We are in a section that will eventually be dealing with the temporary removal of Israel from their privileged place as being God’s "chosen nation". He’ll be talking about their being "cut off" (ch. 11) from the tree and the believing Gentiles being grafted in.

Paul has been dealing with the issue of God’s sovereignty, the fact that God actually chooses people, even before they are born. He’s talked about how God chose Jacob over Esau. He’s quoted from Exodus 33 where God tells Moses that He’s going to have compassion on whomever He wants to have compassion.

raised thee – exegeiro – to arouse, raise up (from sleep); to rouse up, stir up, incite

that I might show – endeiknumi – to point out; to show, demonstrate, prove, whether by arguments or by acts; to manifest, display, put forth

power – dunamis – strength power, ability

declared – diaggello – to carry a message through, announce everywhere, through places, through assemblies of men etc.; to publish abroad, declare

Paul quotes from:

he will – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to desire, to wish

mercy – eleeo – to have mercy on

hardeneth – skleruno – to make hard, harsh, rough; metaph. to render obstinate, stubborn

Literal translation – "Therefore then on whom He wills He has mercy on, and on whom He wills He hardens"

One commentator wrote (JFB) that God hardened them by "judicially abandoning them to the hardening influence of sin itself".

Paul has already taught us a little about this:

With Pharaoh, we see another example of this. God told Moses that He would be hardening Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 4:21), yet the process of arterial sclerosis started with Pharaoh. As each of the various plagues began, each situation ends with Pharaoh hardening his own heart.

Finally we get to a point where God then turns and hardens Pharaoh’s heart. It’s as if all along Pharaoh has been hardening his heart, and so God says, "Okay, you want a hard heart, you can have it!"

It’s at this point that we get the verse that Paul is quoting about God hardening Pharaoh.

find fault – memphomai – to blame, find fault

will – boulema – will, counsel, deliberate purpose; from – boulomai – to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded

resisted – anthistemi – to set one's self against, to withstand, resist, oppose

In other words, how could God be judging us when we can only do what He has purposed for us?

repliest – antapokrinomai – to contradict in reply, to answer by contradiction, reply against; to answer to one's face

the thing formed – plasma – what has been moulded or formed, as from wax

that formed – plasso – to form, mould (something from clay, wax, etc.)

made – poieo – to make; to do

It’s almost as if Paul doesn’t really answer the question. He simply dismisses the legitimacy of the question by bringing us back to the fact that God is our Creator.

Paul is pulling from a common idea in the Old Testament:

power – exousia – power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases

potter – kerameus – a potter

clay – pelos – clay, which potters uses

lump – phurama – any substance mixed with water and kneaded; a mass, a lump

honor – time – a valuing by which the price is fixed; honour which belongs or is shown to one

vessel – skeuos – a vessel; an implement

dishonour – atimia – dishonour, ignominy, disgrace

Doesn’t the potter have the right to take a lump of clay and make whatever he wants with it? Of course he does.

willing – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to desire, to wish

to show – endeiknumi – to point out; to manifest, display, put forth

to make known – gnorizo – to make known

power – dunatos – able, powerful, mighty, strong; to be able (to do something)

endured – phero – to carry; to bear, i.e. endure, to endure the rigour of a thing, to bear patiently one's conduct, or spare one (abstain from punishing or destroying)

longsuffering – makrothumia – patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; patience, forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs

fitted to – katartizo – to render, i.e. to fit, sound, complete; to fit out, equip, put in order, arrange, adjust; to fit or frame for one's self, prepare

destruction – apoleia – destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction

(Rom 9:22 NLT) God has every right to exercise his judgment and his power, but he also has the right to be very patient with those who are the objects of his judgment and are fit only for destruction.

This is a very difficult passage. The whole point here is that God is sovereign. He is the King. He may do whatever He pleases.

But keep in mind, there are other Scriptures that show us another side of the Lord, and we need to remember the balance:

Now, it could be that Paul may be referring in some sense to Pharaoh here.

But I was wondering if there aren’t a couple of other ideas here as well.

afore prepared – proetoimazo – prepare before, to make ready beforehand

Part of the problem comes in our thinking that every person has a right to be shown God’s grace. The problem is that we’re all sinners. We’re all sinners because we’ve sinned. Nobody twisted our arm. None of us have the right to be shown God’s grace. We are all deserving of God’s wrath. The fact that God would choose to show grace at all is absolutely amazing.

The vessels of mercy not only include Jews, but there are also Gentiles that fall into this category.

Paul now transitions into another subject where he goes to prove from the Scriptures that God has planned all along on saving Gentiles.

He quotes from:

Hosea was the prophet who had been asked by God to marry a prostitute.

The whole point is that God had promised that the people who were not called "my people" would be taken in by God. This is a picture of God receiving the Gentiles.

He’s quoting from:

Paul’s going to make a point to the effect that not all Jews would be saved. Only a remnant.

the work – logos – of speech, a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea; matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law

finish – sunteleo – to end together or at the same time; to end completely; to accomplish, bring to fulfillment

cut it short – suntemno – to cut in pieces; to cut short; metaph. to dispatch briefly, execute or finish quickly

(Rom 9:28 NASB) FOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD UPON THE EARTH, THOROUGHLY AND QUICKLY."

Again, this is a quote from:

left – egkataleipo – abandon, desert; to leave behind among, to leave surviving

He quotes an earlier passage of Isaiah:

attained – katalambano – to lay hold of; to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate

Paul has already made a case that salvation is received through faith (Romans 1-5).

These Gentiles, who were not God’s "original chosen people", when they heard the gospel, received it and were saved. It turns out that God had ideas of saving them all along.

attained – phthano – to come before, precede, anticipate; to come to, arrive at; to reach, attain to

stumbled – proskopto – to strike against; of those who strike against a stone or other obstacle in the path, to stumble; to strike one's foot against a stone; to be made to stumble by a thing

stumblingstone – proskomma – a stumbling block; an obstacle in the way which if one strikes his foot against he stumbles or falls; that over which a soul stumbles i.e. by which is caused to sin

stumblingstone – literally, "a stone, a stumblingstone"

rock – petra – a rock, cliff or ledge

offence – skandalon – the movable stick or trigger of a trap, a trap stick; a trap, snare; any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall, (a stumbling block, occasion of stumbling) i.e. a rock which is a cause of stumbling

ashamed – kataischuno – to dishonour, disgrace; to put to shame, make ashamed

Paul quotes from two passages:

Some people would trip over this stone in Zion. Others would believe. How could you not be one who trips? By being one who believes.