“Paul is clearly saying that God elected Esau [Jacob intended] in the womb.”
The subject of Romans 9 starts in the first verse:
“1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
Paul is about to discuss, NOT INDIVIDUALS, but the Jews as a whole.
“6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
God’s purpose in selecting and thus electing the Jews is not defeated. It is not defeated because we Gentiles are also the children of Abraham - not by flesh, but by promise. We Gentiles are also the children of Abraham, if we believe.
Remember, Paul had already written
“The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
So Paul tells the Jews at Rome that the promise to the Jews did NOT fail, but that it is being fulfilled. Not thru the inheritance of the flesh - being born a child of the Jews - but by being a descendent of Abraham in faith.
And is God unjust in deciding to do so?
No. God can determine who to call his own. He can call the children of Jacob his own, or Esau - and God makes that choice. Paul tells the Jews that God has chosen to save those who believe. “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
Remember, in chapter 4 he also wrote:
“16That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all...”
After writing more about God’s right to save those he wishes, Paul writes:
30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
This is not about saving individuals, but about saving those who believe. As Paul goes on to explain in chapter 10:
“10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In chapter 11, he discusses the remnant of the Jews.
But in chapters 9 & 10, he explains that God has chosen to save those who believe:
“1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” - Romans 10
God did not reject Esau as an individual. As an individual, God blessed Esau greatly. But the tribe of Esau was not the Chosen People. God had that right, to decide who his chosen people would be. And that choice extends, according to Paul, to those Gentiles who believe.
Again, as always, it comes down to this - do you believe God, when God confronts you? But YOU must believe.
Subject. Verb. The subject does the verb. The subject does NOT have the verb done to him.
“6But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7or “’Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
The lie of Calvin is that Calvin does not understand subject/verb. In hundreds of verses, we are commanded to believe.
“30Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.” - Acts 16
They do not rebuke the jailer, or ask him who he thinks he is to do anything that might save him, but reply “Believe...and you will be saved”.
Subject. Verb. Simple enough for a caveman, but too complex for Calvinistic theologians.
My FRiend, you are fixated on the English breaks in chapters and verses. Read your posts, “Here is what chap. 3 is about, what is 9 about?” as if they are repair manuals on a refrigerator and a stove. Paul is arguing the need and means of our rescue by grace throughout the book, principally to stop the rancor between the Jewish believers and the non-Jewish believers. As in other places, the Jewish believers had a tough time not feeling superior to the Gentile believers and Paul simply leveled the ground. Now, go back and read the entire book, and notice God’s grace operates first from Him to us, in a non-transaction method everywhere...and chap. 9.
We are broken beyond repair and no one, repeat no one seeks God (chap. 3) If He did not reach to you, you would not believe (chap. 4). There is the argument of Paul and it requires God to have done the planning, the election, and the application (chap. 8). Then you woke up and found you had been granted mercy (chap. 9) and some have been hardened and left out (chap. 9).
If the Gospel is the semi-pelagian world you describe, then the Reformation was no better than the self-righteous Catholicism it repudiated. You note yourself that Paul is addressing all believers who make up the real Israel “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,...but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” This is not about “corporate” anything since he could not go on and single out Pharaoh as getting the “hardening” card and another man as getting mercy. Clearly, Paul is speaking individually and you, my FRiend, have morphed this into your denominational party line.