As if there was further need of positive proof of God’s activity, Paul goes on to highlight Jacob and Esau in that God had declared before either were born that Jacob had received God’s divine favor and Esau reprobation. Simply put Paul says, it matters not what a man may do; it is God who saves. Paul then addresses those who would claim a form of inequity in God’s judgment by simply asking, “Does the pot say to the potter, ‘why have you made me thus?’” Paul’s point is simply that God has the divine right as creator to do with His creation as He sees fit. One must not forget that Paul’s discussion is centered on the universal nature of the gospel that has called people from all nations into saving faith and not just the Jews. It is easy to get off track here and focus solely upon God’s redemptive activity in the life of individuals but Paul is making a bigger argument. As he speaks of the vessels created for honorable and dishonorable use, his imagery would have resonated with the Jewish nation who saw themselves as the honored vessels. However, it is God who determines who is who and Paul is stating clearly that those who believe themselves to be honored should not be embittered when God Himself does not include them in such honorable use. All vessels whether created for honor or dishonor are done so at God’s initiation which is Paul’s point; those who are not seen as honored are actually the very ones purposed by God for just such an honored station. This is not because of physical birth but because they are children of promise. As a result of the Jewish nation’s view that they were honored simply by birth, zealousness for the religious rites and rituals began to pervade the beloved people of God. It was not so much that the Jews had found favor with God and were expressing this divine love convent but that the nation began to express a sense of entitlement because God was their God. Paul confronts this idea as he speaks of the requirements of the Law; specifically that the one who seeks to claim righteousness under the Law must live by the Law. In short, identity without conformance is of no avail. While Paul says the Jewish nation had an overwhelming zeal for the Law, that is, they claimed an ascendancy through the Law, they none-the-less failed at keeping the Law and certainly failed at keeping the whole Law. The tragedy of this situation is that for most of the Jewish nation, salvation has been completely missed although possession of this salvation is loudly proclaimed.
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