I realized earlier this afternoon that somehow I had never posted this material before (or not in print anyway – it was part of my debate with TFan two autumns ago); so since I refer to it quite a bit I figured I ought to put it somewhere.
Rom 9:19-21 are frequently quoted to people who complain about Rom 9 being interpreted as teaching hopeless punishment, and are especially appealed to by Calvinists against complaints about Rom 9 teaching a Calv version of election and non-election.
I may observe in passing that this looks (in Greek) to be a statement of what will happen: the pottery will eventually not complain about being made this way. To me this seems a bit hard to square with persons originally elected, by God’s own choice, to never be saved from sin (much moreso elected to be sinners at all) and so to continually fulminate in rebellion against God forever!
But more importantly, Paul is referencing something from the Old Testament.
It might be from Jeremiah 18:6, where the Lord sends the prophet to see a potter for an analogy; the pot was spoiled so the potter destroyed it back to a lump–and made it again. “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does? Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand O House of Israel!” This is very far from hopeless for the ruined pottery, even though Jehovah goes on to predict that Israel will refuse to repent and so will be destroyed. From the description in chapter 18 verses 16 and 17, that destruction may look hopelessly final–but that wasn’t how the story ended for the pottery. (Nor is it how the story ends elsewhere in Jeremiah.)
Paul could also be referencing Isaiah 29:16: “You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered like with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, ‘He did not make me’, or what is formed say to him who formed it ‘He has no understanding’?” That’s a reply to those who try to hide their plans and deeds from JEHOVAH in dark places, to convince themselves that no one sees them. But Jehovah is also talking about a situation where, thanks to their insistence on sinning and on refusing to listen to correction and instruction, God has confirmed Israel in her ignorance, and darkened her prophets, and reduced them to being virtually illiterate when it comes to understanding the scriptures. This leads to Israel’s overthrow and destruction. In fact, it leads (per Isaiah 30) to Israel being shattered like the smashing of a potter’s jar so that not a sherd remains large enough to scoop any water or even hold a coal from a fire (e.g. 30:12-14).
But most of this prophecy is about what happens afterward as a result of her destruction, after the ruthless have come to an end and the scorners are finished and all who are intent on evil are cut off. What happens, is that YHWH deals “marvelously wonderful” with those people despite the acknowledged fact that their hearts are far from Him and they only worship with their lips not their hearts, revering Him only by rote tradition learned from men. On that day the people God has deafened due to their sins will hear, and the people God has blinded due to their sins will see, and Jacob (the righteous patriarch, standing here for righteous Israel as Rachel does elsewhere) will no longer be ashamed of his children, for they will sanctify God’s name and stand in awe of the God of Israel. “And those who err in spirit will know understanding, and those who murmur (or criticize) will learn instruction!”
Even though they were not willing to repent even when the invading Assyrians came to overrun them (30:15-17), and so were shattered in such a way that no human could remake them, as a fired pot is shattered, God waits to be gracious and merciful to them, promising that they shall eventually repent and He shall eventually restore them with great blessings (possibly indicating resurrection here, or maybe only talking about the few survivors); binding up the fracture of His people and healing the bruise of His blow against them (e.g. v.26). The rest of the chapter involves YHWH smiting the invading Assyrians instead, striking them with the flame of consuming fire and the rod of punishment and burning them with brimstone and fire in the valley of Topheth (i.e. Gehenna but using the name of its days as a Moloch sacrifice area). The reference to Topheth per se is not only ironic (that the unjust shall be slain where the unjust unjustly slayed), but the term usage itself indicates that YHWH rejects what happens there even though He does it Himself. Together with the explanation of the goal of the utter destruction of rebel Israel, this suggests God does not mean the punishment of the rebel Gentiles to be hopeless either.
Or, perhaps Paul was referring to Isaiah 64:8, a portion of scripture we know Paul had on his mind while writing Romans 9 because he quotes from the beginning of Isaiah chapter 65 soon afterward. In 64:8, the prophet is speaking for destroyed rebel Israel, praying in repentance that God will not be angry beyond measure but will stop punishing them and restore them. God replies (in summary) that He will keep on punishing impenitent sinners, but will restore the penitent ones. He also replies, however, while describing the new heavens and new earth to come (in the second half of chapter 65) that eventually natural enemies shall live together in peace on His holy mountain, including typologies of ravening rebels like wolves, lions, and most notably the same bronze-serpent from Genesis 3:14–finally eating the dust of his humility! So the whole prophecy there in context involves destroyed sinners repenting and being restored, sooner and later, up to and including the great rebel himself.
The language at Romans 9:20 is most similar, however, to Isaiah 45:9, where God is remonstrating against those of Israel who do not believe God will stop punishing Israel and restore her to faithfulness with Him. (And, who perhaps are especially freaked by the recent prophecy that God will accomplish some of this by means of the pagan tyrant Cyrus, a man who does not even know God, but whom God prophecies will come to know of Him! Which Cyrus historically did not before he died, by the way, although he did help restore some of the dispersed Jews to Jerusalem.) The whole chapter, and its preceding prophecy from Isaiah 44, is about God’s absolute ultimate power to save sinners from sin, and especially from idolatry to false gods. The end result is predicted: “I have sworn by Myself!–the word has gone forth from My mouth unto fair-togetherness (or ‘righteousness’ or ‘justice’ in English) and will not turn back: that to Me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance! They will say of Me, ‘Only in JEHOVAH are fair-togetherness and strength! Men will come to Him and all who are angry at Him shall be put to shame!’”
We know for certain this portion of scripture was very important to Paul, because he refers to that final result several times, including later in Romans 14:11. The scope is total salvation from sin; none remain disloyal to God, Who (per Isaiah 29 as mentioned above in similar connection to Romans 9:20) does not accept false worship of lying lips and a disloyal heart.
So then, it is true that God hardens whom He desires (as with blind Israel in Isaiah 29), but it is also true that God has mercy on whom He desires (such as blind Israel in Isaiah 29!) God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endures with much patience the instruments of wrath that He has created to pour destruction: a patience the term of which (makrothemia) is everywhere else in the New Testament related to God’s intention to save sinners from their sins.
