a bull, a goat or a lamb had to be sacrificed in order to be forgiving by God for our sins. This is the law of God, and He himself carried out this law by sacrificing His only Son for the remission of our sins so that we could be reconciled to Him and be forgiving for our sins past, present and future. Those who have been baptised with the laying on of hands to receive His spirit. if we indeed have His spirit in us we should no longer walk according to the flesh and it’s sinful ways. That is we commit ourselves to walk according to the spirit and keeping sin out of our lives.

5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.                                                                                                              Gal. 5:22-25

Those that seek the flesh (Sin), obey that which is of the flesh. Those that seek the Spirit obey that which is of the Spirit.                         (Gal 5:16-26).

6. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.                                                                                                     Gal. 6:8

Those that are of the flesh and are worldly, will surely die. If the Spirit dwells in you, You will have everlasting life of serenity and harmony.

7. because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be.             1 Cor. 2:14; James 4:4

 The carnal mind is an enemy of God, and hostile towards Him, for it is not under the authority of God’s law.

8. So then they who are in the flesh cannot please God.          Heb. 11:6

To be in the flesh and not in the Spirit is to live a life full of sin, of all kinds, not just those of a sexual nature but all sin, no matter how big or small. and as we have learned by now we know that any transgression of God’s law is sin. Our faith in Christ changes us from being in the flesh to that Of being “in the Spirit” Fighting that carnal mind and deceitful heart, to keep from sinning. (Rom 8:6; Jer. 17:9 – 10), 

9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

You cannot be in the flesh and in the Spirit together. You cannot serve God and Mammon, for you will hate one and despise the other (Matt 6:24), and so if you have not the Spirit of Jesus Christ in you, then the Spirit of God is not in you as well, and you cannot be of Christ and God, for the two make one.

10. And if Christ is in you, indeed the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

When you get baptised and receive the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you, then the body (Which is the flesh), dies inside because of its sinful nature. You will begin to live in a just and holy manner, God will account that to us as righteousness and will give us eternal life.

11. But if the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised up Christ from the dead shall also make your mortal bodies alive by His Spirit who dwells in you.                        1 Cor. 6:14

If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the Spirit of God who raised Jesus up from the dead, He will also raise you up from the dead, through the Spirit of God that is inside of you.

12. Therefore, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.                                                                                    Rom 6: 7;  Rom 6: 14

We don’t owe anything to the flesh, because we don’t live our lives according to the sinful flesh. But according to the Spirit.

13. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.                     Gal. 6:8

If you live in sin you will surely die. This is the law of God. But the Spirit which now lives in you kills all those sinful things of the body you will have life everlasting.

14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Those who are influenced and follow the Spirit of God are the children of God. Just as He planned since the foundation of the world.

15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!                                                                                                                                Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:5

The Spirit you received is not one that you should be afraid of. You received the Spirit of acceptance into God’s family, who now I can call Him Father (Dad, Daddy).

16. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.                                                                                                  Eph. 1:13

God’s Spirit is a testimony that our Spirit comes from God, making us His children.

17. And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together.                                                                                                     Eph. 1:14; Phil. 1:29

Since we are God’s children we will inherit everything from Him just like Jesus. So if we suffer with Jesus Christ, we can also be glorified together with Jesus.

18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed in us.

The trials that we will experience in this life are minuscule, compared to how the Lord will glorify us. Let us be reminded that this letter is meant for the Christians in Rome. Paul has suffered much in his lifetime since he became a follower of Christ. He was taught by Christ Himself for three years, taking up to the third heaven where God dwells. He told us that when he was there he heard unspeakable words which man should not utter (2 Cor 12:4), Paul never did reveal what he saw or heard while in heaven. Maybe in a roundabout way Paul he is telling us what he saw and heard (Without saying it), That the way we will be glorified is so magnificent compared to the trials and tribulations we go through in this earth age, if we only knew.

19. For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.

  Starting with verse nineteen Paul begins giving us a picture of what it will be like when the saints of God will be resurrected into Spirit beings, by using allegory combined with poetry and personification as an imagery of what we are eagerly waiting for. In my research I found that many scholars tie in the Genesis account of creation to these passages and the curse God put on Adam and Eve when they ate of the fruit of the knowledge and good and evil. God cursed the ground at that time and men would have to labor in order to be able to have food to eat. (Gen 3:16-18),  God gave man dominion over all the earth to tend to, keep and rule over all creation. (Gen 1:26-28), All this changed when sin entered the world. After learning this I remembered what I had learned over a year ago in the Genesis account of the flood. After the flood God made a covenant with Noah, but not just with Noah but also with the creation itself. God promised all creation (Not just Noah), that he would never destroy all living things upon the earth by flood. God even says that this covenant is between Him and the earth itself. (Gen 9: 11-17 ). When this was first revealed to me I was blessed to see another side of the Father; God cherishes and loves all His creation, not just man, but all his creation: The animal, birds, fish, the plants, mountains, lakes, oceans, all creation. Think about this, you should meditate on this and just how magnificent and wonderful God truly is. I know it brought me closer to understand the Father even more. Because of the evil in the world at the time of Noah the world itself changed completely. As the waters subsided it was a not the same, lakes and canyons formed by the running off the the waters, mountains grew, the continents shifted and formed new boundaries that we see today. Put all this together and yes, the whole creation moans and groans for the earnest expectation of what the sons of God will become, and will have the opportunity to renew the creation to a better state that it is in now, and will become during the tribulation. 

20. For the creation was subjected to Futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

21. because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.    2 Cor. 3:17

In the beginning, all of God’s creation was made perfect and without sin. On the sixth day of creation the Lord looked and saw everything He had made and said that “It was very good” (Gen 1:31). He did not make creation to be subject to futility, and all of creation did not willingly desire to be subject to it’s futility, with all it’s perverse, decaying, weakness’ that came after Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and bit into the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. God did not intend for sin to enter the world, but once it did He put a curse on creation, subjecting it in hope, and looking forward to the day when He will glorify us as His sons. In that day the whole creation will be made right again, restoring itself back to the way it was before sin entered the world.

22. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

Paul both personifies and uses poetry to describe to the people back then but also for us christians throughout the years up to this very moment and beyond the way we feel as we eagerly await the transformation of our fleshly bodies to spirit beings. The pains that women go through when delivering a baby I have been told is a very traumatic event, but once the birth has occurred the woman goes from being in excruciating pain to tears of joy and happiness after nine months and carrying the child in her womb until then. The life she just brought into this world overpowers all the pain and suffering she has gone through. So it will be for us on the day that we receive our Spirit bodies. It seems the older we get, the more pain we experience. As we go through life we experience so much pain from divorces, injuries, loss of loved ones, and so many other things that brings pain to not only our bodies but also to our hearts and mind. Paul explains that it is not just us, but all of Gods’ creation suffer with us throughout time. the lakes, rivers, trees, the animals, the birds and fish, everything, we all suffer together. 

 23. And not only that, but we also who have the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

 Paul gets more specific now; separating us humans, from the rest of His creation. We Christians are the “first fruit of the Spirit” no other creation can be called first fruits. The first fruits are those who have been baptised and have had Elders of the church lay their hands on us in order to receive Gods’ Spirit. Those who call themselves Christians, and have not been baptised nor had hands laid on them to receive His Spirit are not true first fruits. It is the true first fruits Paul is speaking about here. We, by ourselves groan within our flesh are anxiously waiting for the full adoption of our bodies to be redeemed. Even though we have His Spirit in us, our bodies continue to suffer the consequences of sin meaning that day by day we are still dying inside. Once we have the full adoption we won’t have to worry about sin anymore or the death penalty because of the sin in us. O death where is your sting, o grave where is your victory? ( 1 Cor. 15:53-57 ). 

24. For we are saved in this hope, But hope that is seen is not hope; for why does anyone still hope for what he sees?                   Heb. 11:1

25. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.                                                                                    Rom 5:2, 3

Hope and faith go hand in hand, We have faith in God’s word that we are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore we hope for a better future of  life eternal, without the pains and struggles we go through in the present age. If we were already in this present stage then there would be no need for hope, why should we hope for something we already have? So we patiently wait for the kingdom of God to come, and the better days that lie ahead.

26. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

 There will be times when we pray to God and don’t know what to say, or how we should talk to Him. The Spirit will take over for us with groanings that words cannot express. 

27. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:34; Heb. 7:25

  Jesus Christ lives in us through the power of Gods’ holy spirit. In verse nine of Romans eight we are told that we are no longer in the flesh but in the spirit of God, we are also told that we must have Christ’s spirit in us as well, otherwise we do not belong to Him. the Two ( God and Jesus Christ), have the same spirit in them and us who are Christians. We have access to the Father through Jesus Christ by this one spirit (Rom 8:9; Eph. 2:18).  It is Christ who is able to save us to the full extent when we pray to the Father in His name, He will make intercession for us as our High Priest ( Rom 8:34;  Heb 7:25), Christ is the Mediator between us and God, and  between God and man (1 Tim 7:25), Therefore Jesus rightly said, “No one  comes to the Father but by Me” ( John 14:6 ),  Jesus Christ and the Father have the same spirit in them. In turn when we are are baptised and receive Gods’  holy Spirit we now have His spirit in us. without Gods spirit in us we could not know the mind of the spirit. Because Christ makes intercession for us, He tells us through the spirit what we should say when we pray and have a difficult time saying what we ought to. it’s this spirit that sees our faults and convicts us of the sins we commit this leads us to God to confess our sins and repent from doing the same sin again. It is God using His spirit through Jesus Christ who has that same spirit which makes intercession for us to direct us in which way we should go ( 1 Cor 2: 9-16 ). 

28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

We know that everything that happens to us (Good and bad), We may not understand some of the things that happen to us in our lives, and so we question them; “How is this or that working for my good?’yet they are working together for our good to bring us to salvation, and a better way of life in the end if we truly love God, and have answered God’s calling through our commitment we made at baptism. This has been Gods plan all along.

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the First-born among many brothers. 11:2; Eph. 1:4, 5

We know that God called people before they were even born; He “Foreknew them,” To be called by Him and to eventually be conformed into the image of His only Son Jesus Christ, “The first-born” among many brothers. these were in the likes of  Moses, Paul and King David. Then there are some He has predestined now to be conformed into the image of Christ at His return. The whole world is predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ at their appointed time. We can learn more about this by the keeping of His Holy days, studying them, and learning Gods plan of salvation for all people. You can order this free booklet that explains more in greater detail than I can here. Just click on this link God never predestined, or if you will; pre-determined those who will have eternal salvation, and those who are condemned into the lake of fire. No! God desires that none should perish but have everlasting life ( John 3:15 ), There is the second coming of the Lord, these are His first-fruits to be resurrected at that time, and then there is the Great White Throne Judgement when all who are left will be raised from the dead that haven’t yet had their chance for eternal life. 

30. But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified. 1 Pt. 2:9; 3:9

Us who were created in His likeness and in His image, God determined that we who answered his calling (The gospel message), and believe in Jesus for salvation, would be justified (Forgiven), from our sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and we who are justified (Forgiven), thru His blood would also be glorified just as Jesus was glorified and sits at His right hand to this day, we to will be with God the Father in heaven forever. As long as we stay in the faith and do not let it go.

31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Num. 14:9

So what conclusion should we draw to all that we just read? With God forgiven us for all our sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who can condemn us? No one! Just trust in God, His promise and wait on him, you will be good.  (  Ps. 27:14, Ps 37:34 ).

32. Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 4:25

God who did not hold back His only son, yet sacrificed Him on the cross to free us from our sins, and the death penalty of sin according to His own law. how can we conceive that He should not complete His work and give us all things freely through Jesus Christ?

33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 11:5; 1 Thess. 1:4

Who can condemn us who believe? No one! It is God, and God alone who can condemn those who chose not to follow Him, and it is God Who forgives us for our sins.

34. Who is he condemning? It is Christ who has died, but rather also who is raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Heb. 1:3; 7:25

Who is God condemning then? God condemns sin through Jesus Christ in His death. Sin was symbolically put to death when Christ died for our sins. Yet God also raised Him from death, conquering death, and the penalty for sin.

35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36. As it is written: Ps. 44:22

“For Your sake we are killed all

day long: We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Nothing of the flesh, or of this world can separate us from the love of Christ. Just as Christ was persecuted to, so we, who are followers of Christ will be persecuted for our belief in Him. Some will die, but will still have eternal life.

37. But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. 1 Cor. 15:57

38. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39. nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In addition to overcoming all things of the flesh and of the world, through His spirit, there is nothing that has ever been created, or will be created that can keep us from the love that God has for us. God revealed His love for us by sacrificing His only son on the cross for our sins (John 3:16-18). He has started a great work in you, and He will complete it. ( Phil 1:6 ).

1. Or are you ignorant, brothers; for I speak to those who know the Law; that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?                                               

 Picking up from Romans six Paul continues in his train of thought here in Romans seven. Paul is speaking to the the Christians who are in Rome and also to the Jews who see Jesus as the one they have been waiting on (Their Messiah), The law he is speaking about is not the Roman laws but the law of Moses. With the christians now able to intermingle with these Jewish believers they were probably taught some about the Law of Moses from them.       

2. For the married woman was bound by law to the living husband. But if the husband is dead, she is set free from the law of her husband. 1 Cor. 7:39           3. So then if, while her husband lives, she is married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress by becoming another man’s wife. Matt. 5:32; 19:3-9; 1 Cor. 7:39

Paul is metaphorically using the law of marriage to show how Christ’s death freed us from the death penalty of the law. The term law shows that it offers condition for binding (chained to), A woman cannot marry another man as long as her husband is alive (According to the law). This would make her an adultress. When her husband dies she is set free from the law and is no longer considered an adulteress if she marries another man. Death is taken here in the literal sense (Not meaning dead in Christ, but physically dead).                                                                                                                          

4. So, my brothers, you also have become dead to the law by the body of Christ so that you should be married to Another, even to Him raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. 4:25

  We are dead to the law because Christ has come and died. He has taken the penalty of death for all of us. Thru Jesus’s death and resurrection we are now free from the death penalty of the law. And if we are baptized we now have the fruit of everlasting life instead of death.  By comparison, he explains that “you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ …” (Romans 7:4). Notice that Paul does not say that the law is dead. Rather, we become dead to the law (the penalty for sin is death according to the law), on repentance. That is, the law’s claim on our life as the penalty for breaking it is considered met through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death in our place. Paul’s point is that, like the woman released from the specific law binding her to her former husband, we through Jesus’ death may be released from the law’s specific requirement of death for past sins. We are now married to Christ As and as a response to our marriage through baptism “we should bear fruit to God,” in contrast to bearing “fruit to death” (Romans 7:4-5).

5. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sin worked in our members through the law to bring forth fruit to death.

  The relationship we have with the world ends with death, the law provides a path for understanding that the law is not what causes death, it is giving us guidance so that you can have life. When we were dead in Christ, (Meaning we didn’t have Christ Jesus living in us, or the Spirit), the law revealed to us the sinful nature of the flesh, which brought forth bad fruit that we may die.

6. But now we having been set free from the Law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter. 2:29; 2 Cor. 3:6

  The old man has been set free from the penalty of the law that held us captive to the sin nature, leading us to death. Now that the Spirit dwells in us we are no longer held captive by the flesh, and from it’s condemnation of death for our past sins. for the flesh is now dead in us, and the Spirit now lives in us, so we can now resist the temptation to sin, and overpower the weakness of our fleshly nature through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Let it not be said! But I did not know sin except through the law. For also I did not know lust except the law said, You shall not lust. 3:20; Ex. 20:17

The law itself is not bad. If it weren’t for the law we would not know good from evil. The law is a guide of right from wrong. Without the law we would not know sin. 

8. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of lust. For apart from law, sin was dead. 4:15

  We don’t understand what we were doing was bad, until the law revealed that sin was bad. the law didn’t kill us, it showed what does kill us (SIN). The commandment made it possible for sin to reveal itself to us, and manifest the evil desires of the flesh, The law defines sin, for without the law there is no sin.

9. For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

  Paul is saying I learned that if I keep sinning only death would come. Before there was the law I was alive, because I didn’t know sin. Once I was told, “Thou shalt not” sin came into being and I was dead (The penalty for sin is death), in the flesh, or if you will? The carnal mind.

10. And the commandment, which was to life, was found to be death to me.                18:5

  And thus. the commandment, which was designed to give life through the keeping of it. we found it to be unto death through breaking it.

11. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

  The law gives us an understanding of what we are to keep, despite the fact that we are heading to death, but Christ took that penalty of death to Him. Before the commandment (The law), came, my sinful nature thought sin wasn’t bad (we were deceived),we had no conscience of good and bad. Therefore we were dead because The penalty for sin is death.

12. So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Ps. 19:8

  The law and the commandment are both sacred, deserving deep respect. And the commandment is fair, Righteous, pure and honorable. The law shows us what is just and good.

Rom 7:13 Then has that which is good become death to me? Let it not be! But sin, that it might appear to be sin, working death in me by that which is good; in order that sin might become exceedingly sinful by the commandment.

That what is good does not bring about death. Whereas the commandment make me realize how bad sin is. The more we look into God’s law the more we should understood how sinful sin is. And the more we realize the difference between being righteous and being evil.

14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.                                                                                                                           Rom 6:16

The word law means the Mosaic law (God’s law), the law is spiritual tells us what is good and right and just (Spiritual), and we are of the flesh, subject to sin. For the carnal mind is enmity against God and not subject to the law of God (Rom 8:7),  

15. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do. Gal. 5:17

  Our human tendencies never go away even after baptism, this will go on until the day we die. We have a hard time understanding why we can’t do the good that we want to do and keep doing The things that we hate to do, we keep doing them over and over.

16. If then I do that which I do not desire, I consent to the law that it is good.

  When we do the things we do not desire to do, it is the law that leads us to  recognizes right from wrong.

17. But now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.

  It is not the Spirit that makes us do wrong, but the flesh (The human nature), inside us.

18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I do not find.                                                                                                                           Gen. 6:5; 8:21

   Nothing good can come from our flesh that is inside us, the flesh does not recognize what is good, or knows how to do good. The sinful things we desire are inside us. Through our baptism we know that God’s Spirit is present with us, but sometimes we stumble and can’t find the way to do good. 

Gal 5:19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things,                                         Gal 5:20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups,                                                                                            Gal 5:21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom.

19. For the good things I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I do.                                                                                            Rom 7:15

  The good things that we want to do (According to the Spirit) we do not do them, but all the evil things we do not want to do, are the things I do.

20. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.                                                                        Rom 7:17

  If we do the things that we know we shouldn’t do (According to the Spirit), it is because of the sin nature (The Flesh) that dwells inside us. And not the Spirit.

21. I find then a law: when I will to do the right, evil is present with me.

  When we want to do good, there is this law that says to do good. but evil is there with us (in the flesh), at the same time.

22. For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man;   Ps 1:2

  we should be pleased in our inner self that wants to do good according to the law of God.

23. but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin being in my members. 6:13; 19; Gal. 5:17

  There is also another law in my flesh that is at war with our spirit. This law is leading us to be a prisoner of sin, which is of the flesh and not the spirit.

24. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 1 Cor. 15:51, 52

  we miserable in the flesh, because we are giving it everything that we have but we  still succumb to the sinful desires. I am so afflicted with these thoughts it brings me pain, whom can I turn to, to release me from this sinful body that leads to death? It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that saves me from my wretched self.

Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

I thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I consciously serve God’s law through His spirit, but my flesh still serves the law of sin. It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that saves me from my wretched self.

1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? V. 15; 3:8

Since, the more we sin the more God’s grace grows, does this mean that we should sin even more and more so that Grace can grow in us?

2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

God would not allow such thoughts. How can we keep living a sinful life if we symbolically put to death the old man of sin in our baptism.

3. Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Gal. 3:27, Col. 2:12

When we are fully submerged in the water in our baptism, we are symbolically dying with Christ at His crucifixion, who also killed sin in His death.

4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

In conclusion, we spiritually put the old man of sin in the grave. Just as God in all His glory (That is His radiant splendor or brilliance) raised up Jesus from the dead. We who died with Christ spiritually in our baptism should also walk in the spirit of righteousness. Righteousness is the only way I can describe what we should be like when we “walk in the newness of life.” 

5.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Phil. 3:10

As we were spiritually buried together with Christ, (in the likeness of  him), just as He rose from the dead, we to will one day be raised from the dead in spirit, as Christ is, not of the flesh. 

6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14

Having knowledge that the old man of sin was put to death spiritually at our baptism. I say spiritually; as anyone who has been baptized knows that they will keep sinning. This is a lifetime process for us. As Christ was crucified on the cross. The sin nature we served before our baptism, which we were a slave to could be killed. Then we should no longer be a slave to sin spiritually speaking.

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin. 1 Pet. 4:1

We, who symbolically died with Christ at our baptism were freed from the death penalty (According to God’s law), of sin. As long as we go to God, confess our sins to Him, as for forgiveness and then repent. He is true and just to forgive.                                                                      Rom 5:14-21; 1 John 1:9

8. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:                                                                                                                         2 Tim. 2:11

9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over him. Rev. 1:18

When we get baptized we believe that just as the old man of sin was spiritually put to death (As Christ killed sin in the flesh), we know also that as Christ was raised from death (Defeating sin), That we to are free from the death penalty of sin according to the law of God. And we to will be raised from the dead at the resurrection into a spirit body at that time, in the twinkling of an eye.

10. For the death that he died, he die to sin once for all; but the life that he lives he lives to God.

When Jesus died He died only once for all peoples sins, past, present and future, but now He lives with God, and sits at His right hand to this day and forever more Doing God’s will.

11. Likewise  you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. v. 2; 7:4,6

So to we should consider ourselves to be dead spiritually to the sin nature, but alive to God through the death of Jesus Christ.

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Ps. 19:13

Do not let sin rule over your fleshly body so much so, that you become a slave to sin, and all the lustful desires of the flesh. Keep walking in that newness of life. And when you do sin, go to God and confess your sins to Him. 1 John 1:9

13. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 7:5; 12:1

Do not let your fleshly body be used to commit everything that goes against the will of God, His law and His righteousness, but offer up your body to God as a person who is alive spiritually from the death penalty of sin, and live your life according to the will of God.

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 10:4; Gal. 3:13; 5:18

You are not under the death penalty for your sins, according to the law of God, because, Through the kindness of God, who sent His only son to take my place for my sins, and died for my sins.  Romans 5:15-21

Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. v.1; 7:7

Just because God showed His kindness to us by sacrificing His only son for us, it does not give me the liberty (Freedom) to keep on sinning.

16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness. 2 Pet. 2:19

If you decide to obey the lusts of the flesh, and willfully keep sinning, then you are in essence a slave to sin, which will only bring death to you, but if you obey God and His Laws of then you become a slave to righteousness (Obeying God’s law), and this gives you eternal life.

17. But God be thanked that though you were the slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 2 Tim. 1:13

–Even though I was once a slave to sin and the death penalty that it brought, I thank God that through His Spirit I now obey His laws, and I am now free from the penalty of death through my sins, past, present and future.

18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. John. 8:32

Since I am free from the penalty of death for my sins (According to God’s law), I am now obedient to the law of God and His righteousness.

19. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you have presented your members servants as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

Because of the weakness of our flesh, we had given our bodies to practice all that is unclean and sinful. In the same way we gave ourselves to sin. We should now give our life over to doing what is right according to the law of God, and become Holy; as God is holy.

20. For when you were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. v. 11; John 8:34

When I obeyed the lust of the flesh to sin, I was unable to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

21. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now

ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 1:32; 7:5

Did any good come from being slaves to sin which made me ashamed of doing those things? For all those sinful things only brought me eternal death according to the law of God.

22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Now that I am free from the death penalty of being sinful, and have become obedient servants to God, I am bearing good fruit which produces holiness and in turn gives me everlasting life.

23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eph. 2:8,9

According to the law of God; the penalty for sin is death eternal, but through God’s grace I have eternal life through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. Rom. 10:1 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, Deut. 28:15 4 who are Israelites, to who pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, and the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. 6 but it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” Gen. 21:12; John. 8: 37-40 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of the promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” Gen. 18:10; Gen. 18:14 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11 (For the children not yet being born, nor have done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to the election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), Rom. 8:28 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” Gen. 25:23
13 As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! Deut. 32:4
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.
Ex. 33:19 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. John. 1:13 17 For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills and whom He wills He hardens. Ex. 14:21
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 2 Chro. 20:6
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to Him who formed it. “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 2 Tim. 2:20 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 1 Pet. 2:8
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Rom. 3:29; Rom. 8:28
25 As He says also in Hosea:

“I will call them My people,
who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not
beloved.” Hos. 2:23

26“And it shall come to pass in
the place where it was said
to them, Hos. 1:10
‘You are not My people.’
There they shall be called
sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel. Is. 10:22-23

“Though the number of the
children of Israel be as the
sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.

28 For He will finish the work
and cut it short in
righteousness.
Because the Lord will make a
short work upon the
earth.”
29 And as Isaiah sad before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth
had left us a seed, Is. 1:9
We would have become like
Sodom
And we would have been
made like Gomorrah.”

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; Rom. 1:17; Rom. 3:21; Rom. 4:11; Rom. 10:6

31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Rom. 10:2-4
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
◊33 As it is written: Is. 8:14; Is. 28:16

“Behold, I lay in Zion a
stumbling stone and rock of
offense,
And whoever believes on Him
will not be put to shame.

26 “And it shall come to pass in
the place where it was said
to them, Hos. 1:10
‘You are not My people.’
There they shall be called
sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel. Is. 10:22-23

“Though the number of the
children of Israel be as the
sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.

28 For He will finish the work
and cut it short in
righteousness.
Because the Lord will make a
short work upon the
earth.”
29 And as Isaiah sad before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth
had left us a seed, Is. 1:9
We would have become like
Sodom
And we would have been
made like Gomorrah.”

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; Rom. 1:17; Rom. 3:21; Rom. 4:11; Rom. 10:6

31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Rom. 10:2-4
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
◊33 As it is written: Is. 8:14; Is. 28:16

“Behold, I lay in Zion a
stumbling stone and rock of
offense,
And whoever believes on Him
will not be put to shame.”