Yes I am...
oh wait - sorry, I thought you said CRACKPOT!!
Seriously, this is a chapter I've struggled with in the past - the 'P' word was a biggie for me! My current take on it though is this:
Look at the whole context of the chapter first - it's about God's election of Israel over the Gentile nations.
Now the central point of the chapter which you seem to have homed in on - the pots and their uses (5 verses out of 33 is hardly 'going on and on' but never mind!)
v 21 - God makes some pots for noble use and some for ordinary use - point they are all of some use.
v 22 - He bears with patience those which were prepared for destruction. The word 'prepared' is very important here. Bear in mind that within the entire context, it is the Gentiles (Pharaoh included) who Paul is speaking about. Now, do all those Gentiles actually get destroyed? No. This ties very closely into the next 2 verses.
v 23 - His intention of bearing with patience those prepared for destruction is to show his glory to the objects of his mercy - in the first instance, Israel, but also, in v.24 to the Gentiles
- ie those which were prepared for destruction. So now even those prepared for destruction can become the 'objects of God's mercy' Hence Paul's quoting of the verse from Hosea.
If what I've written is correct, then the verses prior to these vs 19-20 make some sense, if we want to hang onto our 'cracked pottedness', we are free to do so, but we have no business whining to God about it because He has given us a way to become 'whole' pots again.
See - told you I was a crackpot!
