Romans 9:20-33 .. ..forming the clay
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
If you have ever uttered the statement “Why didn’t God make me like Fred”, or “why didn’t God give the job at the bigger company?” You are telling the potter what kind of vessel to make you. Each type of vessel has a purpose in life and just because you are fond of flowers and think you should be a vase, God sees the need for watering urns and makes you into a watering urn. It is then your job to enjoy all the vases you water and not complain that you didn’t get to be a vase.
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
John 9:1-3 “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
I think that mankind has all too often missed this concept. I know that I did when I was born with a birth defect and I blamed YHWH and yelled at him concerning it. It wasn’t until after the He made manifest in my life a true miracle that defeated the birth defect – notice I didn’t say “healed” or “fixed” – I still suffer from it – yet YHWH made a way where there was no way and it came to His glory not mine.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee (Hosea), I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
27 Esaias (Isaiah) also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant (portion) shall be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
These are scripture in the Torah that speak directly to the Tribes of the Northern Kingdom that were dispersed among the Goyim.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth (a military epithet of God.) had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained (came to faith) to the law of righteousness.
They walked away from YHWH – Ezekiel 20:16 “Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.”
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
They could not accept Yeshua: John 1:10-11 “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Paul is affirming once again the issue that Yeshua came to solve, salvation by faith. The controlling sect of Judaism, the Scribes and the Pharisees could not accept the disciple’s teachings in Yeshua and were telling the people that they must continue with Torah AND in the “extras” of the rabbinic laws and traditions BEFORE they could receive forgiveness.
Also at the same time the people coming to faith from outside Judaism were having difficulty in finding reason to keep the Torah as they had never had such instructions and these were in contrast to everything they had learned in their heathen religions.
The idea of keeping Torah stems from a heart free from the burden of eternal death. This is the same desire that motivates the follower to baptism, communion and worship…. it is love. 
Berean Breadcrumbs 
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