We serve a heavenly Father, an all-wise God who knows what is best, who loves us and never, ever does anything in our lives that is out of accord with his own glory and our good. Never. But we do not always see this right away, and as we learn the lessons, we can face tears as sometimes God’s answers to our prayers are not in the categories we expect. Some of Paul’s prayers were not answered, as he would have liked.
mercy shown to the Gentiles as not two acts, but one: “the confirmation of the promises comes by the call of the Gentiles” (CGT). It is also to be borne in mind that Israel’s salvation, just as much as that of the Gentiles, depends on the mercy of God. Others suggest that we have here a pair of contrasts: the patriarchs are set over against the